WATCH ABOVE: The Toronto Blue Jays wrapped up Spring Training with a pair of preseason games against the Pittsburgh Pirates this past weekend at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
Play ball!
The 2017 Major League Baseball season is officially underway.
Yes, baseball fans, the boys of summer are back.
But for Blue Jays fanatics will this be a season to remember or will 2017 be a year to forget?
One thing we can almost be certain of is that Toronto’s starting rotation is poised to do something special.
They won’t have five 20 game winners, they might not have any, but what they do have is the talent on the mound to avoid any long losing streaks.
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The bullpen, I believe, will have its highs and lows in 2017, especially if closer Roberto Osuna’s neck injury lingers throughout the season.
Osuna will begin the campaign on the injured list.
The Bluebirds will still knock the ball around the yard, however, their lineup is a little less intimidating with Kendrys Morales and Steven Pearce compared to the departed Edwin Encarnacion and Canadian Michael Saunders.
The bad news for Toronto is that they still reside in baseball’s toughest division, the American League East.
Are the Jays a playoff team?
They should be in the hunt for a least a wild-card spot, unless another star or two (I’m looking at you Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista) land on the DL.
Toronto doesn’t make it to my projected World Series final.
Instead, I’m predicting the San Francisco Giants over the Boston Red Sox in the 2017 Fall Classic.
Rick Zamperin’s projected 2017 MLB standings
AL East
- Red Sox
- Blue Jays (wild card)
- Rays
- Yankees
- Orioles
AL Central
- Indians
- Tigers
- Royals
- White Sox
- Twins
AL West
- Rangers
- Astros (wild card)
- Mariners
- Angels
- Athletics
NL East
- Nationals
- Mets
- Marlins
- Phillies
- Braves
NL Central
- Cubs
- Cardinals (wild card)
- Pirates
- Brewers
- Reds
NL West
- Giants
- Dodgers (wild card)
- Rockies
- Diamondbacks
- Padres
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