(Akiit.com) At the beginning of the 2016 season, the Chicago Cubs were four to one to win, at least according to the bookies. And they did win in a historic league victory, 108 years after their last triumph. But now attention turns again to next year, where the other 29 teams in the league are looking to unseat the Cubs and take the crown for themselves. Who’s going to win, I hear you ask?
Check out these rankings for the season ahead in this way-too-early 2017 major baseball predictions post.
#10: Colorado Rockies
Fate hasn’t been kind to the Colorado Rockies, having had six straight losing seasons, back to back. But now the team has the talent, especially in 2017, to finally start turning things around. That’s why, despite their mid-table status right now, these guys are up with the top teams in the league – at least according to this 
prediction. The only thing that the team needs to sort out, in the view of many, is the appalling numbers of runs that they are scoring, coming in 22nd overall last season. Over the course of the Rockies game schedule next season, they need to fix their horrific bullpen which had the worst earned run average score of all of the majors.
#9: Texas Rangers
The Rangers won an impressive 95 games in the season just gone, and at the same time managed to outperform their Base Runs total by more than 13 victories. The reason for this is that they went 36-11 in their one-run games, recording the best winning percentage in history. Next season, they’re not going to have the same luck. So if they want to get back above an impressive 90 wins, then they’re going to have to improve their overall game before next season is out. The good news for the Ranger is that thanks to team members like Jonathan Lucroy and Yu Darvish, that seems like a distinct possibility.
#8: Pittsburgh Pirates
Last year the Pittsburgh Pirates came in a dismal 17th overall in the league. But next season is looking good for the troubled club. They’ll be looking to avoid the sudden loss of form that saw them fall from an impressive third overall in the League, all the way down to the middle of the table. One of the problems that the team had was the fact that none of their players started in more than 21 games, which always turns out badly for the club involved. What the team needs, according to punters, is a return to form for the club’s key players. Include Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole. The recent re-signing of Ivan Nova, despite his three walks and 52 strikeouts with the Pirates, is an interesting choice that could go either way for the club.
#7: San Francisco Giants
The Giants were poised to do a lot better than they did in 2016, but thanks to some weak offensive capabilities, they failed to achieve their potential. What the team needs is somebody like Jansen, or Chapman, who can give them a bit of stability in the ninth innings. Otherwise, they’re going to struggle as matches go on, just as they did this year.
Pundits shouldn’t underestimate the Giants, however, not when they’ve got people like Matt Moore, Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner on their side. All they need is a powerful left-fielder to hit the ball out of the park, and they’ll be back in business come 2017.
#6: Houston Astros
The Astros had a terrible start to 2016 which they found difficult to recover from as the season went on. They also decided to field some of the youngest players in the majors last time around, but next year that’s set to change with the addition of Alex Bregman for the entire season. Fans had expected Carlos Correa to do better than he did, but he didn’t end up achieving the numbers he needed to make most valuable player.
# 5: Cleveland Indians
Everybody is expecting the Cubs to do well next seasons. But if the Cleveland Indians can nurture star players Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco back to health, then the likelihood that the Cubs will walk away with the title is remote.
#4: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have had some pretty bad seasons from a financial perspective, losing nearly $74 million last year alone. But that doesn’t mean that the team can’t perform out on the field. The Dodgers still have some of the most impressive pitchers in the game, including of course Clayton Kershaw. They also have some solid up and coming talent in the form of Julio Urias and Jose De Leon.
#3: Washington Nationals
There have been some concerns about the state of the Nationals. For one, there are worries about the health of Stephen Strasburg as well as the fact that Jayson Werth is now 37 years old. But the team looks like it is going to maintain its dominant position next year, so long as the talent in the team can perform. We’re expecting big things from the likes of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper next year, which will hopefully propel the team to the playoffs.
#2: Boston Red Sox
Finishing in at number two last year, the Red Sox have many factors in their favor going into the new season. First and foremost is the fact that the team has a bunch of young position players. Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada both look like young stars in the making. The team will have to do something about finding a replacement for David Ortiz, but they have a number of new stars, any one of which could find himself filling the great man’s shoes. These include the likes of Carlos Beltran, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo and Jose Bautista.
#1: Chicago Cubs
And the prediction for winning team next year is … the Chicago Cubs. After such a stunning victory last year over their league rivals, all the Cubs need to do is continue their momentum. ESPN sees them winning 100 or more games, thanks to the likes of Aroldis Chapman and Dexter Fowler.
Staff Writer; Ronald Jacobs