MLB Playoffs: Predicting the 2018 (AL/NL) winners

The MLB Playoffs are just around the corner. Now, while the Reds aren’t in it, let’s have some fun and predict who will make the World Series.

The MLB Playoffs are about to kick off. No, sadly the Cincinnati Reds won’t be part of this year’s festivities, but that shouldn’t preclude us from making some predictions about who from the National League and who from the American League will face off in the World Series.

American League

The American League is set. The Boston Red Sox have run away with AL East, the Cleveland Indians handily won the AL Central, and the Houston Astros held off the late season push from the Oakland Athletics to take the AL West. The A’s and New York Yankees will make the postseason as the two Wild Card teams.

Boston is set to play the winner of the Wild Card matchup between the Yankees and the A’s, while Cleveland will tangle with last year’s World Champions, the Houston Astros. Both matchups should be very intriguing and feature some of the best players in the game.

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With Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez, Mookie Betts, Justin Verlander, Giancarlo Stanton, J.D. Martinez, Alex Bregman, Chris Sale, Francisco Lindor, Jose Altuve, and Matt Chapman will all be out to make their respective statements during October.

I just feel that the A’s, while a great story this season, lack the firepower to compete with the big boys this season. With that being said, I expect the Yankees to advance and play the Red Sox in the ALDS. And, while that series would have the fan bases fired up, the matchup between the Indians and the Astros might be the most compelling series of the entire postseason.

So, who makes it to the ALCS and who comes out of the American League? I think I’ll take the Astros coming out of a tough 5-game series against the Indians, and in an upset, I’ll take the Yankees over the Red Sox. Yep, it’s a rematch of last year’s ALCS and I think we’ll see the same result. I’ll take the Astros coming out of the American League.

National League

The National League may not be as loaded with talented teams as the American League, but there are still some very talented teams on this side of the MLB Playoffs. The NL has yet to decide all five spots, as it’s going to likely come down to the final week of the season, and even that might not be enough.

The only team who has clinched a spot thus far are the AL East Champions, the Atlanta Braves. They are likely to play the winner of the NL West which has come down to the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are battling it out for an NL Central crown, and St. Louis is still in the mix for a Wild Card spot. Milwaukee gets a home series against Detroit to close out the season, while the Cubs and Cardinals do battle in the Windy City.

The Rockies will have four games at Coors Field to prove that they belong in the MLB Playoffs, while the Dodgers go on the road to face their bitter rivals, the San Francisco Giants, for their final three games of the regular season. Four wins are all that separates these six teams.

In the end, I expect the Dodgers to emerge as the NL West Champions, which means they’d likely play Atlanta in the NLDS and Colorado will be relegated to the Wild Card game. This, however, could get interesting as I’m going to take the Brewers to win the NL Central, meaning it’ll be the Cubs hosting the Rockies in the Wild Card game.

I’ll still take the Cubbies in that matchup, but with a home field advantage going to the Brew Crew in the ALDS, I’ll take Milwaukee to knock off Chicago. Christian Yelich is just playing at another level. I don’t think Atlanta is quite ready to take that next step, so I’ll take the Dodgers over the Braves in the NLDS.

That sets up a 7-game series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hoping to avoid a potential rematch, I’ll take the Brewers and my pick for NL MVP, Christian Yelich, to represent the National League in the World Series.

So there you have it. In a prediction, sure to go wrong, I’ll take the Milwaukee Brewers versus Houston Astros in the World Series.