In Case You Missed It Last Year

Here's a link to last year's post

And from two years ago

Here's the current standings, with team movement since last season noted.

With only 3 years left of the deca-season, it's certainly getting down to the wire. Only the NL East - with an 80 game lead between the Nationals and second-place Braves - looks to be settled, and eight AL teams still have reasonable chances at a wild card spot.

Another Year...

...Another World Series champion that is dead last in their division, in spite of a 100-win season. If the pattern holds, expect a miracle year from a team like the Twins or Rockies, or maybe even Derek Jeter's Miami Marlins, capped off with a World Series victory.

The All-Star Class of 2018

The All-Star representation in the deca-season works differently than it does in the annual MLB seasons. Instead of players being chosen for their accolades over the course of a month or two of real production, being chosen for the deca-season team requires consistency and regular production over the years. Some positions may be represented by the same two players every year, while others may never have the same name twice. Being the best at your position over the past 7 years - let alone 10, as we'll see after the 2020 season ends - is a badge of honor like none other.

Here were the criteria for being chosen for the All-Star Class of 2018:

• Position players will be chosen based off combined rWAR for the first 7 years of the season
• The DH for the NL team is the player with the highest Rbat who isn't starting at another position in this ASG
• Minimum appearances for position players/DHs is 3000 PAs; for pitchers is 150 games started
• All ASG Starters must have been in their respective league for the entirety of the 2017 MLB season

^{! - Denotes player who started last year's ASG at the same position}

A Glance At What's To Come

Keep an eye out for teams on the fringes of the wild card race to make their moves this season. The Blue Jays, Athletics, Brewers, Braves and Mets are all on the cusp of dropping back from the pack completely, and if they have any fight left in them, they'll show it here.

Both the AL Central and AL West are up for grabs in the 2018 season, depending on how the Tigers and Angels can attack their division leaders.

Meanwhile, the Nationals and Dodgers could put their division leads far enough out of reach this year to comfortably play out 2019 and 2020 knowing they're in the playoffs.