If you listen to Rob Manfred and MLB's 30 owners, it would be easy to assume that this postseason is a foregone conclusion — a month-long coronation of the big, bad Los Angeles Dodgers en route to a third straight World Series title. But while baseball's powers that be try to tell you that parity is dead, we know the truth: that October is nothing if not eternally unpredictable, and that this year of all years, anything can happen.
But if you think that's going to stop the FanSided.com team and the FanSided MLB network from trying to predict the future anyway, well, guess again. We live for bold predictions around here, and the chaos of the last six months has us ready to put our names to all sorts of wild proclamations. Here are 30 bold takes we're willing to stand by (well, kind of) before the madness of the playoffs begins.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won't just not win the World Series, they won't even reach the NLCS
The two-time defending champs are feeling anything but inevitable right now, with a shaky bullpen and an underperforming offense and their best player battling a myriad of injuries (more on him in a moment). They'll play either the Braves or Phillies in the NLDS, both of which have the firepower to pull an upset in a five-game series if Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker don't show up and Edwin Diaz isn't right.
Shohei Ohtani misses at least one game due to injury as the Dodgers fail to make it out of the NLDS
For as much attention as Ohtani generates, it feels like his health situation at the moment is being underdiscussed. Not only is pitching already out of the question, but he posted a .566 OPS across 36 plate appearances in September!
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Shohei Ohtani has a strangely quiet postseason at the plate
He hits just one home run through the Dodgers’ first two rounds.
–Emma Lingan, FanSided MLB staff writer
Tarik Skubal will *not* be the Dodgers' best pitcher in the postseason
Los Angeles gave up a lot for three months of Skubal's services, and now the pressure is on. But he's been a bit more mortal than usual since the trade, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto's big-game bonafides need no introduction. You'd still be happy to have the lefty in your rotation though, of course.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Garrett Crochet earns the win in relief in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium
Maybe I'm just an overly paranoid Yankee fan (okay, I'm definitely an overly paranoid Yankee fan), but doesn't this script just write itself? Crochet is coming back just in time to face a team he's consistently dominated as a member of the Red Sox — including in last year's Wild Card series. And now New York enters October with an offense capable of disappearing for weeks at a time.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Brice Turang will win World Series MVP en route to the Brewers' first championship
He disappeared in the postseason last year, but I think he could be the Ernie Clement or Addison Barger for Milwaukee this time around — just a guy who comes (even more) alive in October. If Milwaukee is going to go the distance, he'll be a big reason why.
Aaron Judge forces his way onto the Yankees roster — but doesn't last more than a game
This just has disaster written all over it. Judge suffered a Grade 2 calf strain on Sept. 16; less than two weeks later, he's publicly turning up the heat on his own team to let him on the Wild Card roster anyway. I doubt New York says no to its foundational star. I also doubt Judge is ready to be an impactful player.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Pete Crow-Armstrong hits below the Mendoza Line in an NLCS loss to the Brewers
Milwaukee has famously owned the soon-to-be NL MVP this season, to the point that even he and manager Craig Counsell have wondered aloud whether they know something everyone else doesn't. I think that continues in October, a big reason why the Brewers finally get back to the Fall Classic.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s dream season ends with a brutal October slump
He hits below .200 with a 35-percent (or higher) strikeout rate in the Cubs’ first playoff series, with opponents refusing to challenge him in the zone and making him beat breaking stuff.
–Emma Lingan, FanSided MLB staff writer
Pete Crow-Armstrong will revert back to bad habits
Crow-Armstrong will be overwhelmed by the bright lights of the postseason and revert back to the undisciplined habits that haunted him earlier this season. PCA was chasing outside the strike zone and had a 30-percent strikeout rate through the month of April, and we'll see a similar approach in the playoffs while he tries to play hero ball. Ultimately, his efforts won't be helpful, and it'll result in an early exit for the Cubs.
–Drew Koch, FanSided MLB staff writer
Jacob Misiorowski will top Mason Miller's playoff-record max velocity of 104.5 mph …
... only for Miller himself to reclaim the throne before October is over. The Miz has already topped that mark earlier this season and should certainly do so again with playoff adrenaline coursing through him. And if Miller and the Padres make a run to the NLCS or beyond? Forget it.
Anthony Volpe, third baseman, ends up playing a very important role for the New York Yankees after converting positions
The Yankees turned to Volpe out of sheer desperation, due to both Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s injury and Ryan McMahon's ineffectiveness, and the one-time punching bag was actually ... pretty good in September? The offense is unremarkable but still worlds better than McMahon, and his defense has been fine at third base. New York is going to need him in October.
–Adam Weinrib, FanSided MLB director
Tyler Mahle will have the most impactful postseason of any deadline acquisition
Mahle was awesome after being traded to Atlanta in August, defying those who were ready to throw Alex Anthopoulos overboard for his relatively quiet deadline. He's always had good stuff; the issue was staying healthy. I think he's ready to deliver for a Braves team that needs someone to step up behind Chris Sale.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Alex Bregman has a Kirk Gibson moment
He may not be able to be see fully, but there will be a memorable home run at some point. He already went deep in his return to the lineup over the weekend, and we know he loves playing under the bright lights of October.
