And then there were 8. After a quick Wild Card Series round, where all teams swept, we now enter the Division Series, where the top seeds enter the race.The Blue Jays, Rays, Brewers, and Marlins have been eliminated. We have already seen how October causes some to step up to the moment and others to fall under the pressure. This will only intensify the further we get. All four best-of-5 series will start on October 7th. Let’s dive into each series and what it will take for each team to advance to the League Championship Series.

American League

#3 Minnesota Twins vs. #2 Houston Astros

The Twins finally broke their 18-postseason game losing streak and went on to sweep the Blue Jays to win their first postseason series in 21 years. The fans in Minnesota are fantastic and this team could not be on a bigger high heading into this series against the defending champs. Their young star, Royce Lewis, homered in his first two postseason at-bats which set the tone for this team’s 2023 October run. The pitching behind Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, and Jhoan Duran was phenomenal, limiting the Blue Jays to just one run in two games. The offense was only able to score 5 runs in the series, so they’ll need the pitching to continue its dominance and be able to find ways to score more runs against the Astros if they want to advance to the next round.

The Astros are no stranger to postseason success, much to the dismay of many baseball fans unless you live in Houston. They are the defending champs and have every bit of a chance to repeat. They haven’t been as consistent this season and they just barely snuck in as division champions on the last day of the season. The pitching is still their biggest strength and the offense has the return of Michael Brantley’s bat, who missed the last 14 months with a shoulder injury. Houston has made the ALCS 6 straight years and it would be no surprise to see them there again.

My prediction - Astros win the series in 5 games. I think there’s a lot of momentum on the Twins side right now and I think they’ll make this a close series with their pitching. However, on paper the Astros are the much better team and it would be foolish to bet against them (we all know who I want to win though).

#5 Texas Rangers vs. #1 Baltimore Orioles

The Rangers dominated the Rays in the Wild Card Series in every facet of the game. It was a very embarrassing two games for Tampa Bay, their hitting sucked, their defense sucked, their pitching sucked, and their home attendance sucked. But enough with how much the Rays sucked…the Rangers played great and deserve their division series berth against the Orioles. The offense is playing as advertised and will be a major problem for any team who faces them. From top to bottom there are no easy outs. The pitching stepped up too - Jordan Montgomery and Nathon Eovaldi looked great in their starts and Texas might have found a shut down closer in Jose Leclerc. Add in the unmatched leadership of their manager Bruce Bochy and this Rangers team is in a good position to win this series.

The Orioles are one of the easiest teams to root for this October. After years of 100+ losing seasons, they won 101 games this year and are the top seed in the American League. The rebuild was long but done the right way, building from the ground up and keeping their prospects together. Baltimore is finally seeing the fruits of their labor and have a great opportunity to showcase it in October. The pitching, especially the bullpen, has question marks but they have enough. The lineup is a great mix of young stars like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson with veterans Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander that is deep and talented. We will have to see how this fresh Orioles team will respond to the pressure of October baseball but they should be a lot of fun to watch.

My prediction - Rangers win the series in 5 games. This is a very difficult series to predict. In a lot of ways these teams are very similar. I think what gives the Rangers the slight edge is experience from Bruce Bochy (3-time World Series Champion), Corey Seager (NLCS and World Series MVP), and Nathon Eovaldi (World Series Champion and postseason dawg). It should be a very entertaining series, buckle up.

National League

#6 Arizona Diamondbacks vs. #2 Los Angeles Dodgers

The Diamondbacks looked great in their two wins against the Brewers. They played great defense, had big hits, and the bullpen was very impressive. AND they didn’t use their number two starter, Merill Kelly. Now they have a date with their division foe, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona will have to continue to rely on the bullpen stepping up and get some depth out of their starting rotation. In a short series, this is very winnable for the DBacks. Throw out all the stats about how well the Dodgers have played against Arizona over the past decade. This is October and all that matters is this 5-game series. It’s anyone’s game.

The Dodgers start another postseason run after their 10th division title in the last 11 seasons and their 4th consecutive 100+ win campaign. A lot of people had LA taking a step back this year and despite all the injuries and off field issues that plagued the starting rotation, this team relied on it’s deep farm system. Clayton Kershaw will be their Game 1 starter and they have another veteran arm in Lance Lynn to eat up innings. Past that, it’s up to the rookies, especially Bobby Miller. The rookie phenom will have to prove he’s up to pitch well in big games and if he can, the Dodgers will have a good chance to win. The offense is built like a winner with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman leading the way. JD Martinez, Max Muncy and Will Smith provide the depth and the bottom of the lineup with Kike Hernandez, Jason Hayward, and Chris Taylor provide important postseason pedigree. For the first time in a while, very few people are picking the Dodgers as a top favorite to win the World Series, perhaps that will work in their favor.

My prediction - Dodgers win the series in 4 games. I like this DBacks team and I think they are going to get better in the years to come. In this matchup, the Dodgers have a bit more depth and fire power than Arizona and should be able to outlast them this round.

#4 Philadelphia Phillies vs. #1 Atlanta Braves

The Phillies are back playing electric baseball in October. Behind one of the best home crowds in the game, they dominated the Marlins on their way to a date with the best team in baseball. We saw this same matchup last season, and the Phillies won. If they are going to repeat they will need to get exceptional performances from their pitching. There’s very little chance you can shut down the Braves bats but you can at least slow them down. The Phillies have one of the deepest lineups in the league and they got dudes that can get a big hit at any time. They are a very confident team right now and they will bring the fight to Atlanta.

The Atlanta Braves will begin their postseason run after one of the best offensive seasons in baseball history. Behind the likely MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr, and Matt Olson, this team straight up mashes. They create offense so effortlessly at times, it’s really a beautiful thing to watch. The road to the World Series will go through Atlanta, as they are the number one overall seed in the postseason. It’s hard to imagine this offense suddenly going cold but crazier things have happened. The starting pitching is bending a bit right now, with most of their rotation battling injuries or second half struggles. Maybe the break will help some of those issues but that seems to be the only thing that might keep Atlanta from advancing.

My prediction - Braves win the series in 4 games. The Phillies will bring the heat and I think every game will be close but it would be a huge upset if the Braves lost. I would not be surprised if this series goes 5 games or if Philly can pull off the series win but you have to respect what the Braves have done this season and they have a great history of recent October success.

MLB Postseason Preview - Division Series