5 favorites to win the 2016 World Series

By John Buhler | Mar 18, 2016

Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the New York Mets in the 9th inning in game five of the World Series at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; (EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Kansas City Royals pitcher Greg Holland (right) celebrates with manager Ned Yost (left) after defeating the New York Mets in game five of the World Series at Citi Field. The Royals won the World Series four games to one. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /

American League. Central. Kansas City Royals. 1. player. 7.

Will the American League Central’s Kansas City Royals get back to the World Series for a third season in a row? Their 2016 roster is still so incredibly loaded and nobody in the MLB does a better job of dictating a game’s pace than does Kansas City.

Kansas City will likely have the best bullpen in the game again in 2016, effectively shortening games from nine innings to six when they have a lead. The Royals rely on creating havoc on the base paths and do a phenomenal job of manufacturing runs without great power hitters.

Those two aspects of Kansas City’s strategic game plan set the Royals apart from the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball. To beat Kansas City, a team has to win playing on the Royals’ terms with speed and a lights-out bullpen.

While Kansas City doesn’t have the prototypical superstar of a World Series winner, left fielder Alex Gordon perhaps best personifies the high-end and competitive nature of the Royals under manager Ned Yost. This team refuses to quit anytime it steps on the diamond.

While the American League Central may have some decent teams in 2016 besides Kansas City, the Royals are not only the team to beat in their division, they are the team to beat in the American League, and frankly in all of baseball.

Though other teams in the league may have gotten better this offseason, Kansas City didn’t exactly get any worse. The Royals are a top five baseball team entering 2016 and should look to repeat as World Series Champions this fall.

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