October is here: 2021 MLB Postseason preview and prediction
The 162 game season has wrapped up and we once again find ourselves with a great field of playoff matchups
After the grind of the MLB regular season concluded this past weekend with the finish of the thrilling ALWC and NL West races we have our postseason schedule set and we have our teams that will all be vying for the World Series Crown.
AL
The #1 overall team in the American League this season was The 100-62 Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay followed up their fantastic run to the World Series of 2020 with the most wins in a season in club history. Tampa was pretty consistently great all year but really turned it on in July and never looked back overtaking the Red Sox for the division lead and putting them away. The Rays are extremely proficient from the plate and rank highly in almost every single metric which is not surprising. Their only struggles stem from a high strikeout rate that is one of the worst in baseball and a mediocre team batting average (with the obvious caveat regarding those stats and how much weight they really hold). Individually you have to watch out for Shortstop Wander Franco the 20 year old was called up and immediately proved why he was rated as one of the best prospects in the world. Along with Franco the Rays have Second Baseman Brandon Lowe , Catcher Mike Zunino, and Outfielder Austin Meadows that are cornerstones of this team who all rack up impressive counting stats as well. Pitching wise Tampa Bay is quite well rounded and that is after losing their ace Tyler Glasnow to the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Their starters are perhaps their weakest link as a team but they are still very strong. The bullpen is outstanding and there is no shortage of arms at Tampa Bay’s disposal for the postseason where as of late they have really shown up when it matters most. The Rays will face the winner of the AL WC game in the ALDS by virtue of holding the top spot in the AL and this team has all the pieces to make another deep October run.
The #2 in the American League is The Houston Astros who took the NL West Crown with a 95-67 record. Houston has been a consistent playoff team as of late and they look to be showing no signs of slowing down at all despite how much they’ll be booed. Houston had a really strong start to the season but somewhat faltered down the stretch but who knows how much of that can be attributed to a team taking it somewhat easy after the division is under control. The Astros have one of the fiercest lineups in baseball and it is one that is constructed to win in the postseason headlined by First Baseman Yuli Gurriel, Second Baseman Jose Altuve, and Shortstop Carlos Correa. And that is just the infield! There is some very serious star power in the Houston lineup and we’d be here all day if I were to list them all as the team ranks top 5 in almost every offensive stat. Pitching wise Houston is very stout boasting high team ranks in most stats with the one exception being struggling with giving up walks to opponents which can be a deathly issue in the postseason but this is a team with heavy October experience so they could tighten that up in a hurry. Houston will face the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS and much like Tampa Bay the pieces are there for a deep run which has started to become the expectation in H-Town.
The #3 in the American League is The AL Central Champion 93-69 Chicago White Sox. Chicago brought in Tony La Russa for the 2021 after their postseason loss in 2020 and the result was a great season for the team from the Southside. They took a strangle hold over the AL Central and were among the first teams to clinch their division. A weaker performance in the second half of the season record wise could be attributed to taking the foot off of the gas of an already clinched playoff spot but you never like to see a team struggle heading into the postseason. At the plate the youth movement in Chicago has been a resounding success in the lineup as Shortstop Tim Anderson, Third Baseman Yoan Moncada, and Outfielder Luis Robert have all been great for them and are 28, 26, and 23 respectively. There are some key veterans that make this a dangerous lineup for any pitcher to navigate. Speaking of pitching that is where the real strength of this team lies. Their starting rotation is phenomenal with a great ability to go deep into games allowing their strong bullpen to shut the door even against the best of lineups and Liam Hendriks is one of the best in the business (except against the Yankees). La Russa knows how to win in October and despite a tough first matchup vs Houston in the ALDS I could see them making a run behind their outstanding pitching and timely hitting.
