MLB playoff tips
American League Winner: Houston Astros
National League Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
World Series Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
American League Winner: Houston Astros
Apart from the cultural shadow that hangs over the conglomerate that are the New York Yankees, and the eternal bite that lingers around Minute Maid Park in Houston, there’s plenty of reasons to think that the Astros will topple the favourites in the American League.
And let me start by announcing that this is a one-horse race, no matter what way you want to dress it up.
The Guardians have the best bullpen in baseball – hands down. Being able to bring Ben Lively in for the middle innings is very helpful, particularly as he can hand the baseball to any of Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith in the eighth, before Emmanuel Clase closes it out.
But Cobb, Boyd and Bibee are probably going to be the second-worst rotation in the postseason, ahead of only the Brewers.
And the Orioles? They’re, at time of writing, sub-.500 since the All Star Break. Let’s not even worry about that car crash.
The postseason is all about pitching and being able to pick up strugglers because the pressure can ruin games so quickly.
Gerrit Cole is great but the rest of New York’s rotation is totally undecided. That uncertainty can undo a ridiculous offense. And that’s just the starters. The bullpen roles change on a weekly basis. They don’t have a baseball plan, but they have name recognition – which is just. so. Yankees.
Houston, on the other hand, can rely on multiple arms in multiple spots – and that’s a privilege because of their second-half showing.
Framber Valdez will get the ball in Game 1, and they can run any of Kikuchi, Brown or Blanco in Game 2 – and that’s not even factoring in Justin Verlander. The back-end? Neris, Pressly, Abreu and Hader will provide the most consistently-called-upon relief staff.
National League Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
The Dodgers almost squandered a ten-game lead atop the NL West and looked totally rattled in Game One against the Padres at the end of September. Dodger Stadium was walking out in the sixth inning of Game One there, and if a home crowd is going to ruin anyone’s chances in the postseason this year, it will be in LA.
San Diego are the only other viable contenders to Philly, and they’ve got a real problem with Robert Suarez who was the best closer in baseball at the midpoint. He simply cannot close games out, and was almost responsible for a sweep in LA if not for Manny Machado’s genius triple play.
Philadelphia get the tentative selection in the National League, and that’s primarily because, while their team is setup for the postseason, we can’t be too enthused by them scraping past .500 to end the year.
But whether they finish #1 or not, running with Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola at the front of your rotation is menacing.
And yet, not even half as menacing as the back-end of the rotation featuring both Christopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez.
Orion Kerkering, who possesses both the worst name in human history and a sub-2.00 ERA on the season, will partner with Jeff Hoffman before giving the ball to Carlos Estevez to see games out.
Their games will be low-scoring and reliant on Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm to ensure they don’t leave runs on the bases, but that’s a better bet than most have in this conference.
World Series Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
When it comes down to it, the Astros’ win over the Yankees might demote them from baseball villain to temporary antihero – and that’s enough for them to not be begrudged for another success.
But I’d consider these pitching staffs pretty much a scratch, so if we’re to talk about who can navigate a seven-game series the best and get hits when good contact will be so hard to make, I land on the side of the more consistent batters with runners in scoring position and getting on base to begin with.
In the big moments, do I pick Altuve, Alvarez and Diaz over Harper, Schwarber and Turner? Probably not. Alvarez might have the best on-base percentage of near-.400, but the drop off to Altuze is sizeable, whereas you can probably interchange Harper, Schwarber, Turner and even Bohm to get you that one big hit.
MLB playoff outright tips
American League Winner: Houston Astros
National League Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
World Series Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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