#fall classic

The 2019 MLB regular season is in the books as October approaches and the playoffs get underway. To compare what I predicted at the beginning of the season, click here for the original post. This post will break down each division champion and their pathway to the playoffs. Finally, this post will finish with my predictions on what will happen in the playoffs. Let's dive in:

American League Wild Card Teams:

Oakland Athletics

Another year where the Athletics will face off in the Wild Card matchup, and this time they have home field advantage in order to advance to the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros. The Athletics finished the regular season at 97-65, ten games behind the first place Astros. The Billy Beane faithful kept the competition together from the second half of the season while the remainder of the competition fell apart amongst the Texans, Angels, and Mariners. Mike Fiers was the club's best pitcher, throwing his second career no-hitter during the first half of the season. Shortstop Marcus Semien led the team in WAR, setting a career-high with 8.1 and also led in RBIs with 92. First baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman led the team in home runs with 36 apiece respectively. The Athletics are out for revenge after being eliminated by the Yankees last season. They will be hosting the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Game on Wednesday.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays remained in playoff contention from the very start of the 2019 campaign. In the beginning, they led their division for the first third of the season. By the time the Yankees took over at first, the Rays did not trickle far off behind. The Rays finished the season at 96-66, stomping out the reigning champion Boston Red Sox from returning to the playoffs. Free agent addition Charlie Morton brought talents to St. Petersburg and led the rotation over Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who struggled with injury on and off during the season.  The Rays' hitting was slightly below average, but the team's OPS was .757. To win in the playoffs, you must have the bullpen bolstered in order to close out games. The Rays, however, they know how to take advantage of bullpens late in the game. It will be interesting to see how this team will do facing the Athletics on Wednesday in the Wild Card game.

American League Central Champion Minnesota Twins

It was unfortunate to see the Cleveland Indians fall apart and start to see the beginning of their "window close" for a chance to go for a title after being in the World Series three seasons ago. The Minnesota Twins took advantage of the American League Central and did not let off the gas to win the division for the first time in almost a decade. The Twins had the second-best record in franchise history at 101-61 and was one run short of tying their best record in a regular season. The Twins' rotation was spearheaded by Jose Berrios and a handful of ragtag pitchers like Jake Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson. The rotation alone owned a K/9 of 8.76 which is more than impressive from a group of seasoned veterans. The Twins' hitting is also nothing to sleep on either, as their entire staff holds an OPS of .832. These boys can hit, get on base, and score very fast. Behind All-Star Jorge Polanco, this is a Twins team that will look dangerous in October.

American League East Champion New York Yankees

After watching in the shadow of their all-time rival win another championship, the New York Yankees went to work and geared up to take the division back and make it rightfully theirs. The fight for the division was not easy, the Yankees started the season battered and bruised without some of their best players. Players that stepped up for the Bronx Bombers were Gio Urshela, Luke Voit, and DJ LeMahieu, who was arguably the best Yankee this season. Yankees pitching struggled to keep their rotation's total ERA under four, as the only one that went under that number was James Paxton, who the Yankees traded for in the offseason. However, Paxton struggled with injury and could not maintain his dominance as he had with the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees' bullpen is still one of the best in the league and will be the most difficult to hit against in the American League playoffs. Expect the Yankees to run deep, but they need to get passed the Twins first in the division series.

American League West Champion Houston Astros

Insert the team that is out for blood and looking to return to the Fall Classic after winning their first franchise title two years ago. The Houston Astros were cut short of returning to the World Series after losing to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. Locked and loaded with even a better roster than the season before, the team looks like the favorite to win it all once again. The batting is familiar, but it is Alex Bregman that takes charge as the best player in the batting order, followed by the man who was the MVP for them when they won it; George Springer. Not to mention their rotation is lethal for postseason after adding Zack Grienke to go alongside Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. The Astros are scary good and will take a miracle to beat. They will host the Wild Card winner between the Rays and Athletics.

