We’re one week into the 2025 MLB Playoffs, with two games now played in all four division series matchups.
In the small-sample-size world of October baseball, it might seem like that means we’ve seen enough to know a lot. But the reality for a sport that combines a 162-game season with the chaos of short playoff series: Things can change quickly this time of year.
as we do At the beginning of each MLB regular seasonWe asked our MLB experts to weigh in on one thing they’ve noticed by giving us their boldest predictions for the remainder of the postseason based on what we’ve seen so far.
Some of our predictions are quite bold, while others have taken a more moderate approach. But they’re all likely to have gone up in smoke or ended up in the freezing cold by the time the World Series trophy is lifted this month.
Topics We’ll All Talk About
Five matches will be played in the series of all four divisions.
The division series was started 30 years ago, and only once, in 2012, have all four gone the distance. It will happen again this year – even though three of the four have already started with 2-0 leads.
The gap between the remaining eight playoff contenders feels smaller this year than it has in the past, especially with arguably the two best, philadelphia phillies And los angeles dodgersTo repay so soon. New York Yankees And chicago cubs Fully capable of winning back-to-back games at home. series between detroit tigers And seattle marinersWhat started with the split in Seattle is likely to extend to a fifth game. And although the Phillies have their backs against the wall after two consecutive losses in Philadelphia, they have the ability to suffer two consecutive losses at Dodger Stadium – hey, they did that less than a month ago. – Alden Gonzalez
A pitch will decide October
The team that wins the World Series will be the team that has the best performance difference between throwing splitters and hitting them. Do I know this will happen? Definitely not! But the spread of the splitters so far in the postseason has been staggering.
TruMedia has pitch-type data dating back to 2008. The percentage of pitches classified as splitters ranges from 0.2% (2016) to 3.1% (2023). This year so far: 5.7%. Major Practitioners: toronto blue jaysSo far, at 25.9%, mostly thanks to kevin gosman and amazing trey yeswaysCoincidentally, they were also the best hitting team ever against splitters in the regular season (.346 wOBA). Guess that means Jayce is going to win everything. — Bradford Doolittle
The Splitter’s success this October will make it the most talked-about pitch of the spring
Eye-opening postseason performances from Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman and roki sasaki The split-finger would serve as jet fuel for the increasing popularity of the fastball. Interest in the splitter was already growing during the 2025 season, thanks to its success Hurston WaldrepThen, came Yesavage and Gausman and their diving splitters, who neutralized the powerful Yankees: in the first two games of the ALDS, New York was 0–22, finishing with 13 strikeouts in at-bats with the splitter. The Yankees turned to splitters 39 times and missed 24 times. In the knuckleball industry, you can bet there will be plenty of pitchers tinkering with splitters before next spring, just as hundreds of pitchers adopted the cutter because of Mariano Rivera. — Buster Olney
The stars who will shine after a full season
cal raleigh Will surpass every other 60-home-run hitter combined in the postseason
The Mariners’ star slugger became the fifth player to reach the postseason after a 60-homer season. Other people?
1927 Babe Ruth: 2 HR in 4 games
1961 Roger Maris: 1 HR in 5 games
1998 Sammy Sosa: 0 HR in 3 games
2022 aaron judge:2 HR in 9 games
Raleigh didn’t give up a yard in the first two games of the ALDS against Detroit, but he did get four hits. julio rodriguezBatting behind him, supplied the power. Given Seattle’s balance, depth and October’s path, it’s easy to imagine the long haul — and with it, at least a half-dozen explosions from the Big Dumper. , Paul Hembekides
jackson chourio Both will become the 10th player to win the LCS And World Series MVP
but why doubt milwaukee brewers Now? They have enjoyed a magical run to this point and have looked very good in their Division Series debut. Chourio has been quite the table-setter – he had three hits in two Turn in Game 1 – and he’s one of the game’s rising superstars. This October is their breakout party. – Tristan Cockcroft
roki sasaki, jhon duran And andres munoz I won’t post anything other than zero.
