Note: the writing in this article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of bbfan.

+: Over .500
-: Under .500
#: Playoff Berth

AL East

Boston Red Sox +#
Baltimore Orioles +#
Toronto Blue Jays +
New York Yankees -
Tampa Bay Rays -

BAL - I don’t think “Game 6 of the ALCS” was on most Baltimore fans’ team ladder last year, but that’s where their season ended. The team only got better this offseason, and will continue to get better as evidenced by two...noticeable pitchers in their farm system. Because of that, they have officially exited that “contending for one of the Wild Card spots” and are a sure playoff team.
BOS - Still a top two team in baseball, their fifth best player might be better than most teams best player. They’re winning this division, next team please.
NYY - The Yankees have overperformed in each of the last two seasons, and based on that, regression has to set in soon. But this season, the Yankees are actually looking the best that they have since William Jones was last in town. The one thing that will hold them back is a lack of great defense, especially in the outfield, but we have seen this team at it’s worst. The only reason I have them listed under .500 is because of the talent in the top half of the division; all it takes is just a decent pitching season and a potential monster season from Ivan Pavesi and the Yankees are golden.
TB - The Rays are in a more positive situation than they were just a year ago. A very solid offseason brought together pieces to at least try for a potential wild wild (wild) card scenario and suddenly pulls them out of that “perennial top two pick” situation. Of course, if they really want to test their luck, we would see the likes of Ryker Perras, Joshua Hanna, and Devin Bell headed to Rays Ballpark as we speak, but alas, Rays fans will be content in a step forward season.
TOR - Since last offseason, the Orioles have passed the Blue Jays as the top team in the ALEAB (AL East after Boston). That said, the Blue Jays aren’t out of the wildcard race just yet, and they certainly aren’t a terrible team. They have Heikki coming off an MVP season, Jerome Carpenter and Jayceon Jones looking for breakout seasons, and a plethora of pitching talent. However, they are hurt by having to face the Red Sox, Orioles, and now the Yankees 50 plus times in a year. The Blue Jays will likely be the best team in the league this year to miss the postseason entirely.

AL Central

Minnesota Twins +#
San Antonio Bandits +
Chicago White Sox -
Detroit Tigers -
Kansas City Royals -

CWS - I’ll tell you what, if the White Sox didn’t acquire Vilhjalmsson and Brady Smith and sign Rod Woods, they’re probably competing for the Tigers and Royals at the bottom of the division. At this point, they aren’t a god awful team, but they also aren’t a good team. Expect them to be in the middle of the pack with a pick around 11 in the 2039 Draft.
DET - The good news? It wasn’t a complete waste of an offseason for the Tigers this time around. The bad news? They’re still going to be digging at the bottom of the division.
KC - Nobody knows what this team plan is, at all, but based on the direction they’ve been going in for the last half-century and their current major league roster, if all of these Rule 5 picks stand on the Major League Roster, they might as well start sending their amateur scouts out for another number one pick.
MIN - We can safely say that the Twins fell off these past seasons because of age, because the way it looks right now, the Twins are back to a team that is the best in the AL Central. Sure, their offense looks like it’s about to be LaQuaveon Demontraveous (and whatever Petar Vucevic can do) and that’s it, but this is a team that, long before the Mets and long before current ownership, relied on pitching and defense, and that pitching and defense remains at a very good level. It may take a monster season from Quavo to do it, but I fully expect the Twins to return to the postseason in 2038.
SA - The Bandits were one of the few teams this offseason to do a whole lotta nothing, and that’s going to cost them in the long haul. They still have an offense, albeit one that is aging fast, but their inability to even try and get more arms is going to cost them. It is very possible that the Bandits still makes the postseason or even wins this division, but their potential championship window, barring some majestic moves, is just about closed.

AL West

Seattle Mariners +#
Anaheim Angels +#
San Jose A's +
Vancouver Volcanoes -
Texas Rangers -

