Which teams will go to the World Series, which players will win the MVP in the Championship Series? Our experts analyze these and other topics
The 2024 MLB playoffs were narrowed down to just four teams after a thrilling round of the division series saw the New York Mets eliminate the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat their division rivals, the San Diego Padres, in a thrilling win-or-go-home fifth game.
Now that the matchups are defined (Mets vs. Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees), it’s time to make some predictions! We asked our MLB experts to weigh in on who will advance to the World Series, which players will earn MVP in the League Championship Series and the topics we will all be talking about in the coming week. We’ll also ask our experts to explain why their initial Fall Classic predictions are still in play, or went seriously wrong.
Yankees, Guardians, Dodgers and Mets fight for a ticket to the World Series. ESPN
National League Championship Series
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in how many games: Seven games (2 votes), six games (4), five games (2).
MVP if the Dodgers win: Shohei Ohtani (5), Mookie Betts (2), Teoscar Hernandez (1).
Who chose the Dodgers: Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzaález, Eric Karabell, Tim Kurkjian, Buster Olney, David Schoenfield, Xavier Scruggs.
in how many games: Seven games (4 votes), six games (2).
MVP if the Mets win: Francisco Lindor (2), Sean Manaea (1), Starling Marte (1), Brandon Nimmo (1), Mark Winds (1).
Who chose the Mets: Jorge Castillo, Paul Hembekides, Tim Keown, Kiley McDaniel, Jesse Rogers, Jeff Passan.
The topic we will all talk about:
The Mets’ incredible run to the World Series included beating a division rival (Braves) to clinch their playoff berth, firing the Mets’ former employer David Stearns (Brewers) in the NL Wild Card Series and eliminate another division rival and NL pennant favorite (Phillies) in the NL Division Series. They will add the defeat of the organization that Steve Cohen He has openly said that he hoped to reply since he bought the Mets before trying to unseat his older brother in the Bronx. — Castillo.
Despite the initial attention there will be on the Ohtani vs. Lindor matchup, ultimately the focus will end up on the Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts. Whether you make good decisions or not is pretty irrelevant. Either the Dodgers come up short again, or they don’t. This, of course, isn’t fair, and beating the Padres helped, but Roberts isn’t out of the woods yet. — Doolittle.
Walker Buehler is back. It’s been a challenge in his return from a second Tommy John surgery, but Buehler actually looked pretty good in Game 3 of the NLDS. He experienced a terrible, six-run second inning in which his defense largely let him down, but he still managed to get through the fifth, freeing up a bullpen game the next night. Buehler loves this stage. He is in the lineup for Games 2 and 6 at Dodger Stadium. It will comply. — Gonzalez.
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and listening to the Dodgers’ postgame interviews, how could anyone have wondered if they would win? The brave, bold and respectful Dodgers work against all the accumulated disadvantages in front of them and win in 5. — Olney.
Con Freddie Freeman Limping, presumably for the rest of the postseason, Ohtani’s responsibility to produce at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup is greater than ever. After a solid Game 1 of the Division Series, Ohtani struggled. He will be at the center of all Dodger conversations, and the biggest question will be: Can Ohtani lead the Dodgers to the World Series in his first season with the team? — They pass.
How incredible the Manaea trio continues to launch, Luis Severino y José Quintana. They’ll give the Dodgers problems, and we won’t understand exactly how they’re doing it. — Rogers.
Ohtani. We’ll talk about the five home runs Ohtani hit in the series, including the go-ahead home run in Game 7. — Schoenfield.
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American League Championship Series
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in how many games: Seven games (5 votes), six games (6), five games (1).
MVP if the Yankees win: Aaron Judge (7), Juan Soto (3), Gerrit Cole (1), Gleyber Torres (1).
Who chose the Yankees: Jorge Castillo, Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Tim Kurkjian, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers, Xavier Scruggs.
in how many games: Seven games (1).
MVP if the Guardians win: Jose Ramirez.
Who chose the Guardians: David Schoenfield.
