When last season ended, the Houston Astros celebrated the first World Series win in their franchise history. Coming into this season with all of their star players back and some big additions in the offseason, the Astros open 2018 as the unanimous No. 1 team in most people’s minds.

However, the Los Angeles Dodgers make a great case for having a shot for this year’s title. While they have arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, their lineup is one of the strongest in the league. While they do have so much star power there is a lot of what is in there roster. If Justin Turner‘s wrist injury continues to linger and ruins his chance at a breakout season, and if Corey Seager‘s elbow becomes a bigger problem then it already is, and if Cody Bellinger‘s heavy strikeout stretches continue to an all long season issue and if Kershaw’s back issues resurface.

Next up the home team New York Yankees. A 28th World Series ring is a pretty decent possibility for the Yankees in 2018. With a well-developed farm system that’s finally paying off and after a few blockbuster offseason moves, their power arms and power bats have put them in a good position to win big this season.

Now away from some of the biggest teams coming into 2018 and onto some of the players. Shohei Otani is one of the biggest names in baseball right now, being a 6’4”23-year old from Japan Otani is looking to be one of the best two-way players the league has seen in almost 100 years. The Los Angeles Angels signed Otani to a staggering 6 year $200 million deal the largest for any international player ever.