New York Yankees
On September 28th, the New York Yankees clinched the highest seed in the American League securing a bye week along with home field advantage for the majority of their games. The Bronx Bombers went 93-68 with a 43-37 record at home and a 50-31 record on the road. They slipped and lost five of their last ten games. But in that span, the Yankees captain, Aaron Judge has a batting average of .400 with 6 of his 12 hits being home runs and 14 runs batted in to complement the hits. Juan Soto in this span has also been hitting well with a .303 average in that span.
The team as a whole has been an absolute powerhouse to deal with throughout the year. New York has a league leading 235 home runs as a team, 58 of them being Aaron Judge and 41 being Juan Soto. The team also has the third highest on base percentage at .332 and fourth highest slugging percentage at .429.
The pitching has also been a big story so far this year, as they got their ace back in Garrett Cole and another budding star and AL Rookie of the Year candidate in Luis Gil. They will however be without their reliable starting pitcher Nestor Cortes, who will be out for the entire playoffs with an elbow injury. The overall pitching staff ranks sixth (3.71) in earned run average and fifth (1,432) in strikeouts.
Overall, the Yankees look ready as ever to win a World Series this season, though their record at home might show a weakness to having a hitter friendly ballpark, their pitching looks to stand strong and continue their dominance displayed in the regular season.
Cleveland Guardians
The second team getting the week off is the Cleveland Guardians who boast a 92-69 record entering the post season with 50 of those wins coming at home, look to build a winning culture around some young star players and trusty veteran Jose Ramirez. Similarly to the Yankees they enter the playoffs splitting the last ten games with five games a piece.
The Guardians have a more balanced team than others throughout the league with an emphasis on hitting with runners in scoring position, good defense, speed and good pitching. This can be seen through their middle of the pack numbers in runs batted in and home runs. The exception to this is Jose Ramirez who does it all, hitting 39 home runs and batting in 118 runs, he also base runs, with 41 stolen bases he was one home run away from joining the 40 home run 40 stolen base club. In many other seasons this is an MVP winning year for Ramirez.
Young Canadian Josh Naylor also has shown promise with his power, hitting 31 home runs and batting in 108 runs for himself. The low hitting numbers can be ignored when looking at the stolen base numbers of the team, ranking fifth with 148. The top pitchers on the roster include starters Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively and coming back off injury is Matthew Boyd. The bullpen of Cleveland is their strong suit with Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, and Emmanual Clase to name only a few.
Overall, the Guardians won a tough division and will be a competitive team throughout the playoffs. Their reliable bullpen and defense will help them against the powerhouse lineups of the Yankees or Orioles. They look to build experience for their young talented players.
Houston Astros
Being former champions in years prior, the Houston Astros are in familiar territory. Their experienced lineup of reliable hitters and pitchers seems to be the most playoff ready of all American League teams. They hold an 88-73 record with a slightly better record at home. The team comes into the playoffs 6-4 in their last 10 and have some injury concerns with Yordan Alvarez, their MVP level hitter. Though it is only listed as a day-to-day injury, Houston hopes for their top hitter to return to the lineup before the October 1st start date.
The Astros lineup features contact hitters, power hitters, speedy defensive players and some players are all three in one. The stacked lineup includes Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Yanier Diaz. All veterans and all fantastic baseball players. This lineup has helped them have the second ranked batting average in the MLB at .262 and 10th overall in home runs at 190. The pitching staff also holds their own with stars Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Yusei Kikuchi and the rest of the staff combining for a sixth ranked 3.74 earned run average.
Going into the playoffs with a familiar roster is the best case scenario, and the Astros have had this core for multiple years and have had success with this core for multiple years. With not many changes the Astros should be seen as a top team to come out of the American League.
Baltimore Orioles
One of the more interesting stories in the MLB as a whole, the Baltimore Orioles after a decade without much success, now find themselves with a stacked roster entering the 2024 postseason. The young roster has put up a 91-71 record and will face the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card series.