The topic we will all talk about:
The first Subway Series in almost a quarter of a century will come with a juicy subplot: the ALCS MVP, Juan Sotowill face the team that most people believe will be the Yankees’ competition for his services this winter. — Castillo.
No matter what happens, the focus will be on Aaron Judge. If he stands out, it will be because of how he overcame his postseason struggles. If not, it will be because of how those problems have persisted. I wish this didn’t have to be talked about every time the camera catches Judge during the game, but only he can make it stop. — Doolittle.
Here’s one thing we won’t talk about: Aaron Judge’s losing streak. Just as he shook off a difficult April to put together an MVP regular season, Judge will emerge from a slow ALDS – in which he went 2 for 13 with an extra-base hit – to lead the Yankees to the World Series. — Gonzalez.
How much can you get Stephen Vogt from your bullpen? The Guardians’ biggest strength this season has been their late-inning impermeability thanks to a tremendous group of relievers, and Vogt leaned heavily on them. Cade Smith He ranked fifth in the American League in innings pitched among relievers. Hunter Gaddis was sixth and Emmanuel Class came eighth. Vogt’s ability to leverage his relief arms will remain the question for the Guardians until their season concludes. — They pass.
How much money is Juan Soto going to earn? He will be key against the Guardians in their best playoff series to date. That includes a lot of walks, but hey, moving forward is moving forward. — Rogers.
How Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen silenced Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to lead the Guardians to the World Series. — Schoenfield.
World Series Predictions We’re Right About…So Far
David Schoenfield: Hey, I had Dodgers-Guardians at the beginning of the playoffs, when everyone else was jumping on the Padres bandwagon. Considering the Dodgers advanced without Ohtani doing much, it seems like it’s time for him to have a monster series to get the Dodgers to the World Series, as will the bullpen for Cleveland.
Kiley McDaniel: I had the Dodgers in the World Series, but the only problem was that I had them losing to the Orioles. I thought the American League was wide open and leaning toward youth, a deep lineup, and an ace, while the National League would basically play smoothly. I’m better at predicting prospects than I am at predicting the playoffs, especially when the series is three and five games so far.
World Series predictions that have failed?
Jorge Castillo: Astros over Phillies. I believed the Astros’ experience and starting rotation would carry them through the open American League. It turns out that neither of them matter much in a three-game series against a team on a streak. As for the Phillies, who could have predicted their bats would disappear? At this point, picking against the Mets is foolish.
Tristan Cockcroft: Parents about Yankees. Whether it had happened in the Division Series or the Championship Series, watch out, MLB, you should really restore reclassification to the playoff bracket, Padres-Dodgers was a matchup that I considered a top-tier league championship, and the Padres got closer, within two runs in the decisive game. These Mets have impressed me in October, and it sure would be fun to predict another Subway Series, but a lot of these feel-good playoff stories tend to run out of gas a little before the finish line.
Alden Gonzalez: Had the Astros and Padres facing off in the World Series, and neither advanced to their respective Championship Series. Although they did not achieve the expected success, both teams emphasized an important point about October baseball: Even the best offenses can fail if they have detailed game plans and face a variety of high-level pitchers.
Eric Karabell: Obviously, it was foolish to predict a 2022 World Series rematch, so let’s go with 1977, 1978, and 1981. Enjoy, traditionalists!
Tim Keown: Turns out the Padres came within a couple rounds of beating the Yankees in the World Series, as I predicted, but who doesn’t love a Subway Series? It doesn’t seem likely that the Dodgers, despite their bullpen dominance in the NLDS, can muster enough pitchers to win a seven-game series.
Jeff Passan: The less said about my World Series prediction, the better. I’ll leave it at this: I didn’t expect four relievers with a collective 2.20 ERA during the regular season –Carlos Estevez, Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman y Orion Kerkering– had a 12.10 ERA in the postseason.
Jesse Rogers: My World Series pick – the Phillies – came out quickly, which means the team that beat them should be taken seriously. And it helps that the Mets, with a $300 million prize pool, can once again play the underdog card simply because they’re facing the Dodgers. I’ll also lean towards this trend: the team that beats Milwaukee in the playoffs always wins the championship. That’s the Mets.
