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| Opening Day logo at Minute Maid Ballpark, home of the Houston Astros |
Opening Day for Major League Baseball is a favorite day of the year by many fans across the nation. It's a new hope for each team. Page 2017 has been written, scribbled on, ripped out, and tossed in the trash. Unless you're the Houston Astros, who turned theirs into a World Series banner that will forever hang in their stadium and the hearts of their franchise, players, and fans. Page 2018 is the new, crisp, blank page that is eager to be marked up.
The expectations are high. Some teams higher than other teams.
- Both the Yankees and Red Sox are always expected to go deep in the playoffs or win the World Series each year, but this season is different due to their monumental offseason moves. The acquisition of reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton by the Yankees caused the Red Sox to ink J.D. Martinez, who recorded the most home runs in the least amount of games played last season (119 games, 45 homers). Both teams look like championship contenders on paper, but will they live up to the high expectations?
- The Giants were the worst team in the National League last year. The moves in the off-season need to put them back into the winning culture they, along with their fans, are accustom to. The NL West may be the toughest division in baseball this season, but the Giants will be expected to bounce back from their injury-plagued, dismal season in 2017.
- The Washington Nationals, a team who seems to always own one of the top three records in baseball but chokes in the first round of the playoffs, may lose the face of its franchise this off-season. Bryce Harper will be a free agent after 2018. If the Nationals want to retain Harper, it is vital they win the World Series this season. Every year the Nats put together a superb team but lose in the first round of the playoffs. 2018 has got to be their year.
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| Harper has his sights on a World Series ring |
So how will the season shape up? Here's what I've got:
AL East
1) Yankees (90-72)
2) Orioles (85-77)
3) Red Sox (82-80)
4) Blue Jays (80-82)
5) Rays (67-95)
Yankees are an easy pick for first. Have the best team on paper in the division. However, as I mentioned above, they are playing with a lot of pressure. They also have a manager who has a good mind for the game of baseball but has never coached a professional game in his life. The Orioles coming in second is a bold statement. This team is due to break out. Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo are coming off down years. Davis led the league in homers in 2015, Trumbo lead in 2016. If these two power bats have years like they did in '15 and '16, they can keep up with Judge and Stanton in the category of home-runs. Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy are also due to break out. Manny Machado is a free agent at the end of the year, so you know he's going to ball out this year to get as much money as he can in the offseason. The Red Sox have a history of not living up to expectations. I believe they will not live up to expectations this season and miss the playoffs. The Blue Jays are a potential sleeper team. Their starting staff is very underrated, and they still have enough bats to produce runs on a consistent basis. Don't be surprised if this team does indeed sneak in the playoffs.
AL Central
1) Indians (96-66)
2) Twins (84-78)
3) Royals (74-88)
4) White Sox (68-94)
The Indians will win the AL Central crown for their third straight season. They are on a different level than any of the other teams in the division. It won't even be close. The only contenders in the division are the Indians and Twins. The Twins are a popular pick to make the postseason for their second straight season. I realize they have improved their team, but I believe they will not have as good of a year as last year, I'm not buying into their hype. The only reason they would make the playoffs is because they are playing 3 of the of the worst teams in the American League on the reg. The weakness of their division provides an easy opportunity to tally up their win total. The Royals are on the seesaw of rebuilding or pushing for the postseason with the seesaw is teetering towards the rebuilding side. This team lost a couple key pieces that helped them win the World Series in 2016. However, I do expect Lucas Duda to fill in for Hosmer offensively and hit over 30 homers. Their rotation is mediocre after Danny Duffy. Detroit and Chicago are rebuilding. I do not expect either team to be good early in their rebuilding phase, but watch out for the White Sox in 2019. Despite not being contenders this season, I do see Nick Castellanos as an AL All-Star this season.
AL West
1) Astros (97-65)
2) Angels (86-76)
3) Mariners (78-84)
4) Rangers (75-87)
5) A's (70-92)
The Astros will repeat as the division champs. This team is the best team in the league on paper. Their pitching staff has Dallas Keuchel, who won the Cy Young in 2015, third in their rotation, THIRD! Not saying this team has a cakewalk to win the division, butttttt- they shouldn't have too much of a problem. The Angels are a new and improved team, but they won't be able to keep up with the Astros. However, I do have them making the postseason. As much as I would love to see the Mariners end their postseason drought, I do not think this will be the year. Their offensive will produce runs, but I don't see their pitching being good on a consistent basis all season. I can't see the Rangers or the A's competing with the better half of the division, but please I would love for them to prove me wrong.
