Author: Anthony Winker
The final eight teams are set for the 2021 MLB playoffs. With the conclusion of the two wild-card matchups, the division series matchups are set. In the National League, it is the MilwaukeeBrewers vs. the AtlantaBraves and the San Fransisco Giants vs. the Los AngelesDodgers. In the American League, it is the Boston Red Sox vs. the Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros vs the Chicago White Sox.
Could this be the most dramatic postseason yet? Read on for the series by series preview and a prediction.
National League
#3 Atlanta Braves (88-73, 1st NL East) vs #2 Milwaukee Brewers (95-67, 1st NL Central)
Atlanta Braves
The Braves enter the postseason as the only sub-90 win team, capturing what was widely regarded as one of the worst divisions in baseball this season. However, they come in having won 12 of their last 14, including some key divisional wins that allowed them to pull away in the divisional race. Even with the loss of Ronald Acuña Jr, this team chose to be buyers at the deadline, dealing for a whole new outfield in Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, and Richard Rodriguez. This team also still has Freddie Freeman and his 31 homers in this lineup, however, the best player on this team right now might very well be 24-year old 3B Austin Riley. He's put together a fabulous season, hitting .304 with 33 HR and 107 RBI which all lead the team. The rotation is solid, with Charlie Morton (14-6, 3.34 ERA) and Max Fried (14-7, 3.04 ERA) at the top.
Biggest Question: Can the Braves infield continue to mash?
All four of Atlanta's starting infielders have over 25 home runs, with Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Dansby Swanson all hitting that mark. They are the second team in MLB history to do so. With an all-new outfield behind them, it may be up to these four to carry the load against a very good Milwaukee rotation.
Milwaukee Brewers
There were a lot of questions surrounding the Brew Crew as on May 21st they sat at 21-23. A lot of this had to do with their offense which struggled immensely. Then they traded for struggling SS Willy Adames (.285 AVG, 20 HR, 58 RBI), and things changed. The Brewers traded for Adames mostly because of his defense. However, the move seemed to be a spark plug for both Adames and the Brewers. Since then, the Brewers have gone 74-44. With their playoff seeding essentially locked, the Brewers enter the postseason struggling a bit, bookended by a 3-game sweep at the hands of potential NLCS opponent the Los Angeles Dodgers with none of the three games being especially competitive. Additionally, lights-out reliever Devin Williams is out until at least the World Series, breaking his hand during the celebration. Fortunately, they are led by the three-headed beast of Corbin Burnes (11-5, 2.43 ERA), Brandon Woodruff (9-10, 2.56 ERA), and Freddy Peralta (10-5, 2.81 ERA) at the top of Milwaukee's rotation which has carried them all season and it is up to them to continue to do so.
Biggest Question: Can the Brewers lineup keep up with the pitching?
Even with the loss of Williams, the Brewers pitching staff is still one to be reckoned with. They still have Josh Hader (4-2, 1.23 ERA) and Brad Boxberger (5-4, 3.34 ERA) at the back end of the pen, and a starting rotation where everyone is capable of going seven innings, even in an analytics-driven era playoff game. The projected top 4 in the lineup of Kolton Wong, Adames, Christian Yelich, and deadline acquisition Eduardo Escobar are no slouches. If the offense can score enough runs to give the staff a lead to protect, the Brewers will be in great shape.
Prediction: Brewers in 4
#4 Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56, 2nd NL West) vs. #1 San Francisco Giants (107-55, 1st NL West)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Where would this team be without Max Scherzer and Trea Turner? This is a team with star power everywhere you look, and they played like it too. Even so, they still couldn't win their own division and had to sweat through a one-game wild card against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals, winning on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th by Chris Taylor. Turner has been electric for LA ever since he arrived at the trade deadline, showing off his smooth slides on the basepaths and ability to get on base. Scherzer (7-0, 1.98 ERA since being traded) has somehow been better ever since he arrived, and his acquisition is turning out to be hugely important, with Clayton Kershaw likely out for the entire postseason. In a rotation with Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer, the wins leader on this team is actually Julio Urias (20-3, 2.96 ERA), who even with all those wins, might still be underrated.
Biggest Question: Who's going to replace injured Max Muncy?
Muncy may not be having his best season (.249 AVG), but the power is still there (36 HR). Additionally, his October experience is incredibly valuable as well. In the wild card game, it was Matt Beaty, who played fine in the regular season (120 GP, .270 AVG, 7 HR, 40 RBI) but he does not have the power Muncy does. With Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager each having down years and Mookie Betts still clearly struggling with injury, this lineup might miss Muncy a lot more than people think.
San Francisco Giants
No one could have possibly expected this. Coming into the season, all pundits were expecting the Dodgers and San Diego Padres to compete for the NL West crown. Instead, the Giants shocked the world with a 107 win season in a down to the wire battle that earned them home field throughout the postseason. This team has been led by the two Brandon's, Belt (.274 AVG, 29 HR, 59 RBI) and Crawford (.298 AVG, 24 HR, 90 RBI). Recognizing the type of season they were having, they went and got Kris Bryant from the Cubs at the deadline, and he has done well for them, hitting .262 with 7 HR. Perhaps the best move they made was dealing for LaMonte Wade Jr. (.253 AVG, 18 HR, 56 RBI) from the Twins before the season, who has been clutch all year. On the other side, Kevin Gausman has been the Giants best pitcher, but since a hot start to the season (9-3, 1.73 ERA) he has cooled off since the break (5-3, 4.42 ERA).
