The 2018 season is weeks away, marking the beginning of Spring Training. This sees the sports media’s focus shift to Arizona, taking advantage of unrivaled player access during that time.

However, spring season results have very little to do with what we will see throughout the regular season. Instead, it is used as an indicator for which teams and, more importantly, players to look out for when the season starts on Mar. 29. Headlines are already developing only one week into training.

Shohei Ohtani is a 23 year old rookie pitcher from Japan with unbelievably high expectations for both his ability in pitching and hitting. Ohtani failed to make a splash in his Spring Training debut, giving up numerous hits and multiple runs in the one and a half innings he pitched.  

Ohtani only managed to fool two batters with pitches and looked shaky. When asked about his debut, Ohtani said, “Besides the results, I had a lot of fun out there, so I think it went well.” Most would disagree,  as Ohtani looked abysmal.

The Chicago Cubs dominated in their first game of the year, running the Rangers over, 6-1. Kris Bryant found success after smashing a homerun to center field, proving why he is one of the greatest.

The Cubs won the World Series in 2016 with probably the greatest playoff run I have ever seen. They came back from a 3-1 series deficit.

In an offensive mismatch, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Mets 10-5, but were unable to replicate because, as of press time, the Cardinals were being destroyed by the Astros 4-0 in the first inning.

The Cardinals have been up and down as of the last two seasons, going from World Series Champions a few years back, to not even a playoff contending team.  

After the first week of Spring Training, we’ve seen the first future betting odds released, with the Dodgers and Yankees leading the ranks. Currently as the worst team in the MLB, betting on the Miami Marlins will net you thousands of dollars on a low bet.

This is a good season for baseball. We have many great teams with fantastic rosters. We will see how it will play out as the season begins in late March.