After coming briefly and, at times, the indefinite 60-game regular season tu, 2020 MLB Postseason is good on us. The extended wild card round played out with a few surprises, and now it’s time for the best-of-five-division series. The winners of this series, in turn, will play for a chance to advance in the World Series.
Note that the division series will be played at all neutral sites: AL in San Diego and Los Angeles, NL in Arlington and Houston. Unlike wild card rounds, teams will perform alternate hosting duties: the last of the best ranked bat games 1, 2 and 5; Lower seeds in games 3 and 4.
Your CBS Sports MLB Writers are here to present our predictions of the four second-round series. Once we get to these books, we’ll move on to the second round of Soothsaying. But for now the focus has been on MLB’s Elite Eight answer.
Catherine Aquavela (Five Rays): I think the rays will turn the Yankees to the edge here, but it will get closer. For this regular and postseason, Tampa has been really good in all respects so far while the Yankees are coming into the series with questionable second-half rotation and hot / cold offense.
Ryan Anderson (fifth Yankees): This can go either way. I’ll go with Yankee to keep up with my Prison World Series pick.
Mike Axisa (Five Rays): New York’s offense actually appeared against Cleveland. I have questions in the middle of their pitching staff though, and the Rays don’t seem to be a bad player on the plate or on the mound.
Dan Perry (Five Rays): Really, I don’t know what’s going to happen in this series. It is the main power versus the best roster depth versus depth. Reese won eight of 10 regular season contests, but the Yankees are healthier now than they were some time ago. I default to a team that is better in the regular season, but this one coin flips for me.
Matt Schneider (fifth Yankees): I wouldn’t be too surprised here. Ray won the East by seven games and took eight out of 10 of the Yankees in the regular season, so winning that series seems like a safe pick. I’m betting on the Yankees offense that kills tight pitching staff – just like they were in the first round.
Danny Whitty (fifth Yankees): That said before and I will say it again, the Yankees are the most dangerous team of baseball when it comes to health. They are not only healthy, but they rush into the plate. The series could really go any further because of the depth of the Tampa Bay in the B series lpen, but I’m rolling with my predetermined choice.
Catherine Aquavela (all three): This should enable Houston to act faster in the best-of-five series. As they did in the regular season where they finished 7-3 over their NL West foe.
Ryan Anderson (four): That’s a better team.
Mike Axisa (a four): I think they are a better team and the ALDS format (i.e. no-f-day) means Houston will not be able to dance around their bullpen using their starter as a multi-inning reliever.
Dan Perry (in fifth): Even without Matt Chapman, he has a much stronger roster. I also think Auckland is given their excellent itch depth rather than working a day.
Matt Schneider (in fifth): Something about how Game 2 went down for that I think they’re ready for a playoff run. It’s called a hunch. Also, they are a better ballclub here. Sure, the Astros beat the team that we think is better in the first round, but the five-game series is an indicator of a better team than the three.
Danny Vietti (a four): I’m going to be with my heart in this series. Coming out Matt Chapman, I believe the Astros have one to nine more talents on paper than Auckland. They also have more strikeout weapons. However, if baseball has taught us anything, it’s not always about talent. Not to mention, it’s not that the Astros lineup tore Minnesota’s pitching into a wildcard series. Give me Char Town and inject it into my veins.
Catherine Aquavela (Dodgers Four): I see the next series of Daggers Jerseys and Pedres as a big brother / little brother situation. Dodgers are older brothers; They just have more experience, depth and talent. San Diego will not go out quietly, but the team’s postseason run is about to end with this series.
Ryan Anderson (Dodgers in Five): The Dodgers were the best team in the Major this year; Pedres has a lot of question marks in their circulation, so they are likely to pull off the discomfort.
Mike Axisa (Dodgers in Four): It hurts such bumpers Danielson Lamette and Mike Clevinger. If they were healthy, this could be an all-time series. I can’t see the club bullying their way through the NLDS in a wild card series like that.
Dan Perry (Dodgers in Five): If I had faith in the health of Mike Clevinger and Danielson Lamet, I would have chosen Pedres in the fifth. So I’m not, I’ll lean the Dodgers. You could argue that this is a matchup of the two best teams in baseball.
Matt Schneider (Fifth Dodgers): I really, really like Pedres. They are very entertaining and the wild card round showed how dumb it would be to put them into calculation, despite the large loss in the back against the wall. I don’t count them completely here; I don’t think it’s time for them to run past these mighty dodgers, especially in light of the early pitching injuries.
Danny Vietti (Dodgers in Five): I am putting my head over my heart for this. Bedb .Li’s most attractive team is Pedres. With his natural flair and swag, Fernando Tatis Jr. can kickstart the game of baseball into a new era with a single hand. But they will have to wait another year for that to happen. Los Angeles beat the Friars in six of their 10 regular season matchups. It’s the year of the Dodgers.
Catherine Aquavela (Brave in Four): Again, as I read Braves-Reds N.L. Predicted for the Wild Card Series, Atlanta’s offense is even better. The Marlins will probably keep it interesting, but brave people will thank him for the powerful offense led by Freddie Freeman and Marcel Ozuna.
Ryan Anderson (Brave in Four): Strange things can happen in a short range, but the brave must be able to pull this off.
Mike Axisa (fifth Marlins): why not? Miami Kinda has this team of destiny, and choosing high seed to win each series is tedious.
Dan Perry (Brave in Four): I think the crime of the brave is too high. The Marlins have been a great story this season, but the run ends here. I think, anyway.
Matt Schneider (Braves in Four): Pesky Marlins is a fun short story, but Brave isn’t just loaded to land in the long range. These teams played very recently and the Braves took the first three games, which would have clearly been a sweep here.
Danny Witty (Brave in Four): I have counted the Marlins from the beginning yet they have continued to prove me wrong. So, why not continue that trend in LDS? The Chicago offense failed to dive into the Marlins bullpen in the Wild Card series – a bullpen that compiled 50.50 ERA in the regular season (8th mo in MLB). In the long best-f-five series, I think Atlanta’s star-studded lineup breaks down and forces Don Mattingley to dig deeper with his hand.