Chandler Simpson is going to pull a 2005 Scott Podsednik
Podsednik didn't go deep a single time during the 2005 regular season, only to deliver a walk-off winner in Game 2 of the World Series against the Astros. Simpson will do the same: After hitting zero home runs during the regular season, he'll go deep at least once in October.
The Rays fail to win a single postseason series — or hit a single postseason home run
Call it bitterness, that's fine. But Rays ranked just 15th in the league in SLG this year and 22nd in homers. There's not a ton of pop here at all beyond Junior Caminero, and with advanced scouting at a premium in October, I think teams will be ready to make anybody else in this lineup beat them.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
The Rays will get bounced by a division rival in the ALDS
Tampa's team OPS dropped a full 70 points during the regular season against left-handed pitching. Whoever advances between the Yankees and Red Sox will have the hosses to neutralize them (Tolle, Suarez, Crochet, Fried, Rodón, Ryan Weathers) and win the series.
The Rays will *not* win the American League
Is that even a bold take any more? As fun as it would be to see an epic Rays vs. Dodgers World Series, we probably won't. They have the American League's best record, but in the end they're probably going to be upset in the ALDS. Again.
–Kurt Mensching, FanSided senior sports director
Shane McClanahan's dramatic run will power the Rays to the World Series
McClanahan returns for the American League Championship Series and pitches seven scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the Rays six-game series win over the Guardians. Bonus prediction: Two players make their big-league debuts in the postseason, one pitcher and one hitter.
Ronald Acuña Jr. is the best hitter in the National League postseason
Acuña Jr. has returned from his day off in late August looking like a man possessed, with a new swing that's paid immediate dividends. When he's locked in, there are very few in the world better. He hits five postseason homers with an OPS north of 1.100.
–Emma Lingan, FanSided MLB staff writer
Munetaka Murakami homers in his first career postseason at-bat
We know that Murakami is more than ready to make his postseason debut, and we know hos dangerous he is when he gets hot. The bet here: He also posts an OPS over 1.100 to help carry the White Sox to the ALCS.
Junior Caminero has his coming-out party
Caminero — who still feels like a bit of an unknown nationally despite hitting 40-plus home runs this season — becomes a bonafide superstar during the Tampa Bay Rays' run to the World Series. In 2020, Randy Arozarena had one of the greatest playoff performances in Major League Baseball history, and Caminero will do his best to duplicate it this October.
–Drew Koch, FanSided MLB staff writer
Payton Tolle will go full 2014 Madison Bumgarner and win both ALCS and World Series MVP
Tolle has a 2.92 ERA with a whopping 84 strikeouts across 64.2 second-half innings. He's quickly blossoming into an ace, and if he continues this trajectory in October, he'll be a household name before long — and the Red Sox wil lbe very tough to beat.
The Padres and Dodgers give us an NLCS with at least three different benches-clearing incidents
San Diego is arguably the hottest team in baseball right now, and it's not a stretch at all to think they could both beat the Cubs in the Wild Card Round and topple the Brewers in the NLDS. Which would set up a very spicy NLCS showdown against a Dodgers team we already know they dislike on a personal level. These teams can't keep their hands off each other in July; in October? Look out.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
The Astros make it to Game 7 of the ALCS before getting clobbered
The bracket breaks right for Houston, which is lined up to face the No. 3 seed White Sox in the Wild Card Round and the No. 2 seed Guardians in a potential ALDS despite not finishing with a winning record this year. They absolutely have the lineup to win both of those series. The pitching ... that's another question.
The Phillies right the ship and push the Dodgers to a do-or-die game
Hey, the 2022 Phillies also went into a tailspin in late September, and that team made it all the way to the World Series. I'm not predicting that Philly will upend the Dodgers in the NLDS, but I do think they can beat a Braves team with serious rotation questions. And no one wants to face Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sanchez in a short series.
Yordan Alvarez ties Daniel Murphy's record with a homer in six straight playoff games
To be more specific: three against the White Sox in the Wild Card round, three against the Guardians in the ALDS. Alvarez is a singular combination of plate approach and raw power, and there's virtually no way to get him out consistently. He's made for October.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
Erick Fedde dominates a playoff win for the White Sox
Fedde has been a rare bright spot in a struggling Chicago rotation of late, with a 3.29 second-half ERA. He's far from a household name, but he could surprise some people against Houston in the Wild Card Round.
The Cubs get their first complete game of the year in the Wild Card Series
Chicago's rotation has been wonky from pretty much the moment this season began. In Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, though, they acquired two veteran arms with postseason experience to go along with Shota Imanaga. Plus, Craig Counsell will do anything to avoid trusting this bullpen.
No division winner makes the ALCS; only division winners make the NLCS
Over on the AL side of the bracket, none of the division winners will be playing in the ALCS. On NL side, only division winners will be playing in the NLCS, with all Wild Card teams being eliminated before that.
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