MLB Postseason 2020: Which Questions Have the Surviving Teams Answered so Far?

The 2020 Major League Baseball playoffs are only through the Wild Card Series plus the first two games of the American League Division Series.

Yet even this early, it's not too soon to consider questions that may or may not be looming over the eight teams that are still in the hunt for the Commissioner's Trophy.

We addressed one question each team has already answered and also one that still needs answering. These cover such things as perceived strengths and weaknesses and individual players who do or don't still have things to prove.

We'll begin with the team that had the worst regular-season record and end with the one that had the best.

Houston Astros

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Answered: Are Their Top Arms Capable of Carrying Them?

Sans ace Justin Verlander (elbow) and closer Roberto Osuna (elbow), Houston Astros pitchers put up a modest 4.31 ERA in the regular season. Accordingly, doubts loomed over the staff as the Astros entered the playoffs.

Then the foursome of Zack Greinke, Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier took charge in Houston's sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Series. They handled 16.1 of the club's 18 innings and permitted only two runs.

These same pitchers combined for a 3.57 ERA in the regular season, so their performance didn't come out of nowhere. If they keep it up, Houston may not need many other arms to help.

Needs Answering: Just How Good Is Their Offense?

The Astros led the majors in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage from 2017 to 2019. Albeit not surprisingly since they were found to have used a sign-stealing scheme, they fell from grace and became a below-average offense in 2020. A .534 OPS followed in the Wild Card Series opposite Minnesota.

The Houston offense did finally come to life in a 10-5 win over the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the ALDS on Monday, but it wasn't without some good fortune. Thanks to Marcus Semien's key error in the sixth inning, four of the Astros' runs were unearned.

Miami Marlins

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Answered: Are Their Young Arms Ready for the Spotlight?

The Miami Marlins enjoyed some good pitching during the regular season but with a catch: Their most exciting hurlers were also their most inexperienced.

Thanks to Sandy Alcantara (25 years old) and Sixto Sanchez (22), it looks as if this isn't going to be an issue in October. The two right-handers combined to allow only one run over 11.2 innings in the club's sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series.

Granted, the Chicago offense was one of the worst in MLB after August 13. But in throwing 140 pitches of at least 95 mph, Alcantara and Sanchez showed they could be a tough match for any opponent.

Needs Answering: Do They Have Enough Offense?

The Marlins indeed needed all their good pitching this season. Because when they were at the plate, the results included a subpar 92 OPS+ and a below-average mark of 4.4 runs per game.

The offense still looks like a liability after it managed only 13 hits and seven runs against Chicago. And in Atlanta, Miami is about to face one of baseball's top offenses (116 OPS+, 5.8 runs per game) in the National League Division Series.

New York Yankees

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Answered: Is Their Offense at Full Strength?

The New York Yankees weren't an inept offensive club this season. They led the American League with a 117 OPS+ and 5.3 runs per game.

Yet the offense didn't live up to the standard it set when it notched 5.8 runs per game and 306 home runs in 2019. And come September, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez went cold with a .638 OPS.

Well, the Yankees have since slammed 11 home runs—including six by the aforementioned trio—and scored 31 runs in three games since the playoffs began. In other words, their offense is just fine.

Needs Answering: Do They Have Enough Pitching Depth?

Counting his two playoff starts, ace right-hander Gerrit Cole has allowed only eight earned runs and whiffed 55 batters over his last six outings.

But in the process of allowing nine runs in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, Masahiro Tanaka and the bullpen—the latter of which was less dominant than usual in the regular season—reinvigorated doubts about whether the Yankees have enough pitching. Especially for this particular postseason, which includes one more round and has fewer off days.

Atlanta

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Answered: Can Max Fried and Ian Anderson Carry the Rotation?

Atlanta began this season with a strong starting rotation on paper. But then injury after injury ensued, and the end result for the starters was an ugly 5.51 ERA.

Max Fried and Ian Anderson were a bulwark against the bad times by way of a 2.14 ERA in 17 starts. Yet Anderson's six starts were only the first six outings of his career, and Fried's suffered a couple of injuries.

The two aces nonetheless showed up in Atlanta's sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series, combining to pitch 13 scoreless innings. With more of that, they might just keep the staff's starting pitching struggles under wraps.

Needs Answering: Just How Good Is the Offense?

At first glance, the Atlanta offense indeed has the trappings of an elite unit. It finished just off the MLB lead with 5.8 runs per game during the regular season, and it ended the year with a league-best .887 OPS in September.

