Latest / Who's On First? / Episode 5- MLB Postseason Preview, Picks, and Predictions

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Episode 5- MLB Postseason Preview, Picks, and Predictions · Who's On First?

• Joseph Lund: Well, hello, hello, and welcome back to the Who's On First Show. I'm Joseph Lund. So happy you could be joining me, and it is finally time. We've waited 162 games just so we can say that it is time for playoff baseball. It is such an amazing time to be a baseball fan. Games are starting tomorrow, so I wanted to get this episode to you today. I'm sorry, mom. Over the next couple weeks, I will only be watching playoff baseball in class, and I'm so excited for For baseball in October baseball to get going. And it is gonna be so much fun to watch. There's gonna be a lot of really fun matchups, especially in this opening round. And so today on the Who's On First Show, we're gonna go through what happened on game 162 to get us where we are now. And then I'm gonna walk you through every single wild card series. We're gonna do previews on all four of those wildcard series, which all start tomorrow and they go Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And then finally, I'm going to be giving you all of my predictions for the twenty twenty six postseason. So at the beginning, I'm just gonna do only previews. I'm not gonna give any picks. I'll save all my picks towards the very end, and that is when we will go through the entire bracket and I will give you who I think is going to be the World Series champion. So let's get going. Starting things off, how did we get here? Game one sixty two. So to set the scene after 161, Houston and Texas were tied In the AL West and the Phillies led the Diamondbacks. So Houston needed a win and the Phillies needed a win, as where the Rangers needed a Houston loss and a Texas win. And the Diamondbacks needed a Phillies loss and a Diamondbacks win. However, neither team looking for another team's loss got it. Houston won big. They went up eight to nothing in the seventh, and that is when they learned that Texas had lost to the twins six to four. So from the seventh inning on, Houston knew they were going to be in that game headed to the postseason. They had played the athletics. They pitched Lambert to start, who threw two scoreless. You could tell there was certainly urgency in a must-win game. What's nice for them is that's kind of his regular scheduled bullpen day. So it was nonetheless just a high-leverage bullpen for Lambert. So he should be on regular scheduling now heading into the playoffs. Then on the opposite side of the bracket, the Phillies played before the Diamondbacks. They beat the Rays 7-3 behind Zach Wheeler. and they clinched no matter what the Diamondbacks did. And so that is what got us to now our fully set postseason bracket. So now we're going to go ahead and take a look at all of the matchups. Moving forward in this wild card, this opening round. I'm going to give you all of the previews. And then as I mentioned later, we will get into the picks. So let's start things out. It's the Phillies and the Braves is gonna be the first one. These games will be at two PM Eastern time. And this is gonna be a really fun NL East series to watch. The season series, the Braves won it nine to four, so they have dominated. What's interesting is they've only played games in April and September. They didn't play any games throughout the middle of the year. So those numbers can be a little bit skewed because the Braves were really hot to start off the year and then they really kicked it up again towards the end of the season. Their lull was more towards the summer. Well the Phillies, that's when they really turned their season around after firing their manager and Don Mattingley taking over for Rob Thompson. So looking to this series, what is tough for Philadelphia is that they are incredibly battered up after having to go through an entire one sixty two with your playoff hopes on the line. They used Zach Wheeler in game 162 to ensure that they would make it. So this is a battle-tested and battle-worn team as opposed to the Braves. They've been clinched for more than a week now. They've known they're gonna make it. They just wanted to see who they were going to play. They end up getting their NL East foes in the Phillies. And that's the matchup we find ourselves at now. For the so for the probable pitchers. For the Braves. It is confirmed they will go Chris Sale game one. And it was just confirmed that Jesus Lazardo will be throwing game one for the Phillies. He's coming back off of injury. His last game started was a while back against the Braves. He's gotten some bullpen work in since. So it should be a short spot start for him. And then they'll give it up to the bullpen. Most likely it'll be Andrew Painter to follow and let those two starters tandem. The first game for the Phillies. Then on the opposite side, Chris Sale had a Cy Young season if it wasn't for a young flamethrower named Jacob Mizarowski. 14-9 on the year, a 2-1-8 ERA, 157 innings pitched, 190 strikeouts, sub one, a point nine nine whip. He continues to look Father Time in the face and just put up f Cy Young after Cy Young season. And that's gonna be the big advantage in game one. Is the pitching for the Braves. After that, they kind of lose the pitching battle. Game two, it'll be Christopher Sanchez for the Phillies. And then game three, it would be a tandem of Zach Wheeler and Aaronola all hands on deck of the bullpen if it got to that point. On the opposite side, the Braves will have Tyler Maley throwing and Grant Holmes for game three if needed. So it's gonna be really important for the Braves to get game one. Because you have sale, you have the obvious pitching matchup with the Phillies going for more of a hybrid bullpen game. Well, you have your your ace all set up in sync, in rhythm, on his rotational days. He's ready to go. It's gonna be a lot worse for the Braves if they drop game one than if the Phillies drop game one. If the Phillies drop game one, you're kind of expecting that in a way. You've gone through the full 162, all pressure. Tested baseball games through the very last game that they had to win