The host of the AL Wild Card game is The 92-70 Boston Red Sox who host by way of winning the season series over their opponent the New York Yankees. Boston had an outstanding start to the year going 55-36 in the first half of the season which was a shock to many after their 2020 struggles. They even started 7-0 over their hated rivals from the Bronx and everything was looking up in Boston until the Rays showed up. The surging Rays took over first place and then all of the sudden the Yankees turned it on too and in the span of a few weeks the Red Sox went from on top of the world to fighting for their postseason lives. Boston is led by a killer lineup that is highlighted by Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, Third Baseman Rafael Devers, Outfielder Alex Verdugo, and trade deadline acquisition utility man Kyle Schwarber. Their pitching can get them in trouble at times but they’ll be trotting out the fantastic Nathan Eovaldi to start the Wild Card game in Fenway and he’ll be backed up by an expanded postseason bullpen. The Yankees have really had Boston’s number as of late and despite how talented the team is it is hard to see them getting past Tampa Bay even if they defeat the Evil Empire.
The last but certainly not least of the AL Playoff teams is the visiting Wild Card team The 92-70 New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers had a tumultuous season with high highs like a 13 game winning streak and lower than lows like a 7 game losing streak and an 11-8 record against the Orioles. New York had an innate ability to turn it on when they really needed it going 46-27 in the second half of the year and ending the season with a 9-3 stretch that included winning a series against the red hot Toronto Blue Jays and sweeping the Red Sox in Boston behind an unreal performance from Giancarlo Stanton (3 HRs 10 RBIs in 3 games). This Yankee lineup puts the bomb in Bronx Bombers toting the power of Outfielders Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo, First Baseman Anthony Rizzo, Second Baseman Gleyber Torres, and the towering freakish ability of DH/OF Giancarlo Stanton. New York will be without DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit for the postseason but guys like Rougned Odor and Andrew Velazquez have stepped up all year when the club needed them most and will do so again in October. Pitching wise the Yankees are even better with a starting rotation highlighted by one of the best pitchers in baseball Gerrit Cole. The bullpen has been lights out down the stretch as well and the Yankees as a team seem to be peaking at the exact right time for a deep run. Unfortunately they have to face their own personal boogeyman if they defeat the Red Sox and it is just really hard for me to see them getting past Tampa Bay.
NL
The #1 overall team in the National League is The 107-55 San Francisco Giants who won the NL West in one of the best division races of recent memory. Nobody expected this Giants team to play this well but here they are posting one of the most consistent seasons and even winning the most games in a season in club history. The Giants survived a division where at one point the Dodgers had a stretch of going 40-13 and only lost one game of their lead to LA. San Francisco is once again led by the machine that is Buster Posey the outstanding Catcher but they also have other long time major league veterans like Shortstop Brandon Crawford and Third Baseman Evan Longoria. The pitching is also outstanding for San Fran and they shape up as one of the best all around teams in the field. There really is not a true weakness to be seen here for the Giants which is why I think they are the team to beat not just in the NL but in the entire MLB. Any team who plays them will have their work cut out for them and will require some excellent baseball and perhaps a dash of supernatural assistance.
The #2 team in the National League is The 95-67 NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee got off to an extremely strong start and rode the wave for the rest of the year cruising to a division title and they had such a great lead that the St. Louis 17 game win streak didn’t even cause them to break a sweat. The Brewers lineup doesn’t have eye popping stats like some of those out there in the NL but Second Baseman Kolten Wong, Shortstop Willy Adames, Third Baseman Luis Urias, and Outfielder Avisail Garcia are the strongest in the lineup for the Brew Crew. The real part of this Brewers team that makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the field this season is their otherworldly pitching particularly from their starters but their bullpen is rather fierce as well and will only be strengthened by the postseason tradition of teams moving some of the back end starters into the bullpen for October. Milwaukee was one of the best all season long and it is hard to think they’ll have an early exit but they have a tough NLDS matchup with the NL East Champion Atlanta Braves who have been unbelievable down the stretch of the 2021 MLB season. But in the month of October it is really hard to bet against elite pitching.
