The 2016 MLB playoffs have finally arrived. Will the World Series go to an American League team or is the National League just too strong this year.
2016 MLB Playoffs & World Series Preview
As the regular MLB season comes to a close, we get set for the World Series. With all the American and National division’s already decided, we now wait to see which wildcard teams will be participating. Baltimore and Toronto seem like they have secured positions in the American league with two games clear of a fast finishing Detroit and Seattle. In the national league the wildcard chase is closer with St. Louis on the tail of San Francisco and New York Mets.
The Chicago Cubs were clear overall winners of the league and finishing roughly eight games clear of AL West winner Texas. Even though the regular season games are complete all teams will start from zero when playing their first playoff games next week. The Cubs will be hot favorite leading into next week. They have the complete package that are injury free, and have couple of the top two pitches in Hendricks and Lester who are leading the league in the Earned Run Average column. With these two guys and a strong looking bullpen the Cubs will be very hard to beat.
The Washington Nationals finished with another great year on top of the NL East Division. The Nats have been hit with multiple injuries heading into the postseason. Wilson Ramos won’t play for the rest of the season with a ACL injury, Daniel Murphy will be rested until the start of the Postseason and Bryce Harper who has injury worries even though retuning to the line-up at the end of the regular season. But just like the Cubs the Nats have terrific defense. Max Scherzer has had an unbelievable year and is a leading candidate to take the NL Cy Young award. Scherzer will also have backup from the likes of the underrated Tanner Roark.
The L.A Dodgers finished off the season by leading the NL west division and will meet the Nats in first round of playoffs. Despite not having Clayton Kershaw for the majority of the regular season, L.A still held strong. The last three years haven’t been the most memorable for the Dodgers, having been knocked out of the National league championships early, but will come into this playoff game full of confidence having beat the Nats five times out of six in the regular season. With Kershaw healthy and the likes of Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig and Chase Utley all having a huge impact this year, I feel L.A might just come in Favorites against the Nats.
If we take a glance at the American League, the Boston Red Sox came storming home this year and look set to do some real damage in the postseason. Boston came out on top of the AL East this year ahead of Baltimore and Toronto who look set to claim the Wildcard positions. The Red Sox have one of the best batting line-ups in my eyes, with the likes of Mookie Betts and Davis Ortiz who are possible MVP candidates lead a team that are capable of taking them to the World Series. The only issue I see is can the bull pen hold up? Since the All Star break the Bullpen hasn’t been holding up. Injuries and poor performances have been the main problem for the bad form. Can they get their act together when they meet the Indians on Friday morning?
Cleveland Indians were overall winners in the AL central Division and come into this postseason with a cloud over there number one pitcher Danny Salazar who will miss a huge chunk of postseason but could return if Indians would go further into the finals. The upside is that they have a great bullpen, one of the best in the league actually. Also the offence is solid, having scored 4.83 runs per game and are second in the AL to Boston in that category. Jose Ramirez and shortstop Francisco Lindor lead the team with the hitting averages, so keep your eyes on those two hard hitters. Indians will meet the Red Sox in first round, with Boston having won the season series 4-2.
Texas Rangers again had another outstanding year and have clinched the best record in the American league, which sees them up against the wildcard teams in their first postseason series. This means they claim the home game advantage, which what we have seen the Rangers are tough to beat at home with a record of 53-26. The Rangers have a very well balanced team with four of their hitters having more than 70 runs this season. One hitter in that four is Shin-soo-choo who is looking to be 100% healthy heading into the postseason.
The New York Mets were the first team on Sunday morning to clinch a wildcard spot in the National league with a win over Philly. The Mets as well have been hit by injuries throughout the year and fans certainly thought the season was lost. Noah Syndergarrd and Bartolo Colon helped the Mets go on a 27-12 run to clinch a wild-card spot. They will face either the Giants or Cardinals in the wild card game.
In the American league its either Toronto, Baltimore or Detroit advancing. Detroit lost on Sunday which makes it tough as they are relying on the two teams above them to lose. We are all set for a great finals series after a long season and expect some tight games and surprises throughout the next couple weeks.
Tip: Texas Rangers to win the World Series - $6.50 at Sportsbet
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
