The 2026 Major League Baseball season actually starts in just a few days in late March and it seems like every team is chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won back-to-back World Series titles and added a big bat to the lineup as well as one the best closers in baseball to their bullpen.
There is always wonder once the new season starts ans this year will be no different around the major leagues. The Dodgers (on paper) look to be solid yet again and should be right there come October when the chips are down. There are several teams in the National League that will challenge for the pennant, including the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers and possibly the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.
Over in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to defend the crown and get back to the World Series, where they were so close to winning it all before the Dodgers rallied back to steal it away. The Blue Jays have a decent lineup and solid pitching, although sometimes their bullpen was a problem, including in that Game Seven loss to Los Angeles in the World Series.
The Blue Jays play in what is considered by many to be the best division in baseball. Yes, the American League East is stacked yet again with the New York Yankees right there along with Boston and Baltimore and even Tampa Bay, though the Rays look like they may have taken a step back this off-season. The A.L. Central features the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals and those three teams should do battle all summer long. The West division looks to be the Seattle Mariners title to lose, unless the injuries mount. The Houston Astros cannot be counted out and the Texas Rangers could have perhaps the best starting pitching in the junior circuit this season.
All in all, it should be an exciting pennant chase and when the dust settles next October and the post-season begins, who knows who will be there to claim the World Series title?
The Heftyinfo picks for the divisional races and the playoffs and World Series . . .
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
1. Philadelphia 2. N.Y. Mets 3. Atlanta 4. Miami 5. Washington
Central
1. Chicago Cubs 2. Milwaukee 3. Cincinnati 4. Pittsburgh 5. St. Louis
West
1. L.A. Dodgers 2. San Francisco 3. San Diego 4. Arizona 5. Colorado
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
1. Toronto 2. N.Y. Yankees 3. Baltimore 4. Boston 5. Tampa Bay
Central
1. Detroit 2. Kansas City 3. Cleveland 4. Chicago White Sox 5. Minnesota
West
1. Seattle 2. Houston 3. Texas 4. (Sacramento) Athletics 5. L.A. Angels
(Note - Bold face italicized teams are picks for Wild Card spots)
N.L. Playoffs
Wild Card Round - Philadelphia over Atlanta; Milwaukee over N.Y. Mets
Divisional Round - L.A. Dodgers over Milwaukee; Chicago Cubs over Philadelphia
NLCS - L.A. Dodgers over Chicago Cubs
A.L. Playoffs
Wild Card Round - Detroit over Kansas City; Baltimore over N.Y. Yankees
Divisional Round - Toronto over Baltimore; Seattle over Detroit
ALCS - Seattle over Toronto
WORLD SERIES
Los Angeles Dodgers over Seattle Mariners
No comments:
Post a Comment