MLB Playoff Bracket 2019: Updated AL, NL Predictions Before Thursday's Schedule

The Major League Baseball playoffs roll on Thursday with the start of the National League Division Series in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

All eight teams still standing have reasons to be optimistic about their chances of bringing home a championship. The road to the World Series should run through Los Angeles in the NL and Houston in the American League. 

Before the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves kick things off Thursday, here are last-minute predictions for what to expect in MLB this month. 

American League

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros

The Tampa Bay Rays enter the ALDS following an impressive performance on the road against the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card Game. 

Things will get considerably more difficult against the Houston Astros, who are going to run out the trio of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke in the first three games. 

Not that it's a great surprise those three starters were instrumental in Houston winning a league-leading 107 games during the regular season, but MLB statistician Ryan M. Spaeder noted the Astros win at a record rate when Verlander, Cole and Greinke are on the mound:

A bit of bad news for the Rays is their ace, Charlie Morton, won't be available to pitch until Monday's Game 3 after tossing five innings against the A's on Wednesday.

There are other problems for Tampa Bay as it figures out its pitching staff. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow combined for seven appearances in the final two months due to injuries, and neither one had a start last longer than 4.1 innings. 

If there's a reason to be optimistic about the Rays, their lineup had the same number of players who hit at least 14 homers during the regular season as the Astros (nine). They launched four home runs Wednesday in spacious RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. 

Verlander was susceptible to the long ball, allowing 36 in 223 innings during the regular season. Relievers Chris Devenski and Hector Rondon gave up an average of 1.5 homers per nine innings pitched. 

But even with Verlander's propensity to give up homers, he still finished 2019 with a 2.58 ERA and 300 strikeouts. 

Houston is the most complete team in MLB and the favorite to win the World Series. Tampa Bay has been a great story all year, but that run will end in the division series. 

Prediction: Astros in four

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees

If you like offense, the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees is the series for you. These two teams finished in the top three in MLB in runs, home runs, total bases, slugging percentage and OPS. 

On the mound, Minnesota's starting rotation finished 11th in MLB with a 4.19 ERA. The Yankees are 15th (4.51), worst among all 10 playoff teams in 2019. 

New York does have potentially an ace up its sleeve with Luis Severino returning late in the season. The two-time All-Star is still shaking off the rust, but he was able to post a 1.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 12 innings. 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged to Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci last month they will have to be a "little untraditional" with their pitching staff. James Paxton could be the only one used in a typical starter's role. 

The bullpen is an area of strength for New York. The group ranked second in MLB with 7.6 FanGraphs wins above replacement, third in strikeouts per nine innings (10.16) despite pitching the seventh-most innings (664.2). 

Boone has the luxury of mixing and matching with his relievers. Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton are power-throwing lefties. Chad Green could turn out to be a not-so-secret weapon after posting a 2.89 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 37.1 innings during the second half. Tommy Kahnle held right-handed hitters to a .590 OPS. 

The Twins aren't lacking strikeout pitchers out of the bullpen. Sergio Romo, Taylor Rogers, Trevor May and Tyler Duffey all averaged at least 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. 

It's difficult to pin down home-field advantage as a difference for the Yankees. Even though they went 57-24 in New York during the regular season, Minnesota's 55-26 road record was the best in MLB. 

This series is a true coin flip, but the Yankees get a slight edge by virtue of having more versatility with their bullpen. 

Prediction: Yankees in five

National League

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves

The St. Louis Cardinals' flurry of offseason activity paid off, as they won the NL Central for the first time since 2015. The Atlanta Braves improved on last year's surprise NL East title by repeating as champions and winning 97 games for the first time since 2003. 

Even though the Braves finished six games better than the Cardinals in the final standings, the overall performance of both teams suggests they are much closer than that. St. Louis had a better pythagorean record (92-70) than Atlanta (91-71), which is a formula based on runs scored and runs allowed. 

If you believe momentum exists in baseball, it's hard to bet against what Jack Flaherty has done for the Cardinals rotation in the second half.

One problem for St. Louis' starters outside of Flaherty is their extreme home/road splits during the regular season. Miles Mikolas, who is taking the ball at SunTrust Park in Game 1, had an ERA more than two runs higher on the road (5.40) than at Busch Stadium (3.01).

Adam Wainwright, who will likely be in line to start Game 3, had an even wider variance on the road (6.22) than at home (2.56) in 2019. 

Atlanta was essentially the same team at home (50-31) as on the road (47-34) this year. The Cardinals were basically a .500 team away from their park (41-40). 

Dallas Keuchel is anchoring the Braves' pitching staff in Game 1. The 2015 AL Cy Young winner acclimated himself well in Atlanta with a 2.74 ERA in 10 home starts.

Game 2 starter Mike Foltynewicz will be integral toward how far the Braves end up going this postseason. The right-hander finished with a flurry, posting a 2.65 ERA in the second half after a 6.37 mark before the All-Star break.

The Braves also boast a diverse and deep lineup that can score runs in bunches. Ronald Acuna Jr. nearly produced a 40-40 season with 41 homers and 37 stolen bases. The team announced a hip injury that hobbled him last week is 100 percent healed, as is Freddie Freeman's right elbow. 

Neither side has a shutdown bullpen like the Yankees or Rays. Luke Jackson, Josh Tomlin and Sean Newcomb did the bulk of the work for Atlanta with 220.1 innings. Tomlin is dangerous to put in high-leverage spots because he coughed up 14 homers in 79.1 innings. 

Giovanny Gallegos and John Brebbia were the only Cardinals relievers to throw at least 68 innings. Andrew Miller has been inconsistent this season with a worse homer rate (1.8 per nine innings) than Tomlin (1.6). 

Based on the way both teams rely on their offense for success, the Braves get a slight edge because they are deeper than the Cardinals. 

Prediction: Braves in five

Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

After exorcising their playoff demons in the NL Wild Card Game, the Washington Nationals get rewarded by taking on the senior circuit's juggernaut. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been on cruise control essentially since May, building their roster for October in an attempt to get over the hump after reaching the World Series the past two years. 

Like the other NL series, the strengths and weaknesses for both teams are similar. They have excellent trios at the top of their starting rotations, but fans will be watching through their fingers when the bullpens have to get outs in the later innings. 

"Dodgers relievers blew 28 saves, second-most in the National League, and as a unit posted a cumulative win probability added of minus-2.51, the second-worst mark of the 10 playoff teams, ahead of only Washington, who finished dead last in all of baseball at minus-10.82," The Ringer's Michael Baumann wrote.

If there is a silver lining for the Dodgers, it's that Washington's relievers were among the worst in MLB. Only the Baltimore Orioles had a worse bullpen ERA (5.79) than the Nationals' 5.68 mark, and their 1.55 home runs allowed per nine innings was tied for fifth-highest in MLB. 

Another key issue for the Nationals is Max Scherzer's performance since returning from the injured list on Aug. 22. The three-time Cy Young Award winner had a 4.74 ERA and gave up eight homers in 38 over his final seven starts of the regular season. He gave up two early home runs Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers before settling in to get through five innings. 

If Scherzer isn't pitching up to his usual standard, the Nationals are still capable of winning because Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin are very good. But it will give the Dodgers an advantage with their three-headed monster of Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu. 

The Dodgers have an advantage in the lineup, both in terms of depth and versatility. Eight players who appeared in at least 99 games posted an above-average OPS+ (100) during the regular season. 

Prediction: Dodgers in four