MLB Playoffs 2024 Wild Card and Round-by-Round Bracket Picks and Predictions

With zero 100-game winners, this postseason is already projected to be the most difficult to predict in some time.

If that wasn't wild enough, the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves will play a doubleheader Mondaythe day before the Wild Card Round is set to beginthat will determine not only the fates of those two teams but also the defending NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

Still, even with the entire NL playoff picture not yet locked in, it's time for B/R postseason predictions for the Wild Card Series and throughout the playoffs.

The playoff bracket is set, aside from the No.

5 and No.

6 seeds in the NL, which are still up for grabs ahead of Monday's doubleheader between the Mets and Braves.

Game 1 starts at 1 p.m.

ET in Atlanta.

Tigers Over Astros In Three Games The Tigers sold at the trade deadline, dealing veterans Jack Flaherty and Mark Canha away in what seemed to be pretty reasonable decisions from president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

No one saw the Tigers going 17-8 in September and, when coupled with a collapse by the Minnesota Twins, claiming the final wild-card spot in the AL.

That sets up a juicy wild-card matchup, as Detroit manager A.J.

Hinch will lead the Tigers back into the postseason for the first time since 2014.

The opponent is the Astros, whom he guided to a World Series title in 2017.

Heck, the last time Hinch managed in the postseason was Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, when the Astros lost to the Washington Nationals.

That winter, Houston's 2017 sign-stealing scandal was revealed, and he was fired.

Some of Houston's key pieces remain from the 50-year-old's time.

Joe Espada is in his first season as Astros manager but was the bench coach for Hinch's last two years with the club.

Jose Altuve was an All-Star for the ninth time this season.

Alex Bregman had a .833 OPS in the second half of his contract year.

Yordan Alvarezthe AL Rookie of the Year in Hinch's final season with the Astrosis one of the scariest hitters in the game when healthy.

However, Alvarez has been out the last week with a knee injury.

He is slated to take batting practice on Monday, and his status for the Wild Card Round is in doubt.

Still, it's hard to pick against the Tigers, given how hot they were down the stretch.

Tarik Skubal won the AL Triple Crown for pitchers and will be the AL Cy Young Award winner.

Kerry Carpenter hit a grand slam on the final day of the regular season and was one of the best hitters after the All-Star break.

Rookies Brant Hurter and Jackson Jobe are interesting weapons out of the bullpen for Hinch.

Perhaps the Tigers won't go on a 2007 Colorado Rockies-type run to the World Series after a scalding-hot finish to the regular season, but we're picking Hinch to upset his former team in three games.

A series loss would snap Houston's streak of reaching the ALCS in seven consecutive seasons.

Royals Over Orioles In 3 Games This isn't exactly a matchup of teams coming into the postseason playing their best ball.

The Orioles went 33-33 after the All-Star break after going 58-38 in the first half.

The Royals finished September with an 11-14 record.

Both teams are missing key players, as the Orioles are without Grayson Rodriguez for the remainder of the season, leaving their starting rotation pretty thin even in a best-of-three series.

Vinnie Pasquantino is apparently in consideration for the Royals' ALWCS roster, but it still feels unlikely that one of the top run producers Kansas City has can return so quickly after fracturing his right thumb in late August.

So, what breaks the tie here? For as great as Bobby Witt Jr.

has been for the Royals this year, it's their starting pitching that gives them the edge.

The Orioles (Corbin Burnes) and the Royals (Cole Ragans) have elite aces.

But the Royals have stronger depth behind their ace with Seth Lugo, Brady Singer and Michael Wacha.

Neither bullpen inspires much confidence, but if the Royals have a lead in the ninth inning, Lucas Erceg is a trustworthy option to close the game out.

Whether it's Seranthony Dominguez, Yennier Cano or Gregory Soto, there are just too many questions about manager Brandon Hyde's bullpen in Baltimore.

Poor starting rotation depth and uncertainty in the bullpen are bad combinations for the postseason, and they will doom an Orioles team that once looked like a World Series front-runner.

Brewers Over Mets In 2 Games In this scenario, the Mets and Braves split Monday's doubleheader, which would make the Mets the No.

6 seed in the NL.

That would set them up to play a best-of-three series entirely at American Family Field, where the Brewers took two of three from New York over the weekend.

The series will start a day after the Mets play in a doubleheader with the Braves.

Even if Game 2 turns into a glorified spring training game, the Mets will still need to get through at least 18 innings, hop on a plane and head back to Milwaukee.

Having your backs against the wall can bring a team together, but manager Carlos Mendoza may just run out of fresh reliever options this week.

The Brewers will be able to use Freddy Peralta in Game 1.

