The MLB Postseason is unpredictable but three of our writers took their best guess as to how things will shake out.
ALDS:
NLCS:
AL Wild Card:
Astros vs Royals: Royals in 4
Mets vs Dodgers: Mets in 4
Pirates vs Mets: Pirates in 6
Aditya Sriwasth's picks
AL Wild Card:
AL Wild Card:
Astros vs Yankees: Astros
- The Astros have Keuchel going and I believe their lineup will be capable of scoring some runs off Tanaka. The Yankees have had a torrid time scoring off Keuchel this season and I don't see that changing here.
NL Wild Card:
NL Wild Card:
Cubs vs Pirates: Cubs
-Jake Arrieta. Need I say more?
ALDS:
Rangers vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays in 3
- The Rangers scrapped through to get to the playoffs. They don't have stellar pitching and against the Blue jays that will come to haunt them. Would take a miracle to beat Toronto with that roster.
- The Rangers scrapped through to get to the playoffs. They don't have stellar pitching and against the Blue jays that will come to haunt them. Would take a miracle to beat Toronto with that roster.
Astros vs Royals: Royals in 4
- It's not that the Astros are a bad team but the Royals are just ridiculously good. Expect these games to be very closely contested, but I can't see the Astros pulling an upset in this series.
- It's not that the Astros are a bad team but the Royals are just ridiculously good. Expect these games to be very closely contested, but I can't see the Astros pulling an upset in this series.
NLDS:
Mets vs Dodgers: Mets in 5
- Yes I know the Dodgers have Kershaw and Grienke. Yes I know they have a 300 million dollar payroll. But what they dont have is depth when it comes to pitching. For me, pitching wins you championships unless you have a ridiculously good offense. The Mets will roll DeGrom, Syndeggard, Harvey and Matz for the first 4 games. Yes the Metz have a really mediocre offense at best but with the pitching they have, it should be more than enough to get the job done (See: 2010 Giants).
- Yes I know the Dodgers have Kershaw and Grienke. Yes I know they have a 300 million dollar payroll. But what they dont have is depth when it comes to pitching. For me, pitching wins you championships unless you have a ridiculously good offense. The Mets will roll DeGrom, Syndeggard, Harvey and Matz for the first 4 games. Yes the Metz have a really mediocre offense at best but with the pitching they have, it should be more than enough to get the job done (See: 2010 Giants).
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| Can the Mets Rotation get the job done? |
Cubs vs Cardinals: Cardinals in 5
-The Cardinals have become playoff regulars so much that people consider them to be an afterthought when trying to predict who will win it all this postseason. Their pitching staff is extremely underrated and they have a ton of playoff experience. The Cubs are amazing, but I see the Cardinals pulling this one through.
-The Cardinals have become playoff regulars so much that people consider them to be an afterthought when trying to predict who will win it all this postseason. Their pitching staff is extremely underrated and they have a ton of playoff experience. The Cubs are amazing, but I see the Cardinals pulling this one through.
ALCS:
Blue Jays vs Royals: Blue Jays in 7
-This one is a coin flip for me (if it even gets to this stage in the first place). I honestly can't make a solid case for either team. Purely going with the Blue jays cause man that offense is so good and fun to watch, but it's a toss up.
NLCS:
Mets vs Cardinals: Cardinals in 6
- I would predict the Cardinals to beat the Mets or the Dodgers in this stage for the same reasons stated above. They have a REALLY good team people. You can certainly make the case for the Mets to win here, but I don't see it happening.
- I would predict the Cardinals to beat the Mets or the Dodgers in this stage for the same reasons stated above. They have a REALLY good team people. You can certainly make the case for the Mets to win here, but I don't see it happening.
World Series:
Cardinals vs Blue Jays: Cardinals in 7
- Even with an elite offense that Toronto has to offer, I think the Cardinals pitching and timely hitting will prevail. Hey where have I heard that before? (See: 2010, 2012, 2014 Giants and 2011 Cardinals).
- Even with an elite offense that Toronto has to offer, I think the Cardinals pitching and timely hitting will prevail. Hey where have I heard that before? (See: 2010, 2012, 2014 Giants and 2011 Cardinals).
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| Aditya always picks the Cardinals |
Hirsch Patel's picks
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| For Hirsch, Tanaka isn't a real ace |
Astros vs Yankees: Astros
- Yankees don't have a real ace
NL Wild Card:
Cubs vs Pirates: Pirates
- Pirates have been incredible at PNC Park
ALDS:
Rangers vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays in 4
- Toronto has a deadly lineup and and a real ace in David Price. While Texas has a good offense, their pitching depth is severely lacking. Texas' bullpen looks exhausted as well.
Astros vs Royals: Royals in 4
- Keuchel and Kazmir will have to carry this team if the Astros want to have a real shot at winning this series. Astros have been exceptional at home, but horrendous on the road. A good bullpen helps teams significantly in the playoffs. The Royals still have that working in their favor.
