When picking a postseason winner, do you look for the team on the hot streak or the team that has been the most consistent throughout the year? This year, in both the American and National League you get both in the Milwaukee Brewers (NL) and the Toronto Blue Jays in the (AL). Milwaukee‘s combination of hitting and pitching led them to the best record. What will best suit them for the postseason is their ability to win close games and to come from behind. Multiple times the Brewers came from behind to win games that might’ve been written off ordinarily. Coincidentally one of the teams that was a frequent victim is also in the postseason in the form of the Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati managed to reach the .500 mark late in the season but then limped into the playoffs as the Mets lost their final game and Cincinnati held the tiebreaker. The Reds have not been consistent and are what their record would indicate they are: a team able to beat up on the have-nots but unable to beat the haves. 

They will face off against the Dodgers, who have also struggled to beat good teams, but have been good against teams like the Reds. Unlike last year, when the Dodgers starting rotation was in shambles, Los Angeles, heads into the postseason with Yoshinobu Yamamoto Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell all healthy and Clayton Kershaw, looking like a solid number-two starter or a Hall-of-Fame long reliever. Kershaw could be the difference maker in any postseason series.

The Dodgers bullpen pitchers have each taken a turn at coming into a game in recent weeks and throwing gasoline on the fire. Blake Treinen has been off the injured list for a couple of weeks and the movement on his pitches is outstanding. Unfortunately, he does not seem to be able to control where they go and opposing hitters have been happy to send them into the gaps or over the fence. Manager, Dave Roberts can be the deciding force if he makes the right decisions at the right time with the bullpen. But if he doesn’t, the Dodgers could easily be out in the division series against Milwaukee. The San Diego Padres made the postseason again, but finished in unimpressive fashion -much like the Dodgers. Manny Machado. could lead them to a short series went over the Chicago Cubs but Chicago seems to do everything San Diego does just a little bit better. The Cubs, though, might consider moving Pete Crow-Armstrong down in the lineup as a number nine hitter or second leadoff hitter, if you will, because of his recent struggles at the plate. The Dodgers are the real wildcard in this bracket because of their talent and could win it all, but Philadelphia has been a better team all year and should beat the winner of the San Diego vs. Chicago series to advance to the National League Championship Series. The Phillies have the offense and the pitching and not a small amount of playoff experience. 

In the American League, Detroit went from 25 games over .500 to barely making it into the playoffs as a wild card. Cleveland has been on fire behind Jose Ramirez and could easily be a spoiler against Seattle. The Mariners seemed to let off on the gas at the very end after they had clinched. They lost their final series to the Dodgers. Five days off as the number two seed might do them a world of good to forget about the way they ended. Eugenio Suarez hits mistakes but swings at everything. The Toronto Blue Jays have been much like the Milwaukee Brewers and the Phillies in that they have been consistently at top the National League East for most of the year. Teams that figure out ways to win games in different manners typically do well in the postseason and the Blue Jays are one of those teams. The American League playoff bracket is crowded with teams from the east. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees play three games in New York, which would seem to benefit the Yankees, but with this heated, long-standing rivalry, anything is possible between these two teams. With his hot as Boston has been recently, I would not be surprised if they beat the Yankees. The Yankees offense has often looked uninspired, besides Aaron Judge, and the pitching has been prone to give up big innings.

Prediction: Milwaukee and its history of disappointing playoff flame outs outlasts Philadelphia in seven games, and goes to the World Series to represent the National League. Boston rides the hot streak it is on and meets them there. I really like Toronto, but I think Boston has that little extra something that teams get from fighting and clawing their way in to the playoffs. I have the same feeling about Cleveland. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cleveland go all the way either.