One catch, however, is that Atlanta played a relatively easy schedule. Between that and a less-than-great performance against Cincinnati—i.e., six runs with 35 strikeouts in two games—the lineup arguably still needs to prove its quality.

Oakland Athletics

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Answered: Can They Compete Against Actual Winners?

The Oakland Athletics had a very good season in 2020, but it came with a caveat: They played only six games against winning teams—and lost four of them.

This fed into the idea that the A's would get bounced out of the Wild Card Series by the Chicago White Sox, who won 22 of 27 at their peak between August 16 and September 15. The A's put themselves on the brink of elimination by dropping the first game.

So much for that, though. Thanks to Chris Bassitt's ace-like pitching in Game 2 and Bob Melvin's deft bullpen management in Game 3, the A's proved a point by bouncing back to win the next two games.

Needs Answering: Just How Good Are They?

The A's displayed some admirable resourcefulness in overcoming the White Sox. But at the same time, their .580 OPS for the series was all too reminiscent of its merely average regular-season offense. Likewise, it was a familiar sight to see starters not named Bassitt (i.e., Mike Fiers and Jesus Luzardo) struggle to get outs.

The A's didn't exactly take a step in the right direction in Game 1 of their ALDS matchup with the 'Stros. Even Bassitt struggled, and the offense was outclassed in a 10-5 loss.

San Diego Padres

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Answered: Is Their Offense Over Its September Slump?

Through August, the San Diego Padres had maybe the best offense in all of MLB. But throughout September, it descended into merely average territory.

The Padres specifically had reasons to worry about Fernando Tatis Jr., Eric Hosmer and Jake Cronenworth. Those three combined for a 1.017 OPS through August 31 but then just a .642 OPS in September.

Hosmer isn't out of the woods yet after going 2-for-12 in San Diego's win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series. But Tatis (twice) and Cronenworth each went deep, and the offense busted its slump with a .928 OPS and 19 runs.

Needs Answering: How Far Can They Go Without Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger?

On paper, aces Dinelson Lamet (biceps) and Mike Clevinger (elbow) promised to give the Padres a leg up in the postseason. But they suffered injuries in September and sat out the Wild Card Series.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Padres are "optimistic" Clevinger will be good to go against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series. Lamet, however, may have to keep sitting. If so, other Padres pitchers will have to pick up the slack.

Tampa Bay Rays

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Answered: Can Tyler Glasnow Be a Co-Ace Again?

The Tampa Bay Rays were the best team in the American League this season, and basically nothing went wrong for them during their sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series.

Out of the things that went right, the Rays must have been relieved to see Tyler Glasnow pitch like an ace in the second game. With the help of a fastball that climbed as high as 99.4 mph, he struck out eight and permitted only two runs in six innings. To boot, he needed only 86 pitches.

Glasnow wasn't always as dominant or as efficient during the regular season. The more he pitches like he did against Toronto, the tougher Tampa Bay will be to beat.

Needs Answering: Can They Compete Offensively?

The Rays were hardly a bad offensive team during the regular season, but they did have the majors' second-highest strikeout rate en route to a good-not-great 109 OPS+.

Likewise, Tampa Bay was merely OK in scoring 11 runs with a .769 OPS against Toronto. So it went in Game 1 of the ALDS, in which they answered the Yankees' nine runs with just three of their own. The Rays' season could soon be over if they don't find ways to generate more offense.

Los Angeles Dodgers

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Answered: Does Clayton Kershaw Have Anything Left for October?

There were reasons aplenty for why the Los Angeles Dodgers won 71.7 percent of their games in the regular season. One of the bigger ones was Clayton Kershaw's vintage turn.

After "regressing" to a 2.89 ERA across 2018 and 2019, the five-time ERA champion reverted to his peak self with a 2.16 ERA in 10 starts this year. It helped that he gained 1.2 mph on his fastball from 2019 to 2020.

Kershaw promptly greeted the postseason by whiffing 13 batters over eight scoreless innings in the second game of Los Angeles' sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Series. If nothing else, it was a good first step toward slaying the demons that have plagued him in the postseason.

Needs Answering: Will 2019 Cody Bellinger Show Up?

Cody Bellinger effectively pulled a reverse Kershaw this season. After winning the National League MVP Award on the strength of a 1.035 OPS and 47 home runs in 2019, he managed only a .789 OPS and 12 home runs in his follow-up performance.

Bellinger didn't snap out of it against Milwaukee in the Wild Card Series, collecting only two single in seven at-bats. Though the Los Angeles offense can be (and has been) elite without Bellinger at his best, that version of Bellinger is nonetheless missed.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.