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Globe staff predictions for the 2017 MLB season

Barry Chin/Globe Staff

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Here’s how Globe reporters and columnists see the 2017 Major League Baseball season playing out:

PETER ABRAHAM

AL East

Blue Jays: Toronto’s rotation is the deepest and most reliable in the division.

AL Central

Indians: “Francona: The Indians Years” will be a big bestseller someday.

AL West

Rangers: A full season of Jonathan Lucroy catching will improve their pitching.

AL Wild Cards

Astros, Red Sox: Red Sox win enough 7-6 games to get in; Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann lead Houston.

ALCS

Red Sox over Indians: Trade-deadline pickup and new fan favorite Clay Buchholz wins Game 7.

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NL East

Mets: Their imposing young rotation will carry an aging and unimposing lineup.

NL Central

Cubs: They won’t win 100 games but no team in the division will challenge them.

NL West

Dodgers: A team with no apparent budget limitations run by smart people is scary.

NL Wild Cards

Nationals, Giants: Is there a chance Bryce Harper is overrated? Giants again win with pitching

NLCS

Dodgers over Cubs: Los Angeles returns to the World Series for the first time since 1988.

World Series

Dodgers over Red Sox in seven: Let’s all hope for a Chris Sale vs. Clayton Kershaw Game 7 showdown.

Who will win the AL East?
Predictions by our staff for the division winner.
Blue Jays
2
Orioles
1
Red Sox
3

NICK CAFARDO

AL East

Red Sox: Best starting pitching money can buy will overwhelm the competition.

AL Central

Indians: Enhanced lineup with Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Brantley to go along with elite pitching staff.

AL West

Astros: With a lineup that rivals Boston’s, the Astros need one more front-line starter to make this happen.

AL Wild Cards

Blue Jays, Mariners: Jays have a strong 1-5 rotation that gets them into the playoffs and the Mariners provide us with the old sleeper team.

ALCS

Red Sox over Blue Jays: Blue Jays offense can’t crack Boston’s top three starters.

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NL East

Mets: Hard to beat the fact that they have seven superb young starting pitchers.

NL Central

Cubs: They should keep rolling into another World Series.

NL West

Dodgers: Great infield, best pitcher (Clayton Kershaw), and a manager (Dave Roberts) who has created a winning culture.

NL Wild Cards

Giants, Pirates: Giants’ solid front four starters too much for Pirates.

NLCS

Cubs over Giants: Cubs’ diverse offense finds different ways to beat Giants’ fine staff.

World Series

Cubs over Red Sox in seven: Theo Epstein resigns with four rings and becomes the Democratic nominee for president vs. Donald Trump in 2020.

Who will win the ALCS?
Predictions by our staff for the league winner.
Red Sox
3
Indians
2
Astros
1

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

AL East

Red Sox: Worst to First to Worst to Worst to First to First. There is no middle state with these guys.

AL Central

Indians: Chief Wahoo endangered, but the Tribe is stronger than ever.

AL West

Astros: Bring back the Colt .45’s, the Astrodome, and the rainbow unis.

AL Wild Cards

Tigers, Rangers: Making American League Great Again.

ALCS

Red Sox over Astros: I want the same hotel room I had for the Super Bowl.

NL East

Mets: Thor. Dark Knight. Coming soon to a theater near you.

NL Central

Cubs: Leonardo DiCaprio plays Theo Epstein as “King of the World.’’

NL West

Dodgers: LaVar Ball says all his sons are better than Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax.

NL Wild Cards

Giants, Nationals: Bruce Bochy’s head bigger than Capitol dome.

NLCS

Cubs over Dodgers: The Cooler Strikes Again.

World Series

Cubs over Red Sox in seven: Still great, but 14 years ago this would have been the greatest event in sports history.

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Who will win the NLCS?
Predictions by our staff for the league winner.
Dodgers
2
Cubs
3
Nationals
1

CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER

AL East

Red Sox: Mookie Betts and the boys win, dance, repeat as division champions.

AL Central

Indians: Imagine what the Fightin’ Franconas can do with a full season of Andrew Miller.

AL West

Astros: Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, and George Springer give the Sox’ core a run for its money.

AL Wild Cards

Yankees, Mariners: The Yankees youngsters arrive ahead of schedule; the Mariners make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

ALCS

Indians over Red Sox: The Sox rue not pursuing slugger Edwin Encarnacion to replace David Ortiz.

