John Axford makes his 2016 Oscars predictions

It's that time of year again sports and movie fans. We're on the eve of the 2016 Academy Awards show, which means only one thing: It's time for John Axford's Oscar picks!

That's right, the veteran pitcher is continuing his tradition of predicting the winners in several of the major categories. And truth be told, he's not a bad barometer for what we should expect to hear come Sunday night.

[2016 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball is open for business. Sign up now]

Looking back, in 2013, Axford nailed 14 out 15 predictions, with his only miss coming when "Life of Pi's" Ang Lee won best director over Steven Spielberg, the director of "Lincoln." Then in 2014, Axford topped himself by going a perfect 18-for-18, which really put him on the map.

Though he did come back to Earth a bit in 2015, going 17-for-24, his predictions are now more anticipated in some circles than the Oscars themselves. That has to be true too. Otherwise, why would ABC, the longtime home of the Academy Awards show, bother asking him to join their esteemed panel of expert Oscar pickers.

He looks like he belongs, no doubt about it.

Now though comes the moment you've been waiting. Here are John Axford's 2016 Oscar picks in all their glory.

• Best Picture: The Revenant

• Actor – Leading: Leonardo DiCaprio

• Actress – Leading: Brie Larson

• Actor – Supporting: Sylvester Stallone

• Actress – Supporting: Alicia Vikander

• Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

• Cinematography: The Revenant

• Original Screenplay: Spotlight

• Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short

• Animated Feature: Inside Out

• Original Song: “Til It Happens To You”

In terms of Best Picture, Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress, there's a consensus among the panelists that agree with Axford's pick. It does get a little more interesting a little lower on the list, so it will be interesting to see how those play out. 

If you'd like to keep score of something and can't wait for real baseball games to start next week, here are the picks from each panelist and the Las Vegas oddsmakers. The show will air live Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813