The summer is over, the leaves are changing, and playoff baseball is on the horizon. At the beginning of October, 12 teams start the month-long quest to earn the most coveted achievement in baseball: a World Series title. This will be the third year since the MLB expanded the playoff bracket from five to six teams from each conference, and the last two seasons have certainly made that No. 6 seed valuable. In 2022 and 2023, a No. 6 seed made the World Series, with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022 and the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. All 12 teams have legitimate chances of making a run in October, and we at The Argus are here to break down three storylines that stick out to us as postseason baseball gets underway. 

Underdogs (or Under-Tigers…and Mets)

Baseball is a long season. For a lot of fans, this means watching their team lose night after night after night. But every once in a blue moon, it means watching that team go on a magical run and save their season. Neither the Detroit Tigers nor the New York Mets were playing playoff baseball early in their seasons, but after a hot streak for both teams, they’ve each managed to clinch a wild card spot. 

As of Aug. 10, the Tigers were 10 games out of the wild card spot and were predicted to have just a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs. Fast-forward to today, and they’ve managed a feat more frequently reserved for feel-good sports movies than real life. Making the playoffs for the first time since 2014, they will face the Houston Astros on Tuesday, Oct. 1. This is particularly poetic considering that the manager who helped thrust these Tigers to victory is none other than A.J. Hinch, the former Astros manager who was fired from the team and given a year-long suspension from the MLB for his role in their 2017 cheating scandal. Much of the Tigers’ success can be attributed to American League (AL) Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal, who burst onto the scene this year and captured the illustrious pitching triple crown, leading the AL in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).

The Mets likewise found themselves on a losing streak, though theirs came a little earlier—in May rather than August. They have made a remarkable comeback, to the point of being the best team in baseball for a considerable stretch of the season. They have the Tigers to thank for another season highlight: The 1962 Mets’ record for most losses in a season was broken by the Chicago White Sox on Friday, Sept. 27, when they reached 121 losses, officially beating the record for most losses in MLB history, a record previously held by the 1962 Mets. 2024 was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Mets, but in shaking off that loss record, invoking Grimace, and adopting a new theme song, they’ve shown themselves to have not just the skill, but the heart to make it to the next level of play. They secured their playoff spot on Monday, Sept. 30, in the first of a doubleheader against the rival Atlanta Braves. The Mets will play a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers starting on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

Stars and Scrubs: Can the Yankees and Dodgers Stars Overcome Depth Issues in October?

The New York Yankees are a 94-win team and the winners of the always competitive AL East. They possess two of the best hitters of this generation in Juan Soto and Aaron Judge—who’s having the best offensive season since Barry Bonds—as well as last year’s Cy Young Winner Gerrit Cole. All three of them are healthy and playing well. The problem is, that might be all they have. 

This might be an overstatement, as the Yankees’ lineup contains a couple of other solid bats, and their new reliever, Luke Weaver, has been tremendous down the stretch. However, it seems that New York’s front office is again relying on the randomness of the MLB playoffs, crossing their fingers that some of their middling players can transform into postseason stars, like the Steve Pearces or Howie Kendricks of the past. Will this work? Will the Yankees finally get over the hump and take down their recent Achilles’ heel in the Astros? They might, but I doubt it. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the betting favorite to win the whole thing. That’s a lot of pressure, especially for a team that won over 100 games in each of the previous three years without a World Series appearance to show for it. Aspects of this team are certainly built for that pressure. They have one of the best modern playoff performers in Mookie Betts, maybe the best baseball player and worst gambler of all time in Shohei Ohtani, and the ultimate professional hitter in Freddie Freeman. It seems unlikely that the offense will be a problem. The pitching, on the other hand, might be more challenging. The Dodgers’ hopes will rest on the shoulders of Walker Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, and Landon Knack. Buehler has playoff experience but hasn’t gotten it going this season, posting a 5.38 ERA. The other three have been solid this year but lack consistency and postseason experience. It will be a tall task to take this rotation through the gauntlet that is the National League this year. If anyone can do it, though, it’s Shohei and Mookie.

No. 2 Seeds that Could Make Strides This Postseason

The Cleveland Guardians and the Philadelphia Phillies are both slotted in at the No. 2 seed in the National and American Leagues. Despite their same seeding heading into the Fall Classic, these two teams could not be more different in terms of their makeup and journey to this year’s postseason.

The Cleveland Guardians have had a fascinating path to their 2024 playoff bid. After missing the playoffs last year, Cleveland has returned with a vengeance, boasting a 92–69 record (they had to cancel their regular season finale due to weather conditions) and sitting atop what has been a surprisingly competitive AL Central. Headlined by franchise cornerstone José Ramírez, Cleveland’s offense has seen significant improvement, as David Fry, Steven Kwan, and Josh Naylor were first-time All-Stars in 2024. While their starting pitching rotation hasn’t been anything special, the Cleveland bullpen is where you will find their star closer, Emmanuel Clase. Clase has been nearly untouchable in 2024, with 47 saves and a 0.61 ERA to show for it. If teams let the Guardians grab a lead heading into the ninth inning, it’ll be nearly impossible to mount a comeback with one of the game’s best closers in the game to secure a Cleveland victory. 

The Phillies are coming off of back-to-back impressive playoff appearances, making baseball fans across the country fall in love with Red October. After a World Series bid in 2022 and an NL Championship Series appearance last year, both achieved as a wild card team, the Phillies sought an NL East title along with playoff aspirations in 2024. They fought their way to first in the division and held their position all summer long. They clinched their first NL East title since 2011, when all three of the authors of this article were six years old. The biggest names on this team emphasize their offensive firepower, as All-Stars Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Alec Bohm led them to the fifth-best team batting average. However, it’s Philadelphia’s pitching that sets them apart from other stellar teams. Starting pitchers Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sanchez make up one of the strongest four-headed monsters in the MLB, and the support of relievers like Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, and trade-deadline acquisition Carlos Estévez make the Phillies’ pitching staff one of the most elite. The Philadelphia Phillies are stacked top to bottom, and this year’s team might be the best they’ve built in their pursuit of a third World Series title. 

No matter what happens, it’s certain that this year’s MLB playoffs will provide plenty of excitement. Be sure to watch as the wild card round kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Here’s a hot take from each of us that we believe could happen in this year’s playoffs!

Anna: The World Series will be a Subway Series between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees.

Lewis: Broadway and Hollywood stars fall flat, as the Yankees and Dodgers are both eliminated in the division series.

Max: The Phillies use the power of friendship and good vibes to win the World Series. 

 

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.

Anna Thomas can be reached at asthomas@wesleyan.edu. 

Lewis Kerest can be reached at lkerest@wesleyan.edu.