Tyler Brandt: In the National League, I've got the Giants and Cardinals winning the Wild Cards, in that order. It's really tempting to say that the Giants will beat out the Dodgers for the division title, as I think they are the better team, but the current gap just seems like too much with Kershaw returning. As close as the Mets are, I can't see them making a run. Their run differential suggests that they are maybe about three wins worse than their record shows and I'm worried about everyone in their rotation. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz are all pitching through injuries or being checked out and as fun as he is, Bartolo Colon is not a top of the line starter. That leaves us with the Giants and Cardinals as the two strongest teams outside of the division winners. In the American League, things are much closer. Boston and Baltimore currently control the Wild Cards, but they play each other seven more times until the end of the season. In other words, one of the two is likely to drop out. I think that team is Baltimore, as they have trouble playing away from the hitter-friendly confines of Camden Yards. I actually see Boston taking the division because the Blue Jays are too concerned with innings limits. Aaron Sanchez is their best pitcher, but I don't know if they will throw him every five days. He has already skipped one start in the last week; how do we know that won't be a trend? The rest of their rotation consists of fourth starters, while Boston has an ace in David Price and and MVP candidate in Mookie Betts. I have Toronto taking the top Wild Card spot, and the Astros sneaking past the Orioles and Tigers for the second spot with Jose Altuve making one final push for the MVP Award (which really belongs to Mike Trout but the Angels might not be good enough).
Peter Rosston: For me, it has to be the Houston Astros. After snatching a Wild Card spot last year with a very young roster, many people expected to challenge the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the AL West. Instead, the Astros have come out of the gate completely flat, starting 6-14, tied for the worst recording the American League. Of course, the season is 20 games young, but the Astros certainly have their work cut out for them now.
Tyler Brandt: I was among those saying that the Houston Astros would run away with the American League West this season. After twenty games, they are tied with the Minnesota Twins for the worst record in the AL. The offense has been doing just fine, but the pitching has been awful. I think Dallas Keuchel is injured, as his velocity is down from what he usually does in April and he walked four and six batters in his first two starts, respectively. He never walked more than four batters in any start last year. Their other pitchers need to start keeping the ball in the park, as Doug Fister, Mike Fiers, and Ken Giles were all expected to perform well but have given up too many long balls. This team will improve once its home run per fly ball rate comes back down from the stratosphere, but they need to proceed with caution regarding Keuchel. Peter Rosston: A lot about how Leicester will do next season in the Champions League next season comes down to how they finish in the Premier League this season. Finishing first would put them in Pot 1 for the draw, meaning they would avoid powerhouses like Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the group stages; anything besides first and they'll be in Pot 2 or Pot 3. Realistically, Leicester City should expect to finish 2nd or 3rd in whatever group they find themselves in. Their counterattacking style translates well to the Champions League as they can steal points from the top team in their group. Best case scenario: they make it to the quarterfinals. Worst case scenario: they finish 3rd and then fall early in the Europa League.
Lucas Schmidt: Obviously a big question right now around Leicester is how they’ll fare over the summer transfer window with the main targets being Vardy, Kante, and Mahrez. At the same time, there could be serious financial implications to winning the league that would help them prepare for Europe. In the case that their squad isn’t raided, I imagine they could, with a favorable draw, make it to the Round of 16. From there their fate depends upon who they draw. This season hasn’t seen them face the strongest Premier League teams in recent history, so to see how they perform against seasoned European heavy weights like Barca, Real, Bayern, etc. will be the true test. |