MLB Winners Survivor Pool, We Start With 8

MLB Winners Survivor Pool, what is that you ask? It is members of Win Column, The AOSN, Alberta Dugout Stories and various Instagram fan sites engaging in a friendly elimination game. Well as friendly as it gets when it comes to earning bragging rights about picking baseball series winners.

Everyone was asked to pick three (3) series winners this Opening Weekend. If one gets 2 of 3 correct, one moves on to the next round. The catch here being that once you have used a team, you cannot use them again until you have used every other MLB team at least once. Let’s get started!

Len Nunes, Win Column Baseball and Instagram Guy

1. Dodgers over Giants - this decision was made the millisecond Madison Bumgarner went down with an injury. I was one who wanted to believe the Giants could bounce back into the playoff race, that belief is now dead.
2. Mets over Cardinals - I’m admittedly blinded by my infatuation with Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. This is already a preview of the 1-game Wild Card game.
3. Rockies over  Diamondbacks - I’m a Rockies fan who has been pooped on for suggesting they will struggle to reach .500. It’s like no one saw I also suggested Jon Gray was going to get more Cy Young votes than anybody on the Dbacks.

Joshua Berube, Win Column Sports Guru

1. Cubs over Marlins
2. Red Sox over Rays 
3. Nationals over Reds

So, I am playing it safe for my first week. I chose last year’s NL CY Young award winner against the lowly Reds and the two teams against this years version of the 4A clubs.

Alexandro Zatarain, Owner of The AOSN (twitter: @TheAOSNcom)

1. Cubs over Marlins - The Cubs have an opportunity to get their season off on the right foot. With the Marlins now without their talented core after their fire sale, this will only be the start of a tumultuous season.
2. Dodgers over Giants - The Giants did quite a bit in adding veterans like Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen. Despite this, the loss of Madison Bumgarner leaves a gaping hole in a rotation that may not be able to carry the weight. The Dodgers, the reigning National League champions, have the edge in every facet.
3. Indians over Mariners - I find this to be the riskiest of my picks this week. The Mariners have the talent to do some damage but have fallen short in recent years. The Indians, however, have been a dominant force in the American League. This will be their shot to win in a tough environment.

Pedro Dorantes, Contributer to both Win Column and The AOSN

1. Dodgers over Giants - The Dodgers will win the series due to a more solid pitching rotation and an offense capable of backing any off-night their pitching may have.
2. Cubs over Marlins - Chicago will win simply based on the overall superiority of their roster!
3. Astros over Rangers - The Houston offense will feed off the mistakes made by the Texas pitching staff.

Ian Wilson, Co-Owner of Albertadugoutstories.com (twitter: ABDugoutStories)

1. Cubs over Marlins - Not sure this requires much explanation. Chicago started slow last season but an Opening Week pummeling of Derek Jeter‘s favourite (or maybe least favourite?) minor league team is a given. Cubs are better in every facet of the game. Marlins with the edge in … cutting payroll and tacky ballparks.
2. Dodgers over Giants - Pencil Clayton Kershaw in for one win and LA won’t have to contend with Bumgarner (injured hand). After that the Dodger depth should take over. The Giants will be good this season, or better at least. They just aren’t in this weight class.
3. Nationals over Reds - Joey Votto will fight the good fight. He will get on base a lot and you won’t see him hit an infield fly (something he’s only done 3 times since 2007!!!) but he’ll also be stranded on base a lot. Billy Hamilton will steal a few bases for Cincy, while Trea Turner counters with more for Washinghton. But this series will be won on the mound, where DC’s superior rotation will pave the way for Bryce Harper to doff his helmet and show off his winning mane.

thebayareasports Instagram Fan Account

1. Red Sox over Rays - cause Chris Sale. The Rays really have no competition in them as they are rebuilding.
2. Nationals over Reds - The Nationals have the great starting pitcher threesome. The Reds only have Votto.
3. Indians over Mariners - The Indians are strong in every position including pitching. The Mariners have a shadow of former himself Felix Hernandez pitching Opening Day.

everything.sandiego Instagram Fan Account

1. Nationals over Reds - The Nats are an overall great team and the Reds, well, they’re not
2. Astros over Rangers - The Astros are the defending World Series Champions, that’s why I’m picking them
3. Yankees over Blue Jays - The Yankees have attempted to build a super team.

pirates.nationn Instagram Fan Account

1. Cubs over Marlins - The Marlins are a rebuilding team - read they traded away all their talent!! The Cubs have a great team (I hate to say that) that can put the ball in play.
2. Brewers over Padres - Milwaukee had a great off-season highlighted by acquiring Christian Yelich from the Marlins. Their rotation is very underrated and their bats can do some damage when they get hot.
3. Royals over White Sox - While neither team had an impressive off-season or have a lot of MLB talent left, the Royals slightly edge the White Sox at this point. The Royals will win simply because of MLB experience.

How many MLB Winners Survivor Pool contestants will make it to next week? Who would your picks be? Good luck to all the participants!