MLB Playoffs 2011: Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder and Stars with Most To Prove

Do you smell that? No, not fresh morning dew or damp leaves molting in the evening, though those are always nice.

I'm talking about the MLB postseason people! Fall baseball, the best of the best, where stars become legends on the way to World Series immortality.

And, you know, all that good stuff.

Now Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard need not worry about their postseason legacies, as each has already enjoyed October success.

The same cannot yet be said for these five stars, some of whom have never played this late into the year, all of whom are still bare fingered.

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Forget about no-hitters, Cy Youngs and MVPs—Justin Verlander wants (no, needs) a ring on his finger to solidify himself as one of the game's great pitchers.

Verlander came close to winning a World Series championship with the Tigers in 2006, though he and his teammates were steamrolled by the St. Louis Cardinals that year. Verlander was all of 23 at the time, in his second Major League season. His inexperience showed, with an ERA of 5.82 in four postseason starts, including two losses to the Cards in the World Series.

Detroit hasn't been back to the postseason since, during which time Verlander has grown into arguably the most dominant starting pitcher in all of baseball.

At long last, Verlander will have another opportunity to prove himself on the game's biggest stage against its most popular team—at Yankee Stadium against (who else?) the New York Yankees. He'll be matched up against fellow ace and former AL Central foe CC Sabathia in a pitching matchup for the ages.

Verlander will need to put forth the best effort of his burgeoning career if the Tigers are to bring a title back to the Motor City. Their rotation is thin behind him to say the least, with Doug Fister (a midseason acquisition from Seattle) as the only other guy the team would likely trust with the ball in his hands.

If Verlander comes through with another, say, five or six wins by the end of the month, he will forever be enshrined in the hearts and minds of Michiganians as the man who carried the Tigers to a World Series championship. 

CJ Wilson, Texas Rangers

Like Verlander, CJ Wilson is seeking another shot at postseason glory after an up-and-down performance last fall.

No longer can he and the Rangers lean on Cliff Lee to pitch like a man possessed as he did during Texas' run to the American League pennant in 2010.

Lee has since returned to Philadelphia, leaving Wilson to assume the responsibility as the team's left-handed ace.

Which, by the way, he's done quite well this season to the tune of a sub-3.00 ERA in 223 and 1/3 innings.

Now, it's up to Wilson to prove that he can be that guy when every game actually counts. Last postseason, he was very good against the Rays in the ALDS, pretty bad against the Yankees in the ALCS and not quite good enough against the Giants in the World Series.

As it so happens, the Rangers will probably have to go through Tampa Bay and New York again if they're to represent the AL in the Fall Classic for the second year running. With free agency just around the corner, Wilson is not only trying to pitch well to win, but also to improve his value on the big-money market.

Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers

No player in the postseason has been more vocal about free agency than Prince Fielder.

The Brewers' barrel-shaped first baseman has not been shy to let people know that this is probably his last go-round in Milwaukee, thereby upping the pressure on himself, as well as his teammates to bring a ring back to beer country ASAP.

Fielder has established himself as a guaranteed 30-homer, 100-RBI guy, which should easily net him a nine-figure deal when all is said and done this winter.

His postseason resume, though? Not so much. His one playoff appearance came in 2008 against the eventual world champion Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, during which he managed just one hit (a home run) in 14 at-bats.

Saturday's series opener against the Diamondbacks will mark his (and his team's) first foray into postseason play since then, though perhaps with more on the line than ever.

Without Fielder, as well as fellow free-agents-to-be Rickie Weeks and Francisco Rodriguez, the Brewers may soon be mired in an era with Ryan Braun's brilliance wasted on a bumbling, below-average ball club.

In other words, time's a wastin', especially if Fielder is to make good on all of this nonsense he's put forth on the path to his big payday. 

Zack Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers

Months before the Brewers rewarded Braun with a fat, new deal but didn't do the same for Fielder, the team made it clear that it was going all-in on the 2011 season by trading for Zack Greinke in December of 2010.

A pitcher with a notoriously fragile psyche, Greinke had seemingly allayed fears that he'd never be able to meld mind and body effectively on the mound when he earned the AL Cy Young award with the Royals in 2009. He came back to Earth in KC the following season, but not hard enough to deter Milwaukee from giving up half the farm to bring him aboard and solidify the team's starting staff in the process.

A bold move by GM Doug Melvin, to be sure, the wisdom of which will not be known for certain until he starts tossing against Arizona. Greinke won't pitch until Game 3 of the NLDS, giving him time to absorb the atmosphere and get his head screwed on straight for the biggest moment of his eight-year Major League career.

Unfortunately for Greinke and the Brewers, that first-career postseason start will come on the road, where Greinke sports an ERA of 4.70 and picked up all six of his losses this season. Greinke's anxiety will be put to the test against a scrappy D'Backs team at Chase Field, in the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the game.

If he comes up aces, then the Brewers should be well on their way to the NLCS and the World Series berth that the organization has long been building for.

If not, it's back to the drawing board for the Brew Crew, who will have Greinke on board for one more season regardless of his October outcome, but may not be so inclined to offer him beaucoup bucks.

Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

It's actually quite amazing just how little MVP publicity Justin Upton has garnered in the National League. His Diamondbacks beat out the Giants, the defending World Series champions, for the NL West title by a fairly comfortable margin, with Upton emerging as the most anonymous superstar in all of baseball in the process.

I'd guess there are more people who know about his brother BJ, who plays in Tampa Bay, than who know about the younger Upton in Arizona.

After struggling with injuries in his first few seasons, the 24-year-old center fielder finally managed to stay healthy for the entire campaign in 2011, thereby allowing him to show off his considerable talent on a consistent basis.

All told, Upton finished the season with career highs in home runs (31), RBI (88), hits (171) and total bases (313), while leading Kirk Gibson's band of misfits in Arizona to the most surprising season that nobody's talking about.

With a strong postseason against Milwaukee and beyond, Upton will solidify himself as one of the game's greatest young stars, if for no other reason than the fact that a national TV audience will finally get to see what this kid can do.

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