Our 2017 MLB predictions

THUNDER BAY -- Baseball is back and so are Thunder Bay’s prodigious prognosticators who agree on two things in 2017 – the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs will repeat as division winners. After that, all bets are off.

MLB kicked off its season on Sunday in exciting fashion, San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner hitting two home runs, the first hurler to do so on opening day in baseball history.

Will the Blue Jays continue their recent playoff run or will the loss of Melvin Upton Jr. halt them in their tracks? Oh, and that Edwin Encarnacion guy too.

Can Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer finally take the Washington Nationals franchise to the World Series? Who will win the Cy Young Award this summer?

We’ve taken a peek into our crystal balls and this is how we think it will unfold (and feel free to share yours on our Facebook page or in the comment section below):

Leith Dunick
Editor, TB Source
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards:  San Francisco
     Giants, St. Louis Cardinals
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Texas Rangers
AL wild-cards: Houston Astros,
     Toronto Blue Jays
World Series: Chicago Cubs
     over  Houston Astros
NL MVP: Kris Bryant
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
AL MVP: Mike Trout
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale

Ryan LaVia
Sales, Dougall Media
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL wild-cards:  Los Angeles
     Dodgers, Washington Nationals
AL East: Baltimore Orioles
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Houston AstrosAL wild-cards: Boston Red Sox,
     Kansas City Royals
World Series: Chicago Cubs
      over Cleveland Indians
NL MVP: Kris Bryant
NL Cy Young: Noah
     Syndergaard
AL MVP: Manny Machado
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale

Bryan Wyatt
CKPR news director
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West:  Arizona
     Diamondbacks
NL wild-cards:  St. Louis
     Cardinals, San Francisco Giants
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Seattle Mariners
AL wild-cards: Detroit Tigers,
     New York Yankees
World Series: Cleveland Indians
     over Washington Nationals
NL MVP: Bryce Harper
NL Cy Young:  Kyle Hendricks
AL MVP: Jose Altuve
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander

Jamie Smith
Baseball Junkie
NL East:  Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL wild-cards: St. Louis
     Cardinals, Colorado Rockies
AL East: Boston Red Sox    
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Seattle Mariners
AL wild-cards: Toronto Blue
     Jays, Texas Rangers
World Series: Washington
     Nationals over Cleveland Indians
NL MVP: Kris Bryant
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom
AL MVP: Carlos Correa
AL Cy Young: Aaron Sanchez

Jeff Andreas
CKPR News
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL wild-cards: Los Angeles
     Dodgers, New York Mets
AL East: Toronto Blue Jays    
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West:  Houston Astros
AL wild-cards: Boston Red Sox,
     Seattle Mariners
World Series:  Toronto Blue Jays
     over  Chicago Cubs
NL MVP:  Bryce Harper
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
AL MVP: Josh Donaldson
AL Cy Young: Aaron Sanchez