in order to make it in. And so they certainly have more mileage on them. It's rest versus rust, with the Braves clinching early. And so it's gonna be crucial for the Braves. They're gonna be at home. They have to get game one. If you don't get game one, you now have to go against Christopher Sanchez and is still not as well rested, but it's still Zach Wheeler in game three. Compared to for the Phillies, you're almost expecting a loss in game one. Sorry, Phillies fans. It's just how you're set up right now with how your season ended and not getting certain wins earlier on in the season. Obviously, they had all of the early season drama with firing Rob Thompson. They have since then come back in such an amazing fashion. Never before have we seen two teams who fire their managers have such amazing comeback seasons. We'll talk about the Red Sox later. But you're kind of expecting that loss in game one, but then you have Sanchez, Nola, and Wheeler to go games two and then three if necessary. So for the Braves, that is the recipe. You have to get game one, and then you feel good about getting either two or three at home and letting a fluke happen, letting baseball play out. You have the lineup strength and you have the arms ready, especially in the bullpen, to where you're not afraid. Of the seventh, eighth, ninth inning. For the Phillies, you're a lot more afraid of the seventh, eighth. You're okay with the ninth because you have Duran, and even the eighth, you have Alvarado. But the Braves feel better on the back end of the bullpen and closing out a game, and that's going to be crucial as long as they get that game one win. If not, it's going to be a lot of trouble for the Braves. Looking at the bullpen, it's Risel Iglesias as the closer and then Robert Suarez. He's back the high leverage. eighth inning man as well as Dylan Lee. Those are gonna be your big three for Atlanta, and then it's Duran Alvarado and a couple other supporting roles for the Phillies. Two very powerful, potent bullfen bullpens. And so this is gonna be a really fun series, a really close series. That's gonna be again, I can't say it enough. It's gonna be so crucial. Whoever gets game one is gonna be at an amazing spot in that series heading into it. Two really two offenses with a lot of firepower. And you gotta want to root for this Phillies team in a way because they've had this core for so long. And for so long they felt like year after year they've been a favorite in the NL. For so long it's been this way. You sign Bryce Harper, you go get Trey Turner, you get Schwarber. It's not a money spending problem. They extended Rio Muto again. But now this core is aging and you're getting nervous and you're feeling like the clock is ticking on this core group of players that are still putting out monster numbers. Kyle Schorber tied in the NL for home runs, home run lead with 45. He hit 233, 95 RBIs. That led the team. You still have Bryce Harper being Bryce Harper. He had 28 home runs and an 870 on base plus slugging. And then Trey Turner, a little bit of a down year. He hit 239. You want to see a little bit more hitting for average with Turner, but again, it's that aging core. And anything can happen in the postseason with those three leading the way. There is a lot of October baseball under the belts of those three and a lot of experience on the field in postseason baseball. What's crazy, Chris Sale has not pitched in a playoff game in five years. This will be his first game tomorrow in five years. He obviously in twenty eighteen led the Red Sox to a World Series. He closed out that game against the Dodgers, striking out Manny Machado. Then on the opposite side of the offense for the Braves, it's gonna be the guys you hear about all season. Matt Olson, Michael Harris, Drake Baldwin, Acunya. They have also have a lot of firepower in this lineup. It's gonna be what team shows up? What team can have the better lineup output? The pitching is pretty even with your matchups because certain teams have advantages on certain days. It's not like this is not a series. Where it's your aces going game one and then you're fallen in rotation. This is a team that's rested versus a team that's trying to put things together, put the pieces together, but the rested team maybe doesn't have as much starting pitching depth on the opposite side for the Braves. That's gonna be really important is game one, especially in a three game series. All three games will be in Atlanta. That's how the format works. And so I'll get back to my picks. At the end of the episode, but right now I want to head over to the first American League matchup, White Sox at Astros. This will be another really fun series. Two teams who were not maybe expected to be in the mix at the start of the season, especially for the White Sox. However, both here. They both made it to October. Astros, it's one of the lowest records for a division champ, but they made it. And they're the number three seed, so they will be hosting. They'll be at Dyken Park. So Astros won the season series five to two. And then for the projected pitching matchups, it'll be Fetty most likely game one for the White Sox. None of these have been announced. This is the one series where there's been no probable pitchers announced on either team so far. Fetty eight and nine on the year, three three eight ERA, 141 innings pitch, 99 strikeouts, a 135 whip. That's the guy you want going game one. Most likely it'll be Sean Burke. Game two for the White Sox ten and seven ERA ten and seven record three four ERA 168 innings pitched 178 strikeouts of sub plus nine K per nine and then it'll most likely be Davis Martin going for the White Sox in game three if necessary. On the opposite side, the Astros are similar to the Phillies in that they had to play a full 162 to make sure they got into October baseball. Mentioned it was Lambert who threw two innings in game one sixty two. However, he's kind of in sync in getting on rotation. It was more of a bullpen start for him when it comes to weekly workload. So he should be good to go. They're most likely gonna go bullpen game. It may be Lambert, 'cause that would be his fifth day with the bullpen from his last start, which was the opener