Biggest Takeaways from 2014 ALCS, NLCS Action

With both the American League and National League Championship Series matchups wrapping up quickly, the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants both have some downtime now before the World Series gets underway Tuesday night.

The last two teams to sweep their respective LCS were the 2007 Colorado Rockies and 2012 Detroit Tigers, and they were both in turn swept in the World Series, so the Royals will have to find a way to keep momentum on their side and avoid a similar letdown.

Meanwhile, the Giants ending their series in five games means they can reset their starting rotation and have the red-hot Madison Bumgarner lined up to pitch Game 1. After playing second and third fiddle to the likes of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain during the team's last two World Series runs, he will be asked to shoulder the load atop the rotation this time around.

So while we have some time to reflect, here is a look at five major takeaways from this year's ALCS and NLCS action.

The Future Is Bright at Second Base

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Second base has been one of the thinner positions league-wide for years, but there was a bumper crop of young talent at the keystone this season, including rookie starters on three of the four LCS teams.

Jonathan Schoop spent the entire season as the Orioles' primary second baseman, posting a .598 OPS but flashing some impressive power with 18 doubles, 16 home runs and 45 RBI.

The 23-year-old was just 4-for-21 with a double and two RBI in the postseason, but he looks to have a bright future ahead of him, as he should continue to develop into one of the better power hitters at the position.

The second base spot has been a revolving door for the Giants since the days of Ray Durham, but they finally look to have a long-term answer in Joe Panik, who was called up in late June. After hitting .305/.343/.368 over 269 at-bats during the regular season, the 23-year-old has gone 11-for-46 this postseason, including a two-run home run off of Adam Wainwright in the clinching Game 5 of the NLCS.

Finally, there is Kolten Wong, who was a goat last postseason when he was picked off of first base to end Game 4 of the World Series, but he stepped into the role of hero this October.

"It’s day and night, just being able to play that whole season, the confidence I have now coming in," Wong told Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I understand I belong here and I believe I belong here, and that is the thing that can make me the player I want to be."

Wong hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the Cardinals' 3-1 victory in Game 3 of the NLDS and came through again with a walk-off blast in Game 2 of the NLCS.

The 24-year-old had a .680 OPS with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 402 at-bats during the regular season, and he went 7-for-29 with seven extra-base his this postseason.

Throw in fellow rookies Javier Baez, Rougned Odor and Tommy La Stella and top prospects Jose Peraza and Micah Johnson, and the position looks awfully bright moving forward.

Madison Bumgarner Deserves to Be Mentioned Among the Game's Elite Arms

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In a ranking of the top starting pitchers heading into October, left-hander Madison Bumgarner likely would have fallen behind Clayton Kershaw, Adam Wainwright, Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, David Price and perhaps even guys like James Shields and Zack Greinke, depending on who you talked to.

Four terrific starts and an NLCS MVP award later, he's been by far the best pitcher of the 2014 postseason, and it's clear he deserves to be mentioned among the game's elite hurlers.

The 25-year-old wrapped up the regular season at 18-10 with a 2.98 ERA and a career-high 219 strikeouts in 217.1 innings, making him an easy choice to take the ball for the team's Wild Card Game. 

After throwing a complete-game shutout in the Wild Card Game, he took the loss in Game 3 of the NLDS when a throwing error cost him the game. He rebounded with a gem in Game 1 of the NLCS, though, running his postseason scoreless streak on the road to a record 26.2 innings.

He matched fellow ace Adam Wainwright pitch-for-pitch in the clinching Game 5 of the NLCS, allowing three earned runs over eight innings of work to set up the late-game heroics.

After taking a backseat to Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain during the team's previous two World Series trips, Bumgarner is now the clear leader of the Giants staff, and the team will need him to keep dominating.

Despite all of the success he has enjoyed to this point in his career, Bumgarner remains somewhat underrated. However, this postseason is quickly changing that, and he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

The Two Best Bullpens Came out on Top

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The idea that strong starting pitching wins championships rings true more times than not, but this postseason, the bullpens have taken center stage. 

When the dust settled on the League Championship Series, the two best bullpens that came out on top, and runs figure to be at a premium in the late innings looking ahead to the World Series.

The Giants wrapped up the regular season fifth in the majors with a 3.01 bullpen ERA, and their relief corps has led the way this postseason, with five wins, five saves and a 1.78 ERA in 35.1 innings of work.

