American League Wild Card Series

3. Minnesota Twins vs. 6. Toronto Blue Jays

Both Toronto and Minnesota’s lineups can compete with most others in baseball. Yet, both of their starting rotations were among the best in baseball all season long. Toronto boasts a rotation of four starters that had ERAs under 4 for the entire season. If you count Hyun Jin Ryu, who returned in August, they have a full rotation with ERAs under 4. Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi are the others who had solid seasons on the mound. Toronto’s bullpen has good depth and can throw out Jordan Romano, Jordan Hicks, Erik Swanson or Yimi Garcia to get a save when needed. While the likes of George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Matt Chapman had disappointing seasons by their standards, they are expected to contribute to an October run. Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are both franchise stalwarts and must set the tone for their lineup.

Carlos Correa had a down year, but this is the time that he is expected to produce for a Twins franchise that hasn’t won a Postseason series since 2002. They haven’t won a Postseason game since 2004. Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner were huge contributors down the stretch for the Twins and should be expected to continue their hot streaks. Edouard Julien and Max Kepler were key components most of the season, but were hit with rough patches at times. Sonny Gray and Pablo Lopez were the two main cogs in the rotation that set the tone for the pitching staff. Kenta Maeda and Bailey Ober had some bumps in the road, but were solid contributors. Joe Ryan had a good season aside from his 4.51 ERA. Jhoan Duran saved 27 games and was setup by Brock Stewart and Emilio Pagan for an underrated trio that solidified a good bullpen.

Blue Jays in 3 games (best of 3)

4. Tampa Bay Rays vs. 5. Texas Rangers

If not for injuries, the Rangers would boast the likes of Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom for their rotation. They are fortunate that they also acquired Jordan Montgomery at the trade deadline who pitched a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts for Texas down the stretch. Nathan Eovaldi got healthy at the right time and must show why he was a Cy Young candidate earlier in the season. The Rangers bullpen was all over the place down the stretch. Jose Leclerc, Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith can all close games, but had wild bouts of inconsistencies. Texas’ lineup was stacked and is led by MVP candidate Corey Seager with a slash line of .327-33-96 (AVG-HR-RBI). Jonah Heim and Josh Jung got healthy towards the end of the season and were key contributors early in the year. Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien each drove in over 100 runs and must keep that up for an October run.

Tampa Bay finds themselves in what some would call an unfortunate position of winning 99 games, but only being a Wild Card team. They were one of the most consistent winning teams all season long. Yandy Diaz and Isaac Paredes had career years and led a balanced lineup. Josh Lowe, Randy Arozarena and Jose Siri provided superb defense in the outfield and drove in 83, 83 and 56 runs respectively. Harold Ramirez is a wild card component that can hit anywhere in the lineup and play multiple positions if needed. The depth of the Rays pitching staff was on full display this year. Their Cy Young candidate, Shane McClanahan will not be available going forward. Enter their prime free agent addition in Zach Eflin and his 3.50 ERA. Tyler Glasnow returned from injury and started 21 games with a 3.53 ERA. Aaron Civale, who was acquired at the trade deadline has been inconsistent, but has been a solid starter overall this year. The Rays bullpen is their strength with the likes of Pete Fairbanks to close games. Shawn Armstrong, Jake Diekman, Colin Poche and Robert Stephenson all boast ERAs well under 3. Andrew Kittredge also returned from injury and can close out games if needed.

Rays in 3 games (best of 3)

National League Wild Card Series

3. Milwaukee Brewers vs. 6. Arizona Diamondbacks

It was getting rough down the stretch for Arizona. Their two best starting pitchers, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, had up and down moments to finish the season. Even their bullpen, which acquired Paul Sewald to solve their late inning woes, struggled as well. Sewald is still going to be counted on to close and Kevin Ginkel was their most consistent reliever with a 2.48 ERA in 60 appearances. Corbin Carroll had a fantastic rookie season and will be on full display for October. Ketel Marte got hot at the right time for Arizona. Christian Walker drove in 100 runs and is entrenched in the middle of the order. Lourdes Gurriel and deadline acquisition Tommy Pham were quiet contributors, but must continue doing so going forward. Gabriel Moreno was fantastic for Arizona behind the plate and with his bat as a key cog for their future.

Milwaukee had one of the best records in baseball going down the stretch to October. A large reason for that was William Contreras having a career year at the plate. Christian Yelich was healthy and nearly had a 20-20 season (HR-SB). Mid-season acquisitions, Mark Canha and Carlos Santana each drove in 33 runs in Milwaukee. Mid-season call-up Sal Frelick was an instant contributor and played Gold Glove defense in the outfield. Devin Williams controlled the 9th inning for the Brewers. Hoby Milner, Joel Payamps and Abner Uribe were excellent bullpen arms with Bryse Wilson providing good middle relief. Brandon Woodruff unfortunately won’t be available for the Postseason. When he was healthy, he didn’t disappoint with a 2.28 ERA in 11 starts. Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta got back to their usual selves and solidified the rotation going into October.

Brewers in 2 games (best of 3)

4. Philadelphia Phillies vs. 5. Miami Marlins

The strength of Miami’s roster is in their pitching staff. It was a rough go in their bullpen, but they have solidified it with Tanner Scott taking over the closers role. Andrew Nardi and JT Chargois were solid setting up Scott down the stretch. A.J. Puk was the closer and is still a key part of the pen, but will be given a short leash. David Robertson was acquired to be the closer, but his struggles have Miami proceeding with caution. Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett have claimed two of the top spots in the rotation with their career years. Luis Arraez won another batting tile in his first year in Miami. Jorge Soler led the team with 35 home runs. Trade deadline acquisitions Jake Burger and Josh Bell were exactly what the Marlins lineup needed. An influx of big bats that contributed immediately. Jon Berti was a consistent spark plug for them. Bryan De La Cruz had a solid season for them leading the team in RBI with 78. If Jazz Chisholm gets hot at this point going forward, watch out.

The Phillies lineup is among the best in baseball. The defending National League champions are out to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. Kyle Schwarber continued to mash with a 47 home run season. Nick Castellanos led the team with 106 RBI. Trea Turner was on fire for the last couple months of the season. Bryce Harper was an immediate boost the lineup when he returned playing mostly DH and 1B. Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott were consistent contributors when others struggled or were out with injury. J.T. Realmuto is among the best pitch callers in baseball and almost had a 20-20 season (HR-SB). Philadelphia’s rotation was all over the map, but Zack Wheeler was the ace of the staff all year long. Aaron Nola was second to Wheeler in strikeouts, but his 4.46 ERA was uncharacteristic. Cristopher Sanchez came on the scene to salvage the rotation with a 3.44 ERA in 18 starts. Taijuan Walker was an innings eater and won a team high 15 games. The bullpen is in better shape than last year. Craig Kimbrel has the closer’s role and Jose Alvarado can provide matchup balance against a left-handed lineup. Matt Strahm almost pitched 100 innings as a reliever most of the season. He can be used in all sorts of situations in October. Jeff Hoffman was a solid setup man down the stretch and will be needed to continue that going forward.

Phillies in 2 games (best of 3)