The 2025 MLB playoffs start Tuesday (1 p.m. ET on ESPN), and we’re here to get you ready for what is setting up to be a thrilling postseason.
Will Shohei Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers meet Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in a World Series rematch? Is this the year the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers finally get to the Fall Classic? Will the Philadelphia Phillies make another deep run after a strong regular season? Or will the chaos that ruled September continue to reign?
Note: World Series and matchup odds come from Doolittle’s formula using power ratings as the basis for 10,000 simulations to determine the most likely outcomes. Team temperatures are based on Bill James’ formula for determining how “hot” or “cold” a team is at any given point; average is 72°.
Why you should root for them: Well, let’s face it, you root for them because you’re already a Yankees fan, but other than that, the fun actually lies in rooting against the Yankees. But it’s hard to root against Judge, and sometimes even great players have a negative postseason narrative that follows them around. If the Yankees win, and it’s because Judge finally goes off in October, it’s just good, solid baseball history that, as a baseball fan, you won’t want to miss. — Doolittle
If they win it all, the 2025 World Series MVP will be: Brice Turang is no longer just a slick-fielding second baseman with speed. He has added power this season, especially in the second half — during which he’s slugged over .500. He hits righties and lefties, does a good job of not chasing out of the zone and can pound fastballs. Oh, and he hit .364 with runners in scoring position. — Schoenfield
If they win it all, the 2025 World Series MVP will be: Pitchers don’t often win the MVP, but the rotation has been the strength for the Reds, and Greene is the starter most likely to reel off a dominant October thanks to his power arsenal. We saw that in a couple of his clutch September starts: A complete-game one-hitter with nine strikeouts against the Cubs and a seven-inning, one-hit, 12-strikeout performance against the Mets. – Schoenfield
Why they can win the World Series: The Blue Jays don’t strike out, and they field as cleanly as any team in the postseason field. Toronto has scuffled lately, yes, and the culprit is a punchless offense. But Toronto has spent much of the season with one of the game’s best units in runs scored as well as wOBA, and although Bo Bichette’s return from a knee injury is questionable, the Blue Jays still have enough to mash their way past teams. They’ll need good pitching, and while there isn’t a clear ace or lockdown bullpen piece, they have droves of arms capable of excellence. There’s a reason the Blue Jays have spent much of the season fighting for the best record in the American League. Excellence isn’t accidental. And not striking out in the postseason is quite the excellent predictor of success. — Passan
Why you should root for them: Three true outcomes baseball got you down? Tune in to some Blue Jays baseball to fulfill all of your balls-in-play needs. Toronto put the ball in play in 81.7% of its plate appearances, first in the majors and the highest percentage by an AL team since the 2017 Astros. There’s a connection here, of course: Springer played for both clubs. If that means anything, it bodes well for Toronto because Houston won the 2017 World Series. We won’t get into what came after. — Doolittle
Why they can win the World Series: They’ve had the best offense in baseball in September. Their rotation is replete with starting pitchers who, on any given night, can throw seven shutout frames. The back end of their bullpen features two of the nastiest relievers in the game. And they’ve got the Big Dumper. Regardless of his might this year, Cal Raleigh himself can’t carry an entire team, which is why it’s nice to have Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena and Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco and Dom Canzone and J.P. Crawford in the lineup, too. And as long as Bryan Woo remains healthy, the rotation with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo might be the best in the postseason. Finish off with Matt Brash in the eighth and Andres Munoz in the ninth, and you can see why FanGraphs has the Mariners with the best odds to win the World Series of any team in baseball. — Passan
If they win it all, the 2025 World Series MVP will be: Julio Rodriguez. Wait, not Raleigh? Sure, that’s the more obvious choice, but after his historic power season, it’s possible teams will pitch around Raleigh in October and force other hitters to beat them. That would open the door for J-Rod, who heated up the final two-plus months and bats after Raleigh in the lineup. Throw in some spectacular center-field defense and he could join Springer as the only center fielder to win World Series MVP honors since … well, this is pretty shocking: Springer and Reggie Jackson in 1973 are the only center fielders to win since the award began in 1955. — Schoenfield
