The 2024 MLB postseason is heating up with the Wild Card Series in the books. Eight teams remain after the Orioles, Braves, Brewers and Astros were eliminated during the first round.
The ALDS and NLDS both start Saturday with Phillies vs. Mets and Dodgers vs. Padres in the National League, and Yankees vs. Royals and Guardians vs. Tigers in the American League. Each team comes with its own strengths and, for some more than others, its own weaknesses.
As such, your CBS Sports MLB experts are here to predict how each of the best-of-five series will go. We’ll leave the playing to the athletes. We just get to do the judging.
Guardians vs. Tigers
Anderson: The Tigers are a fun story, and they actually outscored the Guardians in their head-to-head meetings. The potential impact of two Tarik Skubal starts shouldn’t be lost on anyone, either. I’m still going with the Guardians. I think they have the better lineup and I think they have the better overall pitching staff (despite Skubal being the best individual starter). They’re probably close to a wash in defense, too. Anything can happen in a short series, but factor in home-field advantage and it’s Cleveland for me. Pick: Guardians in 4
Axisa: I think this will be a low-scoring series given the two offenses (both are only so-so) and deep bullpens (both excellent), and, in the end, the Tigers will come out on top because Tarik Skubal will be able to start Game 5 on normal rest given all the off-days (three!) in the ALDS this year. I see the Guardians and Tigers as pretty evenly matched. Yeah, Cleveland won six more games during the regular season, but the team the Tigers have now isn’t the team they had most of the season. The best pitcher in the league winds up being the difference. Pick: Guardians in 5
Feldman: The Tigers have the best pitcher in the American League (quite possibly in all of baseball) and are on the run of a lifetime. I know we’re supposed to pretend the hot hand isn’t real but sometimes you just get in a groove. Detroit is in a groove. Pick: Tigers in 5
Perry: Thanks to the two off-days built into the ALDS schedules, the Tigers can get two full-rest starts from ace and AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal. He’s the best player in this series, and it says here that will make the difference in this clash of AL Central rivals. Pick: Tigers in 5
Pianovich: The most exciting Midwestern best-of-five series you can fathom outside a hand of euchre. Tarik Skubal is an ace. But José Ramírez is the right bower. The best offensive player in this matchup will have enough moments that swing this series to Cleveland. Pick: Guardians in 5
Snyder: The Guardians have probably gotten a bit underrated here as everyone looks to (rightfully) fawn over the Tigers for their recent run, but the Guardians are a better team and the extra rest plus the extra day off in this series means Stephen Vogt can lean awfully hard on his stellar bullpen. It’s better and deeper than a very good Tigers bunch. I’m going with four games because if the Tigers get it to Game 5, Tarik Skubal would get two starts this series and that gets dicey for Cleveland. Pick: Guardians in 4
Yankees vs. Royals
Anderson: Don’t sleep on the Royals. Their pitching staff (Cole Ragans aside) may not have knockout stuff, but they throw the kitchen sink at you and it works. They’re also a very good fielding club and they have, in Bobby Witt Jr., the likely American League MVP Award runner-up. At the same time, the Yankees have the talent edge overall, in my estimation, and I think they’re going to find a way to eke out this series en route to the ALCS. Pick: Yankees in 5
Axisa: So many nights this season, the difference for the Yankees was they had Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and the other team did not. I expect the same here. Bobby Witt Jr. is incredible, I think he’s the game’s best all-around player, but he is only one man. Kansas City has had a real tough time scoring runs lately — they’ve scored two runs or fewer in 10 of their last 13 games! — and you can only go so far with this little offense. Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo will give the Royals a fighting chance, I don’t think this series will be one-sided, but in the end, the Yankees have Judge and Soto, and the Royals do not. The Yankees are my pick. Pick: Yankees in 4
Feldman: Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the best players in MLB and in most situations, I think he’s good enough on his own to give the Royals the advantage. Except the Yankees have Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. I might even be inclined to give Kansas City the edge in pitching, but it’s not enough. Pick: Yankees in 4
Perry: I expect a low-scoring series thanks to the strength of the Royals’ pitching and the weakness of the non-Bobby Witt Jr. portions of the Royals’ lineup. For the Yankees, the Aaron Judge-Juan Soto uber-combo will come through at just the right moments. Pick: Yankees in 5
Pianovich: Bobby Witt Jr. is superb, but the rest of the Royals offense did not exactly inspire confidence in their two-game sweep of the Orioles. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are about as a confidence-inspiring as a duo can be. Pick: Yankees in 3
Snyder: I believe the NBA people call this a gentleman’s sweep. The Yankees are the far better team; in fact, the Royals had a losing record when they didn’t play the White Sox this year and only managed three runs in their two wins over the Orioles in the Wild Card Series. The Royals have Bobby Witt Jr., but the Yankees have Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. The Royals have a good rotation, but at this point, so do the Yankees. Pick: Yankees in 4