Likely NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy also has an elite bullpen trio with Devin Williams, Trevor Megill and Jared Koenig to lean on in a short series.

There's been a magical feeling for the Brewers this season, and we expect that to continue.

The Mets have played tremendous baseball since June 1 and have a legitimate gripe with the Braves and MLB for not planning better and forcing them to play a doubleheader the day before the NLWCS begins.

Padres Over Braves In 3 Games We'll give the Braves a game because manager Brian Snitker's squad has proved very resilient this year, overcoming the losses of Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr.

and Austin Riley, among others.

But many of the same things we said about the Mets are true about the Braves.

If the two teams do split on Monday, Atlanta would have a further flight to San Diego.

If the Braves have to start Chris Sale in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Monday, the lock to win the NL Cy Young Award probably won't be available to start in the entire series.

If he is saved until Tuesday, he will have gone nearly two weeks since his last start on Sept.

19.

Neither scenario is ideal.

The worst part for the Braves is they will be facing a Padres team that went an MLB-best 43-20 after the All-Star break.

Having a great second half doesn't always carry over to the postseason, but there's reason to believe manager Mike Shildt's team will be able to build on its late-season success.

San Diego has one of the stronger rotations in the postseason, with Dylan Cease, Michael King, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish giving the Friars four capable arms for a three-game series.

Also of note: Luis Arraez just won his third straight batting title, and in a lineup with Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar, he's probably the fifth-most dangerous hitter in San Diego's lineup.

Yankees Over Royals In 5 Games With four starters capable of taking the ball in a postseason series, there was some temptation to take the Royals here.

But they may be another bat or two and some more relievers away from being able to win this type of series.

That's not to say there aren't some legitimate concerns about manager Aaron Boone's Yankees.

They are top-heavy.

But the three pieces their team is built around might all be future Hall of Famers.

- Aaron Judge didn't play in the 162nd game of the season, but he is almost certainly going to win his second AL MVP after leading baseball in home runs (58), RBI (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.701), OPS (1.159) and WAR (11.2).

- Juan Soto launched a career-high 41 home runs in his first season in pinstripes, also driving in 109 runs, walking 129 times and posting a .989 OPS.

- Gerrit Cole didn't make his season debut until mid-June as he recovered from elbow inflammation, and it took him some time to hit his stride.

The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner posted a 2.25 ERA over his final 10 starts of the season, though.

He should be fresh considering he only logged 95 innings during the regular season.

Guardians Over Tigers In 4 Games For as great of a run as the Tigers have been on, it's going to come to an end in the ALDS at the hands of the AL Central rival Guardians.

With Emmanuel Clase (0.61 ERA), Hunter Gaddis (1.57 ERA), Cade Smith (1.91 ERA) and Tim Herrin (1.92 ERA), the Guardians have one of the best bullpens in modern history.

After having five days off, expect likely AL Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt to be aggressive in his usage in a short series.

Jose Ramirez had another monster season in a career that increasingly feels like it could be destined for Cooperstown, clubbing 39 home runs and driving in 118 runs.

He was only 23 when Cleveland lost in seven games in the 2016 World Series.

It would be cool to see him go on another deep playoff run now, given that he's been one of the five best hitters in the sport since his World Series appearance.

Padres Over Dodgers In 4 Games We previously noted that the Padres have four strong starting pitcher options, which is a massive advantage compared to the starters the Dodgers will likely use in the best-of-five NLDS.

Jack Flaherty: In a season split between the Tigers and Dodgers, Flaherty stayed healthy and revived his career by posting a 3.17 ERA over 162 innings.

He might be better suited to start Game 2 or 3 of a postseason series, but he is a strong option nonetheless.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto: After signing a 12-year, $325 million deal to come over from Japan, Yamamoto posted a 3.00 ERA across 18 starts.

However, he averaged just five innings per start and pitched just 16 total frames across four starts in September after returning from a triceps injury.

Walker Buehler: Once one of the best starters in the sport, Buehler hasn't been the same since returning from his second Tommy John surgery.

He posted a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts this season, and he probably shouldn't even be on a playoff roster, let alone starting Game 3.

Landon Knack: He posted a 3.74 ERA across 65 innings this season, and the 27-year-old rookie will immediately be thrust into a major spot in the postseason.

This isn't meant to discount the Dodgers' offensive firepower with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez and Will Smith.

But the Padres have enough offensive firepower to go blow-for-blow with L.A.

and much better pitching.

Phillies Over Brewers In 5 Games The Brewers have had a special season and have overcome everything that's been thrown at them.

