What Awaits in October? A Look Ahead to the MLB Wild Card Round
We are now down to the dregs of the MLB regular season. With so few games left, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus. The first round of the MLB Playoffs is the Wild Card Series. These short three-game jousts put a premium on pitching and luck. Front offices and managers are going to try to line up their best three pitchers to be on the hill for these series. The only problem is that if the playoff race goes down to the wire, it gives the teams less flexibility with their rotations. For this article, we’re going to talk about the ace of each team and what we could expect in a best-of-three series.
We’re going to kick things off with the American League. Where things currently are, it would be the third-seeded Detroit Tigers up against the Houston Astros. The Tigers are neck and neck with the Mariners for the second seed. They are only a game in front of their AL West rival Astros. They are only separated by one game in the standings, but the higher-up team automatically gets the third seed because they would have won the division, guaranteeing them home-field advantage for the round. The Astros are also tied with the Red Sox, who have the fifth seed. The Tigers are also a game behind the Yankees, who are currently in the fourth seed. So these matchups have the potential to go any number of ways.
The second-best division winner will get a bye, while the division winner with the third-best record will get the third seed and home-field advantage in the Wild Card Round. Then the fourth seed will face the fifth seed. As things currently stand, that would be the third-seed Tigers versus the sixth-seed Astros. This matchup has the potential to produce one of the best pitching duels in the playoffs. Tarik Skubal has been pitching like one of, if not the best, pitchers in the league for the Tigers. The Astros, who have been the class of the AL West over the past 10 years, are led by ace Framber Valdez. Hopefully, their starting lineup gives us at least one marquee matchup.
The fourth and fifth seeds will go head-to-head, which right now is the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. This historic clash will most likely take place at Yankee Stadium unless the Red Sox are able to make up some ground. Both franchises, generally known for their hitting, are led by two aces in Max Fried and Garrett Crochet, respectively. In such a short series, whoever wins that first game will have a significant leg up.
Now we shift over to the National League, where things are a lot more settled relative to the American League. It appears that the first matchup will be the Dodgers versus the Mets in LA and the Cubs versus the Padres in Chicago. The Mets quite possibly could start two rookies and a piggyback start. While the Dodgers could run out any one of their cavalcade of aces and be fine. Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, or even part-time slugger Shohei Ohtani. This will certainly be an interesting series, west vs east, and young vs. old rotation.
Finally, the last matchup we have is most likely going to be the Cubs versus the Padres. This could see the Cubbies turn to rookie Cade Horton or a more established veteran in Matthew Boyd. While the Friars could start Nick Pivetta in the midst of a career year. Both of these teams have multiple options to turn to in a three-game series. The one constant in the Wild Card Round is that in such a short series, the ball can bounce any way and the best team may not win. Which is why it is of the utmost importance for all of these teams to line up their best pitchers to give them the advantage.
