The 2022 MLB postseason began on October 7, 2022, and all four wild card games played their first game. After the wild card winner is decided, eight teams move on to the divisional series.
Then once the winners of the divisional series are set, the four teams advance to the championship series. Lastly, once that series is decided the two winners proceed to the world series — the final series.
Notable Teams this Season
Eight teams clinched the playoff berth, and four teams clinched their division. The teams who clinched the playoffs include:
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Cleveland Guardians
- Seattle Mariners
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Philadelphia Phillies
- St. Louis Cardinals
- San Diego Padres
- New York Mets
And the four teams who clinched their division include New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
So far this postseason, all the games have been played leading up to the world series, which started on October 28. The wild card games were:
- Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays (Guardians advanced)
- Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays (Mariners advanced)
- Philadelphia Phillies vs St. Louis Cardinals (Phillies advanced)
- San Diego Padres vs New York Mets (Padres advanced).
The divisional series games were:
- Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees (Yankees advanced)
- Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros (Astros advanced)
- Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves (Phillies advanced)
- San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Dodgers (Padres advanced).
Then most recently the championship series included:
- New York Yankees vs Houston Astros (Astros advanced)
- Philadelphia Phillies vs San Diego Padres (Phillies Advanced).
Now the world series is set between the Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros.
Postseason Predictions
Many MLB fans use a bracket to create their predictions on how they believe the postseason will turn out. They fill out each series and determine who they think will win the world series.
Robert Triebel, a sophomore, created his own bracket. He said, “For the Wild Card games, I have: Cleveland Guardians over Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays over Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies over St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets over San Diego Padres.”
“For the Divisional Series, I got: New York Yankees over Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros over Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies over Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Mets.”
“Then for the Championship Series, I have: Houston Astros over New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers over Philadelphia Phillies.”
“And for the World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Houston Astros.”
Triebels predictions were a bit accurate to how the series actually went.
Hottest Postseason Players
This postseason has had several players breakout which lead their team to advancing to their next destination.
A few notable players thus far include: Bryce Harper, Yuli Gurriel, Aaron Nola, Austin Nola, Trent Grisham, Jose Ramirez, and Alex Bregman.
Each player has helped their team by providing strong run support, or dominant pitching to shut down the other team’s batters.
Johnny Nguyen, a sophomore, said, “So far, I believe Yuli Gurriel has been the hottest postseason player. He is consistently batting well for the Astros and constantly provides run support.”
“Because of him the Astros are undefeated in the postseason so far, and are the favorites to win the world series,” said Nguyen.
However, Triebel said, “Bryce Harper is hands down the best player at the moment. He has been hitting tanks and constantly giving the Phillies the upper hand.”
Both Yuli Gurriel and Bryce Harper will be facing off in the World Series. Whoever can lead their team more efficiently will end up with the world series trophy in their arms.
Disappointing Teams
Every year there are always a couple teams who enter the postseason with high expectations and end up crashing. This year has had a few teams who were valued high and played poorly. The Yankees and Dodgers are the best examples for this postseason.
Triebel said, “The Dodgers were the biggest disappointment this postseason because they built a super-team and had the best record in the MLB but still lost to the Padres. And on top of that the Padres didn’t even reach 100 wins in the regular season.”
Nguyen said, “I think the Yankees performed the worst. They have several strong batters and a very solid pitching rotation and somehow managed to get swept.”
The Dodgers lineup includes 6 all stars and the Yankees with 6 as well. Despite having talent, they couldn’t perform when they needed to.
World Series Predictions
The world series starts on Friday, October 27, and game one will take place in Houston. The two teams who each won their league pennant are the Houston Astros (ALDS) and Philadelphia Phillies (NLDS).
According to betting odds, the Houston Astros are the favorites by -200. However, most MLB fans across the nation are rooting for the Phillies because of the hatred for the Astros.
The hatred for the Astros was caused in 2017 with their cheating scandal which won them a world series. Since they were caught, many fans were resentful of their actions and made the franchise fan base dwindle.
Regardless of their scandal, the Astros have maintained a very solid team and managed to win 3 AL pennants since 2019.
The Phillies this season have been dominant since their new hire Rob Thomoson as general manager. They have all-star caliber players and their rotation has been proving themselves so far. So, even though they are the betting underdogs, they are not going to be an easy team to beat.
Triebel said, “I predict the Philadelphia Phillies will win the world series. Bryce Harper will be the reason they win.”
Nguyen said, “I think the Houston Astros will win because their ace, Justin Verlander, has been dominating opposing batters. And their batting lineup has been providing amazing run support. I don’t see how the Phillies can overcome them.”
This world series will be exciting, and MLB fans will witness who has an uprising and lead their team to victory.
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