The first round of the playoffs gave us some big surprises, including the Reds not scoring one run all series, or the Yankees absolutely shelling Shane Bieber. That was only in two games, imagine what we will see in the division series’ that will go five games.
The Division series has given us some great moments in postseasons past and it is sure to do the same this season.
Each of these teams took a different path to get to the point they are at right now and each of them will be on a different path to make it past this round.
With that being said, the final eight postseason teams are ranked, and we even went a step further and said what each team will need to do to advance in the postseason. Which teams will have what it takes to advance to the championship series?
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2020 Record: 43-17
The Padres will not be an easy test, in fact, this will be a battle between the teams with the best records in the NL. The recipe to winning this series is simple, strike early and often. Two games are not a reliable sample size, but against the Brewers the lineup wasn’t really there for them. They were able to do enough, but the Padres pitching is much better than Milwaukee and that could be even more true if Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet are active this series. The Padres score their runs in bunches, so that means that the Dodgers have to be on a similar path and score in bunches, in order to do that they will need the bats of Bellinger, Muncy, Pederson, and Seager to show up.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
2020 Record: 40-20
The pitching staff of the Rays is one of the best in the league and it is clear that Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are two of the best pitchers in the league when they are on, what is not so clear is the consistency of the lineup. Brandon Lowe was the MVP of the offense in the regular season and even though he struggled in the quick two-game series, others stepped up including: Manuel Margot, Mike Brosseau, Mike Zunino, and Randy Arozarena. These players are not going to consistently be a threat at the plate, but they will need to take advantage of the Yankees pitching staff lack, otherwise the constant threat of the Yankees lineup may be too much.
3. New York Yankees
2020 Record: 33-27
We know the Yankees have a dangerous lineup, look at what they did to Shane Bieber, what could come back to haunt them though is their pitching staff. The team overall, had an insane 1.062 OPS over the two games against Cleveland—that’s the best staff in the AL—and if they do anything close to similar to the Rays then this could be a quick series. While their hitting was off the charts, their pitching was not. In two games, the Yankees allowed 12 runs and while the Rays may not have the quality hitters as the Indians, they have a better all-around lineup. The Yankees staff does not have the depth that they have had recent seasons, so the lineup will be relied on, but the pitching will need to show up this series.
4. Atlanta Braves
2020 Record: 35-25
The lineup of the Braves is deadly and though they didn’t necessarily show it during the Reds series, it is there, what is questioned is the pitching staff. The staff has dealt with numerous injuries over the course of the season and outside of Max Fried, who do they really have? Well, Ian Anderson showed up big in the last part of the season and the playoff game, but you need more than two pitchers to win in the playoffs. Well, technically not but that assumes your aces pitch great every time they take the hill. It is time for one of the other starters to show up and if they do, with the strength of their bullpen and their lineup then they could potentially sweep the Marlins.
5. San Diego Padres
2020 Record: 37-23
The Padres lineup is great, the only problem is that they don’t really score as often as they should. While they don’t score every inning, when they do score it comes in bunches. That is one thing that will need to change, not necessarily the scoring bunches when they score, but they will need to score more often. The Dodgers have a great lineup and even though the Padres staff will be better with the potential return of Clevenger and Lamet, the Dodgers will still score their runs. This means that the Padres will need to manufacture runs against the best pitching staff in the league. There is no weak spot in the Padres lineup and if they prove that against the Dodgers then they could be on the path to the World Series.
6. Oakland Athletics
2020 Record: 36-24
The Athletics and the Astros have experience in the playoffs which is a good thing, the not so good thing is that the A’s don’t have nearly as strong of a lineup as the Astros—assuming the Astros come to play. While the lineup may not be as good, they do have a clear advantage in one aspect and that is pitching. Pitching is what is going to win them this series, even if that means each game ends with a score of 1-0. It is more than likely that the offense is going to need to show up, but if the staff can hold the lineup down and turn it over to the bullpen with the lead then it will be series over in favor of the A’s. The White Sox proved that this starting staff is vulnerable and if the Astros do the same thing then it will be a quick series, the starters need to be lockdown from game one on.
7. Miami Marlins
2020 Record: 31-29
The Marlins were not supposed to make it this far and the fact that they did makes it an even bigger reason as to why no team should underestimate them. On paper it is actually pretty tough to say what they do the best, it is most likely their pitching and after the series against the Cubs, it is clearly the staff. Now the Cubs lineup is not nearly as good as the Braves lineup is so that brings the question of how much depth does this staff truly have? Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez, and Pablo Lopez all have potential greatness inside of them, but if the Braves knock them out early then what? This lineup in no way matches the Braves so the staff will need to shut them down if they want to stand a chance.
8. Houston Astros
2020 Record: 29-31
The biggest question entering the Twins series was if the pitching was going to hold against that lineup, the short answer was yes, yes it did. The question becomes different against the Athletics, it is now whether or not the lineup can show up? Obviously, they need the pitching to be good again, but against the opposing staff they need the lineup to show. The lineup was up and down for much of the season and while they weren’t great against Minnesota, it was enough to take the series. Minnesota’s staff is good, but not Athletics level, if they can hit them early and not give Oakland a chance to get to the bullpen with a lead then this could be one of the best series in the second round.