AL Wild Card-
Lead by the unexpected power house Orioles finishing with 101 wins, you would think the other teams would be close in the Wild Card race, Right? No. As the second seed, we have the reigning World Series Champions Houston Astros, who were a dissapointment this year, finishing 90-72, 16 less than 2022, and only won the division because of a tiebreaker.
Now we get into the actual Wild Card matchup, the first one rather odd. The 6 seed Blue Jays will be guests to the the Minnesota Twins, making their first playoff apperance since 2020. It is an odd matchup, because the lower seed has a better record (89-73), while the higher seed has less wins (87-75). In a sweep, like last year, I think the Blue Jays will fall.
The next Playoff series resides at Tropicana Field between the 99 win Rays, and the 90 win Rangers. First, the Rangers would not be in this situation if they performed better against the AL West, but it would surprise you how Texas played against the toughest division in baseball: The AL East. They went 14-11. Obviously the Rays are stacked, but I will pick the upset. Rangers in 3.
NL Wild Card-
Ronald Acuna Jr. having a 40/70 season is enough to carry the Braves to at least the Wild Card, but with the 54 Matt Olson bombs, and great team chemistry, they were not just the 1 seed, but had the best record in MLB. After a historic 2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers are not done yet. Expect them to be a huge threat in the ’23 Playoffs as the NL 2 seed.
Now the Wild Card: Milwaukee VS Arizona. Although Brandon Woodruff is on the IL, Burnes, Peralta and Miley should be able to take care of the new playoff Diamondbacks, who after Zac Gallen, don’t have consistant arms, so I am picking Milwaukee in 3. Miami was a surprise to the group of teams in this years mix, and don’t really have an amazing pitching rotation like their opponents: Philadelphia Phillies, which is why it is not a shock that the Reigning National League Champions will sweep Miami.
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