Who will be available to pitch for Mariners in Game 1 of ALCS? (1:53)Jeff Passan analyzes the Mariners’ pitching situation for the start of the ALCS after their 15-inning thriller to beat the Tigers. (1:53)
The 2025 MLB playoffs are down to the final four teams after an action-packed division series round that saw the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners move on in thrilling Game 5s.
Now that the matchups are set — Los Angeles Dodgers-Brewers and Mariners-Toronto Blue Jays — it’s time for some (more) predictions! We asked our MLB experts to weigh in on who will reach the World Series, which players will earn league championship series MVP honors and the themes that will rule the week to come. We also had our experts explain why their initial Fall Classic picks are still in play — or where they went very wrong.
Who picked Seattle: Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan, David Schoenfield
MVP if Blue Jays win: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3), George Springer (1), Kevin Gausman (1), Daulton Varsho (1)
Who picked Toronto: Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Tim Kurkjian, Dan Mullen, Buster Olney, Jesse Rogers
How a perpetually tormented franchise is going to represent the American League in the World Series. The Mariners have played 49 seasons. They’re the only team in MLB never to make the World Series. And to advance to the American League Championship Series in such dramatic fashion only supercharges the stakes for them.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, spend year after year in the AL East meat grinder, haven’t been to the World Series since winning it in 1993 and returned much of the roster from a team that went 74-88 last year. They’re a delightful team to watch, though, putting the ball in play, vacuuming balls on the defensive side like Pac-Man, running the bases with purpose and throwing tons of filthy splitters.
Destiny calls one of these snakebit organizations. It’s a fight decades in the making. — Jeff Passan
The stars in both lineups. On one side you have George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who torched the Yankees in the American League Division Series. On the other, it’s Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh. Complementary players matter in October, but stars fuel deep October runs. — Jorge Castillo
How the Dodgers’ rotation doesn’t just have them on the brink of becoming the first repeat champion in a quarter century, but might make a case for the best a team has ever fielded this time of year. The foursome of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow will continue to dominate. — Alden Gonzalez
After two rounds, the Dodgers have solved their closer issue — Roki Sasaki is the guy — but their lack of bullpen depth has been exacerbated. For a seven-game series, manager Dave Roberts needs to find at least one more reliever he can trust, or the Dodgers could find themselves in the sort of late-inning trouble that has yet to derail them. If that and the paltry offense couldn’t do the job, perhaps nothing can. — Passan
The talk of the NLCS will be the same story as in the Dodgers’ NLDS win over the Phillies: the starting pitching and their new closer.
I rarely go chalk when filling out a bracket, but this year I did exactly that by seed line — picking both the Brewers and Blue Jays. Of course, those No. 1 seeds were also far less popular choices going into the postseason than the Yankees and Phillies, among others, but a second straight World Series between top seeds is still in play. — Dan Mullen
The Dodgers were one bad Orion Kerkering decision away from potentially having to go back to Philadelphia and win a do-or-die game — and now, they should be everyone’s favorites. The Yankees just got beaten by a better team. — Passan
Well, obviously the Phillies found a way to “Phillies” again, so they won’t be winning, but I had the Mariners representing the AL, and they have the pitching to hold the Blue Jays relatively in check. In the NL, it’s Milwaukee’s best chance in such a long time. It may be unconventional against the behemoth Dodgers, but the Brewers have the pitching and depth. We’ll have a first-time WS champion, the Brewers. — Eric Karabell
My World Series pick (Phillies-Yankees): If I had it to do all over again, I would have picked two teams that did not lose in the LDS. Thinking back to my late-September self, I’m sure I was entranced by the veteran presence and long ball power on both the Phillies and Yankees. It did not work out. — Doolittle
I also predicted Yankees-Phillies, a 2009 World Series rematch that failed to materialize thanks to a scorching Blue Jays lineup and a dominant showing from the Dodgers’ starting rotation. — Paul Hembekides
Who will be available to pitch for Mariners in Game 1 of ALCS? (1:53)Jeff Passan analyzes the Mariners’ pitching situation for the start of the ALCS after their 15-inning thriller to beat the Tigers. (1:53)
Jeff Passan analyzes the Mariners’ pitching situation for the start of the ALCS after their 15-inning thriller to beat the Tigers. (1:53)
LCS previews: Blue Jays-Mariners, Dodgers-Brewers | Bracket
Jump to: ALCS | NLCS | Predictions we got right | … and wrong
In how many games: seven games (5 votes), six games (3)
MVP if Mariners win: Cal Raleigh (4), Randy Arozarena (2), Josh Naylor (1), Julio Rodriguez (1)
In how many games: seven games (2 votes), six games (3), five games (1)
In how many games: Seven games (1 vote), six games (4), five games (3), four games (1)
MVP if Dodgers win: Shohei Ohtani (5), Blake Snell (2), Teoscar Hernandez (1), Freddie Freeman (1)
Who picked Los Angeles: Jorge Castillo, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Matt Marrone, Kiley McDaniel, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers, David Schoenfield
In how many games: seven games (3 votes), six games (2)
MVP if Brewers win: Jackson Chourio (4), Andrew Vaughn (1)
Who picked Milwaukee: Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Dan Mullen