Story by Aditya Pimplaskar and Derek Shao

The Kansas City Royals, the defending American League champions, will be taking on the dark horse New York Mets in the 2015 World Series. The Royals bring to the plate a powerful offensive lineup consisting of sluggers Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon, as well as a strong pitching staff including Johnny Cueto and Wade Davis. However, the Mets also have their own share of dominant players with homegrown pitchers Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey, power hitter Yoenis Cespedes, postseason hero Daniel Murphy and team captain David Wright. Neither team has taken home the coveted Commissioner’s Trophy in over twenty years, so be prepared for this year’s matchup to be quite the exciting one. Now let’s take a look at some of the predictions for this series.

5. Replay will prove vital in overruling an important call.

The two year old technology altered the outcome of a controversial call involving the San Francisco Giants’ spectacular double play against the Royals during last year’s World Series. This year will be no exception as technology will prove to be an important deciding factor in deciding the outcome of some plays.

4. The Royals’ starting rotation will keep their team in the game, but the bullpen will ultimately struggle  when they need them the most.

Starters such as Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez have demonstrated their ability to shut out their opponents. The bullpen, on the other hand, has been inconsistent throughout the year and will fail to back up the Royals’ starting rotation.

3. All-Star Jacob DeGrom will have a shaky start in the early innings but will eventually settle down and suppress the Royals’ powerful lineup.

In his previous postseason starts, DeGrom was able to get his team the win, but had to get out of many tight innings during the games. DeGrom’s postseason experience and aptitude for rebounding off of shaky starts will prove valuable in limiting the Royals’ offense.

2. Eric Hosmer will perform to keep the Royals in the series while the rest of the lineup will struggle against Mets pitchers.

Hosmer has always been a consistent player in the regular season and postseason, so look forward to a couple of clutch hits from him. His career postseason batting average may look like a mediocre .297, but Hosmer has been known to perform when it matters most. Despite Hosmer’s dominance, the Royals’ lineup will be limited by the Mets’ starting rotation.Hosmer has always been a consistent player in the regular season and postseason, so look forward to a couple of clutch hits from him.

1. Daniel Murphy will cool down but continue to perform well at the plate.

It will be hard for Murphy to perform as well as he did in the NLDS and NLCS, seeing that he had hit seven home runs and is currently batting .421. Nevertheless, he will continue to perform well at the highest stage in baseball, and will help lead his team.

FINAL PREDICTION: METS WIN IN 7