Photo Credit: Joey Votto and Aaron Judge (Chris Asbrock, Impact Sports Cincy)

by Chris Asbrock

The MLB season is almost here. Hearing the amazing words, “pitchers and catchers report” being spoken, you know the baseball season is almost here. Baseball is one of the best sports with keeping their fanbases engaged during the offseason. In what is usually a wild hot stove season, the MLB Winter Meetings failed to produce the craziness fans had come to expect. It took a long time for some of the big names to move in free agency.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL East:
1. Washington Nationals
2. New York Mets
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Miami Marlins

The Skinny: As with every season, this division is the Nationals to lose. Armed with one of the best pitchers in baseball, time is running out on the Nationals to make a serious run for the World Series. With Bryce Harper set to most likely leave the Nats in the offseason, the time is now for the Nationals to win it all. The division is much deeper now than it has been in years past. The Mets and Phillies have made moves to bring in some solid free agents. The Phillies made a huge splash when they recently agreed to terms with free agent pitcher, Jake Arrieta, adding an ace to a talented pitching staff. The Phillies and Mets will certainly battle it out for the second spot in the East. The Mets brought back Jay Bruce and added Todd Frazier from cross-town rival, the New York Yankees. There is absolutely no doubt the Miami Marlins will be the worst team in the division, and most likely the league, after their complete roster restructure. The Marlins dealt many of their top players in deals that seemed to stun and confuse the baseball world.

NL Central:
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Skinny: The road to the World Series once again looks to go through the National League Central and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are head and shoulders above everyone in the Central and will once again make a serious run at the World Series. The Cubs lost Jake Arrieta but replaced him with free agent, Yu Darvish. Darvish struggled in the World Series so it will be very interesting to see if he can replace Arrieta and even exceed the output of the former Cy Young winner. The most intriguing battle will be for the remaining spots in the division. All four teams have the potential and talent to go anywhere from second to fifth. Many people figure the Reds will be in the basement of the Central once again but don’t be so quick to believe that. The Reds have a lot of young talent and if the stable of arms pitches to their capability, the Reds can make a serious run at one of the two Wild Card spots. The Pirates dealt their top pitcher, Gerrit Cole and face of the franchise, Andrew McCutchen. Even with the addition of young talent from those deals, the loss of those two key players might be too much for the Buccos to overcome. The Cardinals have surprisingly not made a move or two to shore up their bullpen, which could come back to bite them in the end. The Cardinals could still be a big player in the division, even with the lack of a strong closer. The Brewers are the most intriguing team in the Central. They went out and made a splash by bringing in outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. The Brewers will score runs but all eyes will be on their pitching and whether or not they can keep the other team from putting up runs.

NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Colorado Rockies
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. San Francisco Giants
5. San Diego Padres

The Skinny: Like the Central, the National League West will be a very competitive division. The West could be won by three or four teams, with the only exception being the Padres, who should finish at the bottom of the division. Finishing last won’t be because the Padres are bad, it would be due to the fact they are young and inexperienced. The Dodgers are once again the class of the division but will be challenged by the Giants, Rockies and Diamondbacks. The Giants went out this offseason and snagged Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria, adding to an already solid lineup. The pitching staff will feature Madison Bumgardner and Johnny Cueto at the top of the rotation. The Rockies will once again possess a very dangerous lineup and a solid, young pitching staff. If the Rockies get solid production from their pitching staff, the Rockies will be in the playoff hunt all season. In looking at the division, this is the most competitive one in baseball. Bumgardner suffered a broken pinky finger this past Friday, leaving him out an estimated 6-8 weeks. With the division being as competitive as it is, The loss of Mad Bum could be one to watch as you can’t win the division in April, but you can lose it. 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL East:

