Race to the World Series starts now

As the calendars sit ready to flip from September to October, playoff baseball is in the air. At the end of the month, one of the twelve teams that make the playoffs will hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy and be crowned 2023 World Series champions.

The playoffs present a daunting task for even the best teams. Anything can happen, and no one is safe. Last year proved this when the 89-win San Diego Padres took down the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers and the 87-win Philadelphia Phillies defeated the defending champions, the Atlanta Braves. Anyone can shine in the postseason, and with this in mind, each team that makes the playoffs has reason to believe they can go all the way.

In this postseason, everything begins with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have been a powerhouse all season, boasting a record of 98-55, which is the best record in MLB. The Braves are an offensive juggernaut that sent eight players to the All-Star Game (the record is nine). Atlanta leads all of MLB in batting average, home runs, runs batted in (RBI), runs, slugging and more.

This offensive dominance is largely due to National League (NL) MVP favorite, Ronald Acuña Jr., who became the first player ever to have 40 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season, with the previous record being less than 30 home runs and 60 steals before him. The Braves also have an excellent starting rotation, which includes 24-year-old pitcher Spencer Strider. Strider currently leads all of baseball with 270 strikeouts, which is over 30 more than the next-best. Atlanta is the favorite to win it all for good reason.”

Atlanta presents the biggest odds of winning the World Series, but if there is a team that could knock them out, my money is on the defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies started the season 25-32 but have heated up since then. They now sit as the best wild card team in the NL, and are poised for another deep postseason push.

Philadelphia was 87-75 last season and entered the playoffs as the lowest possible seed. However, they didn’t play like it, and rode a red wave all the way to the World Series, beating Atlanta in the NLDS in the process. The argument can also be made that this Phillies team is better than the one from last season. In the offseason, Philadelphia acquired all-star shortstop Trea Turner. Turner’s first season in the City of Brotherly Love has been rocky, but he’s heated up at the right time, hitting .333 in August and making the Phillies a team to be reckoned with.

Speaking of teams to be reckoned with, just two years ago it would have been unfathomable to see the Orioles at the top of the American League (AL) standings, yet here they are. In 2021, Baltimore lost 110 games and had the worst record in MLB. Since then, the Orioles have done nothing but draft and develop talent.

The best example of this is all-star catcher Adley Rutschman, who is currently hitting .273 with 19 home runs. Rutschman, along with Gunnar Henderson, Cedric Mullens and a host of other young talent, represent the core of this Orioles team for the next several years. The Orioles are also sustaining this level of success with a total payroll of just under $53 million, the third-lowest payroll in MLB. Baltimore’s ability to develop talent has led them to this point, and now their fans can see how far it will take them.

As it stands now, the Houston Astros are not a lock to make the postseason. The defending World Series champions sit half a game over Seattle for the final wild-card spot in the AL. However, they also sit half a game away from not being in the playoffs at all, which shows just how tight the AL playoff race has gotten.

Their reason for optimism is essentially the same as the Phillies; they have already shown they can do it. The Astros have the talent to win back-to-back championships. They have a playoff-proven roster that returned most of the starters from their World Series victory and added Jose Abreu in the offseason and starting pitcher Justin Verlander at the trade deadline. Most of the players on their roster already have a World Series ring, and now it’s a matter of chasing another one.

While only four teams were highlighted in the playoff preview, every team that makes it has a chance to win it all. Last season’s National League Championship Series (NLCS) saw the five seed play the six seed for the right to go to the World Series. It’s entirely possible that the Minnesota Twins pitch their way to the Fall Classic, or that the Texas Rangers win 12-11 thrillers en route to a World Series. It’s also possible that the favorites show up and take care of business, much like the Astros did last season. Anything can happen, and that is why everyone will be watching.

MLB Playoff Picture as of 9/27

American League (AL)Orioles (99-59, X)Rangers (89-69)Twins (85-73, Y)Rays (97-62, X)Blue Jays (87-71)Astros (87-72)——————————————–

Mariners (85-73, 1.5 GB)

National League (NL)Braves (102-56, Y)Dodgers (98-60, Y)Brewers (89-69, Y)Phillies (89-69, X)Diamondbacks (84-74)Cubs (82-76)Marlins (82-75)——————————————-

Reds (81-78, 1.5 GB)

*Y=clinched divisionX=clinched playoff spot