Dodgers vs. Padres
Anderson: I understand why other teams, the Padres included, have become a more fashionable selection to win the NL pennant. The Dodgers’ pitching staff is beat up, and there’s an undeniable sense of fatigue having seen this team compete for pennants every fall for a decade. This team is still really dangerous and capable of stacking hits and runs in a hurry. They gave 300 or more plate appearances to nine batters this season … eight of them had an OPS+ of 100 or better. That’s silly, silly stuff. Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamto would be accepted as a good top end of a rotation for most teams — they just feel less formidable here because the focus is on who’s missing. And so on. No knock on the Padres, they’re quite good (and very fun) as well, but I have to go with L.A. Pick: Dodgers in 5
Axisa: The Joe Musgrove injury really hurts but I still like the Padres a tad more here. I think their pitching staff even without Musgrove is better top to bottom — Dylan Cease and Mike King are the two best starting pitchers in this series in my opinion, and they both wear brown and yellow — and their offense is better than I feel like it gets credit for. They have power, speed, contact, depth, you name it. I have this series going the distance. These two teams tend to play very fun games when they meet, and I hope we get five thrillers in the ALDS. Pick: Padres in 5
Feldman: This is the toughest pick for me, and I think it’s going to easily be the most fun series of the round, maybe the entire postseason. The Padres’ rotation is excellent, even without Joe Musgrove, and man that offense can hit when they’re on. But the Dodgers are just so so good. Can you really bet against Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, let alone Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty? I can’t. Pick: Dodgers in 5
Perry: I really like the way the Padres’ roster sets up after the deadline and after some key players got healthy. I think it’s very well assembled for a deeper run and an upset of their rivals in blue. That’s the case even with the uncertainty surrounding Joe Musgrove. As for the Dodgers, that lineup is capable of burying anyone, but they just have too many injuries in the rotation right now. Pick: Padres in 5
Pianovich: The Dodgers are currently on a six-game postseason losing streak (a streak started with three straight losses to the Padres in this round two years ago). The offense looked like a shell of itself against the D-backs last year in the NLDS. They can’t go out like that again after adding Shohei Ohtani, right? This should be a dynamite series, and I can see the Dodgers finding a way to out-slug the Padres three times. Pick: Dodgers in 5
Snyder: Here’s the best series this round and it’s going to be insane. We’ll see plenty of lead changes, including late. Even with the Joe Musgrove elbow issue, I like how the Padres set up better here with their rotation and bullpen. You could even argue the Padres have a better lineup, top-to-bottom, despite the Dodgers having Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. There’s just so much talent here, we deserve five action-packed games. Hopefully that’s what happens. Pick: Padres in 5
Phillies vs. Mets
Anderson: I know the Phillies scuffled at times in the second half. I think they’re the better team here all the same. Zack Wheeler is the best pitcher remaining on the NL of the bracket, and the Phillies have an advantage by being able to rest and organize their pitching staff exactly as they want heading into the series. That’s enough for me to pick Philly. Pick: Phillies in 5
Axisa: For me, the Phillies are the best team in the NL, and they’ve had all week to line up their rotation and let their bumps and bruises heal. I’m simply picking who I consider the best team here, and that’s the Phillies, even if their opponent hadn’t just played a grueling three-game Wild Card Series. Pick: Phillies in 4
Feldman: We’ve seen the Phillies play out of their minds in October before and I have no reason to doubt that they’re poised to do it again. They’ve sat back for a week, rested up and got their rotation in order (yes, the bye week is a positive. Don’t let anyone tell you any different). Everything is coming up Philly. Except the Mets are the team of destiny. They’re riding high on humor, whimsy and joy and my goodness if it isn’t working. Pick: Mets in 5
Perry: Speaking of rosters assembled for a deep October run, the Phillies boast just that. As always, that first-round bye confers a competitive advantage all else being equal. The lineup is balanced with multiple threats, the rotation has an impressive front end, and the bullpen is deep. Anything can happen in the playoff, of course, but the Phillies are the best team in this series. Pick: Phillies in 4
Pianovich: An upstart wild-card team from the NL East that looked terrible for the first two months of the season but is now riding high on October vibes against the NL East champion? We’ve seen this movie two years in a row, and we know how it ends: the Phillies win. Pick: Phillies in 4
Snyder: The major concern I have with the Phillies is Ranger Suarez after he pitched to a 6.49 ERA in his last six starts, but he’s the No. 4 at this point. If Suarez gets right, the Phillies have four All-Star-caliber starters in front of a loaded bullpen and supported by a top-to-bottom dangerous lineup. This group has plenty of experience with deep playoff runs and is extra hungry after falling short twice. Pick: Phillies in 4
