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Kelly McDaniel
los angeles dodgers They are the favorites to win the 2025 World Series and become champions again for the first time in a quarter century.
That doesn’t mean they’ve exhausted all the talent at this year’s Fall Classic.
In fact, American League champion toronto blue jays The series features two of the top three players and almost half of our top 20.
Let’s search for the stars – ranking the series’ best contestants based on how good I think they will be in this series and predicting who will take home some superlatives until the dust settles.
Top 20 players in the World Series
1. shohei ohtaniSP/DH, Dodgers
Ohtani averaged a combined 9.4 WAR in the regular season and is a big favorite to win National League MVP again. Then, he made himself one of the greatest athletics Exhibition of All-time: Six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and three home runs in the deciding game of the NL Championship Series.
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.., 1B, Blue Jays
Guerrero had a big regular season despite having the sixth-worst ball-in-play – 3.9 WAR. Luck in the league – but has been extremely aggressive in the playoffs, leading postseason players in most major offensive categories.
3. george springerDH, Blue Jays
Springer led the Jays in WAR in the regular season, he has been very good this postseason and his iconic ALCS Game 7 homer will live on.
4. yoshinobu yamamotoSP, Dodgers
All four of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers have been on heaters, but Yamamoto was the best of the group in the regular season and was one of the top five pitchers in baseball.
5. blake snellSP, Dodgers
Snell missed the first two-thirds of the season due to shoulder inflammation, but came back performing as well as ever. He may be in the best stretch of his career right now, with a 0.86 ERA in three playoff starts and the second-best underlying numbers (xFIP and xERA) in the playoffs among starters, behind Detroit. tariq skubal,
6. mookie betsss, dodgers
Bates, an obvious future Hall of Famer, is 33 years old and has lost the extraordinary power from his peak years, but is still an impressive player.
7. freddy freeman1B, Dodgers
One of the most consistently elite hitters of this era, Freeman continues to perform consistently – and has a history of coming up in a big way in the playoffs.
8. alejandro kirkC, Blue Jays
Kirk was the second-best all-around catcher in the league this year behind Seattle cal raleighBut he’s not a huge star as his value is largely driven by on-base skills and pitch framing.
9. max munsey3B, Dodgers
Muncy is surprisingly solid as a baserunner and a defensive third baseman, and he has always been a dangerous hitter.
10. tyler glasnowSP, Dodgers
Glasnow’s walks decreased during the regular season and playoffs, but as usual he is lacking the bat and making weak contact during his current hot streak.
11. Will SmithC, Dodgers
Smith hasn’t been very good offensively in the playoffs, but he had the third-best WAR among major catchers this season, behind only Raley and Kirk.
12. ernie clement2B/3B, Blue Jays
Clement posted a quietly solid 3.2 WAR this season, mostly driven by contact and defense, but has gone to another level in the postseason, hitting .429 with almost no ball-in-play luck due to his 4% strikeout rate. He’s on the heater, but the Dodgers’ staff is probably the type to end that sequence.
13. dolton varshoCF, Blue Jays
Varsho is above average at basically everything on the baseball field, but nothing really stands out. He missed time this year due to shoulder and hamstring issues, but was on his way to a career-best 4-ish WAR season.
14. kevin gosmanSP, Blue Jays
Gausman has posted the 10th-best pitcher WAR in baseball this season, but has one of the lowest fastball velocities of pitchers in that range and has been hit around in the playoffs, though his career playoff performances are close to his regular season quality.
15. tommy adman2B, Dodgers
Edman is a good defender in almost any situation, but he had 12th-The most unfortunate results of ball-in-play this regular season. Luck changed in the playoffs.
16. trey yeswaysSP, Blue Jays
Like Gausman, Yesvez’s splitter is his best secondary pitch, and he does not have exceptional fastball velocity or breaking ball quality. That said, Yesways’ splitter has been confusing batters in six major league games of his career, half of which have been in the playoffs.
17. bo bichetSS, Blue Jays
It seems likely that Bichette will be able to return to the Jays’ lineup for the World Series, but he has been out the past six weeks with a knee injury and it’s hard to know what he’ll look like in the short term.
18. addison bargerRF, Blue Jays
Barger is usable at multiple positions defensively and has become an above-average hitter this year due to his power.
19. andy pagesCF, Dodgers
Paige’s performance hasn’t been as bad this postseason, but he was a standout hitter (.272 average, 24 homers) and defender (plus-7 runs scored in 117 starts in center field) in the regular season, en route to a 4.0 WAR.
20. teoscar hernandezRF, Dodgers
Hernandez tried for power in the regular season (25 homers), but did not draw many walks or stand out defensively. After this season, he is striving for even more power on hit rate, which is why he joins this list.
the best
The fastest pitch of the World Series will be thrown, roki sasaki
Sasaki won this matchup with the hardest pitch between these teams in the playoffs, at 100.8 mph, and he’s fresher than that. louis verland (100.7 mph) and could produce a higher maximum effort than Ohtani (100.3 mph).
others in the mix:ohtani
best breaking pitch will be, Emmett Sheehanslider of
Sheehan’s slider, according to pitches thrown, was the best pitch on the Dodgers’ staff this season. Doesn’t have a flashy spin rate or crazy pace, but he throws it hard and hitters can’t do it. track it,
others in the mix, yariel rodriguezslider of, brayden fisherslider of, Brendan Littlecurveball, jack dreyerGlasnow’s slider, Glasnow’s curveball, shane biebercurveball
The best changeup/splitter would be: Yesways splitter
Yesways offers a unique combination of movement profile (his slider moves toward his arm), a very high arm slot and short extension that brings his release even higher. Hitters have never seen anything like this before. Then add a killer splitter (which he barely threw at East Carolina, where he was last season) and hitters don’t know what to do.
others in the mix: Yamamoto’s Splitter, Gaussman’s Splitter, Snell’s Changeup
the most gusts will be thrown: snail
Snell has been extremely hot in the postseason (let me explain why Here) and should get two starts, but there are several strong candidates for that.
others in the mix: Yamamoto, Yesavage, Glasnow
The hardest hit in the game will be hit by the ball: Guerrero
The odds for this are as close to 50/50 as you can get. Guerrero (120.4) and Ohtani (120.0 mph) were second and third in maximum exit velo during the regular season behind Cincinnati. oneil cruz (122.9). Ohtani has a slight edge in playoff max EV at 117.7 over Vlad’s 116.0. I’d lean toward Vlad because he’s faster at the plate and thus will get some more chances to smoke flashy numbers, but Ohtani will face a weaker pitching staff, so it’s still a coin toss.
also in the mix:ohtani
Who will record the highest sprint speed?: clement
The other main candidates are part-time players who may only get a few chances to open it up on base, but I expect Clement to be on base often in the series.
others in the mix, Hyesong Kimadman, miles straw
The batsman who will record the most hits: Guerrero
Clement (second in postseason hits with 18) may be held back a bit due to the quality of the Dodgers’ pitchers, while Guerrero (first in postseason hits with 19) also makes a ton of contact, but also gets the margin for error of having big power.
others in the mix: Clement, Nathan LukesBates, Freeman, Springer
will be the best defender:Kirk
If you consider framing as part of defensive value (you definitely should) and also take into account positional difficulty (I think you should), then Kirk is the answer. He would hit nearly half the pitches in the series and was the second-best framer in the league behind San Francisco. patrick bailey This is regular season.
others in the mix: Clement, Edman, Bates
