Predicting MLB's 10 playoff teams of 2016

Here we are. Spring training has kicked off around the baseball world. With this comes some sort of hope for the league's 30 teams that this will be the season.

Can the Chicago Cubs break the "Curse of Billy Goat"? Can the defending champion Kansas City Royals get back to the World Series for a third consecutive season? Speaking of the Fall Classic, are the San Francisco Giants prepared to win the title for the fourth consecutive even year? Yeah, that's actually a thing we have to discuss.

Unlike football and basketball where we know the true contending teams before the season kicks off, baseball has turned to more parity. With this comes the dynamic of intriguing playoff races late into October. Don't expect that to change in 2016.

Here are our predictions of the 10 MLB playoff teams for the upcoming 2016 season.

American League

West: Texas Rangers 

Coming off a division title, the Rangers are in position to repeat. The primary question mark here is whether a traditionally injury-plagued starting rotation will be able to stay relatively healthy in 2015.

Yu Darvish is returning from Tommy John surgery after missing all of last season. His health this upcoming year will be extremely important, especially with Cole Hamels joining him atop the rotation. If those two are able to put up anywhere near the performances we have seen in the past, it will be huge for this team.

But make no mistake about it, the Rangers' ability to come out on top in what promises to be a competitive division will depend heavily on what they do at the plate. Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland and Shin-Soo Choo are all coming off 20-plus home run, 80-plus RBI seasons. Meanwhile, Texas added a former All-Star in Ian Desmond on a team-friendly deal back in February.

With two plus-level pitchers atop their rotation and what should be a good lineup, the Rangers are in prime position to repeat out west.

Central: Kansas City Royals 

Some think the defending champs will take a step back after losing trade deadline acquisitions Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto in free agency. While that might be true, general manager Dayton Moore and Co. prepared well for that eventuality. They knew full well that both players would be nothing more than rentals.

The top of the lineup with Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain (45 combined steals in 2015) will help Kansas City continue the small-ball philosophy that made it so hard to beat last season. Add in the 20-plus homer potential of every player who's projected to hit three through seven in the lineup, and the Royals continue to boast a tremendous mix of speed and power.

It isn't all gravy for the Royals heading in to 2015. Unless the electric-armed Yordano Ventura steps in to an ace role, this squad is missing that top -of-the-rotation guy it acquired in Cueto last July. Can Edinson Volquez, Ian Kennedy and Chris Young be anything more than middle-of-the-rotation types?

What about the health of both Kris Medlen and Mike Minor? Each has above-average stuff, but neither has been able to stay healthy recently.

If the Royals are able to get solid production from this bunch of question marks, their bullpen will be able to do the rest. That's what the team is going to bank on in 2016. It's definitely a bet worth taking.

East: New York Yankees

This might be the season New York takes that step to the top of the division for the first time since 2012. The team did a darn good job filling obvious holes without giving away the farm.

Former All-Star Starlin Castro joins Didi Gregorius to form a solid middle of the infield. With Chase Headley, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann filling out the rest of the infield, that's a very nice veteran five-some right there.

In the outfield, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran form a solid defensive group, all with 20-plus homer power.

Unlike previous seasons, it's going to be the Yankees' rotation that enables them to take the next step. With the emergence of Luis Severino and Nathan Eovaldi, New York won't be relying on a declining CC Sabathia to perform at a high level atop the rotation.

That will only be magnified should Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda stay healthy throughout the season. If this happens, the Yankees' rotation could end up being the best in the American League when all is said and done.

Wild Card Teams

1. Toronto Blue Jays

There's little question that Toronto boasts the most feared lineup in all of baseball. Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki all possess 30-plus homer power with high-water marks of over .300 from the plate. For his part, Donaldson is coming off an MVP campaign and should be able to continue raking ahead of Bautista in the lineup.

What's going to be interesting here is how Devon Travis and Kevin Pillar complement this heart of the order. Slated to bat ninth, the 25-year-old Travis is going to be key. He hit over .300 with 27 extra-base hits in 217 at-bats as a rookie last season. The upside is real here, something that could give Toronto yet another solid bat to rely on.

For his part, Pillar is going to be asked to be the table-setter here. He's improved in all major statistical categories in each of his first three MLB seasons. Continued progression is going to be key there.

As with most teams, pitching remains a question mark in Toronto. Are Marcus Stroman and R.A. Dickey going to be top-end starters in a division with vastly improved hitting? What about the combination of J.A. Happ and Jesse Chavez to round out the rotation?

It's not as if Toronto's rotation needs to be among the best in the game. It just needs to perform at a slightly above-average level to allow the offense the ability to carry this team. That's the one advantage Toronto has over other contenders back east.

2. Oakland Athletics

This may seem like a shot in the dark following what was a disastrous 94-loss 2015 campaign. That's until we realize Billy Beane was back up to his old tricks, addressing major needs in smart move after smart move.

Potentially the biggest move of the offseason was the acquisition of Khris Davis from the Milwaukee Brewers back in February. With two consecutive 20-plus homer seasons and power that could lead to 30-plus round trippers in 2016, Davis gives the A's that consistent power bat they were missing last season after trading Josh Donaldson.

Outside of that, it's going to be a committee approach at the plate. Jed Lowrie, Billy Butler, Josh Reddick, Danny Valencia, Stephen Vogt and Mark Canha all pack 20-plus homer potential. Meanwhile, the combination of Coco Crisp and Billy Burns at the top of the lineup will be a force on the base paths.

