By: John Curtis White
The MLB season is over halfway through and playoffs are in two months. The trade deadline is in only 14 days. However, I believe that the playoffs should be talked about more than they are right now. Here are my 1st round playoff predictions.
First, I would like to name all the teams in the National League (NL) who will get byes. The Dodgers will be the one seed and move on to the NLDS. The Dodgers have been the best team in baseball. Led by a combined 3.51 ERA and a .229 batting average, the Dodgers are the best team in baseball. The 2nd team who gets a bye is the Braves. The Braves started to cool down a little bit before the All-Star Break but have turned it on to start the 2nd half. With the Braves winning all of the last 3 series, I believe they will cruise on into a bye.
Next, in the Wild Card, I have the Phillies vs Cubs, and Brewers vs Diamondbacks. In the Phillies vs Cubs series I really think on how the Cubs end the season. This season the Cubs this season have been up and down with two 10 game winning streaks and one 10 game losing streak really showing that the team is either good or bad no inbetween. If the cubs finish hot I have them winning in 3 games. However if they end on a losing streak, I have the Phillies in 2. Next, The Brewers vs Diamondbacks series really shows how good the Brewers are. The Diamondbacks have turned it on lately going 6-4 in their last 10 games, but the Brewers have been one of the best teams in baseball led by Cy Young favorite Jacob Misorowaski. I have the Brewers winning the series in 2 games.
Next, the American League (AL) has some good teams but not all of them get byes. Here are the teams that I believe will get byes. First, the Rays will move on to the NLDS as the 1 seed. With the Rays being the better team when they play at home, I believe that this will help the team out a lot. The next team that gets a bye is the White Sox. The White Sox have been on fire lately winning 2 out of their last 3 series and with the return of Murakami I believe that it will only get better for the White Sox.
Finally, in the AL Wild Card, I believe the Mariners will play the Guardians and the Yankees will play the Red Sox. In the Mariners vs Guardians, series I believe it will be contested with both teams warming up. However, I believe the Guardians will win the series in 3 games. In the Yankees vs Red Sox series this will be one of the best series to watch. This series will be the most contested series with 2 of the games going to extras. I believe that the Red Sox will win the series in 3 games.
In conclusion, the MLB playoffs are coming closer than people think and I believe that it is worth talking about who has had a good season. Some teams who are a higher seed could be knocked out by a lower seed. This is my summary of the wild card round of the playoffs.
