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Things are heating up in Major League baseball as the top teams in the nation undergo a great journey of America’s pastime: the playoffs to the World Series. With the American League wild card spot already decided, and the National League wild card match being played tonight, things are starting to get fiery. Let’s go in-depth, take a look at the contenders, and evaluate the teams of the American League one by one to predict the winners of each series.
American League Division Series: Texas Rangers Vs. Toronto Blue Jays
With a 95-67 record in the regular season, the Texas Rangers look highly favorable in this best of 5 series against the 87-73 Toronto Blue Jays. Texas looks to their well-balanced team to lead them to a series victory. Rangers’ third baseman Adrian Beltre has driven in 104 runs this year, which is 16 more than any player on the team. In baseball terms, that’s a pretty significant number. The Ranger’s management is looking to the 37 year old MLB veteran Beltre to lead the team.
Toronto, on the other hand, barely slipped away with a win in the American League wild card game against the Baltimore Orioles. Many professionals are speculating that the Blue Jays simply do not have the power on their squad this year to make the cut. With that being said, I believe we will see the Texas Rangers come away with a victory, and advance in this year’s MLB playoffs.
Primrose’s Pick: the Texas Rangers
American League Division Series: Cleveland Indians Vs. Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have some strong firepower on their team this year. Four players have a batting average above .300, which is not an easy task. Red Sox long-timer David Ortiz has 38 home runs and 127 RBIs at the age of 40 years old. He leads the team in both of these areas. Ortiz is currently hitting a .315 batting average. Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia are both hitting with a .318 batting average. To put it in short, the Sox know how to hit. The Indians do not nearly have a strong enough defense to keep up with Boston’s heavy hitters. With that being said, Cleveland also falls short in the batter’s box comparatively to the Red Sox. Cleveland first baseman Mike Napoli has 34 home runs on the year, but is only batting a .239 average. This is not as high a number as the Indians would like to see. In other words, inconsistency has been an issue for the Indians this season. This may end up hurting them in the long run. If they are not taken out of the playoffs by the Red Sox, I believe they will be gone soon enough.
Primrose’s Pick: the Boston Red Sox
