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As voting for the All-Star Game reached the home stretch, it’s clear that fans have given the Chicago Cubs quite a bit of respect.

The Cubs are hoping that the 2016 season will see them gain their first spot in the World Series since 1945 and their first championship since 1908, and the team’s tremendous first half of the season is reflected in the All-Star voting.

All four of the infield spots in the National League belong to the Cubs. Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant are all leading at their respective positions, according to MLB Communications.

Zobrist, Russell and Bryant are all leading at their positions by more than 300,000 votes each and appear to be in good position to hold on to their respective leads, while Rizzo has a lead of nearly 1.4 million votes over Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants at first base.

A good case can be made that three of the Cubs infielders deserve their good fortunes with the voters, while Russell’s position appears to be the result of excess Cubby love.

He is hitting .235 with seven home runs and 40 RBI this season and a 1.5 WAR (wins above replacement), according to Baseball-Reference.com, while rookie Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies has a .267 average along with 19 home runs and 50 RBI and a 2.0 WAR.

Story has 104 strikeouts on his ledger, and that may be distasteful to many of the voters. Corey Seager of the Dodgers is performing at an All-Star level with a .297 average, 16 home runs and 38 RBI and a 3.0 WAR.

The other viable National League shortstop candidate is Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants, who is hitting .268 with six home runs and 49 RBI and a 2.5 WAR. Crawford is also having a remarkable season on the defensive side with just four errors despite handling the ball more than 300 times.

Dexter Fowler of the Cubs, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals and Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets are leading the National League outfielders, while veteran Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals and Buster Posey of the Giants are engaged in a taut battle behind the plate. Going into the final voting period, Molina leads by about 5,000 votes.

On the American League side, first baseman Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals, second baseman Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros, shortstop Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox and third baseman Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles all have substantial leads at their respective positions. 

While Machado is having an excellent season with a .330 average, 18 homers, 46 RBI and a 3.9 WAR, he is playing shortstop for the first-place Orioles and not third base, as he has done in the past. Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays has been hammering the ball with a .290 average, 17 homers and 51 RBI, and he has a substantial 4.1 WAR rating.

Two-time All-Star MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels leads the way among the American League outfielders, with Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Boston Red Sox holding down the other two spots.

However, that’s a close race as Lorenzo Cain of the Royals, Mark Trumbo of the Orioles and Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays are all within striking distance.

Salvador Perez has more than 3.75 million votes and is running away with the AL catching honors, and David Ortiz of the Red Sox is leading the way at the designated hitter spot.

While all three American League outfielders have legitimate credentials, it’s hard not to like the job that Ian Desmond has done for the Texas Rangers so far this season. Desmond is hitting .326 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI, and he has a 3.4 WAR for the surging Rangers.

However, Desmond has slightly more than 1.1 million votes, and that leaves him in eighth place among outfielders, and he will have to depend on being named to the team rather than voted in.

Final All-Star voting results will be announced July 5 at 7 p.m. ET.

Predictions

Look for all the current leaders in the American League to hold on to their positions. Cain has a chance to overcome Betts in the outfield, but the Red Sox outfielder has 16 home runs and 54 RBI, while Cain has eight homers and 39 RBI. That should be enough to help Betts retain his position.

The National League catching position may be decided by 1,000 votes or fewer. While both Molina and Posey have had substantial careers and are deserving from a long-term perspective, Posey has eight homers and 36 RBI, while Molina has just one home run and 26 RBI. Posey deserves to get the majority of the votes before voting closes June 30.

Neither of those players compares to Wilson Ramos of the Washington Nationals from an offensive perspective. Ramos has belted 12 home runs and driven in 43 runs along with a .343 average. However, Ramos is more than 280,000 votes behind Posey, and he is not going to make up that ground.

All WAR ratings provided by Baseball-Reference.com.

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Yadier Molina has established a stellar reputation throughout his 13 years with the St. Louis Cardinals as one of the best defensive catchers in the game’s history.

When it comes to his prowess behind the plate at blocking potential wild pitches, framing pitches over the outside or the inside corner and throwing out potential base stealers, Molina belongs in the same class as Johnny Bench and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

He has also turned himself into a serviceable hitter. Molina exceeded the .300 mark in batting average for three straight years beginning in 2011, and he is a tough two-strike hitter who is not afraid of the big moment.