against the athletics. And then where the Astros really have the advantage is game two. They have Hunter Brown. He will be that'll be his regular scheduled start day as abiding with how they ended the season. And that is where the Astros have the big advantage here is they have Hunter Brown, they have their ace going game two on full rest, and then if needed, it'd be Hayden Wisneski for game three as well as a tandem of a couple others, Spencer Arrighetti, as well as E my could all go game three. Astros have a lot of pitching depth, which really helps in a series. It'll be a lot of pitchers on a short leash, as always is in the postseason. It's gonna really come down to the pitching here. On the offensive side of things, White Sox led by Miguel Vargas, Murakami, Colson Montgomery. It's a very young team. This team has very minimal playoff experience, which does account for something in October. Playoff baseball is a different game. On the opposite side, Astros have Christian Walker, Isak Paredes, down year for Jose Altuve, but he brings so much experience as well as Jeremy Peña. He was the 2022 World Series MVP. So more playoff experience there at shortstop for the Astros, as well as the Astros have Jordan Alvarez. 310 average, 39 home runs, 98 RBIs, hitting plus one dotting on his OPS 1.023. And that I think is where the difference comes in in this series is for the Astros with the experience they bring. I think overall you can make the case that the White Sox have the better lineup. So this can be another really fun series to watch. on the bullpen side of things, White Sox are led by Grant Taylor, seven and three, two three ERA, ten saves, and a hundred and three strikeouts and eighty-two innings pitched. He has one of the best whiff rates in the MLB. They can mix in Taylor and Sean Newcomb as well on the White Sox bullpen side of things. And again, more experience on the bullpen side of things for the Astros. They have Brian Abreyu. He'll be their high leverage arm, as well as Josh Hayter. This is ridiculous. Hayter enters October at a 1.01 ERA and is perfect in his save opportunities since returning. So again, you feel really good. in that eighth and ninth inning if you're the Astros, which is something that is so crucial, especially if you ask any fan that's ever watched October baseball how important the eighth and the ninth innings are. Closing out wins is going to be so important and you gotta like your chances if you're the Astros with Hayter, as well as for the White Sox with Grant Taylor. He's put together an amazing season so far. This is gonna be another really fun series to watch between experience or a young team that's on A really hot streak so far throughout the year. I'll get to my picks at the end of the episode. Then the third game up on the schedule, it's another AL matchup, and this is the tale as old as time. Red Sox at Yankees. This one will be in Yankees Stadium. Yankees won the season series seven to six. So very close by these two teams. Key Red Sox hitters, you got Wilson Contreras, Wool Your Abreyu, Sedan Rafaela. couple other guys again kinda like the White Sox. This is a young team heading into postseason baseball. They had the repeat of the series last year where the red where excuse me the Yankees won it in that wild card. That one as well was at Yankee Stadium. Then for the Yankees, they have Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm, other guys playing roles. Austin Wells behind the plate. And so far, no announcement has been made on Aaron Judge. However, even if he's playing, he has not seen live pitching since going on the injured list. So even if he is going, it will certainly be hindered in a sense. but he's still Aaron Judge. And it's gonna be the home crowd seeing if he comes out. Maybe it's a pinch hit scenario in game one. I would assume if he's good to go. They're gonna let him play it whether it's DHing or out in the outfield. They're gonna be conservative about that. But also you need to have the mindset of it's October baseball. It's do or die moment now in baseball. And so that announcement should be coming either later today. I'm recording this at two PM Eastern on Monday. So that announcement should be coming later today, possibly tomorrow early morning, as to whether or not he is on the roster. Then for the pitching probables, and this this series is set. Both teams have announced all three starters. For the Yankees, it'll be Cam Schlitler, Max Fried, and Garrett Cole. You gotta love that trio if you're the Yankees. Then for the Red Sox, it'll be Tole, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez for the game three, if necessary. And boy is this gonna be a fun pitching matchup in these three games. obviously you got Schlitler, the easy front runner for AL Cy Young. I think he's gonna get a lot of AL MVP votes as well. That's another discussion. And then on the opposite side, Peyton Tolley, a guy that is so much fun to root for for the Red Sox. If you haven't heard or read about his story, go read up on Peyton Tolle. He certainly had a lot of things in his life that put playoff baseball into perspective. So that's gonna be really fun to watch the young lefty throw for the Red Sox. but you gotta like your odds with Schlitler. Freed and Cole. That's two or three players that now Schlitler last year gained that playoff experience. He had the Red Sox numbers going the whole way throughout that series. And then Freed brings a lot of postseason experience from playing with the Braves and then back now with the Yankees, as well as Garrett Cole, the veteran. That's the reason at the time they signed him to the biggest pitching contract in baseball history. That's why you signed him for the games like this. He would give game three if necessary. Then for on the bullpen side of things, Boston, it's a roll as Chapman as their closer. He brings a lot of postseason experience with the Cubs, as well as the plethora of other teams that he has played for, as well as Garrett Whitlock, in the back end of the bullpen. Then for New York, David Bednar, thirty-five saves. Tim Hill, the lefty, and Paul Blackburn, as well as Brent Hedrick. Those are gonna be your big four for the Yankees. This