Player	G	W-L	IP	H	ER	BB	K
Jeremy Affeldt	7	1-0	6.1	2	0	2	2
Santiago Casilla	7	0-0	6.2	2	0	3	5
Javier Lopez	6	0-0	2.0	2	0	1	3
Jean Machi	4	0-0	2.1	3	2	0	1
Yusmeiro Petit	2	2-0	9.0	2	0	4	11
Sergio Romo	7	1-1	4.2	4	1	0	3
Hunter Strickland	4	1-0	4.1	5	4	1	5

Meanwhile, the Royals were 10th in the league with a 3.30 bullpen ERA, and their relievers were flat-out dominant as well, with six wins, six saves and a 1.80 ERA in 35.0 innings of work.

Player	G	W-L	IP	H	ER	BB	K
Tim Collins	1	0-0	0.2	0	0	0	1
Wade Davis	8	2-0	9.1	5	1	2	10
Danny Duffy	1	1-0	1.0	1	0	0	1
Brandon Finnegan	5	1-0	4.1	4	2	3	3
Jason Frasor	4	2-0	3.0	1	0	1	1
Kelvin Herrera	7	0-0	8.1	6	1	2	10
Greg Holland	8	0-0	8.0	3	1	5	10

Both teams have a dominant closer, some lights-out setup men and an impact arm capable of going multiple innings as their long reliever. Expect a low-scoring series, with teams looking to push across runs early before the bullpens take over.

The Orioles Have to Re-Sign Nelson Cruz

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It's hard to envision the Baltimore Orioles making it as far as they did this season without the contributions of slugger Nelson Cruz, and re-signing him this offseason should be penciled atop their to-do list.

With both Matt Wieters and Manny Machado lost for the season to injury and Chris Davis taking a huge step backward before being slapped with a performance-enhancing drug suspension, the offense could very easily have become an issue.

Instead, it was a strength, as the O's would go on to lead the majors with 211 home runs while scoring 4.35 runs per game, and Cruz was at the middle of it all.

Forced to settle for a one-year, $8 million deal after the free-agent market did not develop as he'd hoped, Cruz ended up being one of the best bargains in all of baseball. He wrapped up the regular season with a .271/.333/.525 line, launching an MLB-best 40 home runs and leading the Orioles with a career-high 108 RBI—and that production continued on into the postseason.

While guys like Adam Jones (6-for-27), J.J. Hardy (6-for-25) and Steve Pearce (4-for-27) struggled this October, Cruz was 10-for-28 with a double, two home runs and seven RBI in seven games.

It's hard to know what to expect out of Davis and hard to imagine Pearce will duplicate his breakout numbers, so bringing back Cruz to provide a middle-of-the-order presence seems like a must.

"I want to come back no doubt. Just wait and see what happens," Cruz told Eduardo A. Encina of the Los Angeles Times.

Get it done, Orioles.

The Long-Term Rebuilding Plan Is Finally Paying Dividends for KC GM Dayton Moore

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From 2004 to 2012, the Royals posted a losing record each season and averaged a whopping 96 losses every year. That's a tough stretch for any organization to endure, but the long-term rebuilding efforts are finally paying off, as everything has come together this season.

At the center of the roster is a core of homegrown talent, as former first-round picks Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer are among 13 players who worked their way up through the Royals system. 

Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain were added in the Zack Greinke trade, and both James Shields and Wade Davis were acquired in the big blockbuster deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, but for the most part, the Royals have pieced together their roster with mid-level free agents and homegrown talent.

Instead of building around high-priced starting pitching and power hitting like many teams do, general manager Dayton Moore has put an emphasis on speed, defense and relief pitching.

He expanded on his organizational philosophy in a piece from Jerry Crasnick of ESPN:

"

We've got to play defense. Power is expensive and power comes later, and our ballpark just isn't conducive to home runs, anyway. So we asked ourselves, 'What can we control?' We said, 'Let's get pitchers who can command the fastball, try to have power in the bullpen and play great defense.' Of course, we're trying to develop good hitters, but hitting is tough.

"

It sounds simple enough, but it's hard to stick to that kind of philosophy when a team is turning in one losing season after another, and Moore deserves a ton of credit for sticking to his vision for this team.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, and accurate through Friday, Oct. 17.