It’s going to be an exciting postseason as the 2015 MLB Playoffs gets under way. The NL Central has been at the center of attention with the top three teams in the divions all making it to the postseason. But St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Chicago will be duking it out on their side of the bracket, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets fill the other.
The American League is also just as exciting; The Kansas City Royals are back for their second-straight postseason, and this time as the league’s best team. But the AL’s other playoff teams are also pretty tough as they will battle the league out with big-time sluggers in the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros.
Read on for everything you need to know for each of Major League Baseball’s playoff teams, and stick around until the end for our take on how the entire postseason plays out. Afterwards, get a sneak peek of the AL Wild Card Game with our complete preview for the Astros vs. Yankees.
[sc:MLBArticles ]2015 World Series Preview
American League
Kansas City Royals
If pitching wins championships, then the Kansas City Royals may be in trouble. They ranked 10th in the majors with a 3.73 ERA and 24th in quality starts (71) in the regular season. The Royals’ pair of aces in Johnny Cueto (4-7, 4.76 ERA) and Yordano Ventura (13-8, 4.08 ERA) don’t have the numbers to back up their glorified status.
[sc:MLB240banner ]What Kansas City does have is incredible batting at the plate. The Royals are seventh in runs (724) and third in batting average (.269) in the regular season. Lorenzo Cain leads the team with a .307 batting average, while Kendrys Morales has been a solid cleanup hitter with team-highs of 22 home runs and 106 RBIs. Eric Hosmer has also been pretty solid with a .363 on-base percentage.
If the Royals’ pitching staff can’t shutout their opponents, they can still get enough run support to win games. Kansas City is +500 to win the World Series.
Toronto Blue Jays
There’s no one hotter than the Toronto Blue Jays, who went on quite a romp to win their first AL East title since 1993. The Blue Jays have a certified ace in southpaw David Price (18-5, 2.45 ERA), who went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 games since arriving from Detroit. Another key trade acquisition that boosted the Jays’ ascent to the AL East crown is slugger Troy Tulowitzi.
Toronto has leaned on its batting to get into their position as the favorite to win the World Series at +350. The Jays ranked first in runs (891), on base percentage (.340) and slugging percentage (.457) as well as second in batting average (.269) in the regular season. Josh Donaldson has seemingly carried the whole team on his shoulders by leading the Jays in homers (41), batting average (.297) and RBI (123).
Texas Rangers
Surprise! Here come the Texas Rangers as AL West Champions in the postseason, which is pretty incredible considering they were the division’s worst team just a season ago. They may not have the best pitching staff to sustain a deep playoff run, though, with a 4.24 team ERA and .266 as their opponents’ batting average, 23rd and 24th in the league, respectively, in the regular season.
But don’t count out the Rangers just yet. Their ace in Cole Hammels knows how to dominate in the playoffs. Hammels won MVP honors in the NLCS and World Series in 2008 back when he was with the Phillies. He was a perfect 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts en route to winning the 2008 league title. But right now, he and the Rangers are +800 to win the World Series themselves this 2015.
New York Yankees
When you talk about the New York Yankees, you can’t ignore their history of playoff excellence. The Yankees are the winningest team in World Series history with 27 championships to show. The next most successful team is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have 16 less titles than the Yanks.
Alex Rodriguez is easily the most experienced Bronx Bomber on the roster. A 14-time All-Star, former World Series champion (2009) and three-time MVP, A-Rod should be the Yankees’ leader in this playoff run. He led the Yankees with 33 homers in the regular season, but he may not amount to much in the Wild Card game as he’s just 1 of 7 against Astros ace Dallas Keuchel this year.
The Yankees are +1,500 to win the World Series.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are back in the playoffs for the first time since appearing in the 2005 World Series. The Astros were one of the hottest teams in the majors before a late collapse had them falling out of the AL West lead. But a fresh start in the playoffs may just be what the doctor ordered for Houston.
The Astros have some young hot shots leading the way. Ace Dallas Keuchel won 20 games and is in the running for the AL Cy Young Award after a solid season. Carlos Correa is a stud himself after a solid September outing with his .328 on base percentage and .269 batting average.