1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Tampa Bay Rays

The Skinny: The AL East has traditionally been one of the best divisions in baseball but has dropped in stature over the last few seasons. This year, they might return to the top. The Yankees made the biggest splash this offseason by acquiring superstar slugger and reigning NL MVP, Giancarlo Stanton. The addition of Stanton boosts the already powerful lineup. The Yankees lineup now includes a 2-3-4 of Stanton, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. The Yankees will score a lot of runs this season but will need their pitching to hold up their end of the bargain. The Yankees made a solid postseason run last year and will look to continue that this season. The most competitive battle in this division will be for the second spot. The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays will go at it for a wild card spot. The Red Sox signed free agent slugger JD Martinez this offseason to help bolster their lineup. While Martinez will help the lineup, the Red Sox just don’t have the pop that their hated rivals, the Yankees have. The pitching staff will rely on Chris Sale and David Price to lead them to the postseason. If Rick Porcello can pitch like he did in 2016 and not 2017, the Red Sox will be in a great spot to contend with the Yankees. The Blue Jays are the team to watch in this division. The Blue Jays have the roster to contend for a wild card spot. In what could be one of the final seasons in Toronto for Josh Donaldson, the time is now for the Jays to make a run. One of the top players in baseball, Donaldson, is a crucial piece in the Blue Jays lineup. The Jays, along with the Yankees, possess one of the most dangerous lineups in the American League. The Jays will score plenty of runs but the key to their success falls on the pitching staff. Toronto will look for J.A. Happ, Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada and Aaron Sanchez to pitch this team to the postseason. If the pitching staff can hold up their end of the bargain, the summer north of the border could be a memorable one. The AL East will see the Orioles and Rays battle it out for the fourth spot. The Orioles are a more talented club than the Rays. This will be the last season in Baltimore for Manny Machado, who will command big money during the offseason. This could be a tough last season for Machado in Baltimore. Things won’t be as bad in Baltimore as they will most likely be in Tampa Bay this summer. The Rays are a young team and don’t expect to make much noise in the division race.

AL Central:

1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Detroit Tigers
5. Kansas City Royals

The Skinny: The AL Central will go through Cleveland for another year. While the Indians aren’t as talented as they have been in the past few years, they are clearly the top team in the division. The Indians should run away with the division with very little competition. The Minnesota Twins are a young team that has the potential to surprise a few people this year. Like most teams in the American League, their chance to compete falls on their starting pitching. The Twins are in need of a front line starter and without one, they won’t come close to stunning the Indians for the Central title. The remaining three teams look to be in rebuild mode, with the White Sox in a better spot than the Tigers and Royals. The White Sox are a young team with a lot of dynamic talent that is still a few years away from making serious noise. The potential is there for Chicago, unfortunately for the White Sox, it won’t be but a few years before we see that potential blossom. The Tigers and Royals have regressed and won’t be in much of a spot to make things interesting.

AL West:

1. Houston Astros
2. Los Angeles Angels
3. Texas Rangers
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Oakland Athletics

The Skinny: The AL West is home to the defending World Series champion, Houston Astros. The Astros are one of the strongest teams in baseball and have improved from their championship team. The Astros come into the 2018 season with the best starting rotation in baseball. Justin Verlander leads this already talented group. The Astros were able to add Gerrit Cole from the Pirates to cement their spot as the best rotation in baseball. Dallas Keuchel was the ace of this staff until the Astros brought Verlander in last year at the trade deadline. Adding another ace to this staff propelled the Astros to the top of the baseball world. The Astros were already loaded and got better this offseason. The road to the World Series will go through Houston. The Los Angeles Angels will be much more improved this season. The addition of Zack Cozart and Ian Kinsler shore up their infield. Couple them with Mike Trout and you have a potent lineup. The biggest question on the Angels is how Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani fits into the picture. Ohtani is a top of the line starter, who possesses a powerful bat. Ohtani will hold the key to the success of the Angels because if he can live up to the hype, the potential for a solid postseason run is there. The Rangers and Mariners are the two teams that will most likely be battling it out for the third and fourth spots in the west. The Mariners are a team on the older side, compared to the majority of the other teams in the division. The Mariners have Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Dee Gordon and Ichiro but have yet to provide any help or depth for their pitching staff. The downfall to the Mariners season could be due to the lack of pitching depth. Like the Mariners, the Rangers are on the older side and don’t seem to have the pitching depth required to contend. The Rangers should have slightly more depth on the pitching staff than what Seattle has, which could help them leapfrog them for third in the west. The Athletics look to be in the same boat this season, being extremely young and not sure what to expect. If the A’s play above their age, then things could go well for the team by the bay.

PLAYOFFS:

Wild Card:

AL: Red Sox over Angels
NL: Rockies over Cardinals

Divisional:

AL: Astros over Red Sox     Yankees over Indians
NL: Cubs over Rockies     Dodgers over Nationals

Championship Series:

AL: Astros over Yankees
NL: Cubs over Dodgers

World Series:

Astros over Cubs

Other predictions:

MVP:

AL: Carlos Correa (Astros)
NL: Joey Votto (Reds)

Cy Young:

AL: Justin Verlander (Astros)
NL: Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)

Rookie of the Year:

AL: Shohei Ohtani (Red Sox)
NL: Ronald Acuna (Braves)

Manager of the Year:

AL: Aaron Boone (Yankees)

NL: Gabe Kapler (Phillies)

Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for Impact Sports Cincinnati and can be followed on Twitter  and