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Way too early World Series predictions

It’s been one game into the season.  Here at Double G Sports we like to give way too early predictions so we can look back at this and laugh at ourselves.  Regardless, it’s always good to take a look at the teams that have the best shot to make it to the Fall Classic.  Each of these playoffs teams will be broken down as to why they’ll make the playoffs and why other teams missed out.  It will not be perfect, but it will be well thought out.

AL East: New York Yankees

AL Central: Cleveland Indians

AL West: Houston Astros

Wild Cards: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins

Wild Card Game: Red Sox over Twins

ALDS: Yankees over Indians, Red Sox over Astros

ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox

 

New York Yankees

As an unbiased party, the New York Yankees will win the AL East and make it to the World Series this year.  It’s probably the most popular opinion, but the bullpen will be the reason why this team makes it to the World Series.  The combination of Chad Green, David Robertson, and Aroldis Chapman in the playoffs will make even a poor performance by the starters an afterthought.  The Yankees obviously have the lineup to will their way to the playoffs, but it’s their pitching that will make the difference come crunch time.

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are still one of the best teams in the league after back to back disappointing playoff performances.  First, they blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series to the Chicago Cubs and missed out on their first World Series since 1948 in extra innings.  Corey Kluber is one of the few true ace pitches in the league and is willing to pitch however many innings to get the job done.  Jose Ramirez is an MVP candidate and a much improved year by Jason Kipnis should provide the Indians an easy road to the playoffs.  However, they’ll run into the Yankees in the ALDS and the longest drought in the league will continue.

Houston Astros

The Astros are coming off their first ever World Series championship.  The cast of characters that brought them the championship are all back, and the young studs in the Houston lineup are a year more experienced.  Alex Bregman will emerge as an offensive force, and George Springer will become the leader of this time.  Houston still has their great rotation with Verlander, Keuchel, McCullers and Morton.  They’ll cruise in a depleted AL West and will unfortunately lose to the Boston Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox

One of the darlings of the AL this year will be the Boston Red Sox.  Their lineup isn’t all that potent, and their rotation isn’t nearly that of the Astros or the Indians, but there’s something about this team that should scare people.  Their outfield is POTENT, with studs Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. patrolling Fenway Park.  David Price will be healthy for the first time in what feels like years, and Craig Kimbrel will anchor an underrated bullpen.  Look for the Sox to make it all the way to the ALCS and renew their rivalry with the Yankees.

Minnesota Twins

Most people have the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in this spot, but the Twins have improved just as much and still have a better overall team.  The addition of Jake Odorizzi to the front of the rotation was much needed.  Jose Berrios is a blooming young star, and guys like Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano will step up to bring the Twins to the playoffs.  The Twins were the victim of a hit parade against the Yankees last year, but at least this year they won’t lose to them once again.

 

NL East: Washington Nationals

NL Central: Chicago Cubs

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Cards: Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets

Wild Card Game: Brewers over Mets

NLDS: Nationals over Brewers, Cubs over Dodgers

NLCS: Nationals over Cubs

 

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals have been one of the more talented teams in their sport for years.  However, they’ve never seemed to be able to get over the hump to even the NLCS.  They share an unfortunate parallel with another Washington team, the Capitals, as a team that is a regular season darling but just doesn’t have that clutch gene.  Names may change, coaches may be swapped, but it’s still the same.  This is the year that everything changes for the Nats.  The Nationals have all the talent in the world, with future Hall of Famer Bryce Harper leading the charge.  They have a stud ace in Max Scherzer, a revamped bullpen, and get to play three of the worst teams in the NL East for the majority of the season.  If there’s any year to make it to the World Series in a crowded but wide open National League, this is it.

Chicago Cubs

It took 108 long years for the Cubs to finally break the longest curse in sports, winning the World Series for the first time since 1908.  Since then, Theo Epstein has compiled some more talent on an already loaded Cubs roster.  Yu Darvish looks to be a cog in the rotation after the departure of Jake Arrieta.  Kyle Schwarber has lost 20 pounds and comes into this season with a new physique and positive outlook.  He’s still terrible in the field but he’ll more than make up for it with his offensive prowess.  Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant look to improve on down seasons and the Cubs should be able to make it to the NLCS.

Los Angeles Dodgers

If Justin Turner was healthy, the Dodgers would be the favorite to have the best record in the league.  With guys like Seager, Puig, Turner, and Bellinger their lineup is LOADED with young talent.  Having the best pitcher in the league doesn’t hurt either.  The Dodgers nearly won their first World Series since 1988 and are primed to make another run at it with a healthy Clayton Kershaw and a good supporting cast.

Milwaukee Brewers

The other darling of this 2018 season will be the Milwaukee Brewers.  If you look at the Brewers from top down, they have one of the best lineups in baseball and a severely underrated rotation.  The additions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain brings some much needed depth to the Brew Crew, and look for Chase Anderson to step up as one of the National League’s best pitchers.  Eric Thames may not be mashing the ball the same way he did last year, but he still will be a big contributor.

New York Mets

Meet the Mets!  Meet the Mets!  The Mets will finally have a relatively healthy season and not have to limp into the playoffs like they did two seasons ago.  The issue with this team is that they’re built on their young pitching staff, which isn’t so young anymore.  Matt Harvey will have a career year, Jacob deGrom will continue to be the ace of this staff, and Brandon Nimmo will be a candidate for Rookie of the Year.  The Mets have had such a string of bad luck recently, so they deserve to have it all come together at least for one season.

 

World Series: Nationals over Yankees

This is not a typo.  The Washington Nationals will win their first World Series in franchise history.  The reason?  Max Scherzer wills them to a title.  As Justin Verlander did last season, Max Scherzer will be the end all be all for the Nats.  The Yankees don’t have nearly the pitching depth the Nats have, and good pitching always beats good hitting in the playoffs.  Luis Severino is still a very young ace and cannot be trusted in the World Series just yet.  Scherzer has plenty of playoff experience and Bryce Harper will be the World Series MVP.  It’s been a strange enough year in sports, with the Cubs, Eagles, and Astros winning titles.  Who says this streak can’t continue with the Nationals?

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