ANA - This right here is going to be my boldest prediction: the Angels are going to the postseason. They have quietly built together a very good and young squad and they secured their franchise (aside from La Vonn Bryant) in Johan Fernandez — albeit because not one other team tried to pry him away. While Dexter Sobczak continuing to be the first baseman of this team remains a concern, everything else is looking mighty pretty, and the Angels will have that breakout season we were looking for.
SEA - The Mariners only move this offseason aside from re-signing Nursultan Vandale to a mega deal was trading for $6M in IFA budget that turned out to just be for decoration. But the reigning World Series champions (for the first time in franchise history), who are essentially running it back minus Javier Nunez, are still going to be a pretty dominant team (with or without Paik to start the season). The potential rise of the Angels is a bit of a scare, but the Mariners should be able to hold off, win the division, and become a championship contender.
SJ - This is the downside to having so many stars/budding stars and trying to pay every single one (Oghen Sipos this year). You get a roster like the Athletics, who, if their offense is still very good as expected to be at Cisco Field, is still a competitive team alone. But now, they’re in a roster crunch where they can only have nine pitchers and 21 players overall because they are out of money. They are still a competitive team off their offense alone and can still compete in the wild card, but now is the time to consider how they want to move forward and if that means shedding some of these large contracts. And obviously, one of those players is quite literally the face of the franchise (Kurtis Freeman).
TEX - After the past three years where there was nothing but pain, dysfunction, and stupidity rumbling around, new ownership has signaled a completely fresh start for the Rangers. I would be tremendously shocked if the Rangers, with their current roster, finish with even 70 wins. Sure, they’re a better defense team (that’s not hard to achieve), but they are tremendously worse with the bats and no longer have Randall Rosenthal and Maurice Anderson to lean on. That said, there is certainly a turn-around for this Ranger organization that looks 1) promising and 2) not filled with narcissism like the LAST turnaround.
VAN - Let’s talk about the Volcanoes shall we. They’re probably not a bad team, but they’re certainly not a great team. Their future is here, Tyler Rice and the top five hitter in baseball that he is is still around, and they finally have a more than competent shortstop taking over (okay, they had Eddy Simpson, but thank GOODNESS at least Fisher is off the 45-man roster). That said...are they ready? For this young team to storm over .500 and potentially make the postseason would mean a LOT of breakout performances (looking directly at Clarke Bellamy), and I don’t think that’s all going to happen in one season. Still, their time to compete in this division is very soon.

NL East

New York Mets +#
Washington Nationals +#
Philadelphia Phillies +#
London Lions -
Atlanta Braves -

ATL - The Braves had a very quiet offseason until the final month, and that’s just not going to cut it considering what the rest of their division (by that, I mean the Lions and Nationals) did. The talent is still there, Yamasaki should be a respectable Benito Harris replacement, and their bullpen can make up for a depleted rotation (which could still be great if Del Rio and Ventura can escape their control problems), but at this moment, the Braves aren’t looking like the team that shocked the world two years ago and almost made it back last year.
LON - Admittedly, this prediction is a bit of “Stockholm syndrome” kicking in, as the last time we put the Lions up there in the NL East, it was the season that was given up after 60 games and led to a season and a half of nothing. The Lions are in just a good of a spot, if not a better spot, than the 2035 team of hell, and should be in a better spot than predicted. But bad luck has followed this team for 27 years and the Lions are probably a year away (this is a ridiculously safe pick, but if they call up Cooper Arrieta, I feel much better about this team).
NYM - While it may look like bad news for the Mets considering how close the Phillies have been and the Nationals (and Lions) offseason, at the end of the day, this is still the single smartest organization in the sport. They still have one of the best rotations in the game, and with the edition of Ian Cretella, absolutely nothing has changed with how lethal their defense is to anything that touches fair territory. Are they in trouble because of the age of their stars? Probably. But now is not the time to press the SOS button. This is still the Mets division, and at the very least, the Mets are the number one wild-card team.
PHI - Aside from the addition of Noah Montana, the Phillies had a ridiculously quiet offseason, one that they probably won’t be able to afford to have. But even if my fears on the Lions are proven wrong, the Phillies are still easily a postseason contender. The one thing you can knock them for is a pretty average defense outside of Emmett Wilburn, but other teams with the offensive talent of the Phillies have been able to put those concerns aside. I would expect the Phillies to do the same.
WAS - Just ONE player remains from the 2036 team (Benito Mahan), and just nine players from the 2037 roster are set to return in 2038. That is how wild this roster turnaround has been for the Nationals. And uh, here we are: one of August Brett or Robert Lake is about to be a sixth starter, and Haywood Barr will be a SEVENTH starter. That’s where they are in the rotation, and their offense is set to be much, MUCH better than last season. The Nationals came in with a plan to make themselves winners now, and they have succeeded in doing so. If this Nationals team fails to reach .500, it would be a monster disappointment. The only question is...will a run in the postseason stop the continuous roster turnover?

NL Central

Houston Astros +#
St. Louis Cardinals +
Cincinnati Reds -
Pittsburgh Pirates -
Chicago Cubs -

