American League Wildcard Previews

The first match up between the AL west champions and one of two AL Central Wildcard teams, the Houston Astros and the Detroit Tigers. One team, some would consider a dynasty, the other, hasn’t sniffed October in a decade. Nevertheless, the young gun Tigers look to make a statement over a veteran filled Astros lineup.

The Tigers lineup went 86-76 which was good enough to snag second in the AL Central and being good enough to also get a shot in the Wildcard. Their team consists of star pitching and defense with some inconsistent but powerful bats.

The Tigers are headlined by AL Triple Crown winner Tariq Skubal who posted insane numbers throughout the 2024 season. Skubal put up a 2.39 earned run average to go with 18 wins, 4 losses and 228 strikeouts to top things off. In a three game series against the Astros expect to see Skubal start things off strong, at least on the mound for the Tigers, and hope that momentum carries through to their next starter who is yet to be named, and is a big decision. 

Looking at the playoffs as a whole, despite having the Cy Young and Triple Crown winner, their rotation looks the weakest. Casey Mize, Reese Olson and Kenta Maeda are all inconsistent options, with Olson looking the best over the shortest time frame, but the experience of Maeda also has to play a role. All in all the rotation of the Tigers needs a guy to step up if they want a chance to win this series. On the offensive side of the game, the Tigers struggle there too.

Riley Greene highlights the team with his .827 OPS which is the best on the roster for an everyday player. Kerry Carpenter is a known right-handed pitcher hitter who posted an ops in the .900s and Matt Vierling is a good utility player who has shown strong abilities in all facets of the game. Other than those three guys the Tigers are a mix of early career guys who are ready to make a name for themselves against one of the premier franchises in recent history. 

Houston has had the same core for about 5 years, and continues to add other star players to help with their cause. The team has their star veterans on both offense and defense. That list includes Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez on the mound with Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve in the batters box. The Astros ranked third in the MLB in batting average behind this core and other key players Yanier Diaz, Jeremy Pena and Alex Bregman.

The rotation going into the playoffs will include young star Hunter Brown and veterans Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander as their three headed monster, with Josh Hader out of the pen as the closer. The Astros seem to have the deepest roster, maybe getting challenged by the Orioles on paper and look to put some meaning behind that and make quick work of the up and coming Tigers.

Overall, I think the Astros will easily handle the Tigers with the only real threat only being able to play one game. If Tariq Skubal could start every game, then the Tigers could make a run but the experience and talent of the Astros should be too much for the Tigers to overcome in a three game series. This is why, in my opinion, the Astros will sweep the Tigers despite Skubal being on the mound for one of those games.

The consistency of the Astros is unmatched and without starting the season slow with a 7-19 record, they probably win the second seed and do not have to worry about this series. But here they are and anything can happen in the MLB playoffs.

My Prediction: Astros in 2

This series includes two wild card teams, one which was in contention for their division lead for most of the year, and the other is a young team who just got into the postseason off of some late clutch wins. Both teams are stacked with young talent and both teams have their face of the franchise sitting at Shortstop. This series will be highlighted by the story of Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson.

The Royals have shown plenty of promise over the 2024 season, the highlight of that is their MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. who led the league in batting average while also being a premier 5 tool player. He also put up his second 30 home run and 30 stolen base season, the first Shortstop to ever do so. Bobby Witt Jr. can win you a baseball game, this can be seen when the Royals played the White Sox on July 28, where Bobby went four out of five at-bats with a hit, including a double and the go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning. He also made a diving play at shortstop for the final out in the 9th.

Basically, Bobby Witt is a very, very good baseball player who makes a difference any time his name is mentioned. The lineup also comprises more young talent and other skilled veterans who all contributed to a strong 86-76 record which was good enough for the last position in the MLB postseason. The lineup includes speedy youngster Mikaeil Garcia who came seventh in the MLB in stolen bases, Salvador Perez who has rejuvenated his already long and successful career, another young star in first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino who could miss the series and is still on the Injured List for now, and another veteran in Hunter Renfroe.

The pitching of the Royals has also been consistent and reliable posting a eighth ranked earned run average and first ranked opponent home run percentage behind Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo along with youngster Brady Signer. Overall, the team has a good balance of leadership and experience mixed with youthful and explosive talent. I think the Royals are the most prepared out of the Wild card teams.

The power filled Baltimore Orioles find themselves with a stacked roster and what might be the deepest core out of all American League teams. Lead by power hitters Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander combining for 81 home runs and both of them ranking in the top ten for that stat. Seven Orioles players reached the 15 home run mark with Cedcric Mullins adding 32 steals to go with his 18 home run total. Youngster Adley Rutschman posted 19 home runs and 79 runs batted in to go with a .250 batting average, coupled with Colton Cowser who seems to have the American League Rookie of the Year on lock, the Orioles do not lack young talent.

On the mound for Baltimore includes a similar level of veteran and young talent. Headlining the rotation is former Cy Young winner with the Brewers Corbin Burnes, who behind a 2.92 earned run average, leads this young Orioles team. Other starting pitchers to choose from in this series include trade deadline acquisition Zach Eflin and veterans Cole Irvin and Albert Suarez. The Orioles have suffered greatly from the injury bug on their starting rotation, with Bradish, Means and Rodriguez all set to miss most if not all of the postseason. The banged up Orioles rotation hopes to be able to string together a few wins and move through.

With no major injuries to their pitching staff outside of reliever Hunter Harvey, the Royals are ready as ever to make an upset and in my opinion they will. The Orioles have a powerful roster, but the Royals have posted the least amount of home runs per game and have shown to be effective at shutting down power hitters.

The Orioles rotation also lacks depth, though Eflin could make noise being their second guy. I think the Orioles take game one behind Corbin Burnes, then lose the next two to the Royals sending Kansas City to the ALDS. This will be behind clutch play from veteran catcher Salvy and star shortstop Bobby Witt making the most of the banged up Orioles rotation and finding themselves back in the second round of the playoffs since they won the World Series in 2015.

My Prediction: Royals in 3

Area 51 will be along for the crazy roller coaster ride that is the MLB postseason, so make sure to follow along with us. Also check out the National League Wild Card preview here.