The first two rounds of the MLB postseason have already given us a whole month's worth of drama and iconic moments, from the return of the blackout to the South Side of Chicago to Drew Rasmussen chasing a no-hitter to yet another Yankee Stadium fan interference fiasco to literally everything that happened in the NLDS between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers.
Now that we've got a moment to breathe before the Championship Series ramp up, though, which players have defined these playoffs the most so far? That's the question we're here to answer: Think of this as an October MVP ladder, a living ranking of the most valuable players of the postseason to date. "To date" is important here; this is only a reflection of games played, which is why you'll find players from since-eliminated teams making the list. That will change as we get closer to crowning a World Series champion, of course, but for now, here's our top 10.
1. RHP Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays
When you flirt with the first solo no-hitter in a playoff game since 2010, you shoot to the top of the list. It's already gotten a bit lost in the hubbub, but it's important not to underestimate just how crucial Rasmussen's performance was. Yes, Tampa wound up sweeping the Yankees, but they squeaked out a 1-0 win in Game 1 only because their righty was pitching the game of his life.
These Rays are going to go as far their pitching staff takes them, and that unit goes as Rasmussen goes. He's one of the best pitchers in the sport that nobody's heard of, and he'll need to continue this coming out party to capture the AL pennant and give Tampa a shot at a World Series title.
2. C William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
In an NLDS in which every game was decided by two or fewer runs and the Brewers scored a grand total of 13 runs across four games, Contreras was indispensable, banging out six hits and two homers with two walks across his 18 plate appearances — all while also handling Milwaukee's pitching staff with aplomb.
It's no secret that the Brewers are going to need to find power somewhere if they want to finally upend the Dodgers. Contreras is the best bet, and he's been the best position player in these playoffs so far.
3. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
At what point is it no longer hyperbole to claim that Yamamoto is the best big-game pitcher in the history of the sport? This is just his third postseason run in the Majors, but after striking out 10 in seven innings of one-run ball in a pivotal Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves, his October ERA is now down to 2.14. Of all the stars in the Dodgers rotation, he's the one you'd want to hand the ball to if your life depended on it, and he's going to need to keep anchoring this staff if L.A.'s offense remains hit or miss.
4. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
Has Ramirez's October moment finally arrived? It looked like Cleveland's long-time talisman was once again shrinking in the spotlight as the Guardians fell down 0-2 to the White Sox in the ALDS, but in Games 3-5, something flipped. J-Ram went 5-for-14 with two homers, a double, a triple, two walks and a steal over the remainder of the series, including a two-run shot to lift Cleveland to a win in Game 5. All of a sudden, the Guards have a real shot to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2016; as always, they'll go as Ramirez does.
5. OF Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers
Chourio's .638 OPS might not seem like anything to write home about, but well, that's why the box score doesn't tell the whole story. His two-run, walk-off single off of Mason Miller in Game 2 is probably the single most important swing of the postseason so far, considering the extent to which it swung that entire series. And even beyond that, he just feels dangerous every time he steps into the batter's box, with a ridiculous blend of bat control and raw power. He struck out just once against San Diego, and with some more batted-ball luck moving forward, the numbers are going to skyrocket.
6. 1B Ben Rice, New York Yankees
Yes, the Yankees flamed out in the ALDS in spectacular style, largely because their offense couldn't hit its way out of a paper bag. But that's no reflection on Rice, who has the highest OPS of any hitter in the postseason to date. He led the charge with two homers in the Wild Card sweep of Boston, and he added two more in three games against Tampa — plus an RBI single in Game 3. New York's early exit hurts all the more because Rice was the hottest hitter going.
7. RHP Michael King, San Diego Padres
The fact that the Padres came as close as they did to upsetting the Brewers, despite essentially a two-man rotation and a bullpen that was missing both Miller and Adrian Morejon at various points, is a testament to how heroic King was. He dominated the Cubs in the Wild Card Round, and in a just world he'd have been the winning pitcher in Game 2 against Milwaukee. And then, in Game 3, he nailed down a six-out save on two days' rest with Miller on paternity leave in order to keep his team's season alive. Someone's going to throw a ton of money at him this winter, even if he's doomed to drop down this list with the Padres now eliminated.
8. RHP Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
Williams was done dirty by his offense (and, frankly, his manager) in a Game 1 loss to Chicago. But for the rest of the series, he showed why he's one of the most electric young pitchers in baseball. Williams was called on for his first career relief appearance in the ninth inning of Game 4 and came up huge, nailing down a win in a hostile environment when it seemed like the Guardians might be letting a commanding lead slip away. And he was downright dominant two days later in Game 5, allowing just three base-runners over 5.2 innings. With Cleveland's other ace, Parker Messick, struggling a bit, Williams is maybe the biggest reason why the Guards saved their season.
9. 1B Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are always starved for offense, and so far, Aranda has been by far the best member of Tampa's big three (along with Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero). His home run lifted the Rays to a win over New York in Game 1, and he followed that up with two more hits in Game 2 and an RBI single in Game 3. The best hitter on the AL's best team might even deserve to be higher than this, and the Rays will need him to keep it up — or for Caminero to get hot — if they want to capture their first title.
10. 3B Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers
Muncy's 1.250 OPS is eye-popping, and he terrorized the Braves with three homers across their four-game NLDS. So why is he all the way down here? Well, because L.A.'s pitching was so dominant, for starters, but also because none of Muncy's dingers actually felt all that impactful in the context in which they came. That's not a knock on him, of course, but it does drop him in these rankings just a bit. He'll have plenty of chances to change that moving forward.
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