Baseball

American League West

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* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Seattle Mariners

They hit the relative jackpot in getting the reigning AL Cy Young winner and a NL All-Star outfielder in the same offseason.

2. Houston Astros

Losing Carlos Correa will hurt them when it comes closer to October.

3. Los Angeles Angels

They have two of the best players in baseball today. It’s time to start seeing them play in October.

4. Texas Rangers

A lot of money was spent, but the pitching staff isn’t where it needs to be.

5. Oakland Athletics

The fire sale is happening once again. This could get ugly with the lack of a stadium deal being in place.

Player to Watch: P/DH Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels

Best Acquisition: OF Jesse Winker – Seattle Mariners

New Kid on the Block: OF Julio Rodriguez – Seattle Mariners

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American League Central

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* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Chicago White Sox

The division is theirs for the taking, but can they get to the ALCS and beyond?

2. Detroit Tigers

The prospects are arriving and the pitching staff is beginning to take shape. It’ll be an interesting team to watch.

3. Minnesota Twins

They had an interesting offseason in that they could be a contender for a Wild Card spot, but that remains to be seen.

4. Cleveland Guardians

With a new nickname now comes the same old question of who will be the next big name player to be dealt?

5. Kansas City Royals

They are in a weird transition where they brought back Zack Greinke, but are expecting big things from their prospects as well.

Player to Watch: OF Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins

Best Acquisition: SS Carlos Correa – Minnesota Twins

New Kid on the Block: SS/3B Bobby Witt Jr. – Kansas City Royals

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American League East

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* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Toronto Blue Jays

Their rotation is better and their lineup is deeper than it was last season. Their window to win is now.

2. Tampa Bay Rays

They made minor tweaks throughout the roster, but the core remains to contend in a tough division.

3. New York Yankees

The biggest splash they made was getting Josh Donaldson, but that might not be enough to make a long postseason push.

4. Boston Red Sox

There are too many questions in the rotation, but they will score lots of runs and stay competitive.

5. Baltimore Orioles

It’s going to be another rough year, but the prospect pool will be arriving this year.

Player to Watch: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Toronto Blue Jays

Best Acquisition: P Kevin Gausman – Toronto Blue Jays

New Kid on the Block: C Adley Rutschman – Baltimore Orioles

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2021 World Series Champions

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In an eerily similar fashion to 2019 when the Washington Nationals went on an improbable run to win the World Series. The Atlanta Braves in 2021 went on a similar run from August to October. This is a franchise that went on one of the most dominant runs in sports history winning 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005. That run of success resulted in only one World Series title in 1995. They have won the NL East for four consecutive seasons currently and they could be starting another long run of success.

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2021 World Series Preview

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The last time the Atlanta Braves made an appearance in the World Series was in 1999. Their last World Series championship was in 1995. The irony of them being in the Fall Classic this season is that the commissioner’s office took the All-Star game away from Atlanta, Georgia due to what they saw as ‘racist’ voter ID laws. Now they are here on the sports biggest stage. For the Houston Astros they are in their third World Series appearance in the last 5 seasons. They won their first World Series title in 2017, but that championship has an asterisk next to it due to the fact they were cheating for most of the season by stealing signs electronically. The irony around the 2021 World Series looms quite large this year. Let’s see if the play on the field will take away from what’s happening off of it.

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