Drafting one of the best potential October matchups

Monday is Labor Day, and that’s at all times an indication that baseball’s stretch run is in full swing.

Just 4 weeks from in the present day, the 2023 common season will likely be full. The 12-team playoff subject — which already is starting to take form — will likely be settled. The postseason will get underway Tuesday, Oct. 3, with 4 Wild Card Series contests.

Any October matchup has the potential to supply thrilling drama and indelible moments, however some actually stand out extra, not less than on paper. So we tasked seven MLB.com writers with drafting the juiciest doable AL or NL pairings, choosing from among the many checklist of golf equipment with cheap hopes of reaching the postseason. (In different phrases, no World Series matchups simply but.) To make issues a bit extra attention-grabbing, we added this rule: Each crew may solely be chosen as soon as.

1. Braves vs. Dodgers
Season sequence: ATL gained, 4-3

Who doesn’t need to see this occur (apart from followers of the opposite NL postseason groups)? We had been simply handled to an electrifying four-game sequence between these behemoths, who’ve the 2 most explosive lineups within the league. The Braves took three of the 4 video games at Dodger Stadium, however there was historical past made and two MVP frontrunners whose race solely intensified. It all left us wanting extra.

With star energy galore, it will be a disgrace if these two golf equipment didn’t meet in October.

Ronald Acuña Jr., who turned the primary participant in AL/NL historical past to achieve the 30-homer/60-steal milestone in a single season on Thursday, is the definition of “superstar”. He homered in every of the primary three video games of the sequence, together with a 454-foot blast to middle subject Saturday that got here off his bat with an exit velocity of 121.2 mph.

The man who appears to be neck-and-neck with Acuña within the NL MVP race, Mookie Betts, homered twice in Game 1 of the sequence, together with a shot that Acuña Jr. practically robbed. If this pair isn’t sufficient, we haven’t even talked about Matt Olson, Freddie Freeman, Max Fried and plenty of different outstanding names. What an NL Championship Series matchup this is able to be.

2. Astros vs. Mariners
Season sequence: SEA leads 8-2 (3 video games remaining)

This matchup has a made-for-primetime narrative.

From 2019-22, the Astros had the Mariners beneath their cowboy boot, successful greater than 70% of their regular-season conferences. The younger upstart obtained a chance to fell goliath in final season’s ALDS, and though the Mariners proved to be a particularly powerful out, they had been only a pace bump within the Astros’ street to their fourth pennant and second World Series title in six years.

But in 2023, the Mariners could also be primed to lastly conquer their rival. They gave the Astros “a wakeup call” with a three-game sweep in Houston final month. They have dominated the season sequence due to the hot-hitting Julio Rodríguez and a beginning rotation that owns a 1.80 ERA over 60 innings towards Houston. Seattle enters Monday atop the AL West, one recreation in entrance of the reigning champs.

But its redemption is way from assured. The Astros, whereas maybe not as indomitable as in years previous, stay stocked with enormous stars and big-game expertise. These two squads seem evenly matched for the primary time in a very long time. And the truth that they’ve had just a few tiffs lately provides a sprint of spice to an October rematch between acquainted foes.

3. Orioles vs. Rays
Season sequence: BAL leads 6-3 (4 video games remaining)

It is more and more possible that the highest two groups within the AL — when it comes to report and never playoff seeds — will come out of the AL East. The upstart Orioles have been some of the thrilling groups within the Majors, sparked by an inflow of nice younger expertise in gamers like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez. Even with the unlucky UCL damage information for Félix Bautista — arguably essentially the most dominant reliever in baseball this yr — rather a lot goes proper for a Baltimore crew trying to lead the AL in wins for the primary time since 1997.

The Rays began the yr 13-0 and had been clearly one of the best crew within the early going. After a mediocre stretch in the course of the season, Tampa Bay has surged with an 18-10 report since Aug. 1, doing so with out Shane McClanahan (season-ending Tommy John surgical procedure). Trailing Baltimore by simply 2.5 video games, the division continues to be very a lot up for grabs. If the 2 meet up within the playoffs, it’d be a heck of a battle between the highest groups within the league.

