MLB Power Rankings: Who has the best chances of winning the World Series?

The Athletics have an insane amount of pitching depth, both in their rotation and the bullpen. Oakland’s starters haven’t been excellent but veteran Chris Bassitt has been great this season with a 2.29 ERA and an incredible 8.6 percent HR/FB rate. Beyond Bassitt, the Athletics starters have been so-so but when you consider the arm talent in players like Jesus Luzardo and Sean Manaea this group has the potential to be scary good in a three or five-game postseason series.

The offense took a blow when 3B Matt Chapman underwent season-ending hip surgery, but Matt Olson and his team-high 14 home runs help provide power to the lineup. OF Mark Canha has been solid all season with a 1.7 fWAR along with a 124 wRC+. But the strength of this Oakland team is their bullpen, which has the best ERA in baseball at 2.72 this season. With the trio of Liam Hendriks, Joakim Soria, and Jake Diekman leading the way on the backend, manager Bob Melvin should feel comfortable turning to his bullpen in any situation.

Minnesota has four players with double-digit home runs in their lineup, lead by AL MVP candidate Nelson Cruz and his 16 bombs. The Twins have tons of speed in Bryon Buxton and Jorge Polanco on the basepaths but haven’t stolen many bases this year, likely due to the power their lineup has from top to bottom. 2B Luis Arraez wasn’t a guarantee for the postseason roster after dealing with an ankle injury, but the 23-year-old is one of two Twins to hit above .300 this year (batted .321 in 112 at-bats).

The starting pitching would look much better if Jake Odorizzi had been healthy this season as the 30-year-old spent time on the IL three separate time for three unrelated injuries. He’s dealing with a blister on his throwing hand but is expected to be apart of the Twins playoff roster. Veteran Kenta Maeda has been great all season for the Twins with a 2.70 ERA, and while Jose Berrios has struggled (4.00 ERA, 3.7 BB/9) he has some of the best in the game. Luckily, the Twins have the 2nd best bullpen in baseball according to fWAR, as only the Rays can best the Twins 3.5 WAR.

The Dodgers came into the 2020 season looking like the team to beat in the NL and so far LA has looked the part, clinching another NL West title and locking down the top seed. Superstar Mookie Betts has been even better than expected, he’s tied for the team lead in home runs (16) and leads the team in runs scored (47). SS Corey Seager has had an excellent bounce-back season with a .943 OPS and 15 home runs, both good for second-best on the club. AJ Pollock’s 16 home runs have been a nice surprise, while the young catcher Will Smith leads the team in OPS at .980.

The Dodgers plan to go with Walker Buehler in Game 1 and then Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 but Dustin May, Julio Urias, and Tony Gonsolin give the Dodgers depth that few teams have. Their bullpen is the best in the NL with a 3.5 fWAR this season and while they don’t strikeout tons of batters the Dodger relievers do have the highest groundball rate in baseball at 51 percent and have allowed the least amount of home runs per nine innings. Hard to see any team beating the Dodgers in a five or seven-game series.

The Rays were hoping to get healthy right as the postseason was about to get underway as OF Austin Meadows and 3B Yandy Diaz are both on the 10-day IL. Manager Kevin Cash said Diaz, who’s been dealing with a hamstring issue, could be included on the Wild Card roster, but Meadows remains a longshot after suffering an oblique strain a few weeks ago. However, 25-year-old Brandon Lowe has helped propel this Rays offense this season with a .916 OPS and 14 home runs – both team highs.

But the Rays key to success is their pitching, more specifically their starting pitching. It’s already a given that Tampa Bay will be able to lean on their bullpen, which leads the league in WAR this season at 3.6, but the starting pitching hasn’t been as dominant. Still, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Charlie Morton are three guys that can take over a game. The Rays are a team built for a postseason like this, their roster flexibility both with position players and their pitchers allows Cash to get creative – they’ll be a fun team to watch this fall.