MLB Playoffs, MVP Awards and Cy Young Winners Are on the Horizon

The New York Yankees will win the AL East and move onto the playoffs where they will match up against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees began to take control of the division during the summer months and quickly separated themselves from the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The squad from Detroit will also march onto the playoffs after outlasting the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers have a well-balanced lineup and an absolute stud in starting pitcher Justin Verlander.

With hitters such as Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson, the team has the potential to score a good amount of runs.

However, the Yankees are currently the most dominating team in all of baseball, and I see them taking down the Tigers. Wild Card Series 3-1

The series between the Red Sox and the Angels should also be an exciting battle. Both teams have the ability to mix power with speed throughout their lineup, while featuring a strong pitching staff.

After watching the recent series between both of these clubs at Fenway Park, it’s clear that the Sox hold the upper hand at this point in time.

However, the Angels will have home-field advantage, which will clearly work to their favor.

In the end, the Sox will move on and once again and face off against the Yankees for another match up of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. Wild Cards Series 3-2

The LA Dodgers have played strong baseball all season long and have established themselves as a powerhouse in the National League. They have a very strong and productive lineup that all season long has been able to score a large amount of runs each game.

Their starting pitching is moderately strong and they do have one of the best closers in the game with Jonathan “The Bull” Broxton.

The Colorado Rockies will outlast the San Francisco Giants to earn a Wild Card berth. The Rockies are an up-and-down team that has the ability to catch on fire at any time.

They play great defense, have some solid hitters and an ace in Ubaldo Jimenez. With that said, Colorado does not have enough power to get past the hard-hitting Dodgers and will head home in four games. Wild Card Series 3-1

Philadelphia vs. St. Louis will be the best first round series by a long shot during this year’s playoffs. Both teams have MVP-type hitters and a few dominating pitchers, further adding to the excitement of what should be a wonderful series.

Each team also made a major move during the trade deadline in order to better position themselves for a late World Series push. The difference in this series will come down to which bullpen pitches better late into a ball game.

The Cardinals have a very solid closer in Ryan Franklin and good setup men with Kyle McClellan and Trever Miller.

On the other hand, the Phillies have had major problems with their closer Brad Lidge and may need Ryan Madson to step up and fill in.

In the long run, I think the Albert Pujols and the one-two punch of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright will be enough to power the Cards past the Phils. Wild Card Series 3-2

The AL MVP award looks to be the most intriguing race and by far the most difficult to predict. In my opinion, the MVP should most likely be awarded to the best player on a winning team.

This year is extremely difficult to judge because the most complete player at this point in time, comes from a team whose club is battling for a playoff berth.

The Minnesota Twins will most likely be unable to make the playoffs and will be sent home to the land of 10,000 lakes.

Joe Mauer is the best player in the AL this year and even if the Twins don’t move on to the playoffs, he deserves to be named this year’s MVP.

He is batting over .370 has more than 25 home runs and is close to driving in 100 runs. He also is a catcher, further adding to why he deserves the award.

1.      1. Joe Mauer. 2. Derek Jeter 3. Miguel Cabrera

Nobody in all of baseball has had a more productive and dominant season than Albert Pujols. He has a batting average above .320 and has also been able to hit 47 home runs while leading the league in RBI.

Pujols is the best player in all of baseball and his team will be moving on to the playoffs. It is pretty much a given this year for the NL MVP where Albert Pujols will walk away with yet another award.

1.      1. Albert Pujols      2. Hanley Ramirez            3. Prince Fielder

The man from the Midwest, Zack Greinke has been a force to reckon with all season long while pitching for the worst team in baseball. He currently has a 2.08 ERA, has struck out 200-plus batters this season and has a dominating WHIP.

Unfortunately for Greinke, his overall record has suffered due to poor run support from the Kansas City Royals hitters. After last night’s dominating performance against the Red Sox, it looks like Greinke has wrapped up the Cy Young award and should continue to pitch at a high level as the season comes to a close.

    1. Zack Greinke          2. Felix Hernandez      3. CC Sabathia

The NL CY Young race is much more competitive than the one in the AL where you have 3 legitimate candidates battling each other down the stretch.

Chris Carpenter has returned from numerous injuries and has been unbelievable for the Cardinals all season long. He has had great stuff on the mound all year long and his recovery from injury is an amazing story.

Tim Lincecum is by far the best overall pitcher in the majors. In only his third season in the big leagues, Lincecum has already struck out more than 200 batters twice while winning the award last season.

As of now, Lincecum will need to strike out 20 batters to break Christy Matthewson record for most strikeouts by a Giants pitcher. If he does this, he may become the front runner for the award.

Adam Wainwright is another pitcher from the Cardinals who has had a remarkable season. The 6’7 former closer has transitioned nicely into a dominate starter and has put together a very nice season.

He will have to win at least two more starts to have a shot at jumping ahead of either Carpenter or Lincecum.

    1. Chris Carpenter       2. Tim Lincecum      3. Adam Wainwright