With his track record, it’s not a surprise Molina is the leading vote-getter among National League catchers for the Senior Circuit’s All-Star team. He leads Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants by slightly more than 75,000 votes as of MLB Communications‘ last report.

The All-Star Game is at San Diego’s Petco Park on July 12.

However, neither Molina nor Posey should be leading at the position. That honor should be going to Wilson Ramos of the Washington Nationals, who is having a stellar year with the bat and is in third place.

Ramos is hitting a robust .342 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI, while Molina is hitting .261 with a paltry one home run and 25 RBI. Posey is having a fine year with a .285 average along with eight homers and 36 RBI, but he has not been as productive as Ramos.

It looks like Ramos could be one of the biggest snubs in this year’s vote for major league All-Stars.

On the American League side, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson may have a reason to throw up his hands at the end of voting and ask what’s going on.

Donaldson, the AL Most Valuable Player last year, has belted 17 home runs and knocked in 47 runs to go with his .288 average. Despite those figures, he is more than 500,000 votes behind Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles at third base.

Now, Machado is having an excellent year, as he is batting .325 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI. But here’s the problem: The slick-fielding Machado is playing shortstop for the Orioles, yet he is still receiving votes as a third baseman.

That’s like winning the election for mayor of Cleveland when the candidate hangs his hat in Chicago. It’s just not right.

Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies also has room to complain with the All-Star Game slightly more than two weeks away. The right fielder is hitting .317 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI to this point in the season, but he is just seventh in NL voting.

He trails Dexter Fowler (.290, seven homers, 28 RBI) of the Chicago Cubs, Bryce Harper (.249, 15 HR, 43 RBI) of the Washington Nationals and Yoenis Cespedes (.287, 18 HR, 45 RBI) of the New York Mets. Gonzalez is clearly having a more productive season than Fowler or Harper, although Cespedes is deserving of his position.

Nolan Arenado of the Rockies may have a slight complaint over his second-place status to Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs at third base, but it would have to be tempered. Arenado has the lead in home runs (21 to 18) and RBI (63 to 51), but the Cubs’ sensational season helps Bryant make his case.

Still, Arenado is one of the best fielding third basemen in the game, and he is obviously a terrific baseball player.

The baseball voting public is getting it right for the most part. But if Ramos, Gonzalez and Donaldson aren’t in the starting lineups, something is not right.

While it’s almost impossible not to see them named to the All-Star team when MLB announces the final rosters, they deserve to start.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com as of June 27.

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The idea of making a living playing professional baseball probably pops into the minds of nearly every youngster at one point or another.

That’s one of the reasons that it is so tough to accomplish. The level of competition is staggering, and there’s no end to the amount of work that it takes to get there.

To those lucky enough to make it to the show, it’s a non-stop battle to stay there. Players must constantly work to improve, upgrade their conditioning and learn more about the game.

Some players are tightly wound as a result and may come close to the breaking point. But there are others who know how blessed they are and have gratitude every step of the way.

These are baseball’s good guys. They make life better for those around them and give back to society with their friendliness, warmth and charitable nature. 

In this piece we look at 10 good guys in the national pastime.

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The process of stocking and building in Major League Baseball is a never-ending process. As the 2016 MLB Draft comes to a conclusion Saturday, the 2017 Draft is already in the works and scouts already have a solid handle on the star players who will make headlines next June.

Scouts have a much greater handle on the college players who should go near the top of the 2017 draft, as it’s far more difficult to understand where prep players will rank in another year. However, there are a number of high-schoolers who have a chance to be taken near the top of the first round.

Many of the top players in the 2017 draft have turned down previous opportunities to play professionally because they wanted to go to college. As their games have matured and developed, their positions as draft headliners have solidified.

1. Pitcher J.B. Bukauskas, North Carolina 

Bukauskas was an elite high school prospect, but he decided to go the college route and he has a chance to be the top player in the MLB Draft in 2017. While the 5’11”, 190-pound  Bukauskas is not a physically imposing pitcher, he has a fastball that reaches the mid-90s and one of the best curveballs that scouts have seen. Mentally, Bukauskas has the kind of traits that scouts, general managers and coaches want to see from starting pitchers.