could be another really fun series. in in the Bronx. You know that crowd is going to be absolutely electric, looking for playoff baseball. And if Judge isn't playing, you gotta play so that you get Aaron Judge playoff at bats. That needs to be the goal. He is the difference maker and he brings so much depth to this lineup. I know he is just one person. He's just one player, but he brings so much depth and protection to this lineup. when it comes to intentional walks and certain things, it makes it so much tougher to navigate an inning when you have it stacked lineup between Jazz, Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and then Aaron Judge. That's a lot scarier and a lot deeper lineup when you have Judge there. Makes it so Rice isn't as susceptible to intentional walks or Cody Bellinger, depending on the matchup, to where you get a better odds. And so that'll be another really fun game to watch. In the Bronx. That one again starting tomorrow. Those games will be on NBC. Then for our final wild card matchup, another really fun one. This one's gonna be in San Diego. It's the Cubs taking on the Padres. Season series, Cubs dominated. They won five of six against the Padres, and they outscored San Diego fifty-five to twenty-eight. it's heavily inflated, however. The Cubs won one twenty-three to three against the Padres earlier on. in the series or in the year, excuse me. Projected pitching matchups for this one. It'll be most likely Matthew Boyd, game one for the Cubs. Then it's going to be a mix of Clay Holmes or David Peterson, as well as you have Kevin Gossman going. he will be game two or game three most likely. Padres have announced that Michael King will be the game one starter. Have not announced the games after that. It will most likely be Nick Pavetta And then Robbie Ray. Again, a lot of depth on the pitching side of things. Cubs also have Shota Imanaga, so they're gonna be a lot of depth. And in a three game series, everyone's ready to go. They say in October, pitchers always have their spikes on. You never know when a starter's gonna come out of the bullpen. You never know when a starter's going on short rest. You always gotta be ready. I think you give the slight edge to the Padres with King and Robbie Ray as well as Pavetta. But it's super close. Imanagos had a very good year. Boyd's had a great year, a 3-9-1 ERA, as well as Kevin Gossman brings a lot of playoff experience. He was obviously on that Blue Jays team last year. That made it all the way to game seven of the World Series, just two outs away from winning the World Series. Matthew Boyd versus the Padres, he's had a tough time this year against San Diego. Eight earn runs and nine innings pitched against the co against the Padres. So that's going to be one to watch out for when he makes his start, most likely game one. However, it could be Gosman, could be Imanaga. We'll see. Then on the bullpen side of things, it'll be Daniel Palencia, Ryan Rollison, Ryan Zephyrjon for the Cubs. They've all had amazing years. You remember Daniel Palencia, he got a lot of high-leverage opportunities in the world baseball classic, and he closed things out for Team Venezuela. on the opposite side, the Padres. This is their strength. This is what you're putting on your billboard when you're advertising for the Padres postseason run is how amazing their bullpen is. It's Mason Miller, Adrian Morahone, Jason Adam, Yuki Matsui. Some of the it it's the best bullpen in the MLB. It's certainly the team that has the easiest argument for being the best bullpen in the MLB. And for so many teams, like I've mentioned it a couple times, but you're nervous about your seventh, eighth, ninth inning. For the Padres, that is their strength, and that's what they're looking forward to. They want to hand off the baton, get it into the hands of the bullpen, and it's gonna be whoever can get out to an early lead in the series is going to have the most success, especially if you're the Padres. Every run the Padres get is gonna feel a little bit more and a little bit bigger as the game goes on. And you get into the back end of that bullpen, a bullpen that also has a lot of high leverage. High postseason innings for the Padres as well as the Cubs. And so this is gonna be another fun repeat matchup of last year. Last year it was at Wrigley. This year it's gonna be at Petco Park. And you know that crowd is going to be absolutely rocking. So that's gonna be a really fun one to watch. So that's all we got for the wildcard preview for really fun matchups. All these games will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It's not like the division series or NLCS. Where they have days off or where they stagger the American League and National League teams. It'll be three game three days of either two to three games, the third if necessary. And so those are all gonna be really fun series to watch. And so now let's get to my postseason picks and predictions who I think is going to be winning it all in twenty twenty six as we go through the bracket. Starting off with that NL matchup, Phillies versus Braves, the number six Phillies, number three Braves. And for this one, I think it's gonna come down to game one. Who can go out, get the hot start? And I really like the Braves chances here. I really like Chris Sale, this matchup against the Phillies. He has a two point eight ERA across twenty six innings this season. against the Phillies. He's seen them a lot. He's gonna be comfortable at home. He brings a ton of postseason experience. And I really like the Braves to go out and get game one. And then although you're down on the pitching side of things when it comes to overall matchups, I think that playing at home brings a lot to this one for the Braves. Even though they got a tough draw with the two PM Eastern time start time. It's just how it worked out with the Padres being on the West Coast. And then obviously the MLB gave the primetime slot to the Red Sox Yankees series, with the Astros and White Sox series falling in between. it's a rough draw, but they're still gonna pack the crowd. Atlanta is always an amazing crowd, especially in October. And so I think they get game one behind Chris Sale. And then I think