Aaron Judge wins the 2017 Home Run Derby in Miami. The rookie wowed the crowd when he hit a total of 47 home runs in the exciting event.

By: Wyatt B.                       

In the MLB, there are always new teams who come out of nowhere every single season. For example, the Houston Astros were one of the three worst teams in the MLB, but just last year their second baseman, Jose Altuve won American League MVP and Houston won the World Series. This year I predict that the Astros will not be back in the World Series, but will the Dodgers?

There have been many trades this offseason, so you should expect some new teams appearing in the 2018 Playoffs. I will start with the National League. First, the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals recently acquired Marcell Ozuna (Miami Marlins), a very young and talented outfielder, who made the All Star Game last year. St. Louis has a bright future because they are full of young talent, have a veteran catcher, Yadier Molina, and have three lock down pitchers.

The Brewers are in the same division as the Cardinals, but I believe that they have the better team. Skill wise, the Brewers are more advanced. They just traded for Lorenzo Cain (Royals), who won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals. Milwaukee has more young talent than the Cardinals with Eric Thames, Christian Yelich, Jonathan Villar, and Keon Broxton. These players will be the faces of the Brewers in only one more year.

The last team that will have an enormous impact on the league is the New York Yankees. Before I even start talking about the Yankees, I just need to point out that they are overpowered. The Yankees have Aaron Judge, and he hit 52 home runs last year and won the homerun derby. He had the second most home runs in the MLB last year, second to Giancarlo Stanton, who was just acquired by the Yankees this offseason. Giancarlo Stanton hit 59 home runs last year with the Miami Marlins. When these two were signed by the Yankees, the whole league got scared, and realized that the New York Yankees were baseball’s new super team.

My 2018 MLB Playoff Predictions:

National League: The Dodgers, Brewers, and Nationals will win their divisions. For the NL Wild Card game, the Cardinals will play the Cubs. American League: The Indians, Yankees, and Astros will win their divisions. For the AL Wild Card game, the Red Sox will play the Twins.

National League (second round): The Cubs will beat the Cardinals, but then lose to the Dodgers, and the Brewers will beat the Nationals.

American League (second round): The Red Sox will beat the Twins, but then lose to the Yankees, and the Astros will beat the Indians.

In the third round of the playoffs: The Brewers will outplay the Dodgers in seven games, and the Yankees will beat the Astros in six

2018 World Series: the New York Yankees and their newest member, Giancarlo Stanton, will trounce the Brewers in five games to claim their trophy.