This trio – two relief aces and a starter who is close to the playoffs – will not give up earned runs in the LDS or LCS. Munoz and Duran were two of the game’s top relievers this year, and Sasaki has started to look more like one over the past few weeks, which my colleague Jeff Passan broke down in his dive. How the Dodgers fixed their flamethrower, – Kelly McDaniel
roki sasaki clayton kershaw Will record the 2025 World Series final
As Dodgers manager Dave Roberts goes game by game in the postseason trying to figure out which relievers he can trust in a big moment, how about this for the final scenario: Kershaw, in his final pitch in the majors, throws out that final out. Maybe it’s a savings. Maybe it’s a shock. The game may go into extra innings. This may have been an act of frustration after Roberts used Roky Sasaki early in the game – who is looking closer to Roberts more and more. And that final pitch? A big, looping 72 mph curveball. –David Scoenfield
Teams we’ll be keeping an eye on throughout October
Blue Jays will average 10 runs per game in the playoffs
Well, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.And the guys have certainly gotten off to a great start, but why stop after two blowout wins over the Yankees? blue jays hammered louis gil, max fried, Will Warren And luke weaverDesire carlos rodon, cam schlitler (Maybe, if the series goes to Game 4) And whichever pitcher the other remaining teams throw at the Blue Jays performs better? Maybe, but Vlad Jr., dolton varsho, alejandro kirk, george springer, ernie clement And finally Bo Bichette is ready to make history! –Eric Karabel
Toronto won’t lose a game until the World Series
The Blue Jays have enough pitching to win every game on the way to the World Series. So much so that Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt weren’t even needed in the ALDS and were left off the roster. They may be in the ALCS, but still, Toronto will have options for its rotation. The emergence of rookie Trey Yesvez has changed the calculus for the Jays on the mound, giving them more options than most teams this time of year.
Add Bichette’s potential return, Toronto’s great home record (top in the AL) and a potentially long series between the Tigers and Mariners on the other side of the AL bracket, and the Blue Jays are set up for a potential undefeated run to the Fall Classic. Their explosive offensive offense could get them there on their own. –Jesse Rogers
Yankees send ALDS back to Toronto
As underwater as they look, the Yankees have a path to a comeback in this series despite the 2-0 loss. shane bieberThe Blue Jays’ Game 3 starter is going to fill up the strike zone — and has been homer-prone in recent starts. And with a short walk to right field, the Yankees’ left-handed bats would respond. Heading into Game 4 comes Cam Schlitler, in his first start of the postseason. threw eight shutout innings And punched out 12 without walking any batsman. Although the Blue Jays are ball-in-play merchants, Schlitzer’s stuff is tremendous enough to quiet them and make it a Game 5 for the ages at Rogers Center. — Jeff Passan
Dodgers going into 2019 Washington Nationals Their path to the postseason
Washington rode five starting pitchers and three relievers from a do-or-die wild-card game to a victory over heavy favorites in the World Series Game 7. Houston AstrosUnder the leadership of early Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, patrick corbin And anibal sanchezThe eight pitchers combined to pitch 141⅔ of the Nationals’ 153 playoff innings. joe rossJoe received the spot start in Game 5 of the World Series, becoming the fifth starter used by Washington.
Those Nationals swept the Dodgers in the NLDS.
This year’s Dodgers, like those Nationals, boast a deep rotation and a shaky bullpen. shohei ohtani, blake snell, yoshinobu yamamoto, tyler glasnowClayton Kershaw, Emmett Sheehan, Roki Sasaki and alex vesia October should absorb the bulk of the workload. Of those eight pitchers, only Vesia was primarily a reliever during the regular season. The Nationals proved that a version of the formula could work. Six years later, this is the best recipe for the Dodgers to win a championship. –Jorge Castillo
Dodgers look to repeat
With 10 hitters who hit double-digit home runs during the regular season, the Dodgers simply don’t have to worry about that one bat going cold. And outside of Yamamoto, none of their pitchers have thrown more than 125 innings — but they have enough depth in their rotation that they’ve been able to push some of their starters into the bullpen in October.
They need it in any game. — AJ Maas
2025 world series champion Will not done Dodgers-Phillies out of NLDS
Ever since the bracket was set for this postseason — even before the Dodgers advanced to the wild-card series to make the meeting official — an idea has spread that Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia was playing in this year’s true World Series (or at least the NLCS) Division Series round. Well, I’m here to tell you that this is not a foregone conclusion.
Yes, the Phillies and Dodgers have the most talent of any team in the game – but that didn’t stop the Brewers from going a combined 10-2 against Philly and LA during the regular season. And how about those Blue Jays (two of my colleagues on the team predicted huge things for the above), or the Mariners, who certainly have it Factor On their side, or the Tigers, who have the best pitcher on the planet (except in at-bats vs. George Polanco) over them.
I’m going to play percentages here and say there will be another finishing team other than the Phillies or Dodgers. –Dan Mullen
