by David Grubb | Oct 6, 2023 | THE LEAD OFF
As we do every year at this time, the staff at MLBbro.com has made its annual postseason predictions.
Our Panel: Rob Parker, JR Gamble, Mark Gray, David Grubb, Malik Wright, Dante Miles, Ronald Agers, Gary Sheffield Jr., Rachel Hill, Jaelen Gilkey, Kevin Moore
After the sudden completion of the Wild Card round, here’s how our crew’s predictions have panned out so far.
| Staffers |
Record |
| Gary Sheffield Jr. |
4-0 |
| Rob Parker, David Grubb |
3-1 |
| JR Gamble, Rachel Hill, Kevin Moore, Malik Wright |
2-2 |
| Ronald Agers, Dante Miles |
1-3 |
| Mark Gray, Jaelen Gilkey |
0-4 |
The divisional round of the postseason begins on Saturday, with two upsets in the wild card round reshaping the brackets. Only three of our panelists (Gamble, Sheffield, Miles) correctly picked the Diamondbacks to advance to the second round. In the other series, six staffers selected the Rangers to knock off the Rays.
With berths in the League Championship Series on the line, the stakes are higher, and the series are longer. So here are our picks for who wins and in how many games.
American League Divisional Series
Minnesota Twins (3) vs Houston Astros (2)
Season series: Twins 4-2
The Minnesota Twins are on a roll. Since September 1 they are 21-10 (.677), including their two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Their pitching staff surrendered just one run in the two games, with 19 strikeouts and only five walks. Royce Lewis (.333, 2 HR, 3R, 3RBI) had a record-tying performance in game one with home runs in each of his first two postseason at-bats.
Now, he and the rest of the Twins get to take on the champs. The Twins did win the season series, but the Astros have advanced to at least the ALCS in each of the past six years. We’re riding with the Astros, but we don’t think it will be an easy win.
Panel’s pick: Astros in 5
Texas Rangers (5) vs Baltimore Orioles (1)
Season series: 3-3
Well, the Baltimore Orioles won 101 games during the regular season. They’ve only done that three times in the last 50 years (1979, 1980). Baltimore scored 800 runs for the first time in 20 years. They also had a top five pitching staff.
The Rangers have bludgeoned their way into the playoffs and into the second round. Texas tied the Twins for the American League lead in home runs (233), and led the AL in batting average, runs scored, OBP, Slugging, and OPS. Texas shot down the Blue Jays by scoring 11 runs in two games. The big surprise was their pitching, which held Toronto to a single run in the series.
It was close, but in the end we believe that the Orioles will get past the Rangers and into the ALCS for the first time since 2014.
Panel’s pick: Orioles in 4
National League Divisional Series
Arizona Diamondbacks (6) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (2)
Season series: Dodgers 8-5
Arizona stumbled into the playoffs losing its final four games of the regular season. They were outscored by their opponents, but here they are taking on the juggernaut that is the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Diamondbacks got contributions from just about everyone in their lineup in beating the Brewers.
This series is between divisional opponents, and LA dominated the series. They have the better offense, the better defense, a deeper pitching staff, the more experienced manager, and the mission of “World Series or Bust.”
We’ll give the D-Backs enough credit to earn a gentleman’s sweep.
Panel’s pick: Dodgers in 4
Philadelphia Phillies (4) vs Atlanta Braves (1)
Season series: Braves 8-5
This series might be the best of the entire postseason. These NL East rivals are the last two representatives for the National League in the World Series. They played each other seven times in the month of September, with the Braves edging out the Phillies four games to three.
They were only three runs apart in those games, with three of them going to extra innings.
The only shame is this series is best-of-five instead of best-of-seven.
Ronald Acuna missed the playoffs last year, and this season he’s the likely MVP. He’s the headliner on an offense that launched 307 home runs into the stands and scored 947 runs. That would be enough to deal with for most teams, but the Braves are above average on the mound and in the field as well.
Philly comes in winners of 10 of their last 13 games and aren’t afraid of Atlanta. The Phillies should push the Braves to their limit, but ultimately Atlanta will emerge victorious.
Panel’s pick: Braves in 5
by Jeff Washington | Sep 8, 2023 | 5TH SLOT
They say game recognizes game and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez’ historic play over the past two seasons has drawn comparisons to another Mariners great, 2016 Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.
“The Kid” took notice of J-Rod’s talent early last season and has placed the August AL Player of the month under his wing.
“He’s always open to talk about everything,” Rodríguez said. “It’s really cool to have him around. I know a lot of people are always trying to compare us and say, ‘Who’s going to be better?’ But I feel like [we both] have [our] own time and I’m really grateful that I have someone in my corner to mentor me and tell me the things that I should expect along the way. It’s really cool having his help. He’s definitely one of the greatest players ever to play the game.”
