Tonight’s American League Wild Card Round between the Yankees (86-75) and Astros (85-76) will kick off the 2015 MLB playoffs. In honor of the postseason, you will now have the opportunity to vote in an extremely prestigious poll. Tell us who you think will win the World Series…but not before a little information and some Vegas odds.
American League
Toronto Blue Jays (+325): The Jays are the favorites to win it all, after being a sub-.500 club at the All-Star break. Adding David Price and Troy Tulowitzki can have that effect. The Jays hit the most home runs in baseball this season, and have three of the top-10 home run hitters in baseball, Josh Donaldson (41), Jose Bautista (40) and Edwin Encarnacion (39), in the same lineup. Before Price’s arrival, the rotation was a question mark. Now it’s a strength. And the bullpen is short on names, but long on performance.
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Kansas City Royals (+500): The Royals have the best defense in baseball, and a lineup that makes up for a lack of raw power with timely hitting and superb base running. Where the Blue Jays rely on hitting bombs, the Royals lean on players like CF Lorenzo Cain to swallow up fly balls, save runs on that end, and scrape out the necessary offense.
Johnny Cueto’s struggles down the stretch are a cause for concern, and losing closer Greg Holland is a huge blow.
Texas Rangers (+800): After losing Yu Darvish in spring training nobody expected the Rangers to be here. Prince Fielder has had a resurgent season, and their year has truly been a team effort. Texas scored the third-most runs per game in 2015, and improved their starting pitching dramatically when they added Phillies ace Cole Hamels. He and Yovani Gallardo may not be the second coming of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, but they give the Rangers a fighting chance.
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Houston Astros (+1,500): The Astros have a top-5 offense in the AL, and gave up the fewest runs per game. The issue for Houston is the shaky health of outfielder Carlos Gomez, and a vast lack of playoff experience up and down the roster. They’ll be pitching Dallas Keuchel tonight vs. the Yankees, and Keuchel has shut the Yankees out over 16 innings this year with 21 strikeouts.
New York Yankees (+1,700): The Yankees have the longest odds of any team in the field. They hit the fourth-most home runs in the AL, but Mark Teixeira is gone. Former postseason hero CC Sabathia departed for rehab on Monday. And they’re left-hand dominant against one of the best southpaws in baseball.
They also have a ton of playoff experience, and are playing at home.
National League
Los Angeles Dodgers (+550): L.A. has the best 1-2 punch with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and a veteran-laden offense. If Kershaw can shake off his postseason woes of the past two years, it’s hard to envision them losing.
New York Mets (+650): The Mets have a similarly scary rotation, although it costs less. In fact, their rotation is deeper than Los Angeles. Even if there are zero Cy Young winners in their projected rotation (assuming Bartolo Colon is in the ‘pen), and there are four (possibly five) between L.A,’s top two, the Amazins can compete.
St. Louis Cardinals (+800): Yeah, they lost Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright can only pitch from the bullpen. All the Cardinals do is overcome injuries, as they did this year en route to MLB’s best record. Never underestimate St. Louis depth, and timely hitting.
Chicago Cubs (+900): The Cubbies’ top-2 of Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester is quietly as dangerous as any combo in the field, and their lineup is loaded. Youngsters Kris Bryant and Addison Russell bring the wood and the leather every day, while Anthony Rizzo is one of baseball’s best-kept secrets. This is a frightening club.
Pittsburgh Pirates (+1,200): Gerritt Cole has baseball’s hardest fastball, and this rotation is once again deeper and better than anyone gives it credit for. Andrew McCutchen leads one of baseball’s top outfields on offense and defense, and by now the Buccos are veterans of the pressure the Wild Card Round brings.
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