The Wildcard round of the 2024 MLB postseason has come and gone and with that there are some takeaways from each series to look at heading into the Division Series round. With the chaos of multiple road teams coming in and sweeping their series, the whole postseason picture has been shaken up. The question of who will hoist the World Series trophy hasn’t exactly been given a clearer answer.
Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros (Tigers advance in 2)
The Tigers will be the toughest team to eliminate this postseason
Detroit is clicking right now as an entire unit and that’s the exact thing you need to win a World Series. After eliminating a very notoriously difficult Houston franchise to get out of the postseason, any team in the AL side of the bracket should fear the Gritty Tigs.
The offense highlighted by bats like Matt Vierling, Riley Greene and Parker Meadows were crucial in advancing the Tigers, while arms like Tarik Skubal have been the anchor and will continue to be for the remainder of the postseason.
After strong all around performances from the bats and a phenomenal outing from Tarik Skubal plus multiple bullpen pieces, it’s clear that in a five game series they’ll be tough to eliminate, and it looks the same for a seven game series as well.
Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles (Royals advance in 2)
The Royals are the weakest team left in this postseason
While in two games the Royals tallied 14 hits and came away with a Wildcard sweep on the road, scoring only three runs on those 14 hits is not a promising look. Going into the Bronx the bats will need to elevate themselves, but the pitching looked promising to keep them in games.
Regardless of the pitching, the Royals still appear to be the weakest team left in the postseason, but in such a chaotic year should not be taken lightly in the slightest.
New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers (Mets advance in 3)
The 2024 Mets are the 2023 Diamondbacks
When looking at this 2024 Mets team, one thing that is for certain is that the vibe in the clubhouse is there. The resurgence of Jose Iglesias has affected the team positively in so many ways, and every part of this team like Detroit seems to be clicking.
They have bats that live for the big moment like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker. They’ve shown with their backs against the wall they can put together hits to come away with wins as we saw in game three of this Wildcard.
This group seems to have that “power of friendship” energy to them, and the desire to play and win for each other. They’re reminiscent of the 2023 Diamondbacks group that top-to-bottom contributed for each other and went on a run to the World Series.
Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres (Padres advance in 2)
The Padres are the most well rounded team in the postseason
Padres fans have to be feeling good about their squad heading into their NLDS matchup against the top seeded Dodgers. Besides a brief scare in the final game of the Wildcard, the Padres had control over Atlanta for nearly the entire series, getting great performances from everywhere in the field.
The rotation besides a concern in Joe Musgrove’s elbow looked great with Michael King’s strong seven inning outing. With a strong bullpen headlined by Jason Adam and Tanner Scott, this is a relentless pitching staff to have to go up against on a nightly basis in the postseason.
The offense offers you know time for relaxation either. Fernando Tatis Jr. is hot right now and with one swing of his bat can shift the momentum of a game better than most. Manny Machado has been productive and Jackson Merrill seems to feed off the energy as well.
With arguably the best high leverage hitter this season in Jurickson Profar as well, this offense is stacked. The bottom of the order has produced as well, with Kyle Higashioka slugging two home runs in the Wildcard round. With this type of production, the Padres are rolling as the most well rounded team in the postseason.