He believes that his approach on the mound has grown significantly since coming to North Carolina. 

“I’ve definitely learned that you can’t just throw the ball anywhere in the zone,” Bukauskas told Ben Trittipoe of Inside NoVA. “College hitters are way better than high school hitters, especially in the ACC. I’ve learned that you definitely have to be able to locate all of your pitches, especially your fastball.”

2. Catcher J.J. Schwarz, Florida

Schwarz has developed significantly during his career with the Gators. He has a .292 average with six home runs and 54 RBI along with a .451 slugging percentage this season. Schwarz had improved quite a bit as a hitter in his first two college seasons, and he has the tools to remain behind the plate at the next level, although he will still need some improvement in this area. 

3. Catcher K.J. Harrison, Oregon State

Harrison has shown the kind of power development in his game over the past two years to make him a legitimate top prospect in the 2017 MLB Draft. He has pounded 10 home runs for the Beavers this year, and he has driven in 47 runs with a .525 slugging percentage. Scouts would like to see more in the batting average department since he is hitting .265, but he is improving quite a bit as a receiver.

4. Shortstop Mark Vientos, Flanagan High School, Miami, FL; committed to Miami (FLA)

Vientos has a chance to be the top high school player in next year’s draft, and he has the size at 6’3″ and 170 pounds as well as the range at the position that scouts tend to get excited about. In a report by Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, Vientos was compared to Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles. 

Vientos is concentrating on improving and figuring out new ways to develop his skills. 

“I need to work on my patience,” Vientos told Shawn Krest of USA Today. “I also want to work on hitting off-speed pitching, because that’s all I’m seeing right now.”

5. Pitcher Hunter Greene, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, CA; committed to UCLA

Greene may turn out to be the top prep pitching prospect in the 2017 draft. He had an impressive run at the 18U Team USA trials and he has the kind of fastball that has gotten the scouts on his side. Greene is a solid all-around athlete who plays shortstop when he is not on the mound. He has been able to develop his change-up (h/t Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times) this season to go along with his impressive fastball.

Fangraphs provided much of the scouting information for this article.

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The relentless Kansas City Royals earned their second World Series title in a convincing five-game triumph over the New York Mets thanks to their own ability to come through at the plate in the late innings—and the Mets’ failure to make plays when the game was on the line.

The Royals had come close in 2014, as they finished the World Series with the tying run on third base as the San Francisco Giants outlasted them in seven games. The Royals collectively said that falling short had motivated the team to get back to the World Series and win it this year (h/t Fred Kerber of the New York Post).

Throughout the postseason, the Royals’ ability to string rallies together played a key role in victories over the Houston Astros in the American League Divisional Series, the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series and the Mets in the World Series. They outscored those three teams 51-11 from the seventh inning on.

The difference was even more pronounced during the Fall Classic, as they outscored the Mets 15-1 from the seventh inning on.

They put the exclamation point on that differential when they scored five runs in the top of the 12th inning in Game 5, which turned out to be the clinching margin. 

The Mets certainly had their chances to come through during the series, but their inability to get the clutch hits cost them dearly in this series. They might have been able to overcome this issue, but their fielding let them down at key moments throughout the series.

Mets third baseman David Wright said the Royals’ ability to put late rallies together weighed on his team. 

“No lead is safe with these guys,’’ Wright told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. “You know they are going to make a run.

“This hurts, there’s no doubt about it. You’re talking about getting close to winning a World Series and that’s everybody in here’s dream, everybody in here’s goal. And then when you fall just short, it’s different emotions.”

Fielding was a big issue in the 2015 World Series. The Mets committed six errors, while the Royals made just two. However, the Mets were not charged with errors on several questionable plays.

First baseman Lucas Duda threw wildly to home as Eric Hosmer dashed in from third base to score the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning, but he was not charged with an error. Neither was center fielder Yoenis Cespedes when he kicked Alcides Escobar’s first-game, first-inning drive and turned what could have been a spectacular play into an inside-the-park home run.

Daniel Murphy had been one of the Mets’ postseason heroes in the rounds leading up to the World Series with his surprising power bat. However, he made key late-inning errors in Games 4 and 5 of the World Series.