Unlike other teams, Oakland's biggest question mark from a pitching standpoint is its bullpen — an area of the team that was historically bad last season. New acquisitions Ryan Madson, Liam Hendriks and John Axford join a healthy closer in Sean Doolittle to form a vastly improved back end of the bullpen.

That's going to be absolutely huge for a rotation that boasts Cy Young candidate Sonny Gray as well as high-upside youngster Jesse Hahn. Now factor in to the equation the returns of injured former aces Jarrod Parker and Henderson Alvarez, and this rotation has a chance to be darn good in 2016.

Oakland may be flying under the radar nationally. However, we have seen this story before. An A's team heads into the season with muted expectations, all the while surprising the whole baseball world. That could very well be the case this season.

National League

West: San Francisco Giants

It's an even year, so the Giants are obviously going to earn their fourth World Series in seven seasons. Until this doesn't happen, we have to assume it's going to be the case.

In terms of real baseball analysis, San Francisco is the most balanced team in the National League West. Adding Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija to a rotation that simply needed to find arms to go late into the game was absolutely huge for the team. It's also going to be interesting to see how each former ace performs at a pitcher-friendly park. That could be a huge boon for the Giants.

With Madison Bumgarner in the prime of his career atop the rotation, that's a pretty nice trio for the Giants to work with moving forward. If they are able to get somewhat decent production from a combination of Jake Peavy, Chris Heston and Matt Cain, this will definitely be a major strong suit for Bruce Bochy's squad.

San Francisco also boasts the most well-rounded lineup we have seen since its championship run. Denard Span and Joe Panik at the top of the lineup each have the potential of hitting .300-plus — numbers that would be absolutely huge in front of the likes of Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence.

Not only is San Francisco a legitimate contender out west, but it really is one of the top five contenders for the World Series title. That's just an example of how well the team did in filling holes during the winter.

Central: Chicago Cubs

Not only were the Cubs able to add a potentially big bat in Jason Heyward, but they retained fellow outfielder Dexter Fowler at the last minute. With Kyle Schwarber coming off a solid rookie season, that's a mighty fine outfield.

Add in the addition of Ben Zobrist at second to go with an elite-level infield trio of Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Anthony Rizzo, and the Cubs have the makings of the best lineup in all of baseball. Heck, both Javier Baez and Jorge Soler are slated to be bench options to open the season. That's absolutely insane.

With a rotation that's about as good as you will find in baseball, the Cubs are in prime position to break their ridiculously long stretch without a title. If Jon Lester can return to form after a substandard 2015 season, this will take on an entirely new meaning. After all, we already know Jake Arrieta boasts Cy Young stuff.

Now factor in to the equation the addition of veteran John Lackey, and this has a chance to be a dominating starting rotation.

East: New York Mets

What New York did this past winter wasn't exactly flashy. It didn't go after big-name free agents. Instead, the team kept its core together by retaining Yoenis Cespedes and Bartolo Colon. That's going to be important when it comes to the continuity in a locker room that surprised the baseball world by winning the NL East last season.

This doesn't mean the Mets completely avoided upgrading the talent on their roster. They added Neil Walker from the Pittsburgh Pirates for starter Jon Niese in a move that solidifies the middle of the infield with fellow new acquisition Asdrubal Cabrera. Both Walker and Cabrera have put up 20-plus homers in a season and have consistently found themselves in double digits in that category throughout their careers.

That's going to be a tremendous boon for an offense that already boasts solid power with David Wright, Lucas Duda, Travis d'Arnaud and the aforementioned Cespedes.

As long as Matt Harvey stays healthy atop the rotation and youngster Steven Matz builds off what was a darn good performance in minimal action as a rookie last season, New York could find itself favored to repeat as division champs.

Wild Card Teams

1. St. Louis Cardinals

As long as the St. Louis front office continues to do what it does, this team will always find itself in contention. Even without going out there and adding anyone of real substance, the Cardinals' farm system has enabled them to field a darn good baseball team this season.

Youngsters Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk will be asked to step it up at the plate. Piscotty, a first-round pick back in 2012, hit .306 while posting a strong .359 on-base percentage as a rookie last season. He will be tasked with taking over the primary left field job this upcoming season. Meanwhile, Grichuk displayed tremendous power last season, nailing 17 homers in 323 at-bats.

If these two perform up to their capabilities, an otherwise veteran-laden St. Louis lineup will be as potent as ever.

From a pitching standpoint, there seems to be more question marks than in the past. Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia have all had major injuries over the past couple years. Meanwhile, both Carlos Martinez and Tim Cooney are currently dealing with injuries.

If the St. Louis rotation is able to stay relatively healthy, the Cardinals will give the Cubs a run for their money in the Central. Unfortunately, that seems to be asking too much of this current group of players. Hence, our inclusion of the Cardinals in the playoffs is through the Wild Card.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

D'Backs general manager Dave Stewart sure made his name known around the baseball world this past winter, acquiring top-level arms to go with an already talented cast of characters in the rotation.

Both Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller have Cy Young potential as the two catalysts for this revamped staff. Meanwhile, we all know Patrick Corbin has what it takes to be a dominating pitcher in the Majors. He posted a 6-5 record and 3.60 ERA last season after missing all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery.

Considering Arizona's staff promises to be one of the best in the Senior Circuit, the pressure is going to be taken off an extremely talented lineup led by MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt, who has finished second in the voting in two of the past three seasons.