Ready for his October close-up: Woo didn’t debut until 2023, the year after the Mariners made their last trip to the playoffs. By 2024, he had established himself as one of the game’s best young pitchers. And in 2025, he cemented that by making his first All-Star team, the high point of a regular season in which he won 15 games, posted a 2.94 ERA, compiled 186⅔ innings and was the most consistent starter in a Mariners rotation that didn’t find itself until recently. Woo exited his last start with pectoral tightness. The hope is he’ll be good to go for the playoffs. — Gonzalez
Why they can win the World Series: Well, why can’t they? They couldn’t possibly make the playoffs after a 64-66 start and trading Shane Bieber at the deadline, could they? They could. And though it’s a wild, out-of-nowhere run, its explicability is not the point. Sometimes teams just get hot and win. The Guardians stole the Central from Detroit in historic fashion. During September, the offense was good, led by Jose Ramírez adding to his Hall of Fame case with another power-and-speed masterclass. The Guardians are here, though, because of their pitching. There is no Sabathia, no Lee, no Kluber — and no Emmanuel Clase, out since the probe into alleged ties to illicit gambling. And yet the Guardians, again and again, turn out pitching. And if they can carry a 2.25 ERA for the month, it doesn’t matter what their names are. They’re the ones winning, and that’s the only thing that matters in October. — Passan
Ready for his October close-up: The Guardians are a team built on pitching, a truism that has never been more obvious than over this last month. But at some point, they’re going to have to hit. And it can’t just be Ramírez and Steven Kwan. Enter Manzardo, who just wrapped up his first full season in the big leagues and will play a big part in the Guardians’ power production in October. Manzardo emerged last September, solidified a place in the starting lineup and produced in the postseason, collecting six hits in 19 at-bats. It’s critical that he provide something similar this time around. — Gonzalez
Why you should root for them: Everybody loves a Cinderella story, and the Guardians are wearing glass slippers this October. Their low point in my simulations came near the end of August: a 1.5% chance to make the bracket. They were done, with no underlying element suggesting a rebound was likely. Yet here they are, back in the playoffs, with another chance to break baseball’s longest active championship drought. This team was 15½ games out back in July! Readers of the Brothers Grimm know that not all fairy tales end well, but you’ve got to see how this one turns out. — Doolittle
Ready for his October close-up: Ben Rice carried the Yankees in their last road game of the regular season, collecting four hits, including the 10th-inning grand slam that sent them to victory in Baltimore. The 26-year-old has emerged as a crucial part of the lineup and will find himself in it often in October, whether he’s at first base or behind the plate. This lineup seems deeper than the one the Yankees fielded in last year’s World Series run, and Rice is a key reason. Said manager Aaron Boone: “I think we’re seeing the emergence of a true middle-of-the-order bat with power.” — Gonzalez
Ready for his October close-up: When Crochet first appeared in October, he was a reliever for the White Sox, not the ace of this Red Sox staff and one of the five best pitchers in all of baseball. Crochet made his 32nd and final regular-season start Wednesday, throwing eight scoreless innings in Toronto to put him at 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA in his second year as a starter. His last four starts saw him allow just six runs in 27 innings. With the season winding down, Crochet only seems to be getting stronger. Next up: a Game 1 start. — Gonzalez
Why you should root for them: This is your chance to possibly see baseball’s newest postseason legend born. Yes, Crochet does already have some postseason history under his belt, having tossed three scoreless innings over four relief outings with six whiffs while with the White Sox. But this is a whole different Crochet, a full-blown ace who has seemingly gotten stronger as the season has advanced even though he has never carried anywhere close to this heavy of a workload. Crochet is going to be must-watch every time he takes the hill in the playoffs. — Doolittle
Why they can win the World Series: Because once upon a time this was the best team in the American League. It’s easy to forget after their historic collapse, but the Tigers entered May, June, July, August and, yes, September with the best record in the AL. Recent travails notwithstanding, this is a good baseball team, and even with a number of pitchers and infielder Colt Keith on the injured list, the Tigers have the depth — and in manager A.J. Hinch the acumen — to do damage in October. It starts with Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher in baseball the past two seasons and one hell of an assignment for the Guardians in Game 1 of a three-game series. Win that, get the good feeling back, hope the slugging of Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson shows up, find top-level form from Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty and pray the bullpen finds some strikeout elixir. More than anything, remember what it’s like to win after spending too long not knowing the feeling. — Passan