CHC - At this point, you have to just start feeling bad for the city of Chicago. Exploding the budget for Andreas Lin and trading yet another homegrown talent in Marty Holloway away (albeit for Kimmo Kingsley) is not the ideal offseason Cubs fans had in mind, whether the team was competing or starting from scratch. Expect a last place finish from this team.
CIN - Youth was going to be this team’s saving grace, and that has finally arrived in Cincinnati with the call-up of the very last player in baseball encyclopedias (A-Z). They’re still probably a year away from actually making some noise in the central, but the future looks very bright in Ohio. Who knows, maybe the Cardinals’ virtue white flag is enough to give them extra wins and, maybe, a playoff spot.
HOU - Well...the Astros finally traded some of their young pieces away for way in the future studs. No longer will we have to sit and wonder when Gunnar Papelbon and Gunnar Gray (too many Gunnars) will touch the soil of a big league field. Now, we just wait for Brian Gonzalez...oh, the big league roster? Yeah, they’re still a top two team in baseball, and will likely head to the World Series again.
PIT - It’s another offseason where Pittsburgh has spent a ton of money to be a below average team. Sure, their lineup on paper looks like one that can compete, but their defensive lineup is *still* stuck in the 70s and their starting rotation has no one or two starter in sight. Their best bet is hoping that they get a Royals or Yankees mid-2020s fluke season, otherwise it’s all for naught.
STL - The Cardinals are...a very interesting team to watch. Their rotation is now their two aces, a reclamation project, a seven game maestro, and a Rule 5 Pick. Their bullpen might as well just be Vidal. Their offense depends upon just three bats and speed. And while it’s still great, the defense is not as lethal as it once was. I should be describing a below average team, but they’ll find a way over .500 because the Cardinals still have that devil magic.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks +#
Los Angeles Dodgers +
Las Vegas Gamblers -
San Diego Padres -
San Francisco Giants -

ARI - The bad: the team has gotten worse, and what was once a title contender looks to just be a playoff team. The good: it’s not terrible. Their farm system looks to completely come to the rescue in their pitching staff, especially the bullpen, and they still have a decent, albeit somewhat too heavy lineup. It’s not much, but in the NL West, it’s certainly enough.
LAD - It would be a complete lie to say that the Dodgers aren’t growing into potential contenders down the line. They were given some youth and got some very solid-good signings from previous management. However, this just isn’t the year. With a completely top heavy bullpen and some minor holes clogging up the roster, I do not expect this Dodger team to shoot out into the postseason. They have been close the past couple of seasons, and I project that (unless there is a big move afloat) it will stay that way in 2038.
LV - Again, it wasn’t a quiet offseason for the Gamblers, only this time it was a positive. Last year, they whiffed on Felix Stuart and others, but only had to deal with the Nationals’ complete nonsense on the table. That said, I’m not quite sure if they are legitimate contenders in the NL West at this point in time, considering that this isn’t *that* different of a team than the one that just lost 100 games. If anything, they are at equal footing with the Dodgers, and either way, this is not a team that’s about to head to the World Series (though no one in this division is)...of course, barring miracles.
SD - For what it’s worth, there’s no denying that this team got better. Not after the offseason they had. At the very least, they will avoid a top 5 pick. However, there remains many holes in the roster, especially in the bullpen, no matter who they elect to play at shortstop, they’re going to be butchers, and they continue to make very, very, questionable decisions in the front office (one that led to the number two overall pick currently being in Las Vegas). So they’re not going to be the worst team, and with some luck, they could crack .500, but this team isn’t competing at this point and time.
SF - Well...the Giants are in a ROUGH spot. For one, you can just count the Giants out of the postseason picture right now. There is no way that their rotation is going to help, the bullpen isn’t going to make up for it, and their offense is damn near the exact same thing we saw last season. For two, there is NO future. They haven’t had a DRAFT PICK in the last three drafts, they don’t have a first round pick at all until 2040, and their best prospect is a guy that would sit on the bench in his prime for SOME other teams at BEST. This team needs a HARD reset, and unless they start trading every single pick they have in the 2050s, they are going NOWHERE.

Postseason

AL

1. Boston Red Sox
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Minnesota Twins
WC #1: Baltimore Orioles
WC #2: Anaheim Angels

NL


1. Houston Astros
2. New York Mets
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
WC #1: Washington Nationals
WC #2: Philadelphia Phillies

WC Games:

AL: ANA @ BAL→ ANA
NL: PHI @ WAS → WAS

ALDS: ANA @ BOS → BOS
MIN @ SEA → SEA

NLDS: WAS @ HOU → HOU
ARI @ NYM → NYM

LCS

ALCS: SEA @ BOS →

NLCS: NYM @ HOU → HOU

World Series: HOU @ BOS → BOS

Alright...I am fully aware that these two teams both proved that they could be beaten early in the postseason last year. But at the end of the day, the Red Sox are the clear-cut best team in the AL, if not the entire league. That’s not stopping anytime soon. The Astros, despite their apparent struggles on offense (they finished 7th in team OPS last year), are the clear-cut best team in the NL. Of course, there are some flaws that will be exposed, but I don’t think they will be done by the current group of postseason teams. Someone is going to come out here and completely dethrone both team at one point in the near future, but that time is not now. Not with this postseason structure.

Anyway, as for the actual series, this has a legitimate chance to go to seven games. Unlike the first two, where the Red Sox manhandled two wild card teams, and in 2036, where the Astros were the 2015-16 Warriors reborn, these are two almost equal teams. In the end, the Red Sox will cement their status as the team of the century with their third ring in six years, and (if we’re still using team accomplishments to validate individual success in 2038) cement Versailles Ellison as one of the greatest players of all-time.

(Annual Cubs Lack of Championship Counter: 130 years, good lord)

(Indians/Bandits Championship drought is also 90 years old, but at least that has a chance of being broken sometime soon.)