The MLB playoffs start on Tuesday and there's nothing more exciting to a baseball fan than October baseball. Let's break down all of the teams that will feature in the 2024 postseason:
American League:[#1 seed] New York Yankees - Will play BAL/DET winner
After owning the best record in the AL this past season, the Yankees will focus on getting ready over these next couple of wild-card round days. Known for their superstar talent, Aaron Judge & Juan Soto are on a mission to bring the title back to the Bronx. While Soto has already won a World Series w/ the Nationals, Judge will need one if he's to go down as the greatest power hitter of all time. Looking at what's next for them, they will be playing the winner of the #4/#5 matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers. Baltimore, a division foe, owns a very good lineup and could cause the Yankees some trouble. Having said that, the Yankees will need to be at their best come Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday.[#2 seed] Cleveland Guardians - Will play HOU/KC winnerCleveland enters this postseason as a sleeper team that not too many people are talking about. Even though they had an outstanding season, they just aren't a team that gets too much hype. Led by Jose Ramirez, this team very well could shock the baseball world. The Guardians are terrific hitters and have one of the best bullpens in the MLB. Unluckily for them, they'll have to play the winner of the #3/#6 matchup between the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals. Both of those teams are very solid and could make some noise as well. However, I do believe that the home field advantage will help the Guardians a lot during the ALDS. They own the best home record in the AL by a mile. Don't be shocked if we see the Guards in the ALCS or even the World Series.[#3 seed] Houston Astros - vs. KC
After the horrendous beginning to their 2024 campaign, the Astros turned things around in a hurry. Back in April, I wrote an article about them when they were just 4-11. In that article, I mentioned, "It’s hard to think that the Astros aren’t going to make the playoffs after how many years that they’ve dominated the American League. Yes, it’s been a bad start. But, you’ve got to remember. This is a 162 game season and we are not even close to the halfway point yet. Expect Houston to still make the playoffs." Well, that turned out to be true and the Astros will host the Royals in a three game series to begin the postseason. They've got excellent pitching and should be strong in the hitting department. Never count the Stros out as they've got one of the top teams in baseball. [#4 seed] Baltimore Orioles - vs. DET
Baltimore. They've been great all year long and should be great for years to come. Offseason addition Corbin Burnes has been a massive help to their pitching department. With their hitting already strong, it makes them a real contender as well. Yes, they finished second in their division. But, that was to the Yankees who got the #1 seed. They get the Detroit Tigers in the first round. While Detroit is solid, I don't expect them to be able to win this three-game series. The hitting of the O's is very good and should be strong again here. If they were to win this series, they'd go up against the Yankees in the next round. I do believe that they have a real shot at knocking them off as well. I wouldn't be shocked one bit if the Orioles are able to make the World Series this year.[#5 seed] Detroit Tigers - vs. BALDetroit really turned things up a notch over the last few weeks of the season. Although I don't really have much hope for them, it's hard to ignore their September run of glory. They're led by starting pitcher Tarik Skubal who very well might be the best pitcher in baseball right now. Skubal went 18-4 this season with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. He'll get the nod in game 1. Other than him, the Tigers don't have much for starters. While Baltimore owns the advantage in both hitting and pitching, don't let stats fool you. This is October and anything can happen. Detroit is on a roll and could shock the world (even though I don't expect them to.)[#6 seed] Kansas City Royals - vs. HOUKansas City nearly played themselves out of a playoff spot. Opposite to the Tigers, they were pretty bad down the stretch in the final couple of weeks in September. Having said that, Bobby Witt Jr has led this team to an excellent season. They've got solid pitching and a lineup that can do damage if hot. Even though they are underdogs in this series against the Astros, they could steal a game and even win this series. Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo are excellent starters, but it falls off a bit after them. If this series goes to game 3, these Royals could be in trouble.
National League: [#1 seed] Los Angeles Dodgers - Will play SD/ATL winner
Coming into this postseason with the best record in baseball, these Dodgers are ready to make a statement. Shohei Ohtani proved to everyone that he's the best player in the game by a mile. This year, Ohtani had 54 HR's, 130 RBI's, 59 SB's and a .310 BAA. You also can't forget that he wasn't even pitching this season. Having said all of that, Shohei isn't the only thing on this roster by any means. This is about as stacked as a team can possibly be and the Dodgers are favorites to win the whole thing for good reason. Great batting across the board and excellent pitching. LAD will play the winner of the San Diego Padres/Atlanta Braves series. Whoever they play, it's time to go for the kill if you're LAD. Anything but a World Series ring will be considered "bust" for these guys.[#2 seed] Philadelphia Phillies - Will play MIL/NYM winnerWhile Philadelphia began the season red hot, they cooled off a bit over the second half of the season. However, they still managed to own the second best record in the National League. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies have excellent hitting as well as pitching. They've got a dominant record at home which should help tremendously as well in these playoffs. In the ALDS, they will get the winner between Milwaukee and the Mets of New York. That should be a very competitive series which might take a lot of energy out of those teams. Philadelphia was a wild-card team last year and looked very strong. This year, they are a #2 seed and should be well rested coming in. The Phillies are definitely title contenders. [#3 seed] Milwaukee Brewers - vs. NYMWhile Milwaukee had to sit and watch the double-header between the Braves and Mets on Monday to see who they were playing, I'm sure they didn't really care at the end of the day. They've got to beat everyone to win it all and it's going to be an excellent series against the Mets. Luckily for the Brewers, they'll be at home for each of these wild-card games. They've played well enough to earn themselves the division title as well. Having said that, the Mets are looking confident and should pose a challenge. Milwaukee is still a very strong pitching team, even with Corbin Burnes departing this past offseason. Limiting runs will be the key to their success.[#4 seed] San Diego Padres - vs. ATL Like the Brewers, San Diego was watching Monday's war between ATL/NYM. They ended up drawing the Atlanta Braves in this round after the Braves won the final game of the mini double-header. Having said that, they are in for a battle. San Diego will use yesterday's off day as time to regroup and refocus like a bunch of these teams. With the Braves having to use more pitchers than they would've liked on Monday, San Diego should try and use that to their advantage and extend pitch counts as much as possible early in this series. The winner of this series gets the Dodgers. This will be good. [#5 seed] Atlanta Braves - vs. SD The Braves survived on Monday winning the final game of the double-header and clinching this spot. They also were able to avoid playing Chris Sae who was originally slated in that games slot. With that being said, Sale will be able to pitch during this series and that should provide a massive boost for this Braves team that is always dangerous. Even without the likes of Ronald Acuna Jr, Austin Riley & Spencer Strider, Atlanta possesses a bunch of talent across the board. Don't be surprised if the Braves, who have already won a World Series with no Acuna, make a strong run in this year's postseason. [#6 seed] New York Mets - vs. MIL With the Mets having won a game on Monday, they managed to sneak into the playoffs. Out of Milwaukee and San Diego, they might've got the "easier" of the two opening round matchups. Milwaukee won't be easy by any means. But, they might be slightly worse than the Padres who have a lot of playoff experience even despite missing it last season. The Mets play with a ton of emotion which might or might not help them in these playoffs. It's hard to say what will happen in this series considering New York, like Atlanta, used a lot of their pitching staff in the double header to finish September. Having said that, they will need to be at their best. If Pete Alonso plays well this series and in these playoffs overall, the Mets could be a scary team to watch out for. But, Pete needs to be at his best.
World Series Projection:
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Baltimore Orioles Dodgers win series 4-2 .
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