The Postseason gets underway on Friday with the 12-team field that includes 4 first-round byes all vying for the Commissioners Trophy that’ll be awarded to the tournament champion in early November. I’m not going to sit here and pretend I know a whole lot about the playoff teams outside the AL east this year, but I still watched a lot of baseball this year and even more SportsCenter so I’m aware of what their seasons looked like.
I’ve written a brief prediction for the first-round series below in a similar style to my football picks. My full playoff predictions are in the bracket at the bottom of the post, but I’ll update the bracket and preview each series as we make our way through the playoffs.
Tampa Bay (6) at Cleveland (3) – The Guardians generally feel like they’re ascending whereas the Rays look to be descending. After appearing in the Mickey Mouse World Series in 2020, the Rays won the division last year but were knocked out by the Red Sox in the first round. This year they are squeaking into the tournament as the last Wild Card team after getting swept by the 76-84 Red Sox to close out the season. Give me a Cleveland team that won their division and won 6 of their last 8. Pick: Guardians
Seattle (5) at Toronto (4) – The Jays made a manager change in June and took off. Their lineup is deep and can hit for power while their pitching is elite. They only won 92 games but feel like a team that should have been closer to 100 which can be seen as both a good thing and a bad thing. Seattle is back in the tournament for the first time in 21 years with a great front end of the rotation and an offense led by rookie Julio Rodriguez. I haven’t watched much Seattle baseball this year, so my prediction may be skewed, but I’ll take that daunting lineup for the home team, Toronto, over the new kid on the block Mariners. Pick: Blue Jays
Philadelphia (6) at St. Louis (3) – I don’t trust the Phillies. They were the last team to qualify for the postseason and are the feast or famine poster child. They rely on power to outslug teams and have struggled defensively all year. The cardinals not only play better defense than the Phillies, but they also won their division and with Pujols and Molina retiring after the season, this seems like a team that will play with urgency and win this series in 3. Pick: Cardinals
San Diego (5) at New York (4) – The Padres love to spend money and underachieve. The Soto trade hasn’t worked out and the Tatis Jr. steroid news seemed to throw a wrench into the equation in San Diego. The Mets blew a massive lead to the Braves, but that was more a result of the Atlanta playing out of their minds than the Mets choking as they still finished with 101 wins. Give me the Mets in a laugher here. Pick: Mets