at one point you just need to get through game two or game three, you get a huge swing. One one swing sets them apart, gets that place. Absolutely rockin'. Could be from Acuna, Riley, could be from Matt Olson, could be from Michael Harris, Drake Baldwin. They have so many guys with the potential for that one hit to break things open. And I think that's going to be the difference in this one. They bring the crowd into it. And if you get one of those starters on their heels for the Phillies in game two or game three, that's your path to winning that series. This is probably the closest matchup. For the wild card games. It's either this one or Yankees Red Sox, which I'll get to in a moment. But I'm going to have the Braves moving on. They will be taking on the Dodgers. And across on the opposite side of the bracket, the White Sox number six seed taking on the number three seed, Houston Astros. This is a young White Sox team. They had a really fun season. They've been very fun to root for in a lot of ways. However, I think this might be. Where that hype train comes to an end. I think the playoff for experience for Houston plays a big role in this one, as well as they have Jordan Alvarez and the White Sox don't. Obviously, the comparison would be to Murakami, who had thirty-five home runs. However, Alvarez is a lot more projectable, especially in a three-game series. Murakami only hit two seven compared to Alvarez's three ten average. He's not just Hitting for power. He's not yet to the point where he's a true three outcome hitter. He can hit the ball to all fields, get a lot of extra base hits, high slugging percentage. He has an OPS above one. And I think he's gonna be the difference in this one. And then I like the Astros pitching just a little bit more. And you always feel good at the end of the game when you have Josh Hader closing out your ninth inning. I think that's gonna be really important. As well as this one's going to be in Houston. I think that crowd will play a factor. They're gonna be excited to be back in the playoffs after missing out last year. And I'm going to have Houston winning this one. They will move on and play at Cleveland. Now down, we are going to head down to the bottom part of the AL bracket. I want to look at the Red Sox and the Yankees series. Series again. Yankees won it seven to six in the season series. And this is going to be another close, really fun matchup. I would not be surprised if this one goes three games. However, I'm going to give the edge to the Yankees in this one. And the reason is the three headed monster of Cam Schlittler, Max Freed, and Garrett Cole. You feel really good if you are the Yankees with those three in a three game series. They just gotta get two with Schlittler, Freed, and Cole, who have all been great this year. Cole, a little rocky coming back from injury. He's had a 10-9 record, 3-6-1 ERA, but I still like his experience. And overall, I think those three are going to make the difference. It's just going to be can the Yankees offense do enough? If they don't have Judge, that's a big loss. However, they still have the supporting roles to go really far. And I think they're going to win this one. I think Ben Rice could have a big series. Cody Bellinger, how many times has he played the role? Of playoff hero with the with the Dodgers, the one season he had with the Cubs, and now back with the Yankees. I think he's gonna be another big role player as well as Jazz Chisholm, brings a lot of postseason experience. Austin Wells, other guys in that Yankees lineup. So I'm gonna give the edge to the Yankees. I think they move on, they will take on the Tampa Bay Rays. And then rounding out this wild card series, it's gonna be the Cubs at the Padres. Again, Chicago dominated the season series winning Five out of six games. They have the front runner for NL MVP. I think it'll be by unanimous decision in Pete Crow Armstrong. However, in a three game series, you can rely on your bullpen. And I think the San Diego team is going to feed off this crowd. It's going to be at Petco Park, one of the best atmospheres in baseball. And as long as they get out to an early lead, which they are very good at in the postseason, you go back to those Dodger series, they led first in almost every game they played. They're very good at that. Getting out to an early lead, and an early lead is a tough start for the Cubs. If you let San Diego get out early, it's gonna be really tough once you get to the sixth inning and beyond. That's gonna be how Craig Stammon manages this team. For the Padres. It'll be his first go around at postseason baseball. It's gonna be a lot on his shoulders of how he manages the bullpen to then get ready for a series after. But I really like the Padres in a three game series to be able to rely on their bullpen with Miller and Morahone and Adam and Matsui. If they can get to the sixth inning with a lead, you feel really good if you're a Padres fan. So I'm gonna pick the Padres to win. They will move on to face the Milwaukee Brewers. So now let's head down. We're gonna start with now up top where the Guardians will be taking on the Houston Astros. Guardians come into this one. They are the number two seed, 85 and 77 on the year. They won the American League Central, winning it away from the White Sox, making them the sixth seed, where I predict they will be eliminated in the wild card. Their big players, Chase DeLoder had a great year for them, hitting 287, as well as the rookie Travis Bazana. And then the veterans, you got Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, Kyle Manzardo, guys like that. They're going to be well rested and ready after the bye. We talk so much in the sports world about rest versus rust, how that will play in effect. The Houston will be coming off if they win. Coming off that series and I'll have postseason baseball now in twenty twenty six under their belt. projected starters for the Guardians. It'll be Parker Mesek, who will probably finish second in AL Cy Young voting. And then it'll be Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee. Really like Bybee. He hasn't had the best a year, years, but he is someone who manages he's had a lot of postseason