4. Brewers vs. Cubs
Season sequence: Tied 5-5 (3 remaining)

It’s exhausting to get extra even than the Brewers and Cubs have been in 2023 — when enjoying one another, not less than. Milwaukee nonetheless holds a 3.5-game lead within the NL Central, however the two golf equipment have cut up the ten video games they’ve performed up to now; 4 of these contests (all Cubs victories) have been determined by a single run. The Brewers have a slim 43-38 edge in run differential in these video games with three left to play with the North Siders; the 2 groups will wrap up the common season from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Milwaukee.

And who wouldn’t need to see one other set between these two groups within the postseason? There’s loads of star energy on either side, from Brewers aces Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff to Cubs newcomers Dansby Swanson and Cody Bellinger. The distinction is clear: The Brewers are tied for MLB’s eighth-best ERA; the Cubs have MLB’s Eleventh-best offense by OPS. Although Chicago trails within the standings (for now), its plus-87 run differential is the third-best within the NL behind solely the Dodgers and Braves. The Brewers and Cubs have produced loads of classics already this season. Sign me as much as see some extra within the playoffs.

5. Rangers vs. Blue Jays
Season sequence: TEX leads 2-1 (4 remaining)

The gamers could also be totally different, however you could be certain each of those fan bases bear in mind the hotly contested postseason battles between these groups in 2015-16. The Blue Jays gained the primary of those matchups, three recreation to 2, after José Bautista memorably slugged a tiebreaking three-run homer — punctuated by an emphatic bat flip — in Game 5. The unhealthy blood between the 2 sides lingered into the next season, resulting in an notorious melee involving Bautista and then-Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor. Toronto swept Texas when the groups met once more within the 2016 ALDS, although two of the three video games had been shut.

The Rangers haven’t been to the playoffs since, however they’ve returned to competition this season with a roster constructed via profitable free-agent signings reminiscent of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien and supplemented by commerce acquisitions reminiscent of Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery.

Texas has light currently, however the membership nonetheless ranks first within the AL in runs scored. Toronto matches up nicely, although, with one in every of baseball’s stingiest pitching staffs. The Blue Jays’ offense has been considerably disappointing, but it surely’s not for a scarcity of expertise. Assuming Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman return from the IL and rejoin Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer in Toronto’s lineup, the membership may have the potential for a postseason eruption.

6. Phillies vs. Giants
Season sequence: Giants gained 4-2

Three phrases: Gabe Kapler Series. Maybe it doesn’t roll off the tongue as properly because the “Subway Series” between the Yankees and Mets within the 2000 Fall Classic, however the reality of the matter is that Kapler, the present Giants supervisor who had the identical position in Philadelphia from 2018-19, has not been obtained nicely by the notoriously rowdy Philly followers in his latest returns to Citizens Bank Park. Imagine that Phillies crowd riled up much more in a playoff setting, and you’ve got your self a wild setting.

But placing all Kapler historical past apart, these groups additionally match up extraordinarily nicely on the sector. While the Giants gained the season sequence, they gained the run differential by a slim 32-30 margin in these video games, and the final two showdowns had been notably thrilling – a 4-3 Phillies win powered by a Trea Turner walk-off single, adopted by a thrilling 8-6 Giants win in additional innings. Factor within the gifted arms each groups can deliver – Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Logan Webb, Alex Cobb – and this might be an immediate traditional.

7. D-backs vs. Reds
Season sequence: CIN gained 4-3

Of all of the potential matchups between playoff hopefuls, that is the low-floor, high-ceiling choice. Both groups have been exceptionally streaky, spending many of the summer time enjoying themselves into and out of competition. That mentioned, each additionally boast a few of baseball’s most enjoyable younger gamers, which, as redeeming qualities go, is fairly strong.

The D-backs would deliver likely-NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, who got here into September having already banked a 20 HR-40 SB season. They’ve additionally seamlessly built-in 23-year-old catcher Gabriel Moreno and middle fielder Alek Thomas, lately graduated from his place because the top-ranked prospect in Arizona’s system. The Reds, for his or her half, have the electrical Elly De La Cruz, flamethrower Hunter Greene and rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott, who has held down their rotation since his debut in June. And, whereas he might or might not be an choice by October, Matt McLain, presently sidelined with an indirect damage, has been as regular as they arrive in his personal rookie marketing campaign.

Regardless of the numerous kinks these groups are nonetheless ironing out, a showcase of younger expertise on the most important stage can be a welcome addition to an NL slate in any other case filled with polished veterans.