American League Division Series

1. New York Yankees vs. 5. Kansas City Royals

A generation ago, these two franchises were matching up for the AL Pennant in the late 1970s. This is the first time they’ve matched up in the Postseason since that era. The Royals easily took care of the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card with a sweep. Kansas City needed only three runs in the two games played and two of them were driven in by their superstar Bobby Witt Jr. Vinnie Pasquantino drove in the other run and batted .286 for the two games. Michael Massey went 3 for 8 with a double and a run scored. The Royals rotation was masterful allowing only one run with Seth Lugo giving up a solo home run while striking out 6 in his game one start. Cole Ragans was dominant with the game two 6-inning shutout and 8 strikeouts. The bullpen was even better with Lucas Erceg shutting the door for saves in both games. Salvador Perez was relatively quiet, but don’t expect that in a longer series.

The Yankees have returned to the Postseason after a one year hiatus. Their pitching was a large reason why they returned with the return to form by their ace Gerrit Cole. Luis Gil won 15 games with a 3.50 ERA during the season and Carlos Rodon won 16 games and nearly had 200 strikeouts. The question is with the back end of the bullpen. Will closer Clay Holmes be the guy who saved 30 games or the one who blew double digit save opportunities? Luke Weaver has stepped up and saved 4 games with a 2.89 ERA in 62 games. Their lineup is where the star power is at with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto clicking on all cylinders for New York. If Giancarlo Stanton remains healthy that will be an added boost. Jazz Chisholm has been exactly what the Yankees needed since being acquired at the deadline. Austin Wells has taken control of the catcher’s position. If Gleyber Torres and Anthony Volpe get hot, the lineup is damn near unstoppable.

Royals in 5 games

2. Cleveland Guardians vs. 6. Detroit Tigers

They just never stopped in the Wild Card Series. The Detroit Tigers had a Cy Young performance from their ace in Tarik Skubal in game one. He went 6-innings of shutout ball with 6 strikeouts while allowing only 4 hits. When he pitches for them, it’s almost an automatic win. Reese Olson will be the other starter that will need to come close to matching Skubal’s output. Brenan Hanifee, Beau Brieske and Will Vest who saved the clinching game of the Wild Card Series were dominant allowing only one hit and striking out 8 combined hitters, 5 by Vest alone. Andy Ibanez drove in 3 runs and hit two doubles in his 3-at bats of the Wild Card. Parker Meadows didn’t just play solid defense in center, he hit a huge solo home run. Jake Rogers had 3 hits and drove in a run. Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson have to get going if they want to extend this Postseason run.

Cleveland boasts one of the most underrated players in baseball in Jose Ramirez. He was a home run shy of a 40-40 season, but aside from his plate discipline, he plays gold glove defense at third for them. Steven Kwan was one of the most consistent hitters in baseball during the season. An injury set him back for a chunk of the year, but he’s back and healthy at the right time. Josh Naylor provided protection in the lineup for Ramirez and drove in 108 runs with 31 home runs. David Fry had a solid season, but might need to turn it up a notch to have less pressure put on Ramirez and Naylor to produce all the runs. The Guardians had the best bullpen in baseball and largely because of their closer Emmanuel Clase converting 47 saves with a 0.61 ERA. Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin all had ERAs under 2.00 with over 70 games played. Their rotation has a lot of depth to it with Tanner Bibee the top starter with a 3.47 ERA in 31 starts. Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd were late season additions, but both had ERAs under 3.00 in their 11 combined starts. If they get a lead late in any game they will be hard to beat.

Guardians in 4 games

National League Division Series

1. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. 4. San Diego Padres

San Diego shutout the Atlanta Braves in game one of the Wild Card Series and didn’t really look back. Michael King pitched 7-innings and struck out 12 in game one. Joe Musgrove was off to a good start in game two, but had to leave due to injury and will need Tommy John surgery. The Padres still boast Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish in their rotation, but losing Musgrove will hurt. Robert Suarez and Tanner Scott at the back end of their bullpen will pose problems for their division rivals in the Los Angeles. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill each drove in two runs in the Wild Card. Kyle Higashioka hit two home runs and drove in 3 runs. Luis Arraez was 3 for 9 and scored two runs. Manny Machado, Jurcikson Profar, Jake Cronenworth and Xander Bogaerts were quiet, but won’t be for long.

This will be eventual National League MVP Shohei Ohtani’s first Postseason appearance of his career. The baseball world is looking forward to seeing what he will do while playing in October. He did just about everything except pitch for the Dodgers in the regular season. Mookie Betts is back and healthy and if he’s right, the lineup functions at other worldly levels. The same goes for Max Muncy who provides protection in the middle of the lineup. Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez had good seasons with Will Smith managing a constant shuffle of pitchers with the amount of injuries suffered there. Yoshinobu Yamamoto returned and was even better than before he went down with an injury. Jack Flaherty was exactly as advertised when he was acquired at the deadline. He got 6 wins in his 10 starts for the Dodgers. Will Los Angeles get the Walker Buehler of old or the inconsistent mess he’s been since coming back? Michael Kopech has solidified the back end of the bullpen since being acquired. So has Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen. Will manager Dave Roberts play to his pitching staff’s strengths in another crucial Postseason series?

Dodgers in 5 games

2. Philadelphia Phillies vs. 6. New York Mets

Each of the Mets starters went at least 5 innings in their starts for the Wild Card Series against Milwaukee. Jose Quintana was the best of them going 6-innings, striking out 5 and allowing no runs on 4 hits. Sean Manaea got a no-decision and Luis Severino got a win pitching 6-innings in his start. David Peterson was one of the best Mets starting pitchers during the season, but got the save during the series clinching game in the Wild Card. Closer Edwin Diaz pitched late in game three and got the victory for the Mets. There was no bigger home run in Pete Alonso’s career than the one he hit in game three of the Wild Card Series. That 3-run home run put the Mets over the top in a come from behind victory. Francisco Lindor was constantly getting on base with 2 hits and 4 walks. Starling Marte was 3 for 9 and drove in 2 runs. Brandon Nimmo drove in a run and Mark Vientos drove in 2 runs. Francisco Alvarez and Jose Iglesias were way too quiet and that must change in the Division Series.

This Phillies team is built for the Postseason. Bryce Harper had a solid season and looks more comfortable at first base than he did as an outfielder earlier in his career. Kyle Schwarber continues to mash at the top of the lineup. Trea Turner turned his awful slump around at the start of the year into a good finish. Alec Bohm has consistently been at the top of the run production for the Phillies all season. Nick Castellanos played in every single game and is an important cog for the lineup. Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez are a tough trio for any team to beat. That rotation is supported by a solid bullpen with the likes of Jose Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Carlos Estevez who was acquired at the deadline. Anyone of them can save a game in a pinch and this could be the reason why the Phillies get back to the NLCS.

Phillies in 4 games