experience and he always seems to have the super high leverage postseason game and he's done pretty well. Not the great year he wanted. Six and fifteen, four and three five ERA and 182 innings pitched. Strikeout numbers are really down only 142 strikeouts. But still a 1.22 whip. By no means in an awful season. and I think the experience here for the Guardians, as well as the lack of true lineup depth on the Astros side of things, I think that will give the Guardians the edge. they'll be able to play guards ball, small ball. and then they also have an amazing bullpen. You really like Cade Smith at the back end of things. If you're Cleveland, six and one on the year, a two-one three ERA, ninety-six strikeouts, and only sixty-eight innings pitched. That is ridiculous numbers. A one point two whip, as well as they have Hunter Gaddis and then Tim Heron, Eric Zabrowski, Daniel Espino, and Joey Cantillo kind of round out that bullpen. And again. I think it'll be the lack of true depth in the Astros lineup that comes back to bite him because in a five game series, the Guardians will play this saying, We can't let Jordan Alvarez beat us. And they're gonna have no problem intentionally walking him at will. They do not want him to get at bats, and you have no problem, you would much rather face it's okay, it's runner on second, no one on first. You got your Don Alvarez coming up, you're facing whatever, righty's on the mound. You're walking in ten times out of ten if you're the Guardians. You'd so much rather take that matchup against Peretes or Peña or Altuve. And I don't think the Astros have enough depth to really protect Jordan Alvarez. I think he'll get a lot of free passes in this one because he is the focal point of that offense. and the Guardians are smart. Steven Vote is an incredible manager. There is a reason they have one of the lower payrolls in baseball, but then time after time, again and again, they find themselves at a top seed. In the postseason. I think that postseason experience again plays out well. And I have Cleveland moving on in this one to the American League Championship series. Now we'll head down the number one seed in the NL, the Brewers. They'll be taking on who I think will be the Padres. Key players for the Brewers, Jake Bowers, Jackson Churio, Bryce Tarang, Hall hitting above two sixty, Churrio above two eighty. And this is a lineup with so much depth. It's not like the Astros where they have the one standout and then it's a drop-off in talent. They have so much depth. Bowers, 26 homers. Churio, 25 homers, Tarang, 20 homers. Again, no one in that 40-50 club, but so many guys throughout the lineup that can beat you in so many ways. And then on the pitching side of things, you have Jacob Mizerowski. He's most likely going to win NL Cy Young. I'd be shocked if he didn't. 16-5 record, 1.86 ERA. Hundred and seventy innings, two hundred and forty seven strikeouts. Absurd numbers from Jacob Mizarowski. Sub one whip at point eight. And then Logan Henderson would be to follow, as well as Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff has battled injuries, but again, a lot of postseason experience. He was on that 2018 team that played in the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. again, a lot of postseason experience, even if it is. coming back from injury. Obviously Mizarowski's the focal point and he will get two starts in this one. You have to win both of those and you're feeling good in the best of five. You gotta win three and if it goes to later on in the series you'll have Mizarowski twice. And you always feel good in that series and I like the Brewers chances. They'll be have home field advantage. They'll have games one and two and five if needed. And so they can get out to an early lead. That's gonna be the goal against this Padres team. You gotta get that lead early. And I like the Brewers' odds of doing that a lot better than the Cubs did in that wild card series. This has been the best team in baseball, the only hundred win team in baseball. That is for a reason. That is not a fluke. They have had so many years of sustained success. They have young guys within the mix of more experienced players, William Contreras, Christian Jelich, the Captain of that team. So I like the Brewers to move on in this one. I will have them in the NLCS. Then heading up toward the top of the bracket for the NL and the NLDS matchup. It'll be the number two Dodgers versus the number three Braves. Dodgers coming into this one. They have the headliner at athletes in the game so far. The players. Otani, Munsey, Pajes is back. Freeman, Betts, Kyle Tucker. Has been red hot to end the year. There was a point where Dodger fans couldn't stand Kyle Tucker. He's now a favorite player among so many Dodger fans. He has been red hot to end the year, rounded out with 17 home runs. Mookie Betts continues to deny Father Time. He had 23 homers. Freddie Freeman, 288 average, 16 homers, maybe a little bit of a down year, but we know how good he is in October. Pajes was hurt for a little while to end the year. He came back, didn't miss a beat, hitting a couple home runs. And leading the team in RBIs with eighty-five. And then Otani, of course, you know him. the Phenom hitting two seventy-five, still thirty home runs, eighty one RBIs and eight eighty nine OPS. And that's a down year for Otani, which is absolutely crazy. On the pitching side of things, it's the same amount of star talent and depth. Yoshinobu Yamamoto headlines, the pitching staff, along with the trade deadline acquisition of Tarek Scuble, then Blake Snell and Tyler Glass now to follow. And this is the first time in a while where the Dodgers have really had a set rotation going into the playoffs. In the past years, it was really prevalent in twenty twenty four when they beat the Yankees to win the World Series. Their rotation was Yamamoto, Bueller, then it was Jack Flaherty and a bullpen game. And that is how they managed the entirety of the postseason. And this is the first time where it's really felt like they have A full set rotation where they trust guys to go out and get five or six innings. Obviously, you're not expecting the seven or eight that you might get in the regular