MLB Power Rankings: Where All 8 Playoff Teams Stand Ahead of Divisional Round
The 2020 postseason is off to a roaring start, with the expanded field trimmed from 16 teams to eight during the Wild Card Series.
Now things return to some level of normalcy, with the best-of-five Division Series set to begin on Monday, albeit from a neutral site.
With limited off days this postseason as a result of no travel, pitching decisions will be front and center for managers trying to navigate an October like nothing we've seen before.
At the same time, without a productive offense, it doesn't matter how good your pitching is. Just ask the Cincinnati Reds.
Ahead we've ranked the eight teams left standing, based on their outlook going forward in the playoffs. In an effort to better illustrate why teams were ranked where they were, each club's biggest strength and weakness was highlighted.
Let's get to it.
Updated Playoff Bracket and 2020 Playoff Format
1 of 10
ALDS
(1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (5) New York Yankees
(2) Oakland Athletics vs. (6) Houston Astros
NLDS
(1) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (4) San Diego Padres
(2) Atlanta Braves vs. (6) Miami Marlins
Postseason Format
With the unprecedented 16-team Wild Card Series complete, there are now eight teams left standing in the hunt for a World Series title.
The remainder of the postseason will now unfold as usual with a best-of-five Division Series, best-of-seven Championship Series and best-of-seven World Series, with the one notable difference being neutral site locations.
The ALDS will be played at Petco Park (San Diego) and Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles), while Globe Life Field (Arlington) and Minute Maid Park (Houston) will host the NLDS. After that, Petco Park gets the ALCS and Globe Life Field gets the NLCS and World Series.
8. Miami Marlins
2 of 10
Biggest Strength: Young starting pitching
The young trio of Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez and Pablo Lopez in the starting rotation will be the key to a deep postseason run for the Miami Marlins.
Alcantara (6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) and Sanchez (5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER) both shut down the Chicago Cubs offense in the Wild Card Series, while Lopez posted a 3.61 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 59 strikeouts in 57.1 innings during the regular season.
The Atlanta Braves are one of the few teams that got a look at Sanchez during his seven-start rookie season. He turned in mixed results against the NL East champions, with a terrific start on Sept. 8 (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER) and a clunker on Sept. 23 (3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER).
Biggest Weakness: Offense
Among the eight teams left standing, the Marlins ranked dead last and near the bottom leaguewide in OPS (.703, 23rd in MLB), home runs (60, 25th in MLB) and runs per game (4.38, 21st in MLB).
The Braves outscored them 68-44 in their 10 head-to-head meetings during the regular season. Even in their Wild Card Series sweep of the Cubs, the Marlins scored seven runs in two games and hit .203 as a team.
Losing prized deadline acquisition Starling Marte to a fractured pinkie only raises further questions about their ability to consistently produce enough offense to make a deep October run.
7. Houston Astros
3 of 10
Biggest Strength: Pitching flexibility
The Astros don't have the vaunted trio of Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke to lean on this postseason, but the flexibility that their staff provides still makes pitching their biggest strength.
Greinke is now the ace of the staff, followed by Lance McCullers Jr. and some combination of Framber Valdez andย rookies Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier.
Javier and Valdez both did a terrific job holding down spots in the starting rotation during the regular season before coming up big in relief in the Wild Card Series by throwing a combined eight scoreless innings.
This year's bullpen has a pair of quality left-handed relievers in Brooks Raley and Blake Taylor, which is something they've lacked in recent years, and hard-throwing Josh James is capable of being a multi-inning X-factor.
Biggest Weakness: Offense
Despite being many of the same faces, this is not the same juggernaut offense we've seen from the Astros in years past.
The Astros ranked near the middle of the pack during the regular season in OPS (.720, 16th), home runs (69, 19th) and runs per game (4.65, 14th), and they hit just .194 in the Wild Card Series.
Guys like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel will need to snap out of a season-long funk if this Astros team is going to return to the Fall Classic.
