MLB Playoffs 2014: Unsung Heroes Who Will Make Biggest Difference in Postseason

While teams always count on their biggest stars to deliver in the postseason, it's often the performance of the more peripheral players that delivers rings.

As evidence, one must only look at the 2002 World Series. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Barry Bonds had a slash line of .471/.700/1.294 with four home runs and six runs batted in. The San Francisco Giants still lost the series in seven games to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Angels received strong numbers from a few different players, namely Scott Spiezio, who drove in eight runs, David Eckstein and a then-20-year-old Francisco Rodriguez, who fanned 13 batters and allowed two runs in 8.2 innings pitched.

You can count on the fact that whoever wins this year's Fall Classic will have received contributions from a few different unsung heroes. The three players below could fulfill that need.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers

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Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw get all of the plaudits in the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation, leaving Hyun-Jin Ryu in the shadows a bit. Without Ryu, however, the Dodgers have faint hopes of winning the World Series. 

According to FanGraphs, the 27-year-old owns the third-best WAR among Dodgers pitchers (3.5). His 3.38 ERA belies how good of a season he's actually had, as evidenced by his 2.62 FIP and 3.03 xFIP.

Although Ryu hasn't made a start since his disastrous one-inning outing against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 12, Los Angeles is confident that he'll be ready for the NLDS and assume the No. 3 starter role. MLB.com's Michael Lananna reported that Ryu has a 45-pitch simulated game scheduled for Wednesday.

Look at it this way: The earlier the Dodgers can get Ryu back in the rotation, the sooner they can boot Kevin Correia. Everybody can agree that would be a very positive development.

Asdrubal Cabrera, Washington Nationals

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Asdrubal Cabrera was once one of the best offensive shortstops in the game a few years ago, but that player is long gone. His .241 batting average with the Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals is the worst of his career, while his .387 slugging percentage is the third-worst.

Cabrera's contribution to Washington goes beyond his bat, though. James Wagner of The Washington Post highlighted how much Cabrera's defensive skills and ability to play second base helped the Nats in the second half of the regular season:

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Cabrera admits this season hasn’t been easy for him at the plate. When he first arrived in Washington, hitting coach Rick Schu showed Cabrera videos of his old swing. Cabrera lowered his hands in his stance to mimic his past setup and says he feels more comfortable, but the results haven’t shown it.

He continues to distinguish himself in the field, however, moving with grace and seemingly in no hurry. Cabrera believes if you can play shortstop in the majors you can play anywhere.

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"He’s been there and done it," said manager Matt Williams. "He’s been in a situation that we find ourselves in, played in big games and played in the middle of a lineup, a formidable lineup."

Cabrera's .245 BABIP, which is second-worst among Nats players with more than 100 plate appearances, illustrates that to a certain extent, his offensive problems might be down to bad luck. With a .160 ISO since joining the Nats, Cabrera tends to do some damage when he connects.

Don't be surprised if his bat heats up during the postseason.

Andrew Miller, Baltimore Orioles

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Somehow, Andrew Miller has been even better with the Baltimore Orioles than he was with the Boston Red Sox in 2014.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, the 29-year-old had never posted a FIP lower than 3.05 before this year began. In 50 appearances for Boston, his FIP was 1.69. In 23 games with Baltimore, that figure is even lower, at 1.13.

Across the whole of the 2014 campaign, Miller is striking out an average of 14.9 batters over nine innings, which is a career high, as is his 193 ERA+.

CBSSports.com's Dayn Perry chalked up a lot of Miller's success to his devastating slider:

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The slider is a pitch typically prone to platoon weaknesses -- i.e., it's primarily a weapon against same-handed hitters. However, it so happens that Miller isn't shy about using the slider against right-handed batters. This season, he's thrown it to RHBs almost 40 percent of the time, and more than a quarter of the time he's thrown first-pitch sliders to the opposite side. In a related matter, righties are batting .115 and slugging .154 against Miller's slider this season. When you can throw a slider to a platoon-advantaged hitter and get those kind of results, then you're much more than a mere LOOGY.

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While the Orioles will continue to rely on Zach Britton in the closer role, Miller will unquestionably be an important member of the bullpen. Think back to how key Rodriguez was as a late-inning guy for the Angels in 2002.