After a Monday of playoff-impacting baseball, the 2024 MLB playoffs kick off on Tuesday afternoon, with 12 teams hoping to raise this year’s World Series trophy.
The Dodgers — who enter October with MLB’s best record — look to cement their dynasty of recent years with a second World Series victory to go with their 2020 title, while the Phillies will try to go on yet another October run to the Fall Classic. The Yankees return to the playoffs after missing them last year and will look to capitalize on the duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to win their first title since 2009. This year’s postseason, however, seems as wide open as ever, so don’t expect red-hot wild-card teams such as the Tigers, Padres and others to go down without a fight.
Who will win each round? And which squad will be the last standing at the end of the postseason? We asked 27 of our MLB experts — from ESPN.com, TV, Stats & Information and more — to give us their predictions.
Below are their picks for the wild-card winners (two teams will make it out of each league), division series winners, league championship series winners and World Series champion.
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ALWC: Detroit Tigers vs. Houston Astros
Houston Astros 22
Detroit Tigers 5
You were one of four voters to choose Detroit. Why do you think the Tigers will prevail? The Tigers will take down the Astros because — though, not only because — Tarik Skubal will win a Game 1 duel against Framber Valdez. The Tigers will win because Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who has been out with a knee injury for more than a week, might play but won’t be 100%. They’ll win because Detroit manager A.J. Hinch is a master at running a postseason bullpen, and he has seven relievers with sub-3.00 ERAs since the trade deadline. And besides — who picks against such a cool story? — Tim Keown
ALWC: Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles 18
Kansas City Royals 9
What would the Royals need to do to knock out the Orioles? Win Game 1. Clinching that wild-card spot early at least gave the Royals the luxury of holding Cole Ragans back to make the Game 1 start, and Seth Lugo is available for the deciding game if it’s needed. That’s big for this team, which had the majors’ best rotation ERA (3.55) among playoff teams. Getting the edge with Ragans over Corbin Burnes will probably be critical. — Tristan Cockcroft
NLWC: New York Mets vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers 23
New York Mets 4
The Mets are the overwhelming underdog in our voters’ eyes. How do you think they pull off the upset? Sure, the Mets will be exhausted after their Milwaukee-Atlanta-Milwaukee travel schedule over the past three days — not to mention the playoff celebration on Monday — but if momentum means anything, then Francisco Lindor’s game-winning home run to clinch a spot in October gave the Mets all the additional energy they’ll need for this series. And while the Brewers have the advantage in the bullpen, they will still have to set their pen up for success to begin with, and Milwaukee’s starting pitching doesn’t generate the swing-and-miss you like to see from a playoff rotation. — David Schoenfield
NLWC: Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres 27
Atlanta Braves 0
The Padres got every single vote. What makes them such a lock to move on? The Padres hit on a couple of key components that make them a team prepped for a postseason run. They’re hot (best record and run differential since the All-Star Game) and deep in high-octane bullpen arms with high-leverage experience. This guarantees them nothing, but the Padres look primed for the moment, while the Braves are limping in with a roster missing some crucial pieces. The fact that Chris Sale couldn’t go in either game on Monday — and is not expected to pitch in the wild-card series, according to Atlanta manager Brian Snitker — doesn’t help their outlook one iota. — Bradford Doolittle
ALDS: Winner of Tigers-Astros vs. Cleveland Guardians
Houston Astros 13
Cleveland Guardians 11
Detroit Tigers 3
Make the case for Houston: The Astros have participated in the ALCS for a record seven consecutive seasons and won it four times, so while the Guardians have been a wonderful story this season, the Astros always seem to find a way. Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker will hit. Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown will pitch. Houston has a bullpen, too. One must respect what this franchise, with these signature players, has achieved — and the Astros aren’t done yet. — Eric Karabell
Make the case for Cleveland: Cleveland is a team that makes the most of less. The Guardians score in the middle of the pack, but they still consistently outscore their opponent because they prevent runs. They climb ahead of you then kick rocks down on top of anyone who tries to follow.
How? Outstanding pitching that minimizes traffic by giving up very few hits. So you have to hit the ball out the ballpark against them. Not easy. They put the ball in play and when it is put in play against them, they catch it. Against them, you feel like the one in the litter that has to wait for the dominant one to leave you scraps.
