Time for October baseball. 162 games in the books, and we have a playoff field. I want to start by saying I think this group of teams could make for a great October. Any of these squads could win it all, and I would not be surprised at all.

Having said all that, it is time to look back at our predictions for the season. Yes, the Reds and Padres were terrible, but the worst team was the San Francisco Giants. Both Ty and I put them in our playoff predictions. I was also way wrong, and Ty was way right, on the Atlanta Braves. They were terrible this year. The St. Louis Cardinals got old, and had a questionable man at the helm, and they will miss the playoffs. The Royals and Pirates hung around for a big chunk of the season, but they will both finish below .500. The Yankees will return to the playoffs, but the Red Sox were the better team, and Boston took the toughest division in baseball. Oh, and the Cubs, they did not come close to 110 wins.

I was right on a few things, or at least I was close to being right. Houston and Washington DC coasted in their divisions. The wild card races did have some drama with a surprising Milwaukee Brewers team battling another surprise in the Colorado Rockies for the last wild card spot. The Brew Crew just came up short. Joey Votto and Mike Trout also put up MVP numbers on teams going nowhere. I was right on that, but it still makes me sad.

With that out of the way, let’s look at what the SeedSing brain thinks the 2017 MLB playoffs will look like.

The Wildcard

Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

First up, great job Twins. I never even mentioned them in the season preview. Joe Mauer is still a stud, and the rest of team played good ball all year. It is awesome to see a team like Minnesota make it into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the party will be short lived. The New York Yankees are back, and they will not lose this game. The Yankees made some of the best moves around the trade deadline, and their lineup is going to be way too much for the Twins. Great year Minnesota, hope to see you again next year.

Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks

This game could go either way. Arizona finally started to unlock it’s potential. Colorado came out of nowhere and had a great year. The problem with these one game playoffs is that one player can make a world of difference. In this game, that one player is Diamondback’s ace Zack Greinke. Arizona has the playoff tested ace that every team desires in that one game. Greinke will take the Diamondbacks to the divisional round.

The Divisional Round

Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees

Are the Yankees back? Not against this Cleveland team. The Yankees lack of any real starting pitching, and their young lineup, will be swept out of the playoffs by Terry Francona’s club.

Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox

First off, sorry Boston. I was way wrong. I knew you were good, but I did not think you were this good. Chris Sale has been a beast, Mookie Betts is one of the best players to watch. The Red Sox were slept on by a lot of people. That was wrong.

The Houston Astros are the most forgotten team of the 2017 MLB season. This team was awesome. They nearly matched Cleveland’s win total, and the Indians needed a 22-game winning streak to get where they are. Houston has been consistent, and they have been great. This consistency will serve them well in a hard fought 5 game series win over Boston.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers

LA had the money, they got the talent, and they are back at the top of baseball. New superstars replaced aging ones, great prospects became great players, the Dodgers have a system that always works.

Except that system has not produced any meaningful postseason success. Clayton Kershaw has not been the multiple Cy-Young winner of the regular season in the playoffs. The Dodger bats seem to fall asleep every October. Will this be the year they finally make all that money spent worth something?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are not the team the Dodger’s want in a short series. Greinke could go, and win, two games. Paul Goldschmidt had another MVP like season. Arizona has also been red hot in the second half of the season, the Dodgers have not. Arizona will continue the postseason misery for LA and win in four games.

Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals

I will be shocked if the Nationals do not sweep the Cubs. Washington has great pitching, an unreal lineup, and fixed their bullpen through trades. Chicago has had an underachieving season for a team with that much talent. Maybe the Cubs can break their one-year curse next season. Washington skates to the LCS.

The League Championship Series

Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros

This is going to be a great series. Houston and Cleveland are like mirror images of each other. Both have pitching and hitting riches. Both have a mixture of youth and experience. The one difference is the manager. Terry Francona has proven he is one of, if not the best, skipper in all of baseball. That will be the difference in an incredible seven game series.

Washington Nationals vs Arizona Diamondbacks

The National League has had some truly great baseball this year. Milwaukee, Colorado, and Arizona all made the experts look like idiots. The Cubs struggled, and still took the division. The Marlins showed some life early on. It has been a great year for the senior circuit.

This will be a bad NLCS. Again, Washington will win in a sweep, maybe five games. The Nationals are far and away better than any team in the NL. The Dodgers have all those wins, and Washington would have swept them. The Cubs have last year’s title, and the Nationals would have swept them. Dusty Baker could get his DC squad to the World Series without dropping one game. They are that good.

The World Series

Washington Nationals vs Cleveland Indians

Back in April both Ty and I picked a Washington / Cleveland World Series. Ty picked the Nationals to win, I picked the Indians. Am I sticking with my pick?

No, I am not.

The Washington Nationals are the most loaded team in all of baseball. They had a problem with the bullpen early in the year. They fixed it. Their starting pitching cannot be matched. Their lineup is incredible. They have Bryce Harper. The only negative thing I can say about the Nationals is that Dusty Baker is their manager. I saw Dusty blow a few big games when he was here in Cincinnati. I do not think the same will happen this time. Francona is a better manager, and that will get Cleveland two games in the series. It will not be enough.

The Washington Nationals will be the 2017 World Series Champs.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is only picking the Nationals because he saw them live in DC. Maybe next year he will go to Cleveland and check out a game. It is a way faster drive. Have a thought on the playoffs?  Come tell us. 

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