2021 MLB Postseason Predictions
With a little under two months to go in the regular season, October postseason baseball is right around the corner. With that being said, there are still many teams in both the American and National League that are vying for a spot in the postseason. Wild Card spots in both leagues are still up for grabs while there are also a few division races that should remain tight down the stretch. With such little time left in the regular season, it is time for some 2021 MLB Postseason Predictions.
National League Wild Card:
San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres
The National League West has produced three of the best teams in baseball this season which means that two of them would have to face off in the Wild Card game. After making some major moves at the deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers will overtake the San Francisco Giants for first place in the NL West leaving the Giants against the San Diego Padres.
The Giants have been playing pretty well as of late but are in the midst of a key matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers in which they dropped the first game of the series. On the other hand, the Padres have not won a series since July 17–19 against the Washington Nationals and have been without star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. since July 30. Having him return to their lineup will be key because there are a handful of teams still in the race as well.
The Cincinnati Reds sit just 2.5 games back of the Padres and have been one of the hottest teams in baseball with a record of 8–2 in their last 10 games. The Atlanta Braves have also been playing well since the trade deadline and have a record of 7–3 in their last 10 games and are only 5.5 games back in the Wild Card and 1.0 games back in the National League East. So while there are plenty of teams still in the hunt, the National League West should have three teams in the postseason.
National League Division Series:
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants
After acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers will lock up the National League West. As mentioned above, the San Francisco Giants would be playing the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card game with the Giants coming out on top. A Dodgers vs. Giants series in the NLDS would be awesome and many fans would love to see two division rivals square off.
The Dodgers will have to fend off the Milwaukee Brewers in order to maintain the top spot but they should be able to do that once they get everybody fully healthy. These two teams have two of the best pitching staffs in baseball as they both rank in the top 3 in the league in ERA. The Giants pitching staff has been led by Kevin Gausman who has a 2.31 ERA and has struck out 157 batters. The Dodgers have the best starting rotation in baseball, when fully healthy, in Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, and Danny Duffy.
On the offensive side, these two teams have also been at the top of the league. The Giants are tied for the most home runs hit this season while the Dodgers have one of the highest on-base percentages in the league. This should be a great series with elite pitching and offense on both teams and a rivalry that dates back long ago.
National League Division Series:
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Both of these teams are the leaders in their respective divisions and that should continue for the rest of the season. The Milwaukee Brewers have an elite starting rotation starring the trio of Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta. Opponents are hitting just .212 against Brewers pitching this season and they have struck out the most batters in the league. The Brewers' offense has been the reason for concern as they have a team average of .227 and a slugging percentage of .387.
As for the Philadelphia Phillies, they have battled back and yesterday they overtook the New York Mets for first place in the NL East. Obviously, there is a lot of season left but the Phillies have been playing some good baseball and have the weakest remaining schedule in the entire league. That will certainly work in their favor as the Mets have the fifth toughest remaining schedule. The Phillies offense has been around the middle of the pack as their team slash line is .243/.321/.408. The pitching staff for the Phillies has been around the middle of the pack as well with an ERA of 4.47 and a WHIP of 1.31.
They acquired Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy at the trade deadline to bolster their pitching staff while they also have Zack Wheeler who is having a phenomenal season. Pitching will more than likely be the story of this series and that category definitely goes in favor of the Brewers.
American League Wild Card:
Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees
The American League Wild Card race has been very tight for a long time and it appears as if it might go down to the last day of the regular season. The Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics currently hold the two Wild Card spots but a recent 2–8 stretch for the Red Sox has loosened the grip they had on the top spot. The New York Yankees are just 1.5 games back from the Athletics for the second spot and are 8–2 in their last ten games. The Yankees added some power bats to their lineup at the trade deadline and it has paid dividends for them so far.
Unlike the Yankees, the Red Sox only acquired Kyle Schwarber at the deadline even though they were linked to multiple big names on the market. Post all-star break, the Yankees have a team ERA of 3.22 which ranks 4th in the MLB while the Red Sox have an ERA of 5.17 which ranks 26th in the MLB and has played a huge part in their sudden drop in the rankings.
As for the Athletics, despite having one of the worst offenses in the league, their pitching has been one of the best with a team ERA of 2.91 since the all-star break. With so many teams playing well right now in the American League, the Boston Red Sox cannot continue to lose ball games at this rate or they will find themselves out of the postseason at the end of the year.
American League Division Series:
Oakland Athletics vs. Houston Astros
With this matchup, we have not one but two Division Series that will feature teams from the same division. This one should be a great matchup as well with two of the best pitching staffs going head-to-head. Even though the Tampa Bay Rays currently have the best record in the American League, they were not very active at the trade deadline and that will come back to bite them as the Astros will take over that spot.
The Astros pitching has been led by Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr. but Luis Garcia and Framber Valdez have also been difference makers. With Justin Verlander set to return at some point this season, the pitching staff could be dangerous in a playoff series. As for the A’s, their pitching staff has also been phenomenal with Chris Bassitt leading the way as he is having a very underrated season.
The key difference separating these two teams has been the offense as the Astros have had one of the top lineups in the league while the A’s rank near the bottom of the league in most categories. Matt Chapman has had a very underwhelming season with a batting average of just .213 and Ramon Laureano was suspended 80 games so he will miss the remainder of the 2021 season and about a month of the 2022 campaign. The Oakland Athletics will definitely need to pick up their offensive play in order to win a postseason series.
American League Division Series:
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox
Like so many other teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox will also feature an elite pitching rotation that could play a large part in this series. The White Sox are basically a lock for the AL Central crown while the Rays also have a steady lead in their division. The Rays have a lot of depth within their organization as far as pitching goes and they have shown that this season. Tyler Glasnow, Nick Anderson, and Chris Archer are all three on the 60-Day Injured List and the Rays still have one of the lowest team ERA in the MLB. They also have one of the top bullpens with Andrew Kittredge, a surprise closer, anchoring down the ninth inning for them.
As an offense, the Rays have hit the tenth most home runs in the league but have one of the lowest batting averages at .234. Tampa Bay has a lot of power hitters in their lineup with Austin Meadows, Randy Arozarena, Nelson Cruz, and Brandon Lowe all with more than 50 RBI’s. The Chicago White Sox also have a great pitching staff but their offense has also been much better than the Rays. Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon have each had impressive seasons on the mound for Chicago that not many people saw coming.
The White Sox also have one of the best bullpens in baseball with Liam Hendriks and Craig Kimbrel both in the backend of it. Chicago’s lineup has suffered its fair share of injuries but they still have some deadly hitters. Eloy Jimenez was just recently activated off of the injured list and with Luis Robert and Yasmani Grandal set to return soon, the White Sox will be very tough to beat in the postseason with a fully healthy lineup.
NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
ALCS: Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox
World Series: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago White Sox
World Series Champion: Milwaukee Brewers
