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1. Pawtucket Patriots (98 wins) - funclown unloaded a lot of talent: Talley, Reeves, Swisher, Burrows, and Howell in the last half of 2017. The team is still loaded with stars (4 hitters and 1 pitcher on the Top Players List) but the gap is narrowing.
2. Wilmington Wildcats (95 wins) - bparks has been been building a potential juggernaut for years. Is this the season the slow burn pays off? The addition of Todd Taylor from Pittsburgh could finally put the Wildcats in the playoffs with an outside shot at an Ale banner.
3. Pittsburgh Millers (92 wins) - the Miller front office is calling this a transition season and it has taken that approach in the offseason. The youth movement is in full effect around Jamie O'Hearn who will have to fill the veteran void created by the defections of Taylor, Santana, Nara, Gerlach, Zurita, and Flores.
4. Maine Guides (86 wins) - How long can the old guard of Guides and deft hand of Z keep Maine in the mix? They made an impressive late run last season, but lifers Voodoo Davila and Steve Suarez can't have much tread left on the tires. Fernando Hernandez is gone and the rotation offers a glimpse of the future as several Top 100 prospects become a fixture on the mound.
5. Hartford Whalers (80 wins) - The Whalers could get a bump if the rotation continues to improve and Marques Edwards develops into a complement to Perkins and Del Rio in the line-up. Bdub made a splash adding Panamanian SS Daniel Tinajero in free agency. If he's the star some international scouts are saying, he could push the Whalers into the wildcard mix.
6. Syracuse Slammers (60 wins) - The Slammers will roll out (essentially) the same line-up as the 2017 version. Top pitching prospects Ron Dodd and Tommy Beasley could make their debuts this season giving Slammer fans some hope for the future as a large chunk of overpaid veterans continue to fall off the balance sheet the next two seasons.
7. Toronto Canadians (55 wins) - Spear's seemingly twenty year rebuild is almost over. Our neighbors to the north added some youth in free agency and have 5-7 top prospects poised to debut between Opening Day 2018 and Opening Day 2019. Until they're all up and producing, this Toronto club should continue to hang out at the bottom of the standings accumulating more picks for another draft run next season.Predictions
Playoff locks: Pawtucket, Pittsburgh
Wildcard dreams: Wilmington, Maine, Hartford
Darkhorse: Wilmington
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