MLB: Ranking the Teams That Will Improve the Most in 2017
By Jason Reed
The MLB landscape is always fluctuating. One year a team can fail to hit .500, then the next year be a playoff team. This season, we will certainly see some teams rise from the ashes.
The tricky part about analyzing the game of baseball is that the second you think you know everything, something throws you off. There are instances where MLB teams are massive disappointments, and others where teams are far better than anticipated. Heck, there is a chance the Chicago Cubs may only win 70 games next season. Common sense tells us it won’t happen, but if baseball has taught me anything, it is to always expect the unexpected. No, I’m not saying the Cubs will only win 70 games next season – don’t worry, Chicago.
However, in recent years we have seen these turnarounds on both ends of the spectrum. The Boston Red Sox went from having back-to-back seasons with under 80 wins, only to hit 93 the very next season. Then we saw the Royals go from World Series champions to an 81-81 team last season. The game of baseball is weird like that. While there are several teams that will regress next season, that is for another article. Today, we are focusing on the teams that will leave their 2016 seasons in the dust, and produce a far better 2017.
Not all of these teams will make the playoffs, but they will all take steps toward achieving that goal. In order to rank these teams, we will be using the difference in wins between last season and my prediction for next season. Therefore, a team that makes the playoffs may rank below a non-playoff team, as weird as that sounds.
Let’s jump right into it then, and take a look at the three teams that will improve the most next season. Whether it is because of new acquisitions or recent health, each of these teams will improve on their last season.