TGS SPECIAL REPORT...TGS MLB PLAYOFF PREVIEW!
by Bruce Marshall, Goldsheet.com Editor
Following is a quick preview of how the postseason shapes up in both the American and National Leagues. Pennant win prices are included next to each team’s name; our predictions refer to which round of the playoffs we believe each team will reach...except for our projected eventual winner, which will be duly noted.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
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The Houston Astros (9/4) will tangle with the Boston Red Sox (7/2) in the non-Indians ALDS. In the end it was remarkable the Astros stayed on their 100-win pace, considering the spate of injuries that had most of the rotation on the DL for significant patches of the season. Along the way, GM Jeff Lunhow drew criticism at the trade deadline for not bolstering the bullpen, which became a liability as vets Tyler Clippard and Luke Gregerson struggled. However, Lunhow made up for that by swinging a deal with the Tigers for Justin Verlander just before the waiver deadline at the end of August. Verlander (5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in his five Houston starts) has been sensational since and he teams with Dallas Keuchel for a potentially-devastating 1-2 at the top of the rotation, and manager A.J. Hinch, who cycled through many arms in the rotation due to injuries, now has varied options for his bullpen in the playoffs. The Jose Altuve-led lineup can certainly outscore foes, and don’t forget vet Carlos Beltran has been one of the top postseason hitters in MLB history. Verlander makes the Astros the favorite in the ALDS and provides a shot to get to the Series if the rotation sets up properly. Prediction: ALCS.
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Wild Card teams have the baseball version of Russian Roulette to worry about in their one-game playoff, but, as the Giants proved as recently as 2014, that’s no impediment to winning a World Series. Thus, the New York Yankees (11/2) will not only have to go through the sudden death exercise, and then the Indians in the ALDS, before reaching the ALCS. But NY has a puncher’s chance with an offense that led the league in homers, as big-swinging rookie Aaron Judge galvanized the attack with a big September. The Yanks also believe they have the type of bullpen that helped the Indians make it to the Series last October, and Joe Girardi can get by with five innings from his starters after Luis Severino gets the call in the Wild Card. That sort of staff versatility, plus the power-laden offense, gives the Yanks a shot, though the Indians loom as a real hurdle. Prediction: ALDS.
The longest shot in the AL, the Minnesota Twins (16/1), seemed to have been written off at midseason before catching a second wind and using a schedule break in the final two weeks (a slew of games vs. the Tigers) to pull clear of a bunched pack for the last playoff spot. The Twins are more scary in the Wild Card game as Ervin Santana proved a season-long surprise at the top of the rotation, and 3B Miguel Sano was activated from the DL just in time for the playoffs. The last link to the Ron Gardenhire playoff teams, Joe Mauer, also enjoyed a renaissance at the plate in 2017. But, after Santana and maybe Jose Berrios, the rotation does not impress, and after losing 100 in 2016, just getting to the playoffs is an accomplishment for Paul Molitor. Prediction: Wild Card.
NATIONAL LEAGUE

To say the Washington Nationals (5/2) have a checkered postseason history would be a compliment; they’ve never won a playoff series, and the franchise’s only postseason success ever came as the Montreal Expos in the abbreviated first-round of the strike-altered 1981 playoffs vs. the Phillies. Recent failures since 2012 weigh heavily in D.C., but this is the Nats’ best chance, with several hammers in the rotation (Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Gio Gonzalez an intimidating 1-2-3). The Nats own a potent lineup that just welcomed back Bryce Harper from the DL in the nick of time to help in the playoffs, and an experienced batting order which is adept at laying off pitches, forcing longer counts from opposing hurlers. Skipper Dusty Baker, in the twilight of his career, is well overdue a break in the playoffs, too. Bullpen upgrades over the summer were crucial, and the relievers will have to deliver; if they do, Washington can beat the Cubs to finally win a playoff series and have its best-ever shot at making it to the Fall Classic. Prediction: NLCS.

If there is a Wild Card team capable of making a deep run this October, we suspect it might be the Arizona Diamondbacks (8-1). A culture change in the new front office, plus skipper Torey Lovullo, completely altered the dynamics from a dysfunctional 2016 team. The D-backs also stayed mostly healthy, which they weren’t a year ago, and top-shelf 1B Paul Goldschmidt leads an offense full of contact hitters and good base-runners. Arizona also made plays all over the field this season to help its staff, which sets up well for the playoffs, with Zack Greinke in line to start for the Wild Card game at Chase Field (where Greinke was 13-1 this season), then perhaps a close-out game in Phoenix in the NLDS vs. the Dodgers, while Robbie Ray has been lights-out on the road all season (including at Chavez Ravine) and will strike fear into the Blue and Clayton Kershaw in NLDS Game One. If there's a concern, and it's been there all season, is if Arizona can survive the inevitable high-wire act of closer Fernando Rodney. The D-backs have to get by Colorado first, but we suspect they will...and it might be the launching point. Prediction: World Series.
After being in a playoff position all season, it took the Colorado Rockies (10/1) until the final weekend to finally sew up the last NL Wild Card. Now, can they really make a deep postseason run? Though Jon Gray surfaced as a staff ace in the second half of the season, the Rocks’ rotation looks a little light for a playoff drive. MVP candidates Charlie “The Beard” Blackmon 3B & Nolan Arenado are capable of carrying the offense, and Colorado has no fear of the Dodgers in the NLDS after recently beating them five in a row. But can the Rocks get by Zack Greinke at Chase Field in the Wild Card game? Prediction: Wild Card.
