1) Battlefield has the inside track I believe in the north....quality everywhere up the middle, depth, deep pitching, and playoff experience. They have had some tough playoff luck too-they are due.
2) Lake Braddock has a wealth of pitching, Darcy among others can play, and they have speed and depth.
3) Madison is always good, but appear to lack playoff quality pitching depth, are weak behind the dish, and SS, none of which helps in the playoffs. Jake Nielsen is somehow below most radars, but is capable of dominating on the bump and is a real deep threat at the plate, Novak is a hit machine when locked in, lots of depth away from pitching there.
4) Patriot has a nice right/lefty combo of starters, an experienced stud catcher, and good depth. Great lineup, might not have enough high quality pitching. Young Eikhoff can hit.
After that, I think it falls off to the "good" Concorde/5 district teams, but they are all flawed. Centreville has good pitching, but lacks pop and has a a ton of question marks defensively. Chantilly just can't do it again, I don't see a ton there, but clearly they have a coach! I just don't see it. Robinson, eh. Oakton is interesting.....they don't have a complete team, but with 3 D1 caliber pitchers they can be in any game. If Toma recovers and someone (anyone) other than those pitchers and Davis steps up they could surprise....or they could go 2-12. That could be a fun team to watch/coach as they could do great things or implode.
In Liberty/6: Madison is no doubt big favorite, but has some chinks in the armor. Hosley at Langley is a beast, and that team has parts, not sure if they can put it together consistently enough to make any run though. South Lakes has developed enough pitching and fields a tough 9-they can compete. After that most of the teams are 1 pitcher and not truly 9 deep. Check that, Mclean with Slade and Groppe is a nice combo. Projected: Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.
In 7: Lake Braddock, a Spartan team I don't really know, a likeable West Po team, and South County.....dropoff to Woodson, and another dropoff to TC, Annandale, and another drop to Mt. Vernon.
In Concorde/5: I dunno, not as clearly defined IMO as compared to prior years, low confidence as I think it is open.....Centreville on pitching, Chantilly on coaching, Robinson, Westfield, Oakton, Herndon.
Away from local 6A Kettle Run, Marshall, Briar Woods (though I don't know them). PVI is very good, but there are D1 commits and there are D1 commits if you know what I mean-they are off from last year-still better than publics though.
Combined Top 10: PVI, Battlefield, Lake Braddock, Madison, Kettle Run, Patriot, Chantilly, O'Connell, West Springfield, Marshall/Centreville.
***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***