With the 2017 baseball season now well underway, it is important to know who the favorites are as the teams begin the slow march toward the Fall Classic. The MLB is one of the leagues that prides itself on its parity, as they have four different teams win over the last five seasons.
This year looks to be no different, with a great crop of legitimate contenders in both leagues. Here are a few teams that could be the last man standing come October.
The Boston Red Sox
Even with the loss of David Ortiz, the Red Sox still have a lineup that can dominate any pitcher on any given night. This is a lineup that features AL MVP Runner-Up Mookie Betts, a former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts coming off two fantastic seasons, Rookie of The Year favorite Andrew Benintendi, and a perennial 30 home run hitter in Hanley Ramirez. I could go on, but I think this paints a good picture of how lethal this lineup is.
Then there’s the rotation, which feature the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello, the newly acquired potential Cy Young candidate Chris Sale, and former Cy Young winner David Price. Price is coming off a poor season, but he should be able to bounce back, as his talent level is just too high for him to continue his poor pitching. All things considered, there is no reason to think that the Sox couldn’t represent the American League in the World Series, and win it once they’re there.
The Cleveland Indians
The Indians pulled off a magical run to the World Series last year, but eventually fell to the Chicago Cubs. However, this is a team with talent in every area. On offense, they already boast Jason Kipnis, Jose Ramirez, and a now healthy Michael Brantley. This all before the team went out and signed Edwin Encarnacion, who hit 42 home runs just last season with the Blue Jays. Then there’s the rotation that includes former Cy Young winners in Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, and Carlos Carrasco. There’s also the dominant bullpen which consists of Andrew Miller, Dan Otero, and Cody Allen. Expect a dogfight between Cleveland and Boston to get to the World Series.
The Chicago Cubs
It should surprise no one that the defending World Series champions will be one of the favorites to win the World Series. I mean, just look at their roster. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell, and Javier Baez are all excellent players. They only lost a couple key players from the World Series winning roster, including Dexter Fowler and Aroldis Chapman. Chapman was replaced with Wade Davis and Koji Uehara. And Fowler wasn’t a major contributor, so they shouldn’t feel his loss too much. The rotation still includes Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, and John Lackey. Watch out for the Cubs this year, because they’re going to be flying the W a lot.
The New York Mets
Many might be surprised that the Nationals aren’t one of the World Series favorites, but it is hard to argue with the rotation of the Mets, which consists of Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey (still waiting on that bounceback), Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz. That coupled with a lineup of Yoenis Cespedes, a full season of Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Jay Bruce, could prove to be a strong lineup. This is a team that can get on base, hit for power, and certainly pitch. Watch out for the Mets to win a hard-fought division crown over the Nationals, and then have a shot at going to their second World Series in three years.