1. Houston Astros – The reigning champs are still very young and have only gotten better this offseason, acquiring Gerrit Cole to their already stacked rotation.

Hitting Grade: A

Pitching Grade: A

Bold Prediction: Lance McCullers stays healthy and leads the team with over 200 strikeouts.

2. Cleveland Indians – A lot of teams deserve consideration for the two spot, but the Indians have the pitching depth and leadership to beat the Astros in the postseason.

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: A

Bold Prediction: Trevor Bauer finishes the season in the top 5 of AL Cy Young voting.

3. New York Yankees – We all know about the hitting, but the Yankees have the best bullpen in baseball to go along with an improved rotation.

Hitting Grade: A

Pitching Grade A-

Bold Prediction: Aaron Judge hits under .250 and strikes out more than 223 times, breaking the Major League record.

4. Chicago Cubs – Yu Darvish was the biggest offseason acquisition in baseball and the Cubs hitting will be much improved from last season.

Hitting Grade: A-

Pitching Grade: B+

Bold Prediction: 7 players (Contreras, Rizzo, Baez, Bryant, Russell, Schwarber, Happ) hit 25 or more home runs.

5. Washington Nationals – With Dusty Baker finally gone and Bryce Harper in his final year with the team, the Nationals are all in for 2018.

Hitting Grade: B+

Pitching Grade: B+

Bold Prediction: Trea Turner steals 70 bases, the most since Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers – The Justin Turner injury already has me nervous that this team will take a step back in 2018.

Hitting Grade: B-

Pitching Grade: B+

Bold Prediction: Yasiel Puig finishes the season in the top 5 of NL MVP voting.

7. Arizona Diamondbacks – The humidor may hurt the hitting, but this pitching staff is legit. The only question is whether the bullpen is good enough.

Hitting Grade: B+

Pitching Grade: B

Bold Prediction: Robbie Ray wins the NL Cy Young.

8. Boston Red Sox – JD Martinez gives the Red Sox the bat they have been missing since Big Papi retired. However, I still have concerns about the rotation.

Hitting Grade: A

Pitching Grade: B-

Bold Prediction: 34-year-old Hanley Ramirez hits 35 home runs, the most of his career.

9. Colorado Rockies – Spending big money on the bullpen is the way to win in Colorado. The offense has never been the problem.

Hitting Grade: A-

Pitching Grade: B-

Bold Prediction: Ryan McMahon wins the NL Rookie of the Year.

10. St Louis Cardinals – The addition of Marcell Ozuna gives them the middle-of-the-order bat they were missing. I’m smart enough to know you can never count out the Redbirds.

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: B-

Bold Prediction: Luke Weaver starts the first playoff game if the Cardinals make the postseason.

11. Minnesota Twins – The Twins filled a lot of their starting pitching needs this offseason, but their bullpen scares the daylights out of me.

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: C+

Bold Prediction: Miguel Sano hits 50 home runs.

12. Seattle Mariners – I really want to believe in this team. I like the idea of Dee Gordon and Jean Segura anchoring the top of the lineup.

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: C+

Bold Prediction: Edwin Diaz notches 50 saves, leading the American League.

13. Los Angeles Angels – The Ohtani hitting experiment won’t last long, but he will be a solid mid rotation starter. I also love the Ian Kinsler addition.

Hitting Grade: B+

Pitching Grade: C

Bold Prediction: Justin Upton finishes higher in the AL MVP voting than Mike Trout.

14. New York Mets – Looking at the offense isn’t the prettiest sight in the world, but a healthy pitching staff can put those worries behind.

Hitting Grade: C

Pitching Grade: B

Bold Prediction: Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom both finish in the top 5 of NL Cy Young voting.

15. Philadelphia Phillies – Jake Arrieta and Aaron Nola are a rock solid 1 & 2 in a big league rotation. Don’t sleep on this offense as well.

Hitting Grade: B-

Pitching Grade: B-

Bold Prediction: The Phillies acquire Chris Archer at the trade deadline.

