The expectations couldn't be any higher for the 2018 Chicago Cubs.
It's 2016 all over again. The goal isn't just a trip to the playoffs or another NL pennant. It's World Series or bust for this group of North Siders.
With that, let's take a look at all of the teams that could stand in the way of the Cubs getting back to the Fall Classic:
Pittsburgh Pirates
2017 record: 75-87, 4th in NL Central
Offseason additions: Corey Dickerson, Colin Moran, Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, Josh Smoker, Jordan Milbrath, Nik Turley, Nick Burdi
Offseason departures: Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, Chris Stewart, John Jaso, Joaquin Benoit
MLB
X-factor: Gregory Polanco
Polanco could be the next big star in this game, but he's had trouble staying healthy and has yet to put it all together.
He's shown flashes of greatness and is still only 26, so there is time. Now that McCutchen is out of town, the Pirates need a new face of the franchise to step up.
If a breakout is, indeed, in the cards for Polanco, that would be a fantastic bargain for the Pirates, who have him locked up through the 2023 season at a very affordable price.
Projected lineup
1. Josh Harrison - 2B
2. Corey Dickerson - LF
3. Starling Marte - CF
4. Josh Bell - 1B
5. Gregory Polanco - RF
6. Francisco Cervelli - C
7. Colin Moran - 3B
8. Jordy Mercer - SS
Projected rotation
1. Ivan Nova
2. Trevor Williams
3. Chad Kuhl
4. Jameson Taillon
5. Joe Musgrove
Outlook
For a team that traded away its best pitcher and best/franchise player and did not receive anything close to a star in return, this Pirates roster isn't too shabby.
Bell is on the rise, Polanco may be on the cusp of stardom, Marte is an All-Star outfielder when he's not suspended for PEDs as he was in 2017 and Dickerson was a nice, under-the-radar pickup. Moran probably isn't the star everybody thought he'd be when he was taken 6th overall in 2013 — four picks after Kris Bryant — but he could turn into a servicable big-league hitter on the cheap.
The Buccos rotation isn't anything to write home about, but Cole hadn't been all that great the last couple seasons (19-22, 4.12 ERA, 1.32 WHIP). Nova's a solid — if unspectacular — pitcher and the other four projected starters are all 26 or younger.
Adding to the young core — stud closer Felipe Rivero (26), new setup man Feliz (24) and fellow pitchers Tyler Glasnow (24) and Steven Brault (25) with top prospects Mitch Keller (pitcher) and Austin Meadows (outfielder) not too far behind.
This team isn't going to win 98 games and party like it's 2015, but they will probably play spoiler late in the year. And if the pitching actually turns out to be decent and surprise people (which it does nearly every year under pitching coach Ray Searage and manager Clint Hurdle), good days are not too far off for the Bucs.
Prediction: 4th in NL Central, no playoffs