The Seattle Mariners now have the longest playoff drought in all four major sports (soccer,basketball, baseball, and football). Considering how stacked the Yankees are with the addition of Giancarlo Stanton, the red hot Astros, and the addition of Shohei Othani to the Angels, the Mariners better make some moves this offseason in order to have some sort of chance at the playoffs. The Mariners had basically they're whole starting pitching rotation injured last season, so if their pitchers can stay healthy that would be huge. I think the Red Sox could also be a contender, considering their star pitchers like Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Procello, and Craig Kimbrel. As for the National League, the Miami Marlins have traded away Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, and Giancarlo Stanton, who in my opinion were their big three. The Washington Nationals have to take advantage of having such a killer starting combo of pitchers, with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. With Bryce Harper on his last year of his contract, I think the National's are the team to beat this year in the NL. I also think one of the underdogs that could make an impact this year are the Milwaukee Brewers. With the acquisitions of Chrisitan Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, they could be a team to keep a close eye on.
According to ESPN, the top contenders for the 2018 World Series title are the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cleveland Indians, and the New York Yankees. The reasoning for most of these teams is a solid rotation, something that's hard to maintain for many teams.
With that being said, here are my predictions for the 2018 season:
AL East division winner: Yankees ALDS: Red Sox vs. Astros and Indians vs Yankees
AL Central division winner: Indians Winners: Yankees and Astros
AL West division winner: Astros
NL East division winner: Nationals NLDS: Nationals vs Giants and Cubs vs Dodgers
NL Central division winner: Cubs Winners: Nationals and Dodgers
NL West division winner: Dodgers
AL Wild Cards: Angels and Red Sox ALCS: Yankees vs Astros
NL Wild Cards: Brewers and Giants Winner: Astros
AL Wild Card game winner: Red Sox NLCS: Nationals vs Dodgers
NL Wild Card game winner: Giants Winner: Nationals
WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS NATIONALS
WINNER: ASTROS