The Orioles combine a mix of power and pitching to rise and become one of the most exciting teams out of the American League in years. With young star Gunnar Henderson showing power with a career best season, slashing a .281 average with 37 home runs and 92 runs batted in, the Orioles have the most powerful roster outside of the division champion Yankees and Astros. Baltimore has many talented bats including power hitter Anthony Santander, who hit 44 homeruns over the season, and AL Rookie of the Year favorite Colten Cowser just to name a few.
Star catcher Adley Rutschmen has had a solid year swinging the back and a normally stellar season behind the plate. Another big factor for this team is the rotation of starting pitchers this team has. Former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes enters the playoffs for the first time in his new threads, hoping to bring his in-season dominance into the postseason. Grayson Rodriguez, a young super prospect has now found his groove in the majors with respectable stats and easily a top ten pitcher under 27.
This young Orioles roster hopes to not only build experience and introduce their younger players to the playoffs, but look to make a name for themselves with a stacked roster and plenty of momentum.
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers for the first time in ten years have reached the postseason, deservedly so. They hold a record of 86-76 entering the playoffs and have an exciting roster full of baseball’s future big names. They will face off against the experienced powerhouse that is the Houston Astros and hope to build on this tremendous season.
The Tigers are a young exciting team, there’s no better way to put it. You can not talk about the Tigers without mentioning their Triple Crown winner Tariq Skubal who led the American League in wins (18), earned run average (2.39) and strikeouts (228). The team relies heavily on its pitching with below average hitting stats as a club, while holding the third ranked earned run average at 3.59. The hitters of the Tigers include young star Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Matt Vierling round out an inconsistent set of bats.
The Tigers will not be looking to make much noise with a sub par lineup. What they will hope to do is continue to grow Riley Greene, Tarik Skubal and other young pieces and build off this playoff berth.
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are on a long list of interesting and young teams entering the American League race. With star players from young to old and reliable pitching, the Royals could make a run with what they have right now and hope to turn time back eight years. They will face the also young and exciting Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card round.
The Royals are led by MVP candidate and MLB batting champion Bobby Witt Jr. who continues his historic young career becoming the first shortstop to record multiple 30 home run and 30 stolen base seasons. He finished with a .332 batting average and a .588 slugging percentage to round off an incredible season. Salvador Perez after showing some regression has proved he still has pop left in him, he hit 27 home runs and a staggering 104 runs batted in. Young stars Vinnie Pasquantino and Makiel Garcia showing promise.
The lineup hopes to build some experience in the postseason. The pitching staff is one of the more interesting in the MLB, with ace lefty Cole Ragaans, veterans Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha and young flamethrower Brady Signer. The Royals ranked ninth in batting average, while also ranking tenth in stolen bases showing their ability to utilize runners on base. Kansas City also holds the eighth ranked earned run average showing the versatility of the lineup.
The Royals seem to be one of the dark horses who could make some noise in the postseason. The combination of reliable hitting, speed and pitching will be interesting to see matched up against the league’s best.
American League Prediction
In the AL Wild Card round of the MLB Postseason, the Baltimore Orioles are up against the Kansas City Royals, where I think the Royals use their speed and unfriendly ballpark to their advantage and come out of the Wildcard series with a win in three games. The other Wildcard series I think the Astros experience overpowers the Tigers below average hitters in two games and Houston will move on to the divisional series.
In the ALDS, if everything I predicted goes through, the Royals will be playing the Yankees while the Guardians will play the Astros. I think that Bobby Witt will prove he’s the true MVP and will lead the Royals to a five game series that they will be crowned victorious. To face them in the ALCS will be the Houston Astros who will make quick work of a solid, but underwhelming Cleveland roster and win in three games.
Matching up in the ALCS will be the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros. Where the experience of heavy hitters like Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez will prove to be valuable over the Kansas City Royals pitchers. The Houston Astros will head to their fourth World Series in seven years.
Make sure to keep locked on to Area 51 as we move into October and into the MLB Playoffs.
Also check out the National League Preview and Predictions article here.