NLDS:
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| Is Cespedes the Mets X-factor? |
Mets vs Dodgers: Mets in 4
- If the Mets steal Games 1 or 2, they're primed to win the series. Having Kershaw and Grienke in a 5 game series is incredibly advantageous, which makes me skeptical of this pick, but the Mets deep pitching rotation somewhat neutralizes that. There are no easy outs in the Mets' lineup while the Dodgers' bullpen is a weak link.
Pirates vs Cardinals: Pirates in 5
- There's more reason for me to take the Cardinals after Jung Ho Kang's injury but I like Pittsburgh. They have more upside with their lineup because their best players possess speed and power. Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano are underrated.
The Cardinals pitching is phenomenal but I think the underdogs win this one.
ALCS:
Blue Jays vs Royals: Blue Jays in 5
- Royals haven't been playing their best baseball in the last 2 months and I think Toronto's talent will catch up to that.
NLCS:
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| Hirsch loves the Pirates |
- The Mets will make the series interesting simply based on how sensational their pitching is, but the Pirates bats are too strong to keep quiet for a 7 game series.
World Series:
Pirates vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays in 6
- This would be a great world series and the sides are evenly matched, but the Blue Jays are the team to beat.
Chengez Khan's picks
-Offenses with high strikeout rates can struggle in the playoffs and the Astros could follow that trend. New York should also face a less effective Dallas Keuchel, who isn’t nearly as dominant on the road. He is also pitching on the three days rest, a dicey proposition, even for a Cy Young-caliber pitcher like Keuchel.
-The Royals have all the tools to return to the World Series. Hitting for contact is an important skill come playoff time when the weather gets cold and the pitchers get tougher. No team encompasses that like Kansas City, who simply refuse to strikeout. The starting rotation isn’t very strong, but an incredible bullpen makes up for it.
Chengez Khan's picks
AL Wild Card:
Astros vs Yankees: Yankees
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| Will Keuchel prove Chengez wrong? |
NL Wild Card:
Cubs vs Pirates: Pirates
-Maybe Pittsburgh learned something from being in this exact scenario last year. Maybe Jake Arrieta will finally have a start that isn’t dominant. Maybe Gerrit Cole is the breakout star of this year’s playoffs. Maybe it won’t be the incredibly close, exciting, intense game that everyone expects it to be. Maybe no one has a clue what’s going to happen when these two division rivals square off again.
ALDS:
Rangers vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays in 3
-The Rangers’ offense can make this a fun series, but Texas just doesn’t have the pitching to take on Toronto. The Blue Jays are destined to score a lot of runs in this series, and Texas has no one outside of Cole Hamels with a great chance to stop them.
Yankees vs Royals: Royals in 4
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| Can Postseason Kershaw step up? |
NLDS:
Mets vs Dodgers: Dodgers in 5
-The Mets rotation is incredibly dangerous, but the Dodgers top two are simply too much. Clayton Kershaw finally proves his worth in the postseason, Zack Greinke does Zack Greinke things and the national audience is introduced to the talents of Corey Seager in a series of incredibly close games and dominant pitching performances from both New York and Los Angeles.
Pirates vs Cardinals: Pirates in 5
-The Cardinals make this series longer than it should be because they are the Cardinals, but the loss of Carlos Martinez will sting as Gerrit Cole gets the Pirates off to a good start and then finishes the job in a Game 5 for the ages.
ALCS:
Blue Jays vs Royals: Blue Jays in 7
The Royals have the same tools that have made the Giants and Cardinals so successful in the last decade. The Blue Jays have the best run differential, best offense, and best pitcher in the series. As great as the Royals may be, it’s hard to pick against an historically excellent lineup. As mentioned previously, offenses tend to stall in colder weather, but the Blue Jays play their home games in a dome; and they look damn unbeatable there.
NLCS:
Pirates vs Dodgers: Dodgers in 6
The Kershaw/Greinke show continues to be too much for opponents. Facing two Cy Young award winners back to back is just difficult. The Pirates have more success offensively than the Mets in the previous series, but Los Angeles returns to the World Series for the first time since 1998.
World Series:
Dodgers vs Blue Jays: Blue Jays in 6
In a stunning turn of events, Vegas’ favorite to win the title right before the playoffs start actually wins the title. Clayton Kershaw pitches well in Toronto, but David Price is simply dominant against a Los Angeles lineup that is inconsistent. The Dodgers’ shaky bullpen finally collapses in a pivotal game late in the series while Toronto’s historic offense proves to be as scary as everyone thinks it is. After struggling throughout the playoffs, Edwin Encarnacion catches fire and is awarded the MVP of the series. Canada celebrates like crazy. Rob Manfred announces that baseball will return to Montreal in 2018.
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| Will The Blue Jays celebrate once again? |
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