Predicting the Playoffs Now that We're Here

Now that we're through the wildcard rounds, I want to predict who will win the World Series. Unfortunately, I didn't do a very good job last time I wrote on this. I think I had the Cubs winning their division. Nonetheless, I will now make a hopefully much more accurate prediction, starting with the AL.

ALDS (5 games):

(1) Orioles vs. (5) Rangers

I correctly predicted the Rangers defeating the Rays in the wildcard series. They outscored the 99-win team 11-1 in their two game sweep. Now, they have a bit of a tougher task. Baltimore has been insanely good this season, and I actually really like what they've done with all their young players. They had great seasons out of rookie Gunnar Henderson, catcher Adley Rutschman, and a breakout season out of outfielder Ryan O'hearn. I mention these three in particular because they are my favorite players on this team, and they did help the team surge this year. The Rangers scored by far the most runs in the American League, scoring an astounding 881 runs in the regular season, good for 5.44 runs per game. Compare this to the Oriole 807, or 4.98 runs per game. Still pretty good, but the Rangers are significantly better. As far as pitching goes, the Rangers had a 4.28 ERA this season, good for tenth in the AL, whereas the Orioles had a 3.89 ERA, fifth in the AL. The Rangers have Jordan Montgomery as their ace right now, and he is backed by Nathan Eovaldi and Dane Dunning. The Orioles' ace this season was Kyle Bradish, and he is backed by a solid Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez. The Orioles also have a much stronger bullpen than the Rangers, and this will hurt Texas a bit, because the pen blew quite a few games at the end of the season. Therefore, I have the Orioles winning the series, probably 3 games to 2.

(2) Astros vs. (3) Twins

The Astros went 90-72 in the regular season, just narrowly beating the Rangers for first place in the AL West, and the Twins went a rather sad 87-75 to win the literal worst division, the AL Central. Nonetheless, they dethroned the Blue Jays in two games, something I never would have guessed happening. The Astros  slashed .259/.331/.437 as a team in the regular season, whereas the Twins slashed .243/.326/.427 with 233 homers, first in the AL and 11 more than the Astros' 222. The Astros have a team ERA of 3.94, slightly less than the Twins' 3.87. Both teams have a good rotation and bullpen, but I don't see a ton in the Twins lineup, even though they have the most AL home runs. However, the Astros  have quite a good lineup, and so I think they will win the series 3-1.

ALCS (7 games):

(1) Orioles vs. (2) Astros

I've already spoken about both of these teams, so I will cut to the chase. The Astros have better hitters than the Orioles, but I personally think that the O's have a better all-around lineup. I mean, you can't have Martin Maldonado and Jake Myers in the lineup as much as they have been. Both teams seem to have momentum right now. But I love seeing the Orioles play. They seem to be doing everything right at the moment, and not only do I want them to win, but I think that they have a team that is very capable of beating the Astros, who struggled against the Royals and A's in the regular season (although I think they used those series as an oppurtuninty to use guys who don't get a lot of playing time). So, I have the Orioles winning the series 4-3 and going to the Fall Classic.

Now, let's move on to the better division: the NL.

NLDS (5 games):

(1) Braves vs. (4) Phillies

The Braves won 104 games this season and slugged .501 as a team! Who does that?! They also hit .276 as a team. .276! That's higher than Juan Soto hit this season. They also led the Majors with 307 homers. Atlanta also has amazing bullpen depth, and a good starting rotation, featuring Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Charlie Morton, and Max Fried, with young talent out of guys like A.J. Smith-Shawver and Allan Winans. They have done everything correctly this season, and no team should want to face them. Now on to the Phillies. They hit .256 as a team, lower than Juan Soto. They hit 220 homers, a whopping 87 less than the Braves. However, they had a slightly lower ERA than their opponents at 4.02. They also have a good bullpen and a strong starting staff, led by ace starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. I would also like to say here that both teams have old but solid closers, both of whom I've written about before. All and all, the Braves are a much better team than the Phillies, and I believe they'll take the series 3-1. But the Phillies beat the Braves last year when I thought they were going to get the snot beaten out of them, so anything can happen.

(2) Dodgers vs. (6) Diamondbacks

The 84 win Diamondbacks somehow swept the Brewers to make it to the NLDS. Now they have a tougher matchup, as they are going to face the Dodgers in the Division Series. They have extreme talent in Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Zac Gallen, Merril Kelly, and Paul Sewald. However, they only hit 166 homers as a team, which is not so good. Their pitching staff was also subpar, with a 4.47 ERA, good for tenth in the league. Overall it is a little bit surprising that they squeaked into the playoffs. The one stat that does impress me is their 166 steals. However, stealing slightly more than one base per game will not save them in the playoffs. The Dodgers are a very solid team. They hit .257 with 249 home runs, second in the MLB. They have 2 MVP candidates in Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, and a very solid pitching staff that is fifth in the league with a 4.06 ERA. In short, they are way better than the D-Backs, and I think that they will defeat them 3-1 in the series.

NLCS (7 games):

(1) Braves vs. (2) Dodgers

I have already talked about these teams, so it should not be very hard to decide who's moving on. Both teams are solid, but it is obvious that the Braves are more solid. Every batter in their starting lineup is hitting over .250, and, like I said, the Braves have a .501 slugging percentage, higher than Julio Rodriguez's mark for the season. The Braves are just better than the Dodgers, which makes me happy because I hate them. Therefore, I believe that the Braves will be the NL champions, taking the NLCS 4-2.

WORLD SERIES:

Right now I am down to the Braves vs. the Orioles in the world series. Both of these teams are the number one seeds in their divisions. Both teams are solid and have good bullpens. I don't have a ton more to say about these teams because I have already talked about them. So I will give you their slash lines and ERAs before making my predictions. 

Braves: .276/.344/.501, 4.14 ERA

Orioles: .255/.321/.421, 3.89 ERA

I think these stats speak for themselves. While both teams are very good, I don't think that the Orioles will be able to hang with the powerhouse known as the Braves. Therefore I have the Braves winning the World Series over the Orioles, 4-2. Much different predictions than what I wrote earlier this season.

Thank you for reading, and please tell me if you have different opinions in the comments.