The #3 team in the NL is The 88-73 NL East Champion Atlanta Braves. Atlanta had one of the rockiest seasons you could ever imagine. Already starting the season without their young would be ace Mike Soroka who was rehabbing from an achilles injury the Braves would go on to lose Catcher Travis d’Arnaud and young promising Pitcher Huascar Ynoa for extended time before the month of May even ended. Couple that with a slumping Freddie Freeman and a bullpen that couldn’t hold a lead to save their lives and it was rough going for the back to back to back NL East Champions. The one saving grace was young superstar Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr but tragedy struck when he completely tore his ACL in early July and most of the baseball world wrote Atlanta off for good. That was until a marvelous trade deadline which caused a meteoric rise back to their rightful place of the top spot in the NL East which they never relinquished and have truly been playing their best ball as of late. The lineup is headlined by the reigning NL MVP First Baseman Freddie Freeman, Second Baseman Ozzie Albies, Third Baseman Austin Riley, and Outfielder Jorge Soler who was among those trade deadline acquisitions and has really thrived since joining the club. Atlanta’s starting pitching has been outstanding as of late as well as the once maligned bullpen, which received trade reinforcement with Richard Rodriguez joining up, culminating in one of the best teams in baseball over the last couple of months. They will meet a tough matchup in the NLDS vs Milwaukee but they have the momentum to make a run in October similar to theirs last year.
The hosts of the NL WC showdown are The LA Dodgers as their 106-56 record was not enough to win the insanely good NL West. LA had another fantastic season as they dueled it out with the Giants and Padres all year out west all the while dealing with some horrific injuries to some of their stars. They responded to this rash of issues by plugging the holes rather well with a trade deadline that included bringing Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to LA. The lineup for the Dodgers is highlighted by the aforementioned Second Baseman Trea Turner, Shortstop Corey Seager, Outfielder Mookie Betts, and Catcher Will Smith. The Pitching is up to the Dodger standard as well and this team is once again extremely well rounded. Unfortunately for them they will have to face the red hot Cardinals in the WC game which is always tough in general due to the nature of the single elimination aspect. If LA can get past STL the showdown with San Francisco looms large. This is a team looking to repeat as World Series Champions and despite some really tough games on the horizon it would not surprise me at all if they are back on top of the baseball world.
The last playoff team of the NL and who will be traveling to LA for the Wild Card are The 90-72 St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis had a rough start to the year but really, and I mean really, caught fire and rose to take the last playoff spot with help from an insane 17 game winning streak in September. The lineup is quite formidable touting First Baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Third Baseman Nolan Arenado, and their Outfielders Tyler O’Neil, Harrison Bader, and Dylan Carlson which have all been great. The Starters for St. Louis have been fantastic but they do have their pitching struggles namely in the bullpen which will be interesting in the Wild Card game. Of all the teams in the field this season this is possibly the most intriguing to me as I could see them going on a huge run channeling the power of the Cardinals Devil Magic or fizzling out on the landing pad after peaking just a bit too early.
Predictions
AL Wild Card: Yankees 2 Red Sox 0 NYY advances to ALDS
NL Wild Card: Dodgers 5 Cardinals 3
ALDS Tampa Bay vs New York: Rays in 4 games over Yankees TB advances to ALCS
ALDS Houston vs Chicago: Astros in 5 games over White Sox HOU advances to ALCS
NLDS San Francisco vs LA: Giants in 5 games over Dodgers SF advances to NLCS
NLDS Milwaukee vs Atlanta: Braves in 4 games over Brewers ATL advances to NLCS
ALCS Tampa Bay vs Houston: Rays over Astros in 7 games TB advances to WS
NLCS San Francisco vs Atlanta: Giants over Braves in 5 games SF advances to WS
World Series San Francisco vs Tampa Bay: Giants over Rays in 6 games
In my opinion the San Francisco Giants will be World Series Champions!