National League Wild Card Teams

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals did everything possible to return to the playoffs for the first time, and they did it without the player that they missed out on resigning; Bryce Harper. With tenacity and skill, the Nationals ended the season with a final record of 93-69 which earned them the first Wild-Card spot of the National League. Their pitching has remained consistent behind Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and the newly added Patrick Corbin, while their offense has been firing on all cylinders especially behind third baseman Anthony Rendon. The bullpen for the Nationals is what holds the biggest question mark for the team. Struggling to close out games that are close, their bullpen will most likely need help from their starters going deeper in games this October. This postseason run might be all or nothing for the Nationals, they might be losing some key players in the off-season, including Rendon and Strasburg.

Milwaukee Brewers

After scrapping and clawing their way back from the brink of elimination, the Milwaukee Brewers returned to the playoffs in back to back seasons. With help from division rival of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Brewers were able to return as a Wild Card team after the elimination of the Chicago Cubs. It didn’t come easy for the Brew Crew, but the team limped to the finish line with Final season record of 89-73. In a season after being crowned the National League MVP, Christian Yelich looked like he was going to continue where he left off from last season. His numbers included 44 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases while hitting .329 in batting average. The Brewers pitching, however, is in some trouble, even in an elimination game format they will have a tough time sending Brandon Woodruff to the mound against Max Scherzer. Sleeping on the Milwaukee Brewers could be dangerous, as they have a fast-hitting offense and a great caliber defense. If they get past the Wild Card expect them to give the Dodgers a difficult time. 

National League Central Champion St. Louis Cardinals

The Saint Louis Cardinals returned to the playoffs after a four year hiatus. The Red Birds loaded up on talent in the offseason by filling their gap at first base with Paul Goldschmidt, who made a huge impact on the team with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs. Marcell Ozuna finally came out of his shell and got back to looking like the player he was in Miami, slashing with 29 home runs and 89 RBIs. Paul DeJong made a statement being one of the best shortstops in the game on both sides of the field, and he complimented it with his bat with a total of 30 home runs. The Cards' pitching was also phenomenal led by Jack Flaherty in the rotation that exceeded expectations accompanied by Dakota Hudson and veteran Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals have some of the best experience with handling the postseason. They have all the right tools to run deep enough in the playoffs and compete with anyone. It will be interesting on how the division series will matchup against the Atlanta Braves.

National League East Division Champion Atlanta Braves

Alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves are one of two teams that defended their division title and is returning to the postseason for the second year in a row. The fruits of the young farm system are coming in at the best time for a team that is young and hungry to becoming a championship caliber team. The Braves ended the season 97-65, defending against a heavily talented division that was loaded with competition. Ronald Acuña Jr. was on his way to make history and became a 30-30 man with 41 home runs and 37 stolen bases before getting injured. He was accompanied from the heavy bats of Josh Donaldson, Ozzie Albies, and Freddie Freeman. Even former first overall draft pick, Dansby Swanson finally started pulling his weight with the team. The Braves pitching is sneaky with getting quick innings done. A rotation including Mike Soroka, Max Fried, and Dallas Kuechel is more than ready to face any opponent in the playoffs. Watching this series between the Cardinals and Braves will be more than entertaining, whoever comes out of this fight will most likely be a fan favorite in the National League Championship Series.

National League West Division Champion Los Angeles Dodgers

If at first you do no succeed; try, try again…and again…and again for the third time in a row. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the favorite to compete and win the World Series, except this year they have everything to show for it. After dropping the World Series for the second straight year in a row, the team has been succeeding with a formula of having as many players as possible play the field and score late in games. The playstyle is almost foolproof, there is little to no show of failure in this Dodgers team. Cody Bellinger was the only baseball player showing his talents and challenging Yelich for his MVP title. He finished the season with 47 home runs, 115 RBIs, and a batting average of .305. His supporting cast is collection of young talent that has transitioned well with Max Muncy, Austin Barnes, and the resurgence of Corey Seager to the Dodger lineup. The rotation also had the rise of Hyun-Jin Ryu who led the National League in ERA for the first half of the season. Walker Buehler also did not fall to the sophomore curse and proved his worth to bolster the rotation. Clayton Kershaw kept his cool and remained supreme being the ace of this rotation. The only Achilles' heel to the Dodgers is their bullpen, who have been giving up more runs late in the game than they should. Still, they were the king of the walk-off, so do not be surprised if you see late-game dramatics from this young Dodgers team.