American League Playoffs:
Division Winners: Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros
Wild Cards: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees
AL Wild Card: Blue Jays over Yankees
AL Division Series: Red Sox over Blue Jays, Astros over Indians
AL Championship Series: Red Sox over Astros
I predict the Boston Red Sox will win the American League just one year after finishing in last place in the AL East (AP)
In the AL the three division winners will the the Boston Red Sox, the Cleveland Indians, and the Houston Astros. Both wild card teams come out of the AL East in the Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays should take care of the Yankees in the wild card game and go on to face the Red Sox in the Division Series. The Red Sox will beat their division opponent in the ALDS and in the other matchup, the Astros will beat the Indians. That means, in the AL Championship Series, the Red Sox will face the Astros. I have the Red Sox beating the Astros which is a fairly bold prediction when you have a team that finished in last place in the AL East last season beating a team that won the AL Wild Card Game and almost beat the future World Champions in the ALDS in 2015.
National League Playoffs:
Division Winners: New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Cards: Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card: Nationals over Giants
NL Division Series: Cubs over Nationals, Dodgers over Mets
NL Championship Series: Cubs over Dodgers
In the NL the three division winners look like they will be the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two wild card teams will be the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants, both interesting stories. The Nats still have a lot of talent but need to recover from last season’s major disappointment. The Giants have won the World Series in 2014, 2012, and 2010. Those are all even numbered years and it is 2016 so it would be amazing to see them win it all for the fourth even numbered year in a row. Unfortunately for them I have them making an early exit from the postseason as the lose to the Nats in the NL Wild Card game. Next would be the National League Division Series where the Nationals would face the Cubs and the Dodgers would face the Mets. I have the Cubs beating the Nats and the Dodgers getting revenge against the Mets for the 2015 playoffs. In the NLCS the Cubs will take on the Dodgers and win to head to the World Series with a chance to break their 107 year Championship drought.
World Series: Cubs over Red Sox
Theo Epstein and the Cubs are shaping up to be the World Series favorites. (www.theheckler.com)
In the World Series in 2016 we will have two classic teams in the Cubs and the Red Sox. The Red Sox will be looking to win their first World Series since 2013 while the Cubs will be looking to capture their first Championship since 1908. This will also be the Cubs first time in the World Series since 1945. Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein will also be facing his old employers in the Red Sox. He has helped bring in a ton of young talent to the Cubs organization like Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and Addison Russell. They are all part of the reason I believe that this season the Chicago Cubs will break their 107 years curse and finally win the World Series.
Filed under: 2016 Season Preview Tagged: Addison Russell, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Theo Epstein, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals
