Major League Baseball’s postseason is off to a hot start. Three teams advanced in the minimum number of games from the Wild Card round while the New York Mets needed a historic Game 3 home run to send the Milwaukee Brewers on their winter vacations. Now the postseason bracket advances to the divisional round with some fascinating matchups.
With eight teams remaining and their hopes of a championship still alive, each will have several players who need to step up and make an impact. But who will be most important?
American League
Yankees vs. RoyalsIf the Royals are smart, Aaron Judge won’t see many pitches to hit in the entire series. If that’s the case, the Yankees will need Soto to be great. He’s been here before, albeit in the National League with the Nationals when he was part of their World Series-winning team as a 20-year-old in 2019. In nine career games in the division round of the playoffs, Soto has only hit .235 with two home runs and five runs batted in. He needs to be dangerous to make the Royals think twice about avoiding Judge the entire series.
The best player on the team needs to be the best player in the series for the Royals to continue moving forward. Witt had an MVP-caliber season for Kansas City and was very good in the wild card round. His speed is a difference maker, and his defense is terrific. He can do it all, and he’ll need to in this series.
When you look at the Guardians’ lineup, José Ramírez stands out because of his 39 home runs and 41 stolen bases. And the Tigers will do their best to not let him beat them in the series. Which means someone needs to protect him in the order. The only other Guardian who hit more than 14 home runs this season is Naylor, who finished second on the team with 31 home runs and 108 runs batted in. He’ll need to do his job making the Tigers pay for pitching around Ramírez.
Yes, Jake Rogers. The catcher known for his mustache. The Tigers used their pitching depth incredibly well after Tarik Skubal dominated the first game of the postseason, and they’ll continue to mix and match their arms based on matchups. Rogers will be the common denominator as all the arms parade to the mound. Handling the pitching plan against a good Cleveland team will be critical in this series.
National League
Dodgers vs. PadresThe easy answer here is Shohei Ohtani, the likely National League MVP and the first 50–50 player in MLB history. But the Dodgers’ lineup is as deep and good as any in the playoffs. He’ll make an impact with his bat. If there’s an opportunity for the Padres to win this series, it’s getting into the Dodgers’ bullpen early. Since he was acquired from the White Sox, Kopech has been dominant. But he’s never been on a stage this big before. The Dodgers need him to be great in this series.
Merrill will have a say in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year based on a superb season in which he hit 24 home runs and drove in 90 runs. His 127 OPS+ was fabulous for a player who transitioned from shortstop to center field, and his defense has been very good as well. But the lights will be brighter than he has ever experienced as a baseball player.
Schwarber is one of the few players in this series with a World Series ring already. He led the National League in walks (106) but also struck out 197 times. With 38 regular-season home runs and 104 runs batted in, he was a huge bat for the Phillies. And he does it out of the leadoff spot. The headline grabber in the lineup is Bryce Harper, but he becomes more dangerous if there’s someone on base when he steps into the box—or if there’s already a run on the board. Schwarber finished among the National League leaders in on-base percentage (.366) and will need to do that to start the line moving in Philly.
The Mets’ best player this season has been Francisco Lindor, who could be the runner-up for the National League’s Most Valuable Player. But for the Mets to pull off an in-division upset against the Phillies, they need their biggest bat to ride the wave from his historic, game- and series-winning home run against the Brewers. Alonso struggled late in the regular season. The Mets need him to be a dangerous bat in the middle of their lineup to advance again.
