The dawn of a new opening day has always brought such hope throughout the Wrigleyville neighborhood. With the start of each baseball season, even well before that remarkable rainy night in Cleveland, there have been countless declarations of why this would be the Cubs’ year.

Of course, ever since that fabled Fall Classic back in 2016 in which the Cubs finally broke through, the tenor around this team has changed. It comes with the expectations a World Series championship brings. Now, no longer is winning the dream – it’s the standard.

When the Cubs open this 2024 season Thursday night in Texas against the reigning World Series champion Rangers, they will be embarking on a unique and demanding road ahead.

This is “The Next Great Cubs Team” that Jed Hoyer has promised ever since the World Series championship eight year ago – one constructed with an ever-changing blueprint over the years. Only Kyle Hendricks remains from that 2016 team, as contracts and complications saw the core players depart and a new group enter. There is even a new manager after David Ross was ousted to make room for former division rival Craig Counsell.

Hoyer led the Cubs through difficult rebuilding years once again – the type of lean seasons he and Theo Epstein hoped they would long avoid – only to produce another ballclub with the chance to compete for a World Series championship.

The Cubs are well positioned to win the wide-open National League Central division this season, boasting their lineup core with Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki; a deep pitching pipeline led by Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Hendricks; plus a farm system regarded as second-best behind only the Orioles that features Jordan Wicks, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Cade Horton and Matt Shaw.

This year’s Cubs deserve to be held against the standard of reaching the playoffs and competing in earnest for a World Series once again. After three challenging seasons – and falling short of the postseason last September – anything shy would be a disappointment. But the beauty of Hoyer’s blueprint is how the Cubs are set up for sustained success.

Like back in 2015 when Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell arrived in the majors, these Cubs can hope for a boost from Wicks, Crow-Armstrong and Busch – and perhaps Horton and Shaw in time. It marks the blend of this veteran-laded core and the Cubs’ next wave. More so, this season underscores the hopes to win again.

The Cubs will be challenged out of the gates this new season. They will face five teams that reached the playoffs last season during the first month, including the defending champion Rangers and reigning National League champion Diamondbacks. Then there is a nine-game West Coast road trip against three teams (Padres, Mariners and Diamondbacks) boasting postseason aspirations.

In late May, the Cubs host the dominant Braves and then hit the road for St. Louis and Milwaukee – with that trip north of the border almost certainly on Counsell’s calendar. June and July bring long homestands at Wrigley Field as the weather warms up in Chicago. But once again, this team will be defined by what it does in late August and the proving grounds of September.

A new season is upon us and that brings renewed belief in what’s to come. Now, there are also heightened expectations for this Next Great Cubs Team.

Emma’s 2024 MLB Predictions

Playoff teams

NL East: Braves
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Phillies
NL Wild Card: Giants

AL East: Yankees
AL Central: Guardians
AL West: Mariners
AL Wild Card: Astros
AL Wild Card: Orioles
AL Wild Card: Rangers

World Series: Braves over Orioles

Postseason awards

NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr.
NL Cy Young: Justin Steele
NL Rookie of the Year: Kyle Harrison
AL MVP: Aaron Judge
AL Cy Young: Tanner Bibee
AL Rookie of the Year: Wyatt Langford