Why Each of the 4 Remaining Teams Will Win the World Series
The 2020 MLB regular season has come and gone in a blink of an eye, and we are now down to the final four teams going into the bubbled ALCS starting on Sunday. Today, we will make a case for each of the four remaining teams to win the World Series:
American League
Tampa Bay Rays
Just as expected, the Rays mixture of experience, pitching depth, and a capable offense was enough to take care of the young Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card round. After traveling to the AL bubble in Los Angeles, the Rays matched up against the star-studded New York Yankees and eeked out a 2-1 victory in a winner take all game five in which they relied on the pitching that got them to that position.
They ended the regular season with the second lowest team ERA in baseball, and if Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Charlie Morton, Nick Anderson and company can keep it up while silencing the hot Houston bats, I would expect the Rays to make quick work in this upcoming ALDS series.
In other news, Randy Arozarena everyone! The rookie has come up and given this lineup the life they didn’t know they needed. He has made his mark on the postseason by going 12-for-27 with six extra base hits and hopes to bring this production and passion into this next week and propel his squad to the World Series. Combining Arozarena with the now healthy Austin Meadows (2 homeruns in the ALDS) and the rest of this deep roster, Tampa Bay is definitely my pick to represent the American League in this year’s Fall Classic.
Houston Astros
The 2020 regular season was a tough year for the “trash can bangers.” They came into the season as the consensus most hated team in the league, and they succumbed to that. The team was lifeless and did not appear to be having fun.
After sneaking into the playoffs in a bad AL West with a sub .500 regular season record of 29-31 and gaining the 6th seed, they took care of business against my woeful Minnesota Twins in route to a two game sweep. In hopes of continuing to prove to people that they are a good baseball team and not just a bunch of “cheaters,” the ALDS series against the division rival Oakland Athletics was extremely important for this team to win. They took care of business against the 2 seed in a hard-fought series in which the Astros won in four games (3-1).
Now that they have shocked the world and shown that they are the serious contender everyone always thought they could be, Houston will be facing off against the tough no. 1 seeded Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays will be quite the test for this team all around and will exploit any weaknesses that the Astros show throughout the series. Houston is very deep as you look up and down at the roster, with good bats, decent starting pitching, a nice bullpen and solid defense.
The resurgence of all-star second baseman Jose Altuve this past week has been huge for Houston after having posted his worst year in the majors by far. Also, major contributions from Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, George Springer, and rookie Kyle Tucker have been huge in carrying this team to this point, and will need to continue to do this if Houston wants to keep advancing. They have the roster, but just need to perform, which is the key in bringing *another* Championship back to Houston.
National League
Los Angeles Dodgers
After making quick work of the disappointing Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card round, the major league regular season best record LA Dodgers did the same to the exciting but injured Padres by way of a quick (and controversial) three game sweep. In hopes of making it back to the World Series for the third time in the last four years, the Dodgers will first have to make it through the almost equally well-balanced Atlanta Braves. With a solid mix of pitching headlined by Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, great bats like MVP candidate Mookie Betts, former MVP Cody Bellinger, plus many more, and a solid bullpen, the Dodgers will be a tough out this year. They are just too deep. The team has yet to lose a playoff game and are looking like the team-to-beat again. They have been the class of the NL for the past few years and I don’t see that changing as long as this team continues to gel.World Series or bust for this club.
Atlanta Braves
If anyone had any concerns over the strength of Atlanta’s pitching staff going into the 2020 Postseason, they were given a huge amount of hope after watching them hurl 22 straight scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds. That didn’t look to continue during the first game against Miami where they gave up 5 runs, but the staff quickly shaped up and shut them out two games in a row en route to an NLDS sweep. Much like their NLCS opponent, the Dodgers, Atlanta has been dominant in this weird 2020 postseason by going 5-0 to this point. Now that surprise regular season ace Max Fried has been back in the fold, and rookie Ian Anderson has been looking like a future CY Young award winner, there is added optimism going forward for this Braves team pitching wise. If the rotation and bullpen can keep showing out, their high powered offense headlined by possible MVP Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, and company by accumulating solid starts and giving the bats a chance to win those games, which more often than not that is what will happen. That will be the championship formula for this team – stay in games and let the offense take it from there.
-Alex Wolfe