16. Toronto Blue Jays – Their offense is definitely not what it once was, but I really like their pitching depth.

Hitting Grade: B-

Pitching Grade: B

Bold Prediction: Still in the hunt for a playoff spot after the draft in June, the Blue Jays call up 20-year-old phenom prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

17. Milwaukee Brewers – There’s no denying the offense, but how in the world did this team not address pitching in the offseason?

Hitting Grade: A-

Pitching Grade: D+

Bold Prediction: Corey Knebel gets removed from his closing duties and Josh Hader leads the team in saves.

18. Baltimore Orioles – I can never figure out what this team is doing from a management standpoint, but they still have some solid pieces to be a contender.

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: C

Bold Prediction: Kevin Gausman starts to live up to his prospect pedigree, compiling an ERA under 3.5 with 200 strikeouts.

19. Oakland A’s – This team is quietly piecing together some nice prospects (Poor AJ Puk) and could surprise some people this season.

Hitting Grade: B-

Pitching Grade: C-

Bold Prediction: Stephen Piscotty comes back home and hits 30 home runs.

20. Atlanta Braves – There’s so much to be excited about for this team in the coming years. Start the Ronald Acuna call up countdown now. Until then, just search his name on Youtube.

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: C-

Bold Prediction: Ozzie Albies ends the season as a top 5 second baseman in baseball.

21. San Francisco Giants – There was a lot to like about a month ago, but a broken pinky finger to their ace was a MadBummer for the Giants.

Hitting Grade: B-

Pitching Grade: C+

Bold Prediction: My best friend Brandon Belt hits .300 for the season.

22. Pittsburgh Pirates – The rebuilding has officially started, yet they still have a decent roster, which includes an elite closer.

Hitting Grade: B-

Pitching Grade: C

Bold Prediction: Gregory Polanco finally hits 30 home runs while hitting .275.

23. Texas Rangers – The offense will be fun to watch. Then there’s the pitching…

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: D

Bold Prediction: Willie Calhoun forces his way back to the big league club and wins AL Rookie of the Year.

24. Kansas City Royals – This team wasn’t awful on paper until Sal Perez got hurt tonight. This will hurt them tremendously for the first month of the season.

Hitting Grade: C-

Pitching Grade: C+

Bold Prediction: Jorge Soler plays in 125 games and hits 25 home runs.

25. Tampa Bay Rays – This team will be offensively challenged, but there are some bright spots on their pitching staff.

Hitting Grade: D+

Pitching Grade: C+

Bold Prediction: Blake Snell limits his walks and strikes out 200 batters.

26. Cincinnati Reds – They still have one of the best players in the game (Joey Votto) and an emerging ace (Luis Castillo).

Hitting Grade: B

Pitching Grade: D+

Bold Prediction: Raisel Iglesias ends the season with an ERA under 2.00.

27. San Diego Padres – Eric Hosmer will be a nice foundational piece for this team. Their rebuild reminds me a lot of the Astros…

Hitting Grade: C

Pitching Grade: D

Bold Prediction: Kirby Yates leads all MLB relievers in strikeouts.

28. Chicago White Sox – Another incredibly young team that will be fun to watch throughout the season. Between them, the Braves and Padres, there may not be any top prospects remaining in the game.

Hitting Grade: C-

Pitching Grade: D

Bold Prediction: The White Sox trade All-Star Jose Abreu at the deadline.

29. Detroit Tigers – They finally committed to the rebuild. It’s going to be a while, but at least they are moving in the right direction.

Hitting Grade: C

Pitching Grade: D+

Bold Prediction: Michael Fulmer has Tommy John surgery.

30. Miami Marlins – This team is at least 5 years away from being a contender. At least there’s plenty of other stuff to do in Miami in the summer.

Hitting Grade: D+

Pitching Grade: D

Bold Prediction: JT Realmuto is traded to the Twins.

Bonus Bold Prediction: Derek Jeter plays shortstop for the Marlins in 2018.