The Postseason will be upon us in a matter of hours as the A’s battle the Royals in the AL Wild Card matchup. From the first pitch thrown by James Shields forward, we’re going to be in baseball overload as the NL Wild Card matchup, the Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series all roll along until their conclusion in a matter of weeks. Who will prevail? The TOC staff weighed in with their picks. There isn’t a lot of originality when it comes to champions, though – four of our six staffers picked the Nationals over the Angels in the World Series.
AL Wild Card: Royals (3), Athletics (3)
NL Wild Card: Giants (4), Pirates (2)
AL Division Series: Angels (5), Orioles (4), Tigers (2), Athletics (1)
NL Division Series: Nationals (5), Dodgers (3), Cardinals (3), Pirates (1)
AL Championship Series: Angels (5), Orioles (1)
NL Championship Series: Nationals (5), Dodgers (1)
World Series: Nationals (5), Dodgers (1)
Here are the full predictions from each staffer, along with a World Series MVP pick.
Scott Allen
AL Wild Card: Royals
NL Wild Card: Giants
ALDS: Angels in 4, Tigers in 4
NLDS: Nationals in 4, Cardinals in 5
ALCS: Angels in 6
NLCS: Nationals in 7
WS: Nationals in 7
WS MVP: Anthony Rendon
Ian Casselberry
AL Wild Card: Royals
NL Wild Card: Giants
ALDS: Angels in 3, Tigers in 5
NLDS: Nationals in 4, Dodgers in 4
ALCS: Angels in 6
NLCS: Nationals in 7
WS: Nationals in 5
WS MVP: Jordan Zimmermann
Jaymes Langrehr
AL Wild Card: Royals
NL Wild Card: Pirates
ALDS: Angels in 3, Orioles in 4
NLDS: Pirates in 5, Dodgers in 5
ALCS: Angels in 6
NLCS: Dodgers in 6
WS: Dodgers in 6
WS MVP: Juan Uribe
Tim Livingston
AL Wild Card: Athletics
NL Wild Card: Giants
ALDS: Athletics in 5, Orioles in 4
NLDS: Nationals in 5, Cardinals in 5
ALCS: Orioles in 6
NLCS: Nationals in 6
WS: Nationals in 5
WS MVP: Bryce Harper
Joe Lucia
AL Wild Card: Athletics
NL Wild Card: Pirates
ALDS: Angels in 4, Orioles in 5
NLDS: Nationals in 4, Dodgers in 3
ALCS: Angels in 6
NLCS: Nationals in 7
WS: Nationals in 5
WS MVP: Stephen Strasburg
Garrett Wilson
AL Wild Card: Athletics
NL Wild Card: Giants
ALDS: Angels in 4, Orioles in 5
NLDS: Nationals in 4, Cardinals in 4
ALCS: Angels in 6
NLCS: Nationals in 5
WS: Nationals in 7
WS MVP: Ian Desmond
What say you, TOC readers? Will the Nationals roll through the playoffs and make our staff look smart? Or are the Tigers or Cardinals going to kick the door in and make us all look bad? We’ll see in a few weeks.
