It's the most wonderful time of the year. October.
With the calendar turning to October that means the MLB playoffs are going to begin shortly. Here are my predictions for both the American League and National League wild cards and divional serieses. I will move and predict the playoffs as we get deeper into the postseason.
Wild Card games: First in the American League it will be the Toronto Blue Jays squaring off against the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore. In a one game playoff scenario, where both teams have offensive firepower, give me the team that has better pitching. That team would be the Blue Jays, with a team ERA of 3.78 it leads the American League. The O's ERA is 4.22. With that edge, Toronto gets the win.
In the National League Wild Card, The match-up is the San Francisco Giants heading to Citi Field to take on the New York Mets. In a one game playoff, I will take the team with playoff experience and a proven track record in these types of games. The San Fransico Giants have proven that they can not only win the wild card game on the road, but can win the World Series from the wild card position. With the momentum of a three-game sweep over the Los Angeles Dodgers, my edge goes to the Giants.
ALDS: The American League Divisional Seres match-ups in my hypothetical bracket are the Boston Red Sox vs the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays vs the Texas Rangers.
In the Boston/Cleveland matchup, I have the Tribe prevailing in four games behind the strength of their starting pitching. While Boston has had the best offense in baseball all season, pitching becomes key in October baseball. While Price was supposed to be the 220 million dollar ace for the Red Sox he has been anything except ace material. The 31-year-old lefty has been inconsistent at times and has cost the Red Sox in key moments. Knowing that Corey Kluber has been a rock for the tribe this season, as well as steady production from the bullpen, gives me a strong feeling that Cleveland will come out on top here.
Meanwhile, in our other ALDS matchup, Toronto will get the Texas Rangers.I have the Rangers edging out the Blue Jays in 5. Here's my reasoning, The Texas offense has been just better than Toronto's offense. Texas ranks higher in batting average, runs batted in, total runs, and slugging percentage. Given that Texas has had Toronto's number as of late and the Rangers have home field advantage, I give my edge to the Rangers.
NLDS: In my hypothetical National League Divisional Series matchup, I have the San Fransico Giants taking on the heavily favored Chicago Cubs, then the Los Angeles Dodgers face off against the Washington Nationals.
In the San Fransico/Chicago matchup, I have the Cubs winning in three games, sweeping the San Francisco Giants. The reasoning is pretty clear if you have kept track of baseball this season. The Cubs have been the most complete team in baseball this year. They most likely have the NL MVP playing third base for them in Kris Bryant, they have the best pitching staff in the national league, the Cubs have the best run differential in all of baseball. Everything points for the Cubs to have a field day with the Giants.
In the Los Angeles/Washington series, this series could be one of the closest we see all October. Both Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are ace caliber pitchers but what about the men behind them? The Dodgers' bullpen has been ridiculous carrying a team that went two months without a starting pitcher going further than five innings. The Nats have Gio Gonzalez but alas while be might be seller on his best days, he has been awful at his worst posting a season ERA of 4.57. Meanwhile the other Dodgers starters Kenta Meada and Rich Hill have each posted lower ERAs. The Dodgers win this in four for me.
Next week I will have ALCS, NLCS, and a World Series Prediction.