It would hardly be a surprise if they did the same in this series, which would have the added twist of Rhys Hoskins facing off against his former team in the playoffs.

But while Tobias Myers, Frankie Montas and Aaron Civale have given Milwaukee better starting pitching depth than some might be aware of, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Aaron Nola are probably the best pitching trio in the playoffs.

Granted, Ranger Suarez had a 5.65 ERA after the All-Star break and will likely need to pitch Game 4, which is concerning.

But if Wheeler has to come back in Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park, so be it.

Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber each enter this series tied with Jayson Werth for the most postseason home runs in Phillies history at 11.

Expect those two to take turns setting new records.

When you pair that with a strong starting staff and deep bullpen, the Phillies will advance to the NLCS for the third year in a row.

Yankees Over Guardians In 5 Games The Guardians can win a best-of-five ALDS by aggressively using their bullpen four or five innings a game after having a bye.

But once they reach the best-of-seven ALCS, that strategy becomes less realistic.

Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively are the only starters Cleveland has who finished the season with an ERA under 4.00.

Even Lively is a 32-year-old journeyman with a 4.03 expected ERA and 4.66 FIP to pair with the 3.81 ERA he posted across 29 starts.

It's hard to make too deep of a playoff run with one or two starters you trust.

Granted, the Yankees don't have a perfect rotation.

But after Cole, they still have AL Rookie of the Year front-runner Luis Gil and Clark Schmidt, who posted a 2.55 ERA across 15 starts this season.

If Nestor Cortes doesn't return from a left elbow flexor strain, you can make things work in Game 4 with Carlos Rodon.

Above all else, when things are unclear this time of the year, it's not a bad strategy to bet on superstars.

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are the best one-two punch in baseball.

At some point in this series, they will get to the vaunted bullpen in Cleveland, which will have to be perfect for the Guardians to win the pennant.

Padres Over Phillies In 7 Games Bryce Harper and the Phillies went 33-33 after the All-Star break, while Jackson Merrill and the Padres went 43-20 over the same period.

It's difficult to overlook that, even if both teams may be at entirely different places if they meet in the NLCS for the second time in three years.

The question for the Phillies in this series and postseason as a whole is whether they can win a game or two in a win-or-go-home series if Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner aren't hitting home runs.

At its best, a lineup that also includes Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos and J.T.

Realmuto is one of the deepest in the sport.

But they are perhaps too reliant on the home run for their own good.

On the flip side, the Padres can hit the ball out of the park with Machado, Tatis and Merrill.

They aren't going to hit home runs at the same prolific clip that the Phillies might, but they have an excellent contact hitter in Arraez to fall back on when they aren't hitting home runs.

These are perhaps the two best starting rotations in the postseason, and both the Phillies (Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and Carlos Estevez) and Padres (Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Robert Suarez) have strong options out of the bullpen.

The possibility of the Phillies bats going cold at the wrong time for the second year in a row is why the edge goes to the Padres.

Notably, the Phillies franchisewhich began playing in 1883had never been involved in a Game 7 until last year, when it lost to the Diamondbacks.

This would mark the second year in a row that the Phillies not only played in a Game 7 but also lost it at Citizens Bank Park while watching another team celebrate an NL pennant on their field.

Padres Over Yankees In 6 Games The Yankees have the best one-two punch with Aaron Judge and former Padre Juan Soto.

But San Diego has a deeper lineup, starting rotation and bullpen, so it's our pick to win the 2024 World Series.

Manny Machado is one of the best players of this era, but he struggled in his lone previous World Series appearance during his brief tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018.

He went just 4-for-22 in the 2018 World Series, which the Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox in five games.

The second time around, though, we're predicting Machado has a monster series against the Yankeeswho opted not to make a serious pursuit of him in free agency after the 2018 seasonand win World Series MVP.

San Diego has only made two World Series appearances in the history of the franchise, with the most recent coming in 1998 when it was swept by the Yankees.

A win here would give the Padres their first championship, leaving the Brewers, Rockies, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays as the only franchises never to win a World Series.

It would be rather ironic coming against Soto, whom the Padres traded to the Yankees in the offseason in exchange for a package including Michael King.

Meanwhile, for the Yankees, this would be their first World Series appearance since 2009, a lifetime in that franchise's history.

But when you have 27 titles, just getting to the Fall Classic doesn't mean as much as it does for almost every other team in the league.

The Yankees would also immediately have to pivot to trying to retain Soto and potentially decide whether to guarantee a 10th year on Gerrit Cole's contract if he triggers his opt-out this winter.

It would be a lot easier to make those decisions if they came after a parade..

This article has been shared from the original article on bleacherreport, here is the link to the original article.