Every baseball season, a team or two that struggled mightily the year before steps up and has a respectable season. This season, there are several teams that have made this leap, but only two of them in particular have a legitimate claim at being crowned champions at season's end. These two teams also happen to be two of the most well-known names in baseball, but not because of their plays the last several seasons. So who are these two lovable losers? If you said the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, you would be correct.

So how did these two teams go from laughing stocks one season, to prime contenders this year? Well, both teams happened to follow a very similar formula to get to where they are today, which happens to be looking straight ahead towards the playoffs. This formula consists of big time young players stepping up and making at least one big acquisition from outside the organization. Let’s take a look at each team before diving into each team’s playoff outlook.

The New York Mets

The Mets entered the season looking up at the Washington Nationals, who were seen by many experts as the best team in the National League, thanks to one of the most dominant pitching rotations in baseball. Well, it turns out the Mets had a pretty darn good young rotation of their own. With young aces Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, paired with veterans Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon, the Mets ended April with a slight lead over the Nationals. As the season went on, rookies Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz come up and proved they belong in the rotation as well. With six arms that could pitch in any rotation, the Mets battled the Nats through the summer and pulled away by the time September rolled around.

It was not just the young stud starting pitchers that have led to the Mets emerging however. Young bats and key in-season acquisitions have helped lift the Mets from a good team, to a playoff team. Travis d’Arnaud, the Mets young catcher has battled injuries throughout the season, but has proven down the stretch-run that he is a force. Rookie outfielder Michael Conforto has come up and shown he can contribute as well. While the fresh faces have been key contributors, it is the in season acquisitions that have proven to be the entity that will lead the Mets to the promise land.

First came a small deal with the Braves that landed the Mets infielders Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. Neither guy may be a star, but both have shown they can provide key hits when needed. Johnson provides flexibility all over the field and Uribe is a power bat off the bench who can give David Wright a day off when he needs it. Speaking of the captain, David Wright has returned from injury and looks like his old-self, hitting the ball extremely well. But hands-down the best trade of the season is one that landed the Mets Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes brings a winning attitude where ever he goes, along with a personality that livens up the clubhouse. Not to mention he has a cannon for an arm and can hit the ball to the moon. Cespedes has been an absolute home run for the Mets, and has rejuvenated the lineup, which was absolutely awful at the start of the season.

Add in veterans Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy, Michael Cuddyer and Lucas Duda, the Mets lineup can go toe-to-toe with any team. The bullpen has been headed by closer Jeurys Familia, who has over 40 saves on the season. All and all, the Mets do not have many weak spots as the playoffs approach.

The Chicago Cubs

The off-season brought in two key additions for the Cubs, a team that was last in the National League Central last year. First, a change of manager was made when Joe Maddon left the Tampa Bay Rays to come to the windy city. Maddon, known for his quirky ways and defensive shifts, is clearly a man who knows how to win. Maddon took a Tampa Bay team to the World Series, despite being comprised mainly of young, inexperienced guys. He did not have a pitcher with over 15 wins and an earned run average (ERA) under 3.50, and none of his starting position players hit over .300. Despite these factors, Maddon had his team play sound fundamental baseball turning it into a World Series berth. Another man who knows what it’s like to be on the biggest stage of them all is Jon Lester. Lester was viewed as the biggest free agent prize of the off-season, and the Cubs were the winners of the sweepstakes. Lester owns a playoff ERA of 2.57 in 84 innings, which includes three World Series starts and two rings. With these two key additions, the Cubs were primed to take a step up.

The Cubs have taken that step up, and it was a bit bigger of a step than most had predicted, thanks to the emergence of several key players. First off, Jake Arrieta has become the ace that the Baltimore Orioles thought he would. Arrieta, acquired from Baltimore two seasons ago for pitcher Scott Feldman, was a top prospect that had been struggling for the Orioles. The change of scenery and a few seasons later and Arrieta has blossomed, becoming a 20 game winner, throwing a no-hitter against the Dodgers on his way to proving himself to be the ace of the staff, despite the presence of the previously mentioned Jon Lester. In addition, superstar rookie Kris Bryant has been everything the Cubs have expected while star first baseman Anthony Rizzo has remained the leader of the young team. Kyle Schwarber, a young catcher who has been playing the outfield, has forced his way into the lineup with his powerful bat.

Veterans Dexter Fowler and Miguel Montero, both also in their first seasons with the Cubs, have proven to be solid contributors as well. The middle infield sees three guys all rotating in and out in order to provide each other ample playing time. Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Starlin Castro have each proven themselves and Maddon picks and chooses who gets to play based on match-ups to make the best of each game. Add in youngster Jorge Soler and his powerful bat, defensive minded Austin Jackson and former Rookie of the year, who has re-emerged after years of obscurity, Chris Coghlan, and the Cubs have a formidable bench as well.

Playoffs

So now let’s look ahead and see what awaits these two young teams come the playoffs. The Mets seemed poised to face the Los Angeles Dodgers come the first round of the playoffs, with home field advantage still up for grabs. Going up against Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in a five game series certainly will not be easy but remember one of the Mets main strengths is their young arms. Jacob DeGrom will likely go head-to-head with one of the aces in game one. The Mets have not announced what they will do with Matt Harvey come playoff time, but it would benefit them to let him go all out come the playoffs after limiting his innings late in the season. If the Mets let Harvey loose, the Mets one-two punch of DeGrom and Harvey can stand their ground against the formidable combo of Kershaw and Greinke. The Mets will have the edge in pitching depth if any of their starters struggle early, which could prove to be a key advantage. With Cespedes leading the way, the Mets should have a slight edge with the bats as well. While it may ultimately come down to who gets the home field advantage, I like the Mets the advance past the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series.

The Cubs appear headed for the one game playoff to start the playoffs, but that does not mean they are any worse than the other playoff teams. The wild card game will consist of two teams from the National League Central, but both teams have a chance to finish with better records than both the Dodgers and Mets. Most likely the wild card game will be played between the Cubs and Pirates. Whether the Cubs send playoff stud Jon Lester to the hill, or team ace Jake Arrieta, the Cubs powerful young bats, sound defense and solid pitching should advance them to St. Louis to go up against the Cardinals. The Cardinals may hold the best record in the National League, but they are also hampered with injuries and underperforming players. Star catcher Yadier Molina is dealing with a thumb injury while outfielder Matt Holliday just has not been the same, as he has been hurt all season. Pitcher Lance Lynn has struggled mightily down the stretch, while Michael Wacha has regressed as well. More importantly, Carlos Martinez, a talented young arm, suffered a shoulder strain and will miss the postseason. For these reasons, I see the Cubs walking out of St. Louis and on to the National League Championship Series.

So here we are, Cubs vs Mets with the winner advancing on to the World Series. Last season the thought of that sentence never would have crossed the mind of a single person. Even before this season started it would have been seen as an extremely bold prediction to say either of these two former bottom dwellers would be four wins away from the World Series. If it reaches this point, it is a guarantee that one of these two will represent their league for the ultimate prize in baseball. Due to the postseason experience of Lester and Maddon, paired with Arrieta’s dominance and the huge bats being swung by Bryant and Rizzo, I will take the Cubs as that team. One way or another, both of these teams have come from losers, to having very bright futures for years to come. Best of luck to both clubs in their chase for the pennant.