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6. New York Yankees
4 of 10
Biggest Strength: A healthy lineup
Just 18 times during the regular season were Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both penciled into the New York Yankees lineup at the same time. Shortstop Gleyber Torres also missed time with a hamstring injury, playing in 42 games.
That trio combined to go 8-for-23 with four home runs and eight RBI in two games against the Cleveland Indians in the Wild Card Series.
DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit both stepped up big for the Yankees this season, but there is no question this is a different team when those three sluggers are healthy and swinging it well.
Biggest Weakness: Starting pitching
Unfortunately, Gerrit Cole can't pitch every game for the Yankees.
The $324 million man struck out 13 batters over seven strong innings in his postseason debut in pinstripes, outdueling AL Cy Young favorite Shane Bieber in the process.
However, Masahiro Tanaka allowed five hits, three walks and six earned runs in four innings of work in a wild Game 2 that the Yankees went on to win.
Even before Tanaka struggled, the depth of the Yankees' starting rotation was a significant red flag entering the postseason. J.A. Happ pitched well down the stretch, but he's been inconsistent through his Yankees tenure, while rookie Deivi Garcia is a total wild card.
If the Yankees can't get quality length out of someone besides Cole, they are going to run their bullpen into the ground.
5. Atlanta Braves
5 of 10
Biggest Strength: A high-powered offense
The Braves didn't exactly flex their offensive muscles against the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series, scoring six runs in 22 innings.
However, they ran into some excellent starting pitching, and it's unlikely their high-powered offense is going to be silenced for the entire postseason.
With Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Adam Duvall leading the way, the Braves led baseball with an .832 OPS, finished second with 103 home runs and plated an impressive 5.80 runs per contest.
They scored double-digit runs 10 times and at least seven runs in 24 of their 60 games.
Biggest Weakness: Starting pitching depth
Despite brilliant starts from Max Fried (7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER) and Ian Anderson (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER) in the Wild Card Series, starting pitching remains the thing most likely to derail Atlanta's postseason plans.
Even if those two young pitchers duplicate that performance, there's no telling what they're going to get from Kyle Wright in Game 3 after an inconsistent start to his MLB career.
And who pitches a potential Game 4?
The most likely answer would be Bryse Wilson or Josh Tomlin on a short leash, backed by an arm of relievers. A deep and talented bullpen is a clear strength for the Braves, and the relief corps can shoulder some of the load, but the question marks on the mound after Game 2 are tough to ignore.
4. Oakland Athletics
6 of 10
Biggest Strength: Baseball's best bullpen
Led by standout closer Liam Hendriks and veteran setup relievers Joakim Soria, Jake Diekman and Yusmeiro Petit, the Oakland Athletics led the majors with a 2.72 bullpen ERA during the regular season.
The relievers were called on to pitch 15 innings in their three Wild Card Series games against the Chicago White Sox, recording a win and a pair of saves while posting a 3.60 ERA and 10.2 K/9.
Assuming the four-man rotation going forward will be Jesus Luzardo, Chris Bassitt, Mike Fiers and Sean Manaea, they will also have Frankie Montas and Mike Minor capable of working multiple innings alongside the usual suspects in the late innings.
Biggest Weakness: Consistent middle-of-the-order production
While other playoff teams boast dynamic duos like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton or Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna, the Athletics don't have a top-tier slugger they can count on for consistent run production.
Matt Olson led the team in home runs (14) and RBI (42) during the regular season, but he hit just .195 with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate in the process. He was 0-for-9 with three walks and six strikeouts in the Wild Card Series.
Guys like Mark Canha, Khris Davis, Jake Lamb and Ramon Laureano simply don't strike fear into opposing pitchers the same way as some other top contenders'ย lineups.
3. San Diego Padres
7 of 10
Biggest Strength: A dynamic offense
The San Diego Padres had one of the most productive trios in baseball during the regular season in Fernando Tatis Jr. (.937 OPS, 17 HR, 45 RBI), Manny Machado (.950 OPS, 16 HR, 47 RBI) and Wil Myers (.959 OPS, 15 HR, 40 RBI).