While the similarities are there: Gold Glove caliber defense, elite power, youthful exuberance and effortless swagger, it seems unfair to both parties to forecast whether Rodriguez will match or surpass his mentor’s career.
However, at this point, it does seem that J-Rod is destined for greatness, and soaking up game from Junior can’t hurt one bit.
The Seattle Mariners were floundering early in the season and fell as far as 10 games out of first place on July 1st. Then the team flipped a switch and recaptured the magic that helped them break a long playoff drought in 2022 leading to optimism for this season.
The M’s (79-61) are now embroiled in a heated three team battle with fellow AL West foes – The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.
MLBbros In A Close Battle For American League West Division Crown
Since July 1st, The Mariners are a scorching 41-19 (.683) in their last 60 games. They are now currently sitting a ½ game out of first place, and alone in the second AL Wild Card spot. No team has performed better over that span.
Seattle Transformation Led By Julio Rodriguez
Seattle’s remarkable turnaround runs concurrent with the resurgence of 22-year-old phenom Julio Rodriguez, who has shaken off an early sophomore jinx to put together another historical speed/power season.
The two-time All-Star is hitting .337 with 82 hits, 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and 39 runs scored since July 1st. He’s now batting .282, with 27 home runs and 93 RBIs.
His 5.3 War ranks eleventh best in MLB as of September 8. Just two weeks ago, Rodriguez became the fastest Mariner to smash 50 home runs, reaching the total in just 256 games. On September 5th in Cincinnati, he became the first player in MLB history to have 25 home runs and 25 steals in each of his first two seasons.
by Kevin Moore | Oct 26, 2022 | THE THREE SPOT
The San Diego Padres’ season came to an end on Sunday as the Philadelphia Phillies won 4-3 to punch its ticket to the World Series. San Diego only won one game during the series, but the team did not go down without a fight. And two of our MLBbros did their best to contribute to a World Series run. The franchise is definitely closing the gap on the Los Angeles Dodgers and next season’s NL West race should go down to the wire. The return of Fernando Tatis will figure prominently in what happens out West in 2023.
Josh Bell: Where Will His Roller Coaster Ride End Up?
Josh Bell had a productive NLCS and had some timely and key hits at the plate. But unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to help his team get over that hump. In the five games against the Phillies, Bell recorded a hit in four of them. The former Washington Nationals slugger finished the series going 6-for-17 with a home run and three RBI.
He had a big performance in Game 2 as he finished with a three-hit performance as the Padres got the only win of the series that game.
Josh Bell’s Bro Bombing Stick Comes To Life, Padres Take Game 2 Of NLCS
During the postseason, Bell finished with a .250 batting average with two home runs and five RBI. Bell’s future in San Diego is still cloudy as he will become a free agent this summer and return to the market after signing a one-year $10M deal with the Nats last offseason before being traded in the blockbuster Juan Soto deal. The Padres could retain him, but reports say they will probably look in another direction, which is a shame because he is a great fit out there. There will be more than a couple of teams searching for a first baseman with major pop and playoff experience.
Bell’s season was a tale of two cities. The 40-year-old played at an All-Star level with the Nationals, with a strong stat line of .311/.390/.504 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. After he was traded to the Padres, though, Bell’s production plummeted to .192/.316/.271 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 53 games, but he did help the team get into the playoffs.
There are rumors that the Houston Astros would be a perfect fit for Bell who would thrive in that lineup as a younger replacement for 38-year-old declining free agent Yuli Gurriel.
Josh Bell & Trent Grisham Have Stepped Up For Padres In Wild Card Series | MLBbro Bombing
Trent Grisham: You’re Hot, Then You’re Not
On the other hand, Bell’s teammate, Trent Grisham started the postseason with a bang, but slowed down a bit as the postseason progressed.
In the series against Philadelphia, Grisham went hitless in all five games. Definitely not the performance his team and fans wanted to see. After starting the postseason with a four-game hitting streak, Grisham went a disastrous 0-for-18 with nine strikeouts in the LCS against the Phillies. He finished the postseason hitting .200 with three home runs and 15 strikeouts. His regular season performance was less than expected and the Padres will give this talented outfielder at least one more season to prove himself as an everyday player. The club does have him under control for three more seasons. The 2020 Gold Glove winner hit 17 homers but batted just .184 with 150Ks.
It would have been exciting to see both of these MLBbros compete in the World Series and potentially win their first title. But it was good to see them make it as far as they did, laying the groundwork for an even better 2023.
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