Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are the class of the MLB right now. The star power grows on trees out there, lead Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and Martin Freeman. LA’s season played out exactly how everyone thought it would. The Dodgers racking up home runs and all the eyes were on Shohei Ohtani. While they will have to wait to see who they face in the NLDS, the Dodgers will be the favorite no matter who comes their way.
While the offense is very prevalent with this team, the pitching is not as deep. The team currently has two pitchers that are injured in Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone. They will turn to Jack Flaherty, Walker Beuhler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Landon Knack. The starting pitching will definitely need to step up and perform as they will face some amazing pitching depth in the Padres or Braves.
Philadelphia Phillies
While the Dodgers might be the scariest team on the west coast, the Phillies might be the best team on the east coast. They are the complete team. The hitting lineup that they have is some of the best in the league, while the pitching can just lock it down no matter who is on the mound for them. Philadelphia has been lead by the play of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper swinging the bat, while Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Cristopher Sanchez have been pitching phenomenally.
The Phillies will be facing one of the Mets or Brewers in the NLDS. Either team should make it an interesting series with Philadelphia but this team is just too deep and their stars are just too good. Philadelphia should be able to go deep into the playoffs with this lineup, but it is the playoffs and anything can happen.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are the NL Central division champions. No one at the beginning of the season had them making the playoffs, let alone winning the division. While they may be a step down from the other two division winners, they will be a team to watch out for. They are lead, on the offensive side, by Willy Adames, Rhys Hoskins, and William Contreras. They combine for 80 of the 174 home runs the team scored this year. While the star power is there, it is the depth in their batting lineup that will be what will give teams a difficult time.
On the pitching side, they are not as deep. They have their ace in Freddy Peralta, after him they have very serviceable pitchers in Colin Rea and Tobias Myers. The problem is when it comes to playoff series you need to have the depth to win a series. Especially when it gets to the NLDS and NLCS. Not to mention the World Series. The Brewers have a well rounded team, but it will take a team effort to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy.
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres, similar to the Brewers, had been written off by the baseball world. The Padres still have a lot of star power in Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Jackson Merrill. While their in-season acquisition, Luis Arraez, lead the National League in hits and with his batting average. San Diego will be looking to ramp up the offense in the post season to compete with the other National League teams. As of the six NL playoff teams they rank sixth in runs, and fifth in home runs.
While they do top the list in batting average and hits, it just means they can get on base and not convert as well as the other teams can. It will be the key to their success in the playoffs. The pitching staff will have to continue their great season into the post season. They are first in shutouts, fifth in ERA, and have given up the fourth least earned runs. The offense and defense will have to continue being elite to get through the brutal National League.
New York Mets
The Mets have always been the little brother to the Yankees. The Mets do not make the playoffs often but when they do they usually make some noise. This postseason should be interesting for them. They have a fair amount of depth offensively with the likes of Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor topping the depth chart.
While on the other side of the ball they have three pitchers in Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, and Luis Severino that can handle themselves well. If the offense can give them some support, they will be able to make a good run in the post season. The downfall of this team will be if the pitching cannot keep the other team under control. The offense is there, they just need the defense to step up when it matters most.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves have had quite the season. With a record of 89-73, they really should be better than their record dictates. They have the offensive power in Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson leading the team in homeruns but the teams true strength is with he pitching staffs depth. The team leads the MLB in ERA, strikeouts, shutouts and to cap it off they have given up the fewest runs in the MLB. The concern with the pitching is their ace Chris Sale did not play in today’s games due to back spasms. With the post season starting tomorrow it will be something to keep an eye on.
Atlanta will be a very tough team to face in the post season. Problem being that the Braves will be facing the Padres, who are the best team playing in the wild card series. It should be a good match up as each team has several offensive threats and pitching depth that every team dreams of.
National League Prediction
The National League is FINALLY set! With an unprecedented wild card determining double header on September 30th, we finally know who will be playing in the Wild Card games.
The first match up being the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers. Both teams are coming into these playoffs as underdogs, because no one at the beginning of the season had them making the post season. While it should be a closely contested series, I see the Brewers taking it in 3 games.
In the other series it is the San Diego Padres taking on the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta may have a very quick turn around after the doubleheader today, that should not be a reason to count them out. This series should go three games and be extremely close, but I do see the Padres taking it due to their depth.
Now in the NLDS, it will be the Phillies and Brewers. The Phillies are the better team in this series, but underestimating the Brewers would be a dangerous thing to do. They do have the depth and skill to compete and Milwaukee will make this interesting but I see the Phillies taking it in four games.
The Dodgers will be taking on their state rivals in the Padres in the other NLDS. This should be the closest series in divisional rounds as both teams match up well. We did get a little preview of what a series might be at the end of the season and it was thrilling baseball to watch. This series is going to go five games but I think baring injuries, the Dodgers will take this.
This is going to be one of the most star studded match ups of the postseason. Lead by of course Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, and Kyle Schwarber. The pitching edge is definitely in favor of the Phillies, but you have to give the batting and offensive edge to the Dodgers. This series will be very entertaining to watch. With that being said, I think the Dodgers take it in six games.
Make sure to keep locked on to Area 51 as we move into October and into the MLB Playoffs.
Also check out the American League Preview and Predictions article here.