Athlon Predicts the Blue Jays Will Win the 2016 World Series

Athlon definitely knows the way to Blue Jays’ fans hearts.

Predictions are inherently a guessing game, but Athlon Magazine has revealed their 2016 MLB predictions, and they’ve immediately become one of the most beloved publications in Canada.

Hat tip to Jamie Campbell  of Sportsnet for snapping a photo of Athlon’s 2016 predictions, which includes the Toronto Blue Jays as the 2016 World Series Champions.

This is the American League prediction page in Athlon’s 2016 MLB Preview. pic.twitter.com/81uNebE3SZ

— Jamie Campbell (@SNETCampbell) February 1, 2016

The Blue Jays have an uphill battle since the Baseball Gods tend to favour the San Francisco Giants in even years, but if the Jays can end a 22-year playoff drought, they can certainly put an end to the #EvenYear movement.

Predictions often lean towards teams that have made a deep run into the playoffs the prior year, and the Blue Jays were “this” close to pushing the Kansas City Royals to a seventh and deciding game of the ALCS.

Athlon is going a bit off the board here by selecting the Blue Jays, as the smart money seems to be on the Boston Red Sox to emerge from the American League East. I’m still not entirely convinced the Red Sox are legit, but it’s encouraging to see at least one sports publication is bullish on the Blue Jays this year.

Vegas has the Blue Jays at about 18 to 1 favourites to win the World Series, which is slightly better than the middle of the pack; which is almost where the Blue Jays want to be. How often do odds-on favourites actually win the World Series?

If that were the case, the Blue Jays would’ve had one of those trophies in 2013.

Image via Getty Images Sport/Tom Szczerbowski