Biggest Question: Is this simply the Giants year of destiny?
On paper, it's hard to find something that makes the Giants such a good team. There is no hitter with a batting average over .300, more than 30 HR, or in triple-digit RBI's. For the pitching, no pitcher over 15 wins, and just one starter with an ERA under 3.00. However, this team plays great defense and it seems like a new person delivers a clutch hit every single night. It sure feels like this is the Giants year. They have a chance to prove that they were the best team in the NL West all along and prove a lot of naysayers wrong in the NLDS.
Prediction: Giants in 5
American League
#3 Chicago White Sox (93-69, 1st AL Central) vs #2 Houston Astros (95-67, 1st AL West)
Chicago White Sox
Ravaged by injuries so far this season, the Sox look to enter the postseason as healthy as they have been all season. Luis Robert and Eloy Jiminez are back after missing over half the year. The person who could impact them the most by being unavailable is starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. The Sox did benefit from an extremely weak AL Central this season, as no other team was above .500 on the year. They got a full season out of reigning AL MVP Jose Abreu, who put up another monster year (.261 AVG, 30 HR, 117 RBI), and Tim Anderson hit .309 in the 123 games this year. The pitching has been led by Cy Young candidate Lance Lynn (11-6, 2.69 ERA) and Lucas Giolito also having a good season. Veteran Dallas Keuchel was left off of the ALDS roster though. Deadline acquisition Craig Kimbrel has been extremely average (2-2, 5.09 ERA) since coming from the Cubs, after being nothing short of dominant. The back end of the bullpen should be alright though, led by Liam Hendriks (8-3, 2.54 ERA).
Biggest Question: Can the White Sox miss some bats?
The pitching staff in Chicago did one thing better than almost every team in the league this season: strike people out, with a strikeout rate second only to the Brewers. The team they're playing just so happens to strike out the least of all teams in the league. Perhaps the key to the entire series may be whether or not Chicago pitching can strike guys out.
Houston Astros
The Houston offense has been nothing short of impressive all year long. They feature perhaps the deepest lineup of any playoff team. Eight of their preferred nine starters can be considered above average hitters, with Yordan Alvarez (.277, 33 HR, 104 RBI) perhaps the best of all. The biggest surprise of all may be 24-year old Kyle Tucker (.294, 30 HR, 92 RBI). The rotation looks much different this season and frankly has been quite average. Their best starter is Lance McCullers Jr. (13-5, 3.16 ERA). However, the rotation is deep and manager Dusty Baker should be comfortable throwing out any of his preferred five. Obviously, not many people outside of Houston will root for these guys after the sign-stealing scandal, but the team was good enough to give Baker a division title with his 5th different team.
Biggest Question: Can the Houston offense continue to dominate against good pitching?
Even though there are some good pitchers taking part in this series, this promises to be one with lots of offense. On paper, the Houston offense is a bit better and deeper than Chicago's, however, the pitching from the Sox is a bit more reliable. If the Houston offense can score enough runs early to give their bullpen a lead, they should be in great shape in this series.
Prediction: Astros in 4
#4 Boston Red Sox (92-70, 2nd AL East) vs #1 Tampa Bay Rays (100-62, 1st AL East)
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox were able to emerge from an extremely tight AL wild card race and make their way into the final eight, culminating in their 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. This Red Sox lineup has carried this squad, as they boast seven of the top 25 players by OPS in the entire postseason. Rafael Devers (.279 AVG, 38 HR, 113 RBI) has been playing out of his mind, and J.D. Martinez and Hunter Renfroe each flirted with 100 RBIs this season. Beyond the top two starters of Chris Sale and wild card winner Nathan Eovaldi, the rest of the rotation leaves something to be desired.
Biggest Question: Can someone other than Chris Sale or Nathan Eovaldi win a game?
All other Red Sox starters with more than 10 appearances have ERAs above 4.00. Chris Sale also has not thrown more than 95 pitches in a start since his return from Tommy John surgery, so how deep will he be able to go. The Red Sox are going to need their starters to eat up some innings and keep them in games if they want any chance against the Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays just seem to make it work every season. This team is led by Brandon Lowe (.247 AVG, 39 HR, 99 RBI) and Austin Meadows (.234 AVG, 27 HR, 106 RBIs). No one on this team hits above .275, so how are the Rays getting all of their runs? The deep ball. They are extremely dependent on home runs to score, and they also strike out the most of any team in baseball. Deadline acquisition Nelson Cruz was the Rays most notable move and he hasn't really torn it up. As always, the strength of this team lies in the bullpen, led by Collin McHugh (6-1, 1.55 ERA). How the Rays use their starters could be one of the most intriguing parts of the postseason. Don't be surprised if the Rays use the opener strategy at least once in the playoffs.
Biggest Question: Which rookie will make a Randy Arozarena impact?
Memorably, last postseason was highlighted by the incredible performance of rookie Randy Arozarena, who broke records set by Babe Ruth for home runs in a postseason. Which rookie could make that kind of impact for the Rays this year? Could it be Wander Franco, the 20-year old former #1 prospect who had a 43 game on-base streak this season? Could it be Shane McClanahan (10-6, 3.43 ERA), whose been the Rays best starter all year? Shane Baz, who pitched big innings for Team USA at the Olympics and is a highly regarded prospect, is expected to be on the roster. It could even be Arozarena himself, who is still technically a rookie. The possibilities are endless.
Prediction: Rays in 4
