Postseason baseball is finally here. It may not have come in the fashion that was thought before the season started, but now the fun really begins. For the first time in MLB history, more than half of the teams (16) will enter the postseason. What is the same though is that only one team can reign supreme and come out as champions, we will have to wait for that though as anything could happen with over half the league in the playoffs.
Wild-card series will be the craziest they have ever been because there could be one-seeds that get sent home in the series which has not happened before. The whole playoffs have a somewhat March madness vibe and even though it is not March, that is exactly what we are going to see, madness.
We are going to have to wait a little bit before the playoffs officially kick off, but it is never too early to assign power rankings to teams. Now, power rankings have no indications as to who will win or who should win, all they mean is which teams are looking the best heading into the playoffs.
Before this season anything could have happened in the playoffs, but now in this crazy 16-team playoff you can be assured that something crazy will happen.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2020 Record: 43-17
The NL MVP from last season, Cody Bellinger, is batting .239 with a .789 OPS, yet they are still far and away the best team in baseball. It’s been stated all season, but if this doesn’t speak volumes to their depth then nothing will. Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Joc Pederson all had down years and they still had the largest run differential in the league by far (+136). With the best offense in baseball this season to go along with the best pitching staff in baseball they are easily the team to beat in the NL. Nothing will be an easy win in the playoffs (especially in the three game wild card series), but having the best record means they draw the eight seed Brewers and with the Brewers struggles at the plate this season, the offense of the Dodgers should prove to be too much.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
2020 Record: 40-20
After starting the season off slow, they went on a tear and now finish with the best record in the AL, so they get to take on the eight seeded Blue Jays in the first round. The Rays have the type of offense that means pitching is necessary and luckily it is. The pitching may not overwhelm anyone with the name power, but they all find a way to come together and make up one of the best staffs in baseball. They need to be great because the offense is not so great. The mantra for the Rays is to play close games and they tend to win because the offense comes in with timely hits, that should continue this series against the Blue Jays staff and if their starters can shut down the Jays young roster then this series will be over early.
3. San Diego Padres
2020 Record: 37-23
The Padres made a big push at the trade deadline and so far, it has worked out, they have the third best record in the MLB and if not for the Dodgers they would be the division winner. But now it is a whole new game, what happened in the regular season does not matter and teams start anew. The Cardinals are looking to start over offensively, the Padres cannot allow them too. The Cardinals lineup is not great, but their pitching staff is great, the Padres are great on both sides, so if the pitching can shut down the Cards offense then there should be no issue. However, scoring runs will not be made easy against the Cards, if runs will not come easy then the pitching staff that has recently seen injuries to Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet will need to be equally as good as their counterpart. The bullpen has been great as of late and that could be what leads them to a series win over the Cardinals.
4. Minnesota Twins
2020 Record: 36-24
So many teams in the postseason are good offensively yet they have a great pitching staff, the Twins are the opposite. Not saying that the pitching is bad, in fact, they are pretty darn good, but the offense is great. The only concern with this lineup is that they are built around power and that has shown its weaknesses before, like last season against the Yankees. However, the pitching staff is better than it was last season and it will need to be going up against the Astros in the first round. The Twins have an advantage of the lineup against the Astros staff, but the Astros lineup can be just as dangerous, therefore if the pitching is good then they will win, it’s that simple.
5. Oakland Athletics
2020 Record: 36-24
The Athletics have one of the toughest first round matchups in the entire playoffs as they drew the White Sox. Now, it is extremely possible that the A’s take easy care of the struggling Sox, but with that offense it cannot be taken for granted. Both of these teams have not been playing the best baseball over the past week, so it looks like it will be the team that can put everything back together first will win. The A’s lineup is not going to frighten any team and especially with Matt Chapman out for the season it is going to be reliant on the pitching staff to win the game. The bullpen has been great all season long and should be once again here, if they can limit the White Sox runs in this series then they can sneak away with one, but it will not be a pretty series offensively.
6. Cleveland Indians
2020 Record: 35-25
Let’s see, best pitcher in baseball this season in Shane Bieber, potential MVPs José Ramirez and Shane Bieber and the best pitching staff in the AL, what more can we ask from these guys. Offense, that is what we can ask. The reason the Indians are where they are is due to their pitching staff and that is what will carry them deep in the playoffs, but in order to make it deep in the playoffs then a win in the first round is needed. In order to win in the first round, they will need offense going up against a monstrous Yankees offense. Of course, it would be great if the Indians were able to hold the Yankees to less than three runs a game, but how realistic is that. Someone not named José Ramirez is going to need to step up in the lineup if they want to get past Gerrit Cole and the Yankees.
7. New York Yankees
2020 Record: 33-27
Injuries, injuries, and injuries. Over the past two seasons this seems to be all we talk about when discussing the Yankees and even with all of the injuries they are still in discussion for the best team in baseball. DJ LeMahieu has been the catalyst for the offense all season long and now they are getting healthy again which could spell trouble for any team getting in their path right now. While they are getting healthy, they still have the displeasure of going against the best pitching staff in the AL in the Indians. To defeat the Indians, they will need this lineup to show up and show how dangerous they can be. If they are able to put up runs like they did against the Twins last postseason than it may be too much for the Indians lineup to handle, but if they get shutdown it could be a one series appearance for the Bronx Bombers.