season, especially in the postseason. But this is the first time in a while where the Dodgers have had that set rotation and haven't been as crushed by injury heading in, especially on the rotation side of things heading in to October. And then on the bullpen side of things, continued star talent all the way down that roster. Edwin Diaz, the big acquisition, free agent signing over the offseason, as well as Tanner Scott, who's had a much better year than last year. Then Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia, as well as you have Roki Sasaki and Edgardo Henriquez. Again, there's a lot of playoff experience in that bullpen. You feel really good about Vesia, about Phillips. Diaz a down year, but he's been on the up and up as of recently. And it seems like this Dodgers team is getting hot at the right time. And I think they can overpower this Brave Stap staff. And they absolutely control the pitching side of things when you have again Yamamoto, Scoobyl, Snell, and Glas now. Otani won't be pitching. That's been confirmed. But you like that pitching matchup. Obviously, the Braves have sale. That's gonna be a really fun matchup. Game one, most likely. He could shift down to game two or three. Depending on how the series goes for the Braves and if that one goes to three. but that's gonna be a really fun one. But after that, there's a drop off certainly, when it goes down to Maley, would be the next guy for the Braves. And so I think the Dodgers have the firepower to out talent the Braves in this one. I think it'll be a really fun series. These are two teams we've seen square off a lot in the postseason in the last ten years, and they've always been a fun series. Go back to twenty twenty. That's one of the best championship series of all time when it went to seven, where the Dodgers went on to win the World Series. The Braves got back the next year in the NLDS going on to win their World Series. Constantly a fun matchup, and I think the Dodgers have the edge in this one. I'm going to pick them to move on. And then lastly, Rays versus Yankees. The AL East matchup. this is gonna be a really fun one again. Tampa Bay, the one seed. The Yankees the four seed. This one will be obvious home field advantage to the Rays, the number one seed in the American League. So many picked them to be out of the playoffs. They were in the bottom 20 in the MLB preseason poll. They were in teams 20 to 30. The bottom 10 in the MLB preseason poll. They have defied all those odds and they are back in the postseason. Something they do so well. Kevin Cash, one of the best managers. In the major leagues, he will most likely win AL manager of the year. and so for this rays team, giving you a little preview, they'll have Drew Rasmussen as their ace, as well as Nick Martinez and then Freddie Peralta, the former Brewer and former Met. Rasmussen headlines the staff, 272 ERA, and Martinez, a 292 ERA. They have had constant and consistent success from those two guys at the top of their rotation. As well as Freddie Peralta, a down year, plus four or five ERA. but again, a lot of playoff experience coming from the righty. And then on the bullpen side of things, they have Griffin Jax. he can be used multiple innings kind of guy. He's a high leverage guy, as well as Tyler Wells. This is a solid team going all the way down the lineup card on the offensive side of things. Yandi Diaz has so much pla postseason experience. He hit above 300, hitting 303 on the year. Junior Camonero supplies a lot of the power, 40 home runs, 95 RBIs, and eight nine nine OPS. Jonathan Aranda, nineteen home runs on the year, hitting two seventy six. And Chandler Simpson yet to hit a home run. But his speed is going to be such a factor in this series. I think he is someone where it makes a pitcher uncomfortable when he is on the bases. He hit three six. He's one of the best guys. At tormenting pitchers on the base pass. He's the fastest guy in the MLB. And this is going to be another really fun series. And another really fun pitching series. I think the Yankees will have Aaron Judge back by the ALDS for sure, is what the reports are saying. he thinks he'll be back for the wild card, which obviously leads to to assume he will be back for the ALDS. This is going to be a fun one, and I think the Rays are going to pull it out. Why would you why would you pull against them at this point? They continue to defy the odds with the payroll they have and the roster they have. You would think time and time again to discredit them. And then here they are with a big number one in the seating next to their name. I like the raise in this one, the depth of their lineup and consistent success. They have been so consistent the entire year. They have not gone on these huge winning streaks and then big losing streaks. They have been so consistent the entire year. Consistency plays in the postseason. When you get hot, they're hot right now. they're feeling it. the junior Camarero interview I love on the field speaking to the fans for Tampa Bay after hitting that walk off home run to clinch a playoff berth. this is a team, a fan base that is looking to support a team what could be last couple years in the drop. in Florida. And so I like the Rays to move on in this one with the experience they bring. and so yeah, that will set up our championship series matchups. It's gonna be the Guardians and the Rays, and then it will be the Brewers and the Dodgers. I know I'm boring. I picked the top four seeds. They're the four best teams in baseball at the moment. You can make an argument the Braves are better than the Guardians, but not too much. I really like the Guardians depth, so let's start on the American League side of things. It's going to be the Guardians taking on the Rays. Again, we just talked about the Rays a lot. The Guardians, two teams with a lot of postseason experience. This is going to be a really fun one. but I think down the lineup, I trust this Tampa Bay team more than I trust the Guardians. Overall, guys like Camonero, I think he's gonna be an X Factor. For the Rays in this one with the forty home runs. He's gonna bring a lot of pop. This series will be Tampa Bay home field advantage, best of seven. And I think