MLB Playoff Power Rankings: Is Shohei Ohtani Enough By Himself?

1. Philadelphia Phillies

Listen, arguments can be made for several teams to be the most dangerous team heading into October, but this feels to be the Philadelphia Phillies’ time to get over the hump. They’ve been knocking on the door for a few years, and now they enter October with the most talent they’ve had to date. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola headline the best one-two punch on the mound of any postseason team before their bullpen enters the fold with several high-leverage relief pitchers to choose from in any given spot. Offensively, this lineup is deeper than they have been in recent years, and it’s just a matter of them catching fire as they’ve had in the past two postseasons. The Phillies know this season is World Series or bust for them, and looking at the entire playoff field, it's fair to say that the Phillies have the fewest question marks. It's all just a matter of whether they can put it together for the entire October.

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11. Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals enter the postseason having been one of the streakiest teams in baseball all season, which can be either a blessing or a curse in October. On the mound, they have an underrated group of starting pitchers that will be relied upon heavily against the Baltimore Orioles, with Cole Ragans making the Game 1 start. Offensively, they’ve performed worse on the road all season and get a tough test in Game 1 against Corbin Burnes in Camden Yards. The Royals should be proud of their accomplishments in 2024, but they look to continue building towards 2025 rather than winning now.

10. New York Mets

How about those New York Mets? After an epic midseason turnaround, the Mets enter October full of confidence and ready to welcome any challenge, but there are reasons not to be all in on the Mets to get out of the first round. The veterans on their starting pitching staff aren’t known as October performers, the offense has struggled in recent postseason appearances, and they’re likely tired after Monday’s doubleheader. The Milwaukee Brewers have been overlooked all season and just took two of three from the Mets in Milwaukee this weekend. I won’t expect the Mets to lose by any means, but let’s not act like they’re favorites to advance. They’re not, nor should they be.

9. Detroit Tigers

Many who don’t follow regular season baseball likely looked at the playoff bracket confusedly, seeing the Detroit Tigers sitting in the AL’s sixth seed. Still, this team is legit and has earned every bit of their postseason berth. Their starting pitching depth has prevailed, led by Tarik Skubal as the presumptive AL Cy Young recipient, before their recently elite bullpen takes the ball to finish the game. Offensively, this is a team full of unknowns, but many will become household names this October. Former Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch is in charge of this young Tigers club and is hitting all the right buttons right now, looking to get the best of his old club in the Wild Card round. Dismiss these Tigers at your peril.

8. Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians rightly earned the No. 2 seed in the AL, but there are plenty of reasons not to be overly confident to have an extended postseason stay. On the mound, their starting pitching staff lacks a true top starter with any proven postseason track record, and while their bullpen remains elite, it’s safe to say that their best days are behind them. Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively aren't enough this time of year. Offensively, this team is so streaky that it’s reasonable to expect the week-long layoff to impact them big time. The Guardians deserve all their flowers for their unexpected regular season success, but I won’t be putting any money on it lasting much longer.

7. Baltimore Orioles

To start the season, the Baltimore Orioles looked every bit of a World Series caliber team, but since the All-Star break, nothing about what the O’s have put on the field looks like a championship contender. Their offense has been average, the bullpen has collapsed, and Corbin Burnes hasn’t consistently been the ace-level starter they need him to be. If this offense can get hot, they have the talent to make a deep October run, but I don’t know how I can assert any confidence in that, knowing what I’ve watched lately.

6. Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers have a similar makeup to the Cleveland Guardians. Still, I have more confidence in the Brewers’ starting pitching staff to put together solid performances in the postseason. This lineup continues to rake despite their lack of talent on paper, and it’s fair to be excited about what they can do against a New York Mets’ pitching staff that’s likely fatigued and lacks postseason pedigree. I struggle to put them into the upper echelon of NL contenders personally because I don’t believe in their starting pitching, but they’ve earned every right to be in that conversation.

5. Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are proven postseason performers, but is it fair to say that this team doesn’t give off the same championship vibes as their other teams in years past? Offensively, they have all the talent in the world, but on the mound, their starting pitching staff and bullpen are worse than what they are used to having. The American League is completely wide open, so it’s fair to give the Astros respect since they have more postseason experience than every other AL club. However, their Wild Card matchup against the Detroit Tigers is a nightmare.

4. New York Yankees

The New York Yankees have been the most complete AL team all season and rightly deserved the AL’s No. 1 seed. On the mound, we have enough trust in Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil leading the way, but there are arguments to make whether or not their bullpen is up to the caliber of some of the other World Series hopefuls. Luckily, they have enough talent atop their batting order to compensate for some of those bullpen deficiencies. The AL is the Yankees to lose, so hopefully, this club can overcome some of the postseason struggles they’ve had in recent seasons to get back over the hump finally.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best regular season record and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs should they get that far, but should we believe in this club? We won’t try to argue against the top of the lineup because I couldn’t minimize Shohei Ohtani’s greatness if I tried, but there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the rest of this Dodgers’ team. Down the batting order, they often struggle mightily, which they have tried to patch up all season but continually failed. On the mound, there is little reason to be excited about. Jack Flaherty is setting up to be the No. 1 starter, but outside of him, will we expect Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to lead this team to glory? I’m not. Eventually, this pitching staff will blow up, so I can’t make them the No. 1 team in baseball heading into the postseason. Unfortunately, Ohtani can't do it alone for five of a seven-game series.

You know what, maybe he can.

2. San Diego Padres

Every NL team should be terrified to face the San Diego Padres because this team is for real and has the makings of a World Series contender. Since sitting on a 50-50 record just after the All-Star break, the Padres have gone 43-19 since, propelled by complete all-around efforts night in and night out. Their starting pitching staff has a high ceiling, their bullpen is elite, and the offense is mashing from top to bottom. I know they dropped two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, but I don't care. Right now, the Padres are the better baseball team, and they will beat the Dodgers in a head-to-head postseason clash.

1. Philadelphia Phillies

Listen, arguments can be made for several teams to be the most dangerous team heading into October, but this feels to be the Philadelphia Phillies’ time to get over the hump. They’ve been knocking on the door for a few years, and now they enter October with the most talent they’ve had to date. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola headline the best one-two punch on the mound of any postseason team before their bullpen enters the fold with several high-leverage relief pitchers to choose from in any given spot. Offensively, this lineup is deeper than they have been in recent years, and it’s just a matter of them catching fire as they’ve had in the past two postseasons. The Phillies know this season is World Series or bust for them, and looking at the entire playoff field, it's fair to say that the Phillies have the fewest question marks. It's all just a matter of whether they can put it together for the entire October.

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