Daniel Murphy again! For the 2nd straight game, he fails to field a grounder in a clutch situation.

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 2, 2015

The Mets appeared to have an advantage with their flame-throwing staff of starting pitchers at the start of the series. But the numbers show that the Royals starters were as good or better than their counterparts. 

New York ace Jacob deGrom had an earned-run average of 7.20 in the five-game World Series, while Noah Syndergaard registered a 4.50 mark, followed by Steven Matz with a 3.60 ERA and Matt Harvey’s 3.21.

The Royals starters were led by Johnny Cueto, who pitched a two-hit, complete-game gem in Game 2 and had a 1.00 ERA, while Edinson Volquez had a 3.00 mark, and Game 4 starter (and Game 1 reliever) Chris Young had a 2.57 ERA. The Mets lit up Yordano Ventura (13.57) in Game 3, but he was the only Kansas City starter that the Mets were able to hit hard.

The Royals also had a huge edge behind the plate, where Salvador Perez won the World Series Most Valuable Player award and outplayed Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud by a significant margin. Perez was 8-for-22 and batted .364 in the World Series with two RBI and two doubles. He also threw out two of three baserunners who attempted to steal.

The Mets’ catcher could not compete with his counterpart.  d’Arnaud was 3-for-19 at the plate (.158 batting average) and he had one RBI. Royals baserunners also took liberties with his arm as they stole seven bases without being thrown out. d’Arnaud did not come close on any of those stolen-base attempts.

On the surface, it seemed like the Mets had the edge in power, as they hit six home runs in the five-game series, while the Royals hit just two. However, the Royals lashed 13 extra-base hits, while the Mets had just seven (one double in addition to the six homers).

In the end, this World Series and the postseason will be remembered for Kansas City’s ability to come from behind and win. They trailed in eight of their 11 postseason victories, and seven of those comebacks were by two runs or more. 

That’s the exclamation point for a championship team that was on a mission from the first day of spring training until the last night of the season.

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The New York Mets’ realistic hopes of getting back in the World Series rest on the strong right arm of Noah Syndergaard.

Young Thor could not have liked what he saw in Game 2, when the Royals put up seven runs against New York’s vaunted pitching staff. What makes it even tougher for the Mets to swallow is that they did the damage in a game started by ace Jacob deGrom.

All deGrom had done in the postseason to that point was get the best of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and shut down the power-hitting Chicago Cubs.

Syndergaard has been a flamethrower throughout the postseason, but these Royals are relentless fastball hitters. After sweeping both games in Kansas City, they are now just two wins away from securing the team’s second World Series title.

Noah Syndergaard throws a bullpen session Wednesday in advance of his World Series Game 3 start. #Mets pic.twitter.com/N1f1YLwEYF

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 28, 2015

Yordano Ventura will be on the mound for the Royals in Game 3, and he has the kind of arm to shut down a good-hitting team like the Mets. However, Ventura has been inconsistent in the postseason, and if his command is not razor-sharp, he may have a hard time shutting down hitters like Curtis Granderson, David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud.

The Royals are a solid team on the road, having won critical games in Texas and Toronto in the first two rounds of the postseason. But it may be even harder to play on the road at Citi Field, where fans have been longing to see their team play in the World Series for the first time since 2000.

Syndergaard, 23, has struck out 20 batters in two postseason starts against the Dodgers and the Cubs. He has a 2.77 earned run average and has given up eight hits and six walks in 13.0 innings. So while he throws hard and has electric stuff, it doesn’t seem likely that Syndergaard will completely shut down the slashing Royals.

Ventura pitched two games in the American League Championship Series and gave up four runs, 12 hits and four walks in 10.2 innings. That worked out to a respectable 3.38 ERA, but it showed he is hittable.

Expect the Mets to come after Ventura aggressively. They have a much better chance of winning if they take the lead early and continuing to tack on runs against the Royals, because Kansas City is going to come back throughout the game.

New York knows that teams have come back from 0-2 deficits to win the World Series before. The 1986 Mets did it, losing their first two games at home before beating the Boston Red Sox in seven games.

The Mets know that they have to win this game or they won’t have a realistic chance of winning the World Series. No team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit in the Fall Classic, and the Royals have a relentless approach that has been steeled by getting to the seventh game of the World Series a year ago.

