World Series tale of the tape: Do Dodgers or Yankees have the edge at each position?

The 2024 World Series will take place between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the baseball world is very split on how they feel about this.

On one side, these are two of the more disliked teams across the league. They're notorious for their high payrolls and buying their way to wins.

But, with their massive payrolls come massive superstars. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will face off with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Gerrit Cole will go toe to toe with Jack Flaherty. It feels like a culmination of some of the top talent in the league coming together to play the most meaningful seven games of the entire season.

Heading into Game 1 on Friday, let's take a deeper look into each position on the field. Here's the tale of the tape for the star-studded World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Who has the World Series edge at catcher?

Edge: Los Angeles Dodgers

Both of these teams had solid catching production all season. Austin Wells of the Yankees was great for the entire season, but he's struggled pretty badly this postseason. Will Smith has been a small step ahead of Wells this postseason, giving the Dodgers a slight, and I mean very slight, edge at catcher. Either of these two could break out and completely change this series.

Who has the World Series edge at first base?

Edge: New York Yankees

This one was tough. It's a matchup between two injured veterans, Anthony Rizzo and Freddie Freeman. Though, others have slid in to play first base over the course of the postseason due to the injuries that Rizzo and Freeman have been through, Rizzo with broken fingers and Freeman with a severely sprained ankle.

The edge here goes to Rizzo because in their small sample sizes, Rizzo has been better. His injury, though worse, doesn't seem to be impacting him nearly as much. If everything was equal, the edge may go to Freeman, but with his ankle being as bad as it is, the edge has to go to Rizzo and the Yankees.

Who has the World Series edge at second base?

Edge: New York Yankees

Finally, an obvious one. Gleyber Torres has been one of the hotter hitters in the postseason this year, slashing .297/.400/.432 in the postseason. He's been a tremendous leadoff hitter, setting the table for Stanton, Judge and Soto behind him. Torres' play has been so tremendous that he may be forcing the Yankees to re-sign him this Winter.

Who has the World Series edge at shortstop?

Edge: Los Angeles Dodgers

Anthony Volpe has been good this postseason, slashing .310/.459/.345 in the postseason. But Tommy Edman has been better. Edman, a midseason trade acquisition, won the NLCS MVP for his tremendous performance in the NLCS. In 11 games, Edman leads the Dodgers in batting average while slashing .341/.333/.477 with a home run and three doubles. This one is razor thin, but the edge here goes to the Dodgers.

Who has the World Series edge at third base

Edge: Los Angeles Dodgers

Before the postseason began, I likely would have taken Jazz Chisholm Jr. over Max Muncy, but Chisholm has struggled while Muncy has shined. Due to Freeman's injury, Muncy and a few other Dodgers have moved around defensively, but Muncy is their typical third baseman.

Muncy is slashing .242/.468/.545 with three home runs and a double while Chisholm is slashing .147/.216/.265 with one home run and one double. At this moment, the edge is with Muncy and the Dodgers.

Who has the World Series edge at left field?

Edge: Los Angeles Dodgers

Teoscar Hernandez will get the edge here, but it really isn't because he's been too great this postseason. Alex Verdugo has just been worse. Though Hernandez began the postseason hot, he's cooled off tremendously. He's slashing .200/.340/.350 through 40 at bats.

But, Verdugo is just hitting much worse. He's slashing .194/.286/.258 in 31 at bats this postseason. Hernandez was the much better player all season and he's playing slightly better right now, giving the obvious edge to the Dodgers.

Who has the World Series edge at center field

Edge: New York Yankees

Aaron Judge may not be playing the same way that he did during the regular season, but he's still Aaron Judge. Though he's hitting just .161 this postseason, he has two home runs, one of them being a game tying bomb off Emmanuel Clase. His OPS is still over .700, which is decent for the average player.

Given his season long performance and the fact that he's Aaron Judge, the Yankees will get the clear edge here.

Who has the World Series edge at right field?

Edge: New York Yankees

This is one of the tougher decisions of the entire series. It's the Dodgers' second best player, Mookie Betts against the Yankees' second best player, Juan Soto. Soto has three home runs and an OPS of 1.106 while Betts has four home runs (in two more games) and an OPS of 1.063.

The edge goes to Soto here though. Soto has a few huge at bats this postseason, one being the long at bat that resulted in a home run off Hunter Gaddis to win Game 5 of the ALCS. The edge here is very, very slight, but it sits with Soto and the Yankees.

Who has the World Series edge at designated hitter

Edge: Los Angeles Dodgers

Believe it or not, the decision here was by far the most difficult for me to make. I could make a very compelling argument for either Giancarlo Stanton or Shohei Ohtani to have the edge over the other. Stanton is playing better right now. Not significantly better, but better enough that it's clear that he's outperforming Ohtani.

But it's Shohei Ohtani. Stanton has proved that he's a clutch performer. Ohtani is in the postseason for the first time in his career. He hasn't been given the opportunity to prove that he's a consistent playoff performer yet. Ohtani went for 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases during the regular season. The edge, despite the slightly better performance from Stanton, will sit with Ohtani and the Dodgers.

Who has the World Series edge in starting pitching?

Edge: New York Yankees

If both teams were fully healthy, the edge would sit with the Dodgers, but the Dodgers just haven't been healthy and their pitching staff is still crippled with injuries as we head into the World Series.

The Yankees have the edge with starting pitching. Most of the Los Angeles starters have struggled this postseason. Their top three starters all have ERAs over 5.00 while the Yankees have all four of their starters under a 4.50 ERA this postseason. Pretty ease to give the edge to Gerrit Cole and company here.

Who has the World Series edge in relief pitching

Edge: Los Angeles Dodgers

Another difficult decision. Luke Weaver was dominant for quite awhile, but he's since come back to Earth a little bit as of late. Clay Holmes was once regarded as a postseason monster, but he struggled in the ALCS.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have multiple relievers that have sub 2.00 ERAs this postseason, including Blake Treinen and Evan Phillips, who have led the way for Los Angeles. It's a tough decision to make, especially given the small sample sizes, but the edge here goes to the Dodgers.