8. Atlanta Braves
2020 Record: 35-25
The Braves have been carried all season long by their offensive ability, but it is not fair to blame it on pitching mainly because the pitching staff dealt with injuries on a nonstop basis. Max Fried is still there and he will have to be great virtually every game for the Braves to stand a chance for a long run. While the pitching is up in the air, the offense is up there as one of the best in the game, with four players over a .900 OPS (two over 1.000) and they will need to be in their first-round matchup. The Reds are a tough draw because they not only have pitching, but they also have a lineup that can put up runs at will albeit inconsistent. The Braves have dealt with this all season though and if Fried and Ian Anderson can take control then they could do wonders with this lineup.
9. Chicago Cubs
2020 Record: 34-26
Inconsistency is what the Cubs offense is all about, that being said, which offense is going to show up in the playoffs? Luckily, the offense looks like they’re getting hot at the right time, but they need to be able to maintain it. The offense has been up and down and so has the Cubs bullpen, but what has been great all season is the starting staff. Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks have been excellent, and they are leading the staff and will lead the staff in the first round against the Marlins. Going up against the Marlins in the first round should seem like an easy win, but do not underestimate this team, if you put runs up on the board then they cannot match that. That means the bats of Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez need to be present to make a deep run.
10. Chicago White Sox
2020 Record: 35-25
The top three teams in the AL Central were fighting for the top spot for a while and early in September it looked as though they were taking the division until they hit a skid at the end of the month in which they lost eight out of 10 to push them to the seven-seed. Even though they got bumped, the White Sox still have an explosive offense and a decent pitching staff which could take them far. However, if they play like they did over the last week then they may as well pack up and go home now. They drew the Athletics in the first round and the Athletics always find a way to be great even though they don’t always have the lineup. This means that the White Sox could easily come away with a win but the lineup will need to be disciplined against this great pitching staff.
11. Cincinnati Reds
2020 Record: 31-29
The Reds had a huge offseason where they added to their lineup which was supposed to work out perfectly with the universal DH. While it did not work out perfectly, it was still enough to earn a postseason spot. On paper, this should be one of the favorites to make a deep run, considering they have the lineup to put up runs and a very good pitching staff, but if the regular season was an indication then it will be tougher than it should be. The offense just was not there in the regular season, but the pitching was, and the pitching will need to be there against Atlanta in the first round. Atlanta has a great lineup but a depleted pitching staff, if the Reds offense comes together than they can knock the Braves staff around and pick up a series win.
12. Houston Astros,
2020 Record: 29-31
It’s fair to say that the Astros have been extremely underwhelming all season long, luckily the rest of the AL West was bad enough that they were able to make the playoffs with a 29-31 record. This is a team that still has potentially one of the best lineups in baseball and even though we did not see that during the regular season that is what needs to be seen in the playoffs. The lineup needs to show up because the pitching staff is dealing with numerous injuries. Zack Greinke is a reliable arm and even though he hasn’t had the best season he will still be the ace moving forward. While the pitching staff is mainly young, they have done a pretty good job this season and if that can translate over against the Minnesota then there is a chance for an upset. Minnesota has one of the best offenses in the league, so the Astros now need the lineup to show up.
13. St. Louis Cardinals
2020 Record: 30-28
The Cardinals played two less games then everyone else yet still managed to go two games over .500, they earned their spot in the postseason. The biggest reason, the pitching staff. The staff has been great all season long and even though there are some problems in the bullpen this will be what carries them deep into the playoffs. On the offensive side, Paul Goldschmidt has led the team, but now is when people need to step up. The Cardinals have a chance to make it deep, but they need people like Paul DeJong, Matt Carpenter, and Tommy Edman to show up. Drawing the Padres in the first round is no easy task, but this may be the toughest matchup for San Diego due to the pitching in St. Louis. If they can hold that powerful lineup down with runners in scoring position, then the Cardinals will be a huge contender for upset of the wild card round.
14. Miami Marlins
2020 Record: 31-29
Not many people expected the Marlins to make it to the playoffs, but now that they have made it, is it fair to say they are the favorites to win the world series? Okay, that is a joke, but they have made the playoffs two times in their franchise history and both times they won the world series, coincidence? While they are in the playoffs, the pitching staff took a huge blow after José Ureña was diagnosed with a fractured forearm which will force him to miss the postseason. The pitching staff was what helped this team make it as their lineup has not been that great and they are one of three postseason teams with a negative run differential (-41). They drew the Cubs in the wild card round and with the way the Cubs played over the last week, the Marlins could steal a series assuming their lineup puts up runs.
15. Toronto Blue Jays
2020 Record: 32-28
The Blue Jays were put in a tough situation from the get-go this season when they found out they were not allowed to play in Toronto; however, this did not deter them, and they still wound up with a record over .500. It may be a little silly that they are the eight seed even though the Astros have a sub .500 record but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The young talent on this team stepped up and led them to their current position, but now they are facing one of the best pitching staffs in the AL: the Rays. Scoring runs will be the key to defeating the Rays as they do not have the best lineup in the league, but no matter what happens, the Blue Jays have a great foundation to work off of.
16. Milwaukee Brewers
2020 Record: 29-31
Even with losing the final game of the season, the Brewers were narrowly able to sneak into the playoffs, but just getting into the playoffs is one thing, now they play the Dodgers. The NL Central was a very tough division this season as four teams ended making the playoffs so the Brewers are at least used to playing tough competition. It is actually kind of amazing that Milwaukee managed to get a playoff spot considering their hitting ranks near the bottom of the league in the NL. The pitching is what led them to the playoffs, but in order to make it past their first-round matchup they will need the offense to step up against the best starting staff in baseball.