NL East
1) Nationals (95-67)
2) Phillies (82-80)
3) Mets (81-81)
4) Braves (75-87)
5) Marlins (60-102)
This division is another one to easily predict. The Nationals are poised to win their division again. They are simply better than any of the other teams in their division. However, the Mets and Phillies could give them trouble. The Mets and Phillies have enough potential to sneak their way into the playoffs, but not enough to win the division unless the Mets unload the swarm of the injury bugs in D.C. I like this Phillies team. Arrieta will be a fabulous mentor for the young staff, and many of their starters are due to break out like Aaron Nola did a season ago. Rhys Hoskins will pick up where he left off. The Mets for some reason always go through offensive slumps during some part of the year, and history does have a tendency to repeat itself. Hopefully, the injury bug won't be a trend for this team in 2018. I don't even want to get started on the Marlins. Derek Jeter got more talent for Christian Yelich than he did from Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton combined. This team lacks pitching and did not receive a single top pitching prospect for any of these three stud outfielders. What a damn shame.
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| This young Marlins fan probably won't be doing too much dancing in 2018 |
NL Central
1) Cubs (88-75)
2) Cardinals (86-76)
3) Brewers (86-76)
4) Pirates (74-88)
5) Reds (74-88)
This division is perhaps the second-best division in baseball. The Cubs, Brewers, or Cardinals all have a shot at winning the division. Each team made improvements in the offseason. Despite the Cubs being the favorite, don't be surprised if the Cardinals or Brewers beat them out for the division title. The injury of SP Jimmy Nelson late last season is a big blow for the Brew-Crew, as he is expected to miss half of this season. Their starting rotation is their weakness, but I think they will still be able to get by. The Cardinals will be back in the postseason after a rare two-year drought. They will defeat the Brewers in a Game 163. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will fill out the bottom portion of the division. Cincinnati, an offense led by Joey Votto, will have one of the best offenses in baseball this season. If they could get their rotation and bullpen to be consistently stable, they could be a sleeper team.
NL West
1) Dodgers (92-70)
2) Rockies (88-74)
3) DBacks (85-77
4) Giants (76-86)
This will easily be the tightest division in baseball this season. Any of these teams have potential to win the division, except the Padres, but their time is coming soon. The Dodgers rotation is what sets them apart from their divisional foes. The Diamondbacks and Rockies are not far behind the Dodgers. Not signing J.D. Martinez was a blow to the Diamondbacks lineup. Colorado probably could have added a veteran starter, but instead focused on improving their bullpen, which was probably a smarter move to make. Despite their rotation being young, they competed well and enough to reach the postseason in 2017. With a year under their belt, I think their rotation will continue to improve. The Giants are an interesting team. On paper, they could certainly be contenders. However, the same thing could have been said last year. It will be interesting to see how they will perform this season. Don't be surprised if they sneak past the Diamondbacks or Rockies, but I don't think that is too likely. San Diego will be contenders as early as next season. They're too young to make a large impact in 2018, despite adding Eric Hosmer.
2018 Playoff Picture
AL
1) Astros vs 4) Angels/Orioles (Angels win)
2) Indians vs 3) Yankees
Indians over Astros in 6 games
NL
1) Nationals vs 4) Rockies/Cardinals (Rockies win)
2) Dodgers vs 3) Cubs
Nationals over Dodgers in 7 games
Indians defeat the Nationals in 5 games to capture their first World Series in 70 years. MVP is OF Bradley Zimmer.
Bold predictions, I know. The Washington Nationals are wayyyy too good to not make it past the first round. 2018 will finally be the year they do it. Despite the Nats reaching the cliff, the Indians will be there to knock them down. We have seen a quite similar Indians team win 22 games IN A ROW just last year. No other team is nearly as hot as this team when they're hot. They have the pitching, offensive, and team chemistry to get it done. Plus they can go 75% for the majority of the season because they're division is so weak.
Excited as ever for another season of Major League Baseball that is set to unfold. Player award predictions coming next article (soon).
2018 Playoff Picture
AL
1) Astros vs 4) Angels/Orioles (Angels win)
2) Indians vs 3) Yankees
Indians over Astros in 6 games
NL
1) Nationals vs 4) Rockies/Cardinals (Rockies win)
2) Dodgers vs 3) Cubs
Nationals over Dodgers in 7 games
Indians defeat the Nationals in 5 games to capture their first World Series in 70 years. MVP is OF Bradley Zimmer.
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Bold predictions, I know. The Washington Nationals are wayyyy too good to not make it past the first round. 2018 will finally be the year they do it. Despite the Nats reaching the cliff, the Indians will be there to knock them down. We have seen a quite similar Indians team win 22 games IN A ROW just last year. No other team is nearly as hot as this team when they're hot. They have the pitching, offensive, and team chemistry to get it done. Plus they can go 75% for the majority of the season because they're division is so weak.
Excited as ever for another season of Major League Baseball that is set to unfold. Player award predictions coming next article (soon).
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