NL East

Mets: The millennial Mets starters make it three straight playoff appearances.

NL Central

Cubs: Since Theo Epstein doesn’t have to worry about Feeding the Monster, he built one.

NL West

Dodgers: Adding Logan Forsythe was one of the more underrated moves of the offseason.

NL Wild Cards

Nationals, Diamondbacks: Only a Trump executive order can stop the Nats from underachieving; Mike Hazen’s upgrades pay immediate dividends in the desert.

NLCS

Dodgers over Cubs: The Cubs start a new championship drought.

World Series

Indians over Dodgers in seven: Adrian Gonzalez says it’s part of God’s plan for the Indians’ drought to end.

Who will win the World Series?
Predictions by our staff for the Series winner.
Indians
2
Cubs
3
Dodgers
1

CHAD FINN

AL East

Orioles: Manny Machado wallops his way past Mike Trout, Mookie Betts for AL MVP honors.

AL Central

Indians: No more party at Napoli’s, but Edwin Encarnacion gets down to business as much-needed slugger.

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AL West

Astros: Houston hasn’t had this caliber of young talent since Cesar Cedeno drew Willie Mays comparisons in the ’70s.

AL Wild Cards

Red Sox, Rangers: So much hinges on David Price’s elbow; Adrian Beltre continues to enhance Hall of Fame résumé.

ALCS

Astros over Red Sox: Carlos Correa wins showdown of superlative young shortstops with Xander Bogaerts.

NL East

Nationals: Bryce Harper boosts batting average more than 100 points from last season’s disappointing .243.

NL Central

Cubs: Stacked roster again makes Joe Maddon look as smart as he thinks he is.

NL West

Dodgers: Still-at-his-peak Clayton Kershaw struck out 172 and walked 11 in ’16, a 15.6 K/BB.

NL Wild Cards

Pirates, Mets: Pirates’ rich RF history suits Andrew McCutchen; Noah Syndergaard drops the hammer.

NLCS

Cubs over Nationals: The ubiquitous W flag doubles as a pennant for the second straight season.

World Series

Cubs over Astros in seven: In 2014, Sports Illustrated predicted the Astros as 2017 champs. Close, but Cubs get the cigar.

ALEX SPEIER

AL East

Blue Jays: Continuing a decade-long streak of guessing wrong in the AL East, I’ll be persuaded by the possibility of Toronto having the AL’s best rotation.

AL Central

Indians: The most balanced team in the majors?

AL West

Astros: A wildly entertaining core of Altuve, Correa, Bregman, and Springer seems poised to break through, as Sports Illustrated prophesied three years ago.

AL Wild Cards

Red Sox, Rangers: Both teams would be set up for a great pitching matchup in a winner-take-all setting.

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ALCS

Indians over Astros: Imagine if Kluber hadn’t been a one-man rotation band vs. the Cubs.

NL East

Nationals: They won 95 last year even though Harper (by his standards) was terrible.

NL Central

Cubs: Only Theo Epstein’s dog might pick against a sustained Chicago run atop the division.

NL West

Dodgers: Roster of stars, you never shined so brightly.

NL Wild Cards

Mets, Pirates: Would Cespedes arrive at such a game on a pirate ship? Possibly.

NLCS

Nationals over Dodgers: Mad Max vs. Kershaw for three starts might be the best theater the sport can offer.

World Series

Indians over Nationals in seven: Tribe fulfills quest.

Prediction time How Globe reporters and columnists see the 2017 Major League Baseball season playing out.
Abraham Cafardo Shaughnessy Gasper Finn Speier
AL East TOR BOS BOS BOS BAL TOR
AL Central CLE CLE CLE CLE CLE CLE
AL West TEX HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU
AL WC HOU, BOS TOR, SEA DET, TEX NYY, SEA BOS, TEX BOS, TEX
NL East NYM NYM NYM NYM WAS WAS
NL Central CHC CHC CHC CHC CHC CHC
NL West LAD LAD LAD LAD LAD LAD
NL Wild Cards WAS, SF SF, PIT WAS, SF WAS, ARI NYM, PIT NYM, PIT
ALCS BOS BOS BOS CLE HOU CLE
NLCS LAD CHC CHC LAD CHC WAS
World Series LAD CHC CHC CLE CHC CLE