Welcome to October baseball. Now that all 30 teams have played their full slate of regular season games, it is time for the postseason. These playoffs will feature some teams that have not seen postseason baseball in a few seasons, while some familiar faces are not here. In the National League, things kick off on Tuesday with the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh to face the Pirates in the Wild Card game. The winner will move on to face the number one seed, the St. Louis Cardinals. The other National League series sees the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting none other than the New York Mets. Over in the American League, the Wild Card game takes place in, with the New York Yankees facing off against the Houston Astros. The winner gets to head to the Midwest to take on last year’s American League champs, the Kansas City Royals. Meanwhile the Texas Rangers head north of the border to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Now let’s get to the fun stuff, predicting who is going to take home the World Series title.
National League Divisional Series
Cubs/Pirates @ Cardinals
The Pirates find themselves in the Wild Card game for a second straight season. Last season they decided against throwing ace Gerrit Cole in hopes of using him in game one of the Divisional Series. That plan didn’t work as planned since the Pirates fell to the eventual World Series champs, the San Francisco Giants and their ace Madison Bumgarner. This season, while the Pirates will likely roll Cole out there against the Cubs, they will once again go toe-to-toe with a legitimate workhorse in either Jake Arrieta or Jon Lester. Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon will likely go with Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta. No matter which arm Maddon goes with, I like the Cubs' young bats better than the Pirates', and I see the Cubs moving on to St. Louis. The Cardinals, while holding the best record in baseball, are beaten up with injuries. The starting rotation is in shambles with injuries to Carlos Martinez, and arms like Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn fading down the stretch. That isn’t a good formula when going up against Arrieta and Lester, who will pitch in three games of the five game series if it comes to it. However I think the powerful young bats of Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant carry the Cubs against the depleted Cardinals rotation in three games. You read that correctly, I’m calling for the Cubs to sweep the number one seed Cardinals.
Mets @ Dodgers
The Dodgers and Mets offer one of the most interesting match-ups to start the playoffs. It’s a battle of two teams with some seriously good pitchers. The Dodgers will have aces Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke at home trying to top Mets ace Jacob DeGrom. If the Mets are smart, they will go with Matt Harvey in game two since Noah Syndergaard is a much better pitcher at home. This will save Syndergaard for game three in New York where he will liekly go up against Alex Wood or Brett Anderson. This decision could very well determine the winner of the series. The Mets success could also hinge on Yoenis Cespedes, who recently suffered a bruised hand. Cespedes is the heart of the Mets team and offense, and having him struggle from the injury could very easily kill the Mets success of moving along. The bats around him have been brought to life since his arrival however, which leads me to think the Mets can get past the Dodgers and their aces. Give me the Mets in five, with DeGrom out-dueling Kershaw in a key game when they meet up for a second time.
American League Divisional Series
Astros/Yankees @ Royals
The Wednesday night Wild Card game will likely see Dallas Keuchel of the Astros go head-to-head with Masahiro Tanaka of the Bronx Bombers. Tanaka has battled injuries throughout the season, but has looked good when on the mound. However, Keuchel has looked exceptional in his two starts against the Yanks this season. In a low scoring affair, Keuchel outlasts Tanaka and a homer from Evan Gattis will be enough to propel the Astros to Kansas City. The Royals come in to the postseason with the experience from last season, and it will show. These Astros are all pretty much newcomers to the postseason, and will feel the effects of having to play in the Wild Card game. With Keuchel going in the Wild Card game, it is likely he will on only be available for game three of this series. With the Royals talented bats, paired with the postseason experience factor, I see the Royals advancing in four, with Keuchel being the only reason the Astros don't get swept.
Rangers @ Blue Jays
Game one will see two major in-season acquisitions go up against one another. Cole Hamels of the Rangers will lead the Rangers into game one against the Blue Jays and David Price. The Blue Jays have the most dangerous offense in baseball, so playing in two hitters parks will surely give them a chance to prove it. Expect home run after home run in this series. Both team’s rotations are very questionable behind their respected aces, which means this series will be won with the bullpen and the bats. Since I would take the Blue Jays bats over any other teams, I’ll take them in four.
National League Championship Series
Cubs @ Mets
The Cubs won the season series in a sweep, winning all seven contests between the two clubs. The Mets may be able to conquer the two premier aces of the league in Kershaw and Greinke, but the same won’t be true when they face Arrieta and Lester. Lester’s postseason expertise will show in this series while Arrieta will continue his dominance. Managers also help sway me towards the Cubbies, with Maddon having taken a club to the World Series in the past. On the other hand, Terry Collins is entering his first postseason as the manager of a club. I’m going with the Cubs in five.
American League Championship Series
Blue Jays @ Royals
The Royals enter the playoffs as the likely American League favorites, mostly because they are seen as the most complete team. They have an ace in Cueto, a manager with postseason experience in Ned Yost, a young offense with plenty of talent, along with a solid bullpen and defense. Their biggest weakness comes in the rotation, where questions lie when you look past Cueto. Yes, Yordano Ventura has a huge upside and some electric stuff, but he still holds an ERA of 4.08 on the season. Chris Young is a journeyman and Kris Medlen has had several really bad outings. Medlen has been pretty good for the most part, but it’s the big blowups that hurt my faith in him, especially when facing the potent offense of the Blue Jays. While the same can be said of Toronto’s rotation, their bats are simply better. Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista can all hit the ball over the wall on any given pitch. These big bats and their supporting cast will slug it out with the likes of Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain in a high scoring, and highly entertaining series. Give me the Jays in six.
World Series
Cubs @ Blue Jays
Here we are, winner takes all. David Price vs. Jake Arrieta in game one. Prices takes the mound against his old manager with something to prove, as he matches Arrieta pitch for pitch. The Jays take game one late with a clutch home run from MVP candidate Josh Donaldson. When Jon Lester takes the hill in game two, his postseason experience paired with his time in the AL East will come in handy. Lester holds the Blue Jays bats to one run, while Kyle Schwarber’s bat propels the offense to tie the series. Back in Wrigley for game three, poised to be a slug-fest with all the aces out of the way. Kris Bryant and Jose Bautista do their best to slug their respective teams to victory, but it’s Josh Donaldson who helps the Jays secure a victory again. Game four sees the return of each teams’ number one arms, but this time Arrieta gets the upper-hand in front of the home town fans. Lester will once again come up clutch in game five, sending the Cubs back to Toronto one win away from the impossible. The teams will slug it out once more in game six, with the Blue Jays living another day thanks to a clutch stolen base from Ben Revere and a big base hit from Encarnacion. So it comes down to this: Game seven. Price vs Arrieta take three. Jake Arrieta will take the step from star to superstar and Anthony Rizzo gets the key hits that propel the Cubs to World Champions. The curse will be broken, and the Cubs end the season popping champagne in Toronto as World Series champs.
So there you have it, my MLB postseason predictions. All of this could be for naught if the Pirates come out on top on Tuesday. But I’m sticking with my gut, and the Giants proved last season it can be done with the help of some outstanding pitching. Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester will provide just that, and we have the second season in a row that sees a Wild Card team emerge as champs.
So who’s with me? How do you see this postseason shaking out?