the Rays can sustain that level of play. They can get hot, and I think they fare better in a seven game series. trying to win four. I like their pitching depth a little bit more. Guardians kind of fall off after Bybee, who's had a tough year. So I mentioned I like his postseason experience. However, the numbers on this year may come back to bite him during one of these starts. And if the Rays get out early to a lead, if they go up one or two and they're heading back to Cleveland up two, the Guardians are gonna be in trouble early on. the Guardians wanna get comfortable, get out to an early lead. it's gonna be those two first games in Tampa Bay are gonna be crucial. If the Guardians split, you gotta be feeling good heading back to progressive field. but yeah, I think the Rays get out to an early lead in this one. I like their bullpen as well with Jacks, and I think they're going to be moving on. They've been the best team in the American League all year. Why should I doubt them now? I'm going to have them in the World Series this year representing the American League. Then on the National League side of things, it's the Dodgers and the Brewers. A repeat of last year's NLCS. Last year was all Dodgers. They swept in dominant fashion. that was when we really began to see just how dominant Yamamoto was gonna be in that postseason. he cruised against them, throwing a complete game. He gave up that leadoff home run. After that didn't allow another earned run. And this is a different Brewers team this year. I think they've gotten a lot better. They've picked up that experience. It's shocking to believe, but Mizarowski has taken another step forward, headlining the pitching. However, you cannot rely on just one pitcher. And as much as the Brewers are going to rely on Mizorowski, they're going to have a tough time against this Dodgers team. After Mizorowski, it's Logan Henderson and Woodruff. Woodruff has obviously all of the injury concerns, and the Dodgers have been good against him this year. And I like the Dodgers' depth overall. Depth is so important, especially on the pitching side of things. And Dave Roberts has so many strings to pull. And I mention it again in previous years past, it's been so few strings and he's played his card so well. And this year he has so many pitchers to turn to. He can expect more length at the top side of his rotation. And I like the Dodgers to pull out the win. They'll be at the Brewers are the number one seed, so they will have home field advantage. But I like the Dodgers to go in and win this one. If you split or if the Dodgers get those first two in Milwaukee That's how the Brewers are gonna know they're in trouble because they're gonna be going back. They're gonna be playing three in Los Angeles. That is where the Dodgers will shine. At that point, they would have Blake Snell and Glasnow and then Yamamoto for game five. So those three pitching in LA is gonna be crucial for the Dodgers. I think that gives them a huge leg up in all three of those home games. So right off the bat, they have those big advantage in the three home games, and they need to take one away. In the four in Milwaukee. And so I like the Dodgers here. And I think it's going to be a repeat of the 2020 World Series with the Rays taking on the Dodgers. Dodgers would have home field advantage in this one. It's going to be a real another really fun series. Kind of the opposite sides of baseball. Dodgers, this huge payroll, doing great as an franchise organization across the board. The Rays, consistent success, similar to the Dodgers. Just with not as elevated of a payroll, obviously. And this one, my World Series pick, who I think will be winning the twenty twenty six World Series, raising the commissioners trophy at the end of the year, I'm going to have the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yeah, I think it's going to be a three Pete. I think they have so much pitching firepower that has gotten red hot at the end of the year. Scoobyl in his most recent start, seven innings, no runs, ten strikeouts. Blake Snell is red hot. You know what to expect now with Yamamoto in the postseason. Maybe it's not going to be the Superman performance we got last year, but he has been so incredibly consistent this year. And then, yeah, they have Tyler Glass now and the bullpen to go with it. I think this team just has so much depth, and there are so many people that can beat you. Whether it's Tommy Edmund, Shohei, Max Muncie, So many guys throughout the lineup, and then the Dodgers have the intangibles. Maybe it's Kike Hernandez. I mentioned Tommy Edmund. How good has he been in the postseason for the Dodgers? I think this is a series that will come down to depth. Who can last the grind of October baseball? I think the Rays series will go longer than the Dodgers Brewers series will. I'm not sure that one goes to six or seven. I think the Rays. series might just with how even those two teams are. I think the Dodgers are gonna be better rested. They're gonna have better starting pitcher depth. When you look at these two rotations, who do you like game three? You're gonna have Blake Snell for the Dodgers or Freddie Peralta for the Rays and then it'll be most likely a bullpen game for the Rays game four against Tyler Glasnow. This is the first time where it feels like the Dodgers have that full rotation and they are going to be my World Series pick. I know it may be the easy way out. But again, just like how the Rays, how can you root against them? How can you deny the success they've had? Same thing for the Dodgers. They're going to be the pick until another team proves us wrong. And so that is my postseason predictions. I'm so excited as we get postseason baseball going. I can talk to you as much as I want. And so many pundits and talking heads will talk about all their predictions. But at the end of the day, we gotta play the games we get to now. Postseason baseball. Starting tomorrow, I'll have coverage. Make sure you're following on Instagram at the Who's On First Show. I'll be bringing you as much news and postseason stats as I can. But until then, I'm Joseph Lund saying so long. The Dodgers are my pick, and I can't wait for postseason baseball.