They don’t want to fall short this year, and they would like to make short work of the Mets. 

They might do that, but it won’t be a four-game sweep. Look for the Mets to build an early lead and then hold off Kansas City as they pull off a 7-5 victory and get back in the World Series.

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Is it really supposed to be this easy?

The New York Mets came into the National League Championship Series as underdogs because the powerful Chicago Cubs had already beaten the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the postseason’s previous two rounds. It seemed they had the lineup, featuring outfielder Kyle Schwarber, third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and the big-time pitching, with Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta, to earn a spot in their first World Series since 1945.

The New York Mets would have none of that storyline. They had their own hitting heroes in NLCS Most Valuable Player Daniel Murphy, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and first baseman Lucas Duda to go along with a sensational and deep pitching staff. They not only beat the Cubs, they annihilated them in four games and never allowed the North Siders to take a lead in any game.

That moment when you advance to the #WorldSeries!!! #LGM pic.twitter.com/dDDolmIKlq

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 22, 2015

When the World Series begins Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the home of the American League champions, the Mets will likely be underdogs again.

The Kansas City Royals are the defending American League champions who extended the 2014 World Series to the ninth inning of the seventh game against the San Francisco Giants before falling short. They have been motivated to get back to the World Series and to make up for that one-game difference all season.

The Toronto Blue Jays were a powerful team all season with right fielder Jose Bautista, designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and potential AL MVP third baseman Josh Donaldson. When they picked up shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and pitcher David Price at the trade deadline, it raised the talent level on an already impressive team.

But the Mets are not likely to be intimidated by either team. Anytime a squad has a pitching staff that includes Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, it has a chance to pitch a gem in nearly every game. That pitching staff held the Cubs to a .164 team batting average, an all-time low in the NLCS, per SportsCenter.

The Royals have strength up and down their lineup, and while they may not be as powerful as the Blue Jays, they have relentless clutch hitters who regularly make contact in key situations, as Grantland’s Ben Lindbergh details:  

Among the Power Pitchers: Does Kansas City’s Contact-Heavy Approach Give It a Postseason Edge? by @BenLindbergh https://t.co/xcLjJsDdFp

— Grantland (@Grantland33) October 20, 2015

Kansas City currently holds a 3-2 lead over the Blue Jays in the ALCS as they return home Friday for Game 6 and, if necessary, Game 7 on Saturday.

Their ability to string hits together was apparent in Game 2 of the series.

Trailing 3-0 as they went to the bottom of the seventh, the Royals rallied to score five runs on clutch hits by first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, left fielder Alex Gordon and right fielder Alex Rios. They won the game 6-3 to take a crucial victory and put the Blue Jays in an 0-2 hole.

Toronto likes to bludgeon the ball, and their roster features an impressive list of home run hitters. Donaldson belted 41 home runs this year, Bautista had 40 and Encarnacion hit 39 long balls. While stopping Toronto’s hitters—or slowing them down—will be a difficult assignment, the Mets have the horses on the mound to give it a good effort.

The X-factor may be Tulowitzki. Few players in baseball carry his stature because he is an athletic, power-hitting shortstop who can turn any pitch around and play game-changing defense. However, the fact that he has been a streaky hitter in the playoffs (.095 batting average vs. Texas; .368 vs. Kansas City) makes it very difficult to predict with any certainty what he could do against New York in the World Series.

Neither organization has won a World Series championship recently. The Blue Jays last won the title in 1993 against the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Mets last triumphed in 1986 in a classic matchup with the Boston Red Sox. The Royals captured the crown the year before against the St. Louis Cardinals.

If the Royals can survive the ALCS and win one of the last two games at home, the belief here is that they have enough talent and drive to beat the Mets in seven hard-fought games.

However, if the Blue Jays shock the defending AL champions and win Games 6 and 7 on the road, they will have a difficult time against the Mets’ pitching and clutch hitting. New York wins that matchup in five games.

The Mets have a chance to return home to New York as heroes, catch their breath and prepare to play in the World Series while the two American League teams battle it out.

That’s a great feeling, and the Mets will hope they can secure an even better one in the days to come.

Odds via Odds Shark.