And Cleveland keeps giving the people the same answer year in and year out. Like an old grandfather clock stuck on midnight — Jose Ramirez — keeps chiming. And all he does is create questions for his opponent. Like “How the heck do we stop that bell from ringing?” — Doug Glanville
ALDS: Winner of Royals-Orioles vs. New York Yankees
New York Yankees 24
Baltimore Orioles 3
How can the Orioles upset the Yankees to advance? This one is close to a coin flip for me, with the Yankees having the on-paper edge thanks to a better regular-season record and home-field advantage in the series. However, I lean toward the O’s due to their deeper, younger lineup and the fact that they have the best pitcher in the series: Corbin Burnes. — Kiley McDaniel
NLDS: Winner of Mets-Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies 26
Milwaukee Brewers 1
All but one person went with the Phillies. What makes them such a threat in October? The Phillies can beat you in different ways — more so than in the past. Add the experience, hunger and home-field advantage, and it doesn’t feel like Philadelphia will let this chance slip away as they have the past couple of seasons. Yes, they’ll slug but they can also run the bases, pitch out of the bullpen and have top-of-the-rotation starters all over their staff. In a bullpen-driven league, a key stat for the Phillies is they ranked 27th in innings pitched from their relievers. That will come in handy as they begin the long postseason journey to a championship. Their big lead in the division allowed that to happen — and its going to pay off as October progresses. — Jesse Rogers
NLDS: Winner of Braves-Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres 22
Los Angeles Dodgers 5
The Dodgers beat the Padres in the final week to clinch the division, yet our voters overwhelmingly favor San Diego this time around. Why is L.A. your choice? The Padres are really good, good enough to win the World Series, but I am picking the Dodgers to win this series. The Dodgers’ pitching is shaky, but it has been the whole season, and they still once again won the NL West. I am going with the firepower and the star power at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup: Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith and the rest. Ohtani had played the most games among active players without a playoff berth. It seems like he has accomplished whatever he has wanted during his unforgettable 2024 campaign. Now he wants to be a star in the postseason. He will be, and he won’t be the only Dodgers hitter to shine. — Tim Kurkjian
New York Yankees 13
Houston Astros 7
Cleveland Guardians 5
Baltimore Orioles 2
Four different teams got votes, but New York had the most with 13. Why do you think the Yankees will win the pennant? This is as much about the competition and timing as anything else. I just don’t trust that, after playing the Royals, the Orioles are going to have enough in the tank to make it past a rested Yankees squad. And to be clear, while the Guardians are the team I think the Yankees will face, their losing to Cleveland wouldn’t necessarily be an upset to me. I just don’t think they will. The pitching is in a decent place, and Marcus Stroman gives them an extremely quality arm for some flexibility in the rotation. Add to that two of the top run-scoring players in the majors, never mind the league? New York has as good a shot as any team to play for the title. — Clinton Yates
Houston is entering this October with less hype than in past years, but it still got the second-most votes. What makes the Astros your pick? They had one of the best records in baseball after starting the season 15-25 and they check all the boxes for October success. Ample postseason experience? Check. The top starting rotation after the All-Star break? Yup. An elite back end of the bullpen? Yes. A lineup filled with proven postseason performers? Of course. Yordan Alvarez’s knee injury could change the calculus, but, assuming he plays, the Astros are the team to beat in the AL. — Jorge Castillo
Philadelphia Phillies 15
San Diego Padres 9
Los Angeles Dodgers 3
While Philadelphia and San Diego received most of the votes here, the Phillies seem to be the favorite. Why are they your pick? The lineup, the rotation, the bullpen — the Phillies are deep in all the places it matters. And beyond that, they’re the most experienced team in the NL, with a World Series and NLCS run in the past two seasons. In a wide-open season, no team is a sure thing. A combination of talent and know-how, though, is worth picking, and that’s exactly what the Phillies have. — Jeff Passan
Philadelphia Phillies 13
(Eric Karabell, Dan Mullen, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan, Jacob Nitzberg, Gregg Colli, Clinton Yates, Matt Marrone, Jesse Rogers, Tim Kurkjian, Rachel Ullrich, Brendan DeAngelis, Bradford Doolittle)
San Diego Padres 7
(Karl Ravech, Alden Gonzalez, Tristan Cockcroft, Jessica Mendoza, Tim Keown, Doug Glanville, JJ Post)
New York Yankees 3
(Liz Finny, Dean Demers, Michael Kay)
Baltimore Orioles 2
(Kiley McDaniel, Scott Beaman)
Los Angeles Dodgers 1
(David Schoenfield)
Houston Astros 1
(Jorge Castillo)
The Phillies were our most popular pick. What makes this the year they win it all? The Phillies have knocked on the door twice, in more challenging scenarios than this season with teams that weren’t quite as good as thie year’s edition. Sure, they rode momentum early in beating the Braves after wild-card victories, but they also seemed to run out of steam later in October. This year, after running away with the division, that won’t be a factor. — Dan Mullen
A number of voters are clearly excited about San Diego. How can the Padres come out victorious in the Fall Classic? By doing what has made them seem so favorable in the first place — getting dominant starting pitching, backing it with a relentless offense that can score a multitude of ways and continually shortening games with a dominant back end of the bullpen. The Padres are deep, balanced, well-rounded and, most important this time of year, relatively healthy. Over these past two months, they’ve played as if they can beat anybody. And they might be right. — Alden Gonzalez
You were the only voter to pick the Dodgers to win the World Series. Explain why you did. Umm, they have Shohei Ohtani and nobody else does? Do you want more reasons? OK, yes, their starting rotation is a concern, but this is still a team that finished with the best record in the majors. Even as those pitching injuries piled up, the Dodgers went 19-8 in August and 16-10 in September. It didn’t seem to slow them down. They have a deep, strong bullpen, and you can win in the postseason that way. And did I mention they have Shohei Ohtani? — Schoenfield