The Astros will be led by the big bats of Evan Gattis, Luis Valbuena, Colby Rasmus, Chris Carter and the aforementioned Correa, who have each hit over 20 homers in the regular season. Houston tied Toronto with the most homers in the majors at 230 in the regular season. Having said that, the Astros are +1,600 to win the World Series.
National League
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals played in the best division in the majors this season, yet they still finished as the best team of 2015. The Cards are the only 100-win team this season and are due for another deep playoff run. This majors-best club will also be boosted by the return of ace Adam Wainwright. He made his return to an MLB mound last Wednesday, giving up a run on two hits while recording a strikeout in an inning of work against the Pirates.
While Wainwright may not start after returning from Achilles surgery, he could be an integral part of the Cards’ bullpen. But even without him for a huge part of the season, the Cards still managed to become the best pitching team in the majors. St. Louis ranked first with a team ERA of 2.94 in the regular season on the strength of a majors-high 106 quality starts.
The Cards are +550 to win the World Series.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers may just have a shot at the World Series this time around as they arguably have the best one-two starting punch in the majors. The Dodgers have the luxury of starting Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.13 ERA) and Zack Greinke (19-3, 1.66 ERA) in back-to-back games, with both in the running to win the NL Cy Young Award this year after solid performances in the regular season.
It’s tough to back Kershaw in the postseason, though. He was a flop in 2014, going 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA in the NLDS. The Dodgers went on to lose that series 3-1. Still, Los Angeles remains a solid sleeper at +550 to win the World Series. Just remember to hold your breath in Kershaw’s first start.
New York Mets
Like the Dodgers, the New York Mets also have a solid one-two punch in pitching. They have solid starters in Jacob deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA) and Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA). But wins may be hard to come by if the Mets’ bats continue to struggle. They ranked 28th in the league with a subpar .244 batting average in the regular season.
The Mets will be leaning on some key players at the plate. Daniel Murphy leads the team with a .281 batting average; Lucas Duda leads with 27 homers and 73 RBIs; and Yoenis Cespedes has also been solid since moving to the Mets.
The Mets are +500 to win the World Series.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates would be division winners in any other division aside from NL Central after winning 98 games this season, the second-best record in the majors. The Pirates have brought some serious heat to the plate, led by perennial MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen, who had a team-high 96 RBIs, 23 homers and a .292 batting average.
The Pirates also have a very solid pitcher in Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA). Cole has been pretty consistent for much of the season with a 1.09 WHIP. Pittsburgh is +1,200 to win the World Series.
Chicago Cubs
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The Chicago Cubs are in the postseason for the first time in the past seven years. They may have to win a one-game Wild Card game first, but they have the best man for the job in Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA) for the game. He hasn’t lost a game since July 25; the Cubs have gone a perfect 13-0 in his last 13 starts. Arrieta has also beaten Pittsburgh, the Cubs’ Wild Card opponent, three times over that span.
Arrieta isn’t the Cubs’ only ace, too. Jon Lester is there to bolster the rotation. Lester has been a solid postseason pitcher with two World Series titles already under his belt. He pitched a shutout in Game 4 to clinch the World Series in 2007 for the Red Sox. Lester then went on to win another title with the Red Sox in 2013, pitching in two victories in the World Series.
A young, fearsome group also leads the Cubs’ batting. Anthony Rizzo has stood out among his teammates at the plate leading Chicago in batting average (.278), homers (31), RBIs (101), on base percentage (.387) and hits (163).
The Cubs are +1,000 to win the World Series.
Kevin’s 2015 MLB Postseason Predictions
Wild Card
| Game | Result |
|---|---|
| AL Wild Card | Yankees def. Astros |
| NL Wild Card | Cubs def. Pirates |
Division Series
| Series | Result |
|---|---|
| ALDS – Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees | Yankees def. Royals in 5 |
| ALDS – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers | Blue Jays def. Rangers in 4 |
| NLDS – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs | Cubs def. Cardinals in 5 |
| NLDS – Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets | Mets def. Dodgers in 4 |
Championship Series
| Series | Result |
|---|---|
| ALCS – Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees | Blue Jays def. Yankees in 6 |
| NLCS – New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs | Cubs def. Mets in 5 |
World Series
| World Series | Result |
|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays vs. Chicago Cubs | Cubs def. Blue Jays in 7 |
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