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The Toronto Blue Jays need to have a short memory and a long memory when they take the field at the Rogers Centre Wednesday afternoon for Game 5 in the American League Championship Series.

They need to forget the beating they took in Game 4, as the Kansas City Royals bludgeoned them on their home field by a 14-2 margin after the Royals jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back.

However, the Blue Jays also need a long memory to remember what happened in 1985. That was the first year the ALCS was a best-of-seven series, and the Blue Jays were in it and jumped to a 3-1 lead over the Royals. Kansas City came all the way back to win that series and then took the only World Series in their history by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

It has obviously been done before, and the Blue Jays would get a bit of franchise revenge if they could turn the tables.

But with the history lesson over, the Blue Jays have a lot of work to do at 4 p.m. (ET) if they want to survive. The Royals have been the better team through the first four games of the series, and the Blue Jays are going to have to be much better if they are going to send the series back to Kansas City for Game 6 Friday night.

Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista knows where his team stands, and he believes his team has an opportunity to take a big step in Game 5.

“Being backed against the wall is nothing but an opportunity to start something great…” ~anonymous~ #LetsGo #ComeTogether

— Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) October 21, 2015

If that is going to happen, the Blue Jays are going to have to do a much better job of pitching. The Blue Jays will be sending out ace Marco Estrada to the mound, and he has a 1-1 record in the postseason with a 2.31 ERA.

Edinson Volquez will take the mound for the Royals in an attempt to close out the series. Volquez also has a 1-1 record and 3.09 ERA in the playoffs.

While the task looks daunting from the outside, Toronto catcher Russell Martin told columnist Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star that the big challenge excites him:

“I love this team. I love our fight. We’ve shown our ability to come back before. Obviously, it’s a different team. I definitely think Kansas City is better than Texas, so it’s going to be a tougher battle. It’s a challenge. I’m up to the challenge.”

The oddsmakers expect the Blue Jays to extend the series. They are minus-144 favorites to win the game, according to Odds Shark. Those who think the Royals will end the series in Game 5 can support the plus-139 underdogs.

Royals slugger Eric Hosmer explained how his team has no problems going on the road and adapting to a different style of baseball than the speed game the Royals like to play at home, per the Associated Press (via the New York Daily News):

”Our park, our style of play is a little different. We like to use our legs and be athletic, but when we come to some of these parks where the fences aren’t as deep we’ve got some guys that can put the ball in the seats.”

The Royals are on a mission this year. After getting to the seventh game of the World Series last year and having a chance to tie the San Francisco Giants in the ninth inning of the seventh game, they are not going to be stopped in their goal of getting back to baseball’s main event.

Estrada is a tough pitcher, but the Royals will find a way to scratch out a few runs against him, and they will make it hold up. 

The Royals will win the series in five games and send Blue Jays fans home disappointed.

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It’s power against pitching as the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets meet in the National League Championship Series to decide which team will represent the Senior Circuit in the 2015 World Series.

Let’s get one thing straight from the start: This is not 1969, and this series has nothing to do with that legendary baseball season. The Mets did not beat the Cubs in the playoffs that year. They passed them with a powerful surge in August and September because the New York pitching staff, led by Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, was superb, and the Mets had clutch hitting.

The Cubs had built a big lead during the spring and summer because of superstars like Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ferguson Jenkins. But manager Leo Durocher ran his stars into the ground, and they had nothing left in reserve once the Mets made their move.

The 2015 versions of these two teams have little to do with their predecessors. While both teams are good and bordering on great right now, the future is even brighter.

The Mets have a remarkable pitching staff, led by Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz, which should allow the team to stay at or near the top of the league for years to come.

On the other side, the Cubs feature a slew of great young hitters, led by Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and the powerful left-handed stroke of Kyle Schwarber. The Cubs seem to be ahead of schedule, considering they lost 89 games in 2014, and their young players have a chance to do a lot of damage in the future.

The Mets have their hitting stars in Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy, David Wright and Lucas Duda, but if they are going to advance, their brilliant pitching staff will have to carry them through.

The Cubs have Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta leading the way among their pitchers, and former Red Sox World Series hero Jon Lester is backing him up. Both are capable of shutdown performances, but it will be difficult for manager Joe Maddon to have confidence in the rest of his starters.

