2021 MLB expert predictions, award picks: Can Dodgers win another World Series?
No Major League Baseball team has won back-to-back World Series titles in 20 years, but the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers head into 2021 as the favorite to reign again in October.
But things won't come easy for the Dodgers. Just two hours down I-5, the San Diego Padres may be baseball's second-best team and primed to challenge their rivals for years to come. Elsewhere in the National League, the Atlanta Braves had the Dodgers on the ropes in a seven-game LCS and their stacked lineup will be out for revenge.
In the American League, the New York Yankees are trying to get back to the World Series for the first time since 2009 but will find it tough to win the East, battling out with the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. And of course, the ever-present Houston Astros who were just one win away from a World Series berth last year.
So how will things go in 2021? USA TODAY Sports' MLB team gives its predictions for the new season:
Bob Nightengale – @BNightengale
AL division winners: Yankees, White Sox, Athletics
AL wild cards: Twins, Blue Jays
NL division winners: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers
NL wild cards: Padres, Phillies
AL champion: Yankees
NL champion: Braves
World Series winner: Braves
Awards:
MVP: Matt Chapman (Athletics), Juan Soto (Nationals)
Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Blake Snell (Padres)
Rookie of the Year: Jarred Kelenic (Mariners), Dylan Carlson (Cardinals)
Gabe Lacques – @GabeLacques
AL division winners: Yankees, Twins, Astros
AL wild cards: Rays, Cleveland
NL division winners: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers
NL wild cards: Mets, Padres
AL champion: Astros
NL champion: Dodgers
World Series winner: Dodgers
Awards:
MVP: Jose Ramirez (Cleveland), Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Jacob deGrom (Mets)
Rookie: Triston McKenzie (Cleveland), Ke'Bryan Hayes (Pirates)
Steve Gardner – @SteveAGardner
AL division winners: Yankees, Twins, Astros
AL wild cards: Angels, Rays
NL division winners: Braves, Brewers, Dodgers
NL wild cards: Padres, Mets
AL champion: Twins
NL champion: Dodgers
World Series winner: Dodgers
Awards:
MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
Cy Young: Lucas Giolito (White Sox), Jacob deGrom (Mets)
Rookie: Andrew Vaughn (White Sox), Dylan Carlson (Cardinals)
Jesse Yomtov – @JesseYomtov
AL division winners: Yankees, White Sox, Astros
AL wild cards: Rays, Twins
NL division winners: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers
NL wild cards: Padres, Mets
AL champion: White Sox
NL champion: Dodgers
World Series winner: Dodgers
Awards:
MVP: Tim Anderson (White Sox), Juan Soto (Nationals)
Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Jacob deGrom (Mets)
Rookie: Randy Arozarena (Rays), Sixto Sanchez (Marlins)
Scott Boeck – @ScottBoeck
AL division winners: Yankees, White Sox, Astros
AL wild cards: Twins, Blue Jays
NL division winners: Braves, Cardinals, Padres
NL wild cards: Dodgers, Mets
AL champion: Astros
NL champion: Padres
World Series winner: Padres
Awards:
MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), Juan Soto (Nationals)
Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Yu Darvish (Padres)
Rookie: Randy Arozarena (Rays), Ke'Bryan Hayes (Pirates)
Stephen Borelli – @StephenBorelli
AL division winners: Yankees, White Sox, Athletics
AL wild cards: White Sox, Astros
NL division winners: Braves, Cardinals, Padres
NL wild cards: Padres, Mets
AL champion: Yankees
NL champion: Dodgers
World Series winner: Dodgers
Awards:
MVP: Mike Trout (Angels), Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
Cy Young: Lucas Giolito (White Sox), Jacob deGrom (Mets)
Rookie: Andrew Vaughn (White Sox), Sixto Sanchez (Marlins)
Chris Bumbaca – @BOOMbaca
AL division winners: Yankees, White Sox, Athletics
AL wild cards: Twins, Blue Jays
NL division winners: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers
NL wild cards: Padres, Mets
AL champion: Yankees
NL champion: Dodgers
World Series winner: Yankees
Awards:
MVP: Mike Trout (Angels), Francisco Lindor (Mets)
Cy Young: Tyler Glasnow (Rays), Jacob deGrom (Mets)
Rookie: Andrew Vaughn (White Sox), Ke'Bryan Hayes (Pirates)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB predictions 2021: Can the Dodgers win another World Series?