Some of us were right, and some of us were wrong with our ALDS and NLDS predictions. Regardless, we’re back with our predictions for ALCS and NLCS. Do you share any of ours?
NLCS: I’m thinking that the NLCS will go six games. The Braves and Dodgers are both very good teams and while I ultimately think the Dodgers will win, the Braves will not get swept. There is a lot of power on both teams offensively so they are pretty evenly matched there, but when it comes to pitching, the Dodgers have the upper-hand. The Braves pitching is good but the Dodgers’ hitters are better.
ALCS: For the ALCS, I’ll take the Tamp Bay Rays in five games. The Rays are an exemplary baseball team with all of the pieces to win: the speed, the pop, the starting pitching, the relief pitching. The Rays are overall the better team in this series. The Astros are good offensively when their bats are all on their game, but their pitching is not at the same level as the Rays, which will ultimately hurt them in the end.
NLCS: I’ll take the Dodgers in six in the NLCS. I’m just not sure the Braves can beat this team in a seven-game series. I trust the Dodgers pitching to stop Atlanta more than I trust Atlanta’s pitching to stop the Dodgers.
ALCS: As for the ALCS, I’ll pick the Rays in six. I don’t trust Houston’s pitching and Tampa’s pitching is going to be a lot better than Oakland’s.
NLCS: The Dodgers are probably in a comfortable spot after getting the better of the Padres – a team with a lot more to be afraid of, at least offensively, than the Braves. I think Los Angeles will be back in the World Series in give or take five games.
ALCS: Tampa Bay-Houston is going to be a much tighter matchup than many would’ve anticipated at the beginning of the playoffs. Correa, Altuve, and Springer are all hitting like they were when they were getting the signs three years ago, and the Rays’ pitching staff is going to have to labor through every game that
Charlie Morton isn’t starting. I hope to the high heavens that I’m wrong, but I think barring an offensive explosion from the Rays not named
Randy Arozarena, Houston is going to come out on top in six games. Nothing that should have stopped the Astros before has worked.
NLCS: In the National League, I’ll take the Dodgers in six games. The Dodgers and Braves both have strong offenses. The Braves were second in MLB in team batting average, while the Dodgers led MLB in team home runs. The difference will come down to pitching, as it always does. By team ERA, the Dodgers were the best in MLB, while the Braves were 15th. Specifically regarding starting pitching, the Dodgers were second, and the Braves were 28th. The Dodgers held a slight edge in relief pitching as well (LA was second, Atlanta was fourth). So, I’ll go with old adage that pitching prevails, especially in the post season.
ALCS: In the American League, I don’t think the Astros will stop the Rays. The Rays exemplify team baseball. They’re solid all around and use their players according to the analytics. When it comes to starting pitching, the Rays hold a slight statistical edge, and that edge is more pronounced in relief pitching (Tampa’s relievers had the third-best ERA in MLB, while Houston’s were 15th). SO, once again, I think pitching will prevail in the ALCS. I’ll take the Rays in six, setting up a coast-to-coast, Tampa vs. LA World Series. It will be a battle of small-market analytics against a modern day Goliath. That will be fun.
NLCS: My guess for the NLCS will be Braves in seven. I think that that the star power of
Ronald Acuña Jr. and
Freddie Freeman will show itself during the series and that’ll make this a very competitive series. I’m not sure they have the pitching to keep the Dodgers silent, but if their stars carry them they certainly can win the series. Anything can happen in playoff baseball.
For the ALCS, I am going to take the Astros in six. While I’d love for the Rays to continue their miraculous season, the Astros are a very hard team to beat and they’ve shown that within the last few years. I think the series is comparable to the NLCS, however I think the Braves have more star power to beat the Dodgers as compared to the Rays defeating the Astros.
NLCS: As the National League Championship Series begins today we have two undefeated playoff teams set to square off. In the first round of the postseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers had the fairly easy matchup of facing the Milwaukee Brewers. The Braves had a tougher task, as they had to defeat (or just outlast) the presumptive NL Cy Young to defeat the Cincinnati Reds.
Then came the NLDS, where the Dodgers faced an up-and-coming San Diego Padres team that was very tough offensively and yet they swept them. Atlanta dominated a Marlins team who they owned throughout the regular season, giving them an easy path to the NLCS. But after watching the Dodgers hold a very good Padres lineup to just nine runs in three games, I think they are clearly the class of the National League. With that said, I think they keep their brooms out and go into the World Series with a perfect 9-0 record.
ALCS: No one wants to see the Houston Astros play in another World Series after they skated by on their punishments for the sign-stealing scandal. Luckily, I believe the Tampa Bay Rays are the superior team and will find their way to take three of the next six games.
In Game 1, we saw Tampa’s analytical approach pay dividends, as their defensive positioning helped them escape a couple jams in the late innings to hold on for the 2-1 victory. Houston will get a game, but the Rays advance in five.