Both of these teams transformed from good teams to legitimate National League contenders as a result of moves they made in the middle of the season, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark:

My column: It wasn’t just the #Mets who remade themselves in midseason. The #Cubs transformed themselves too! http://t.co/NLMVq6CnAt

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 16, 2015

This figures to be a close, hard-fought series between two hungry teams that have not won a World Series in many years.

The Mets won their second and last World Series in 1986, taking the championship in seven memorable games against the Red Sox. Many New England baseball fans have never recovered from that loss, even though the Reds Sox have won three World Series titles in the last 11 years.

The Cubs have had a longer wait. They have not won the World Series since 1908, when they beat the Detroit Tigers. The Cubs have not even been to the World Series since 1945, when they lost to the Tigers.

This time around, Las Vegas linemakers are giving the nod to the Cubs. Chicago is a 20-29 favorite to advance to the World Series, while New York is a 5-4 underdog to win the National League pennant, according to Odds Shark.

This series should go six or seven games, and by the time the National League pennant has been won, the Cubs will be celebrating and going to their first World Series in 70 years.

They have the young slugging stars, enough starting pitching with Arrieta and Lester and the great mind of Maddon.

The team from the Windy City will make history.

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Thanks to the Texas Rangers, the Houston Astros earned a spot in the Wild Card Game.

Thanks to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the New York Yankees have home-field advantage for that game.

The Astros earned their spot in the playoffs when the Rangers knocked off the Los Angeles Angels 9-2 in their series finale and eliminated Mike Trout and Co. from postseason consideration.

The Yankees earned home-field advantage when the Diamondbacks beat the Astros 5-3 in their season finale.

While the formula for winning the World Series starts with getting into the playoffs, the Yankees come into the one-game series limping badly. They were swept in their final three-game series by the Baltimore Orioles and have lost six of their last seven games.

They will have to face 20-game winner Dallas Keuchel Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, and the left-handed Astros ace has given the Yankees fits.

Keuchel is 2-0 against the Yankees this season and has not given up a run against them. Keuchel has a 21-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio against the Yankees this season, and they had just nine hits off of him in 16 innings.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will get the pitching assignment for the Yankees. He had a 12-7 record this year with a 3.51 ERA and a 0.994 WHIP.

Very small sample, but interesting: Astros’ hitters 11-for-34 vs. Masahiro Tanaka, 4 doubles, 3 homers. http://t.co/1c762hETPj

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 5, 2015

The Astros are making their first appearance in the postseason since they won the National League pennant in 2005 and faced the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. They lost that series in four straight games and have had only one winning season since that postseason run. The Astros left the National League and joined the American League prior to the 2013 season.

The Astros lost 106 games or more from 2011 through 2013 and were 70-92 last year. Their resurgence this year was sudden and ahead of schedule.

AL wild card Astros/Yankees Keuchel: 16 IP, 0 R vs NY in 2015 Tanaka: 3.06 ERA in last 5 starts Tuesday, 7 ET ESPN pic.twitter.com/7itCzSnOGf

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 5, 2015

An influx of young talent helped turn their team around this year, and while they had their difficulties down the stretch, players like George Springer (.452 slugging percentage, .915 OPS), Carlos Correa (22 homers, .859 OPS), Evan Gattis (27 homers, 87 RBI), Jose Altuve (.311 batting average and 38 stolen bases) and Chris Carter (24 homers, .429 slugging) should give them an excellent chance of surviving the Wild Card Game and advancing to the ALDS.

The Yankees return to the playoffs after a two-year absence, and few observers thought they would be in this position at the start of the season. The starting pitching rotation appeared to have several weaknesses, and the retirement of Derek Jeter meant there was a significant leadership change.

But while the Yankees tried to figure that out, they got off to a surprising start thanks in large part to Alex Rodriguez. While he missed the 2014 season after being suspended by the league for his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs, a humbled Rodriguez came back and belted 33 home runs and drove in 86 runs.

While his production slowed in the final weeks of the season, his performance helped the Yankees stay on track for most of the year.

The winner of the Wild Card Game will face the defending American League champion Kansas City Royals in an American League Divisional Series. The Toronto Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers in the other ALDS.

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