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Eric Hosmer enjoyed a bounce-back season, Jake Cronenworth is likely headed for NL Rookie of the Year honors, Trent Grisham is a star on the rise, Jurickson Profar is swinging a hot bat, and deadline additions Austin Nola and Mitch Moreland added even more weapons.
When things are clicking, like they were during an 11-run outburst in Game 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals, this lineup is as deep and dangerous as any in baseball.
Biggest Weakness: The Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger question
If the Padres are going to make a World Series run, Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger are going to have to make an impact.
Both pitchers were left off the Wild Card Series roster after suffering late-season injuries, and their status for the NLDS remains uncertain.
Chris Paddack (2.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER) and Zach Davies (2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER) were both shelled in their Wild Card Series starts, before a bullpen game fronted by Craig Stammen tossed a shutout in the decisive Game 3.
The bullpen pitched 21 innings in three games last round, and that's not a sustainable approach once series get longer and workloads start to pile up.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
8 of 10
Biggest Strength: Pitching
Death, taxes and a Tampa Bay Rays roster built on the foundation of a strong pitching staff.
Blake Snell (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER) and Tyler Glasnow (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER) threw the ball well against the Toronto Blue Jays in a lopsided Wild Card Series matchup, while Charlie Morton and Ryan Yarbrough are waiting in the wings to join the rotation when needed.
The bullpen is loaded with dynamic arms, including hard-throwing Pete Fairbanks, slider specialist Diego Castillo, crafty left-hander Aaron Loup and lights-out closer Nick Anderson. The relief corps finished third in the majors with a 3.37 ERA, tallying an MLB-high 23 saves along the way.
The offense has some weapons, but pitching remains the clear strength of the roster.
Biggest Weakness: Strikeouts
The Rays led the majors with 608 strikeouts during the regular season, and their 26.9 percent strikeout rate as a team trailed only the Detroit Tigers' (27.3%) for worst in the league.
They added another 20 strikeouts in two games against the Toronto Blue Jays during the Wild Card Series, and it could be a factor in their matchup with the New York Yankees.
The Rays went 8-2 against the Yankees during the regular season, but they struck out a combined 25 times in their two losses.
Contact is the key for the Tampa Bay offense.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
9 of 10
Biggest Strength: Top-to-bottom talent
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the most talented team in baseball.
Offensively, they led the majors in home runs (118) and runs per game (5.82), and their ability to platoon makes them a tough matchup regardless of who is on the mound.
On the pitching side, they led the way in team ERA (3.02), finishing second in starters' ERA (3.29) and bullpen ERA (2.74), despite a number of rookies and new faces filling key roles.
They steamrolled their way through the regular season to a .717 winning percentage and a staggering plus-136 run differential, never losing more than two consecutive games along the way.
This is the team to beat.
Biggest Weakness: Inexperienced starters
This is 100 percent nit-picking for the sake of nit-picking. It's genuinely difficult to find a weakness on this roster.
That said, with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill departing during the offseason, the starting rotation behind Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler is undeniably less experienced.
Julio Urias, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin all pitched extremely well during the regular season, and they have the stuff to shut down an opponent. However, Urias is the only one who has started a postseason game, a 3.2-inning outing against the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 NLCS.
Can they step up when the lights are shining brightest?
All-Wild Card Series Team
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C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
(6-for-13, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R)
1B Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
(3-for-13, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R)
2B Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres
(5-for-8, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 4 R)
3B Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
(3-for-7, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 1 R)
SS Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
(5-for-11, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R)
OF Josh Naylor, Cleveland Indians
(5-for-7, 3 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R)
OF Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
(4-for-8, 2 2B, 3B, 1 RBI, 3 R)
OF Wil Myers, San Diego Padres
(4-for-12, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R)
DH Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
(2-for-7, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R)
SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
(1 GS, W, 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K)
SP Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati Reds
(1 GS, ND, 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K)
SP Max Fried, Atlanta Braves
(1 GS, ND, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)
SP Chris Bassitt, Oakland Athletics
(1 GS, W, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)
SP Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
(1 GS, W, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 13 K)
RP Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
(1 G, W, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and MLB.com.
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