8 bold predictions for the 2018 MLB season

Baseball is back.

Yes, folks, following another long and brutal winter, Opening Day is finally upon us, with all but two MLB clubs getting underway Thursday. Were it not for inclement weather in Cincinnati, every team would've kicked off its regular season on the same day for the first time since 1968. In fact, you should call in sick to work. We promise we won't tell.

To get you ready for another glorious summer of baseball, theScore's MLB editors made eight bold predictions for the 2018 season.

Shohei Ohtani finishes in top 5 of MVP, Cy Young voting

Over the past few months, Shohei Ohtani has gone from one of the most heralded assets to join Major League Baseball, to having an elbow issue come up in his medicals, to looking downright terrible in spring training. One fact remains, though: He's the No. 1 prospect in baseball at 23 years old. Perhaps spring has adjusted some fans' expectations for the two-way phenom, but putting stock in Cactus League numbers is a fool's errand. While Garrett Richards shows flashes of brilliance, it will be Ohtani's pitching performances that help lead the team to a wild-card berth, as he'll post a sub-3.00 ERA over 170 innings while also slugging .500 to garner both Cy Young and MVP attention. - Michael Bradburn

Indians win World Series

It's Cleveland's time. After a heartbreaking World Series loss in 2016 to the Cubs, in which the Indians blew a 3-1 series lead, and another devastating playoff defeat to the Yankees last year, in which a 2-0 division-series lead was squandered after a monumental 102-win season, Cleveland's got that whole "You've got to lose in order to figure out how to win" thing down. Lessons learned. The club remains the class of the AL Central, is one of a few that can conceivably take down the champion Houston Astros, and is about to be blessed by the baseball gods after finally announcing it will stop using the abhorrent "Chief Wahoo" logo. Yes, it's time. - Navin Vaswani

Trout wins AL Triple Crown

For just the seventeenth time in history and the second time in the last 50 years, there will be a Triple Crown winner in Major League Baseball. We still haven't seen the best of Mike Trout, and he'll show why he's one of the greatest players in the game's history in 2018 when he leads the American League in home runs, RBIs, and batting average. The two-time MVP put up remarkable numbers last season, hitting .306 with 33 home runs and 72 RBIs in just 114 games, and he looked completely locked in over the spring, striking out just four times in 47 at-bats. Now surrounded by more talent in the order - Ian Kinsler, Justin Upton, Zack Cozart - Trout will have plenty of opportunities to be pitched to and drive in runs. He'll be the first to win the Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera did so in 2012. - Brandon Wile

Stanton, Judge both fall shy of 40 homers

Combined, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge walloped 111 home runs last year, only 17 fewer than the San Francisco Giants. And, per consensus, Stanton - responsible for 59 of 'em - stands to increase his dong output this year, having been relocated from the spacious environs of Marlins Park to the ridiculously cramped confines of Yankee Stadium. As for Judge, who just authored arguably the most impressive rookie season in history, well he still figures to rank among the league's most prolific boppers even with modest regression. Except it's not going to happen. For either of them. Stanton, who averaged only 115 games per season from 2012 through 2016, will be felled by some I'm-too-large-to-not-break-down injury, and Judge's contact woes - he struck out in 30.7 percent of his plate appearances last year, after all, and made less contact on pitches inside the strike zone than all but 14 qualified hitters - are going to catch up with him. That, or his surgically repaired shoulder, will slow him down. Either way, juiced baseballs be damned, neither one of these dudes is hitting 40 dingers this year. - Jonah Birenbaum

David Price bounces back to win Cy Young

After an injury-plagued 2017 allowed Price to appear in only 16 games (11 starts), the $30-million southpaw will return to form. Despite the lost campaign, attributed to a wonky pitching elbow, his velocity remained intact. His fastball averaged 94 mph and his sinker, his most reliable and often-used pitch, was back up to 94.5 mph. With Price ostensibly at full strength, the Red Sox - a team lacking depth in the rotation - will need him to be at his best. This time, he will be, en route to his second American League Cy Young award.
- Lucas Casaletto

Donaldson returns to Oaktown

In his final season before free agency, third baseman Josh Donaldson will be traded by a struggling Toronto Blue Jays squad to the surprising Oakland Athletics, who will be in playoff contention at the trade deadline. It'll be a return to the Bay Area for the 2015 AL MVP, who was acquired by Toronto from Oakland in 2014. Donaldson will be a short-term add similar to the one the A's made at the 2014 trade deadline when they nabbed Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox. - Bryan Mcwilliam

Young White Sox sneak into 2nd wild-card spot

Last year, Cinderella resided in the AL Central, as the Minnesota Twins became the first team ever to make the playoffs following a 100-loss season. This year, the White Sox will make the jump into contention. The rebuild on the South Side has already paid off, with the likes of Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito, among others, now key parts of the roster alongside a cadre of important veterans, including franchise stalwart Jose Abreu. Other high-profile youngsters such as Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech are on the way, and some of them could arrive in the big leagues later this summer. Those youngsters will help, as will a bunch of soft games against weak division rivals in Detroit and Kansas City that will pad Chicago's record. The field of contenders for the AL wild card is expected to be packed this year, and the White Sox, with nothing to lose and no expectations, will sneak up on all of them for the second spot. Will they go beyond the one-game playoff? Probably not - but for a young team, one night in October will be enough. - Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb

Scott Kingery, not Ronald Acuna, wins NL Rookie of the Year

Kingery may not have a clear path to playing time with Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco staking claims to their infield positions, but a similar situation didn't prevent the Chicago Cubs from finding playing time for 2017 rookie Ian Happ. Kingery raked in spring training, batting .392/.415/.725 with four home runs, three doubles, and seven RBIs in 20 games. Traditionally a second baseman, he has spent time at third base and in the outfield. His versatility, combined with his raw power and speed, forced the team to give him a six-year contract extension Sunday. He's ready, and he's the real deal.
- Jason Wilson

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)