For baseball fans, Opening Day is a national holiday. It is a time where baseball fans can finally rejoice after a long, cold offseason, and start watching baseball again. It is also a time where analysts make their predictions for who will come out on top, division winners, MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, which players will perform or underperform, and more. As Opening Day slowly approaches, let’s preview the upcoming baseball season. 

The New York Yankees arguably made the biggest noise this offseason. They acquired superstar Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins as part of the Marlins rebuild.  This pairs a power home run hitter Stanton with other home run hitter Aaron Judge, and power hitter Gary Sanchez. Add a solid pitching rotation to the mix, and the Yankees are clear favorites early in the season to win the AL East. 

Another team to watch for is the Houston Astros. The Astros are coming off their first ever World Series championship and are heavy favorites to repeat. Led by a strong pitching rotation that got stronger during the offseason and a strong hitting core led by Carlos Correa and former AL MVP Jose Altuve, the Astros are destined to repeat.  

Some teams to watch that might be contenders, but still are division favorites include Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, and last year’s World Series runner up Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Up and coming teams that will possibly be contending for a division title or a spot in the wild card game, include the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angles, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, and the Colorado Rockets. 

Teams that are expected to be last place teams and in the cellar, include the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the San Diego Padres. 

That is a preview for the 2018 MLB season. Opening Day begins on 3/29 with the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins at 12:30 EST.