NL Playoff Predictions

Rockies vs Nationals

Here we are again with a rematch from last year’s playoffs and we have our defending champion versus the odds on favorite to win the championship this year. The Rockies have proven to be the best team all year, but still have more to prove. Rockies only have a couple of losses on the year and one of those few losses is to the Washington Nationals. It seems that the Nats have the Rockies number and Sam didn’t shy away by saying he wasn’t looking forward to facing Washington in the first round. To add on to that, Sam predicted the defending champion to not even make the playoffs and the Nationals took that as disrespect and used it as motivation for the year. Now they are facing off on one of the biggest stages you can ask for.

Mental Game Advantage: Washington Nationals

Pitching

To just start, Nationals are already in a whole the 7 home field advantage points and now they are also down 3 pitcher starts to the Rockies (10 to 7). Having 3 extra pitchers is a huge boost for Colorado even playing in that hitter’s ballpark. Rockies have double starts for Jon Lester, Carlos Carrasco, Lance Lynn, and Charlie Morton. Luckily for the Nats, Arrieta and Scherzer only have 1 start. That is still a huge hole to be in and it will take perfect starts from Washington to keep them in it. Nationals do have the perfect man for the double start, which is the former Rockie, Steven Stratsburg. There is nothing better than laying it on an old team and it will take 2 great starts from Steven to keep the Nats going. Severino and Marco Gonzalez both have good match ups versus the Tigers and Padres, so those will be key match ups to watch as well. Adding all that, Rockies still have a major advantage for pitching and will be the key to them winning.

Starting Pitching Advantage: Rockies

For the relief pitching, it isn’t really close with Rockies having Wade Davis, Anthony Colome, and Hwan Seung OH versus the Nationals Tanner Scott, Sergio Romo, and Tony Watson. Both have some good match ups here and there, except for Sergio Romo, but I believe Rockies are guaranteed to score more points overall in the bullpen.

Relief Pitching: Rockies

Hitting

Sorry to spoil this right away, but Rockies have the advantage in hitting. It’s a no brainer with Harper, Machado, Stanton, Acuna, and Hoskins, just to name a few. The hitting is too electric to slow down, because even if Harper an Stanton have a bad week, guys like Kinsler and Cruz will pick the guys up and keep the high points going. For the Nats, the acquisition of Nick Markakis helps, but the loss of Judge is the breaking point, where the Nats won’t be able to recover from.

Hitting Advantage: Rockies

Final Score Rockies 343.75 Nationals – 276.25

Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals

I don’t believe we have any rivalry with these two teams quite yet and to be honest I’m too lazy to look up their past schedule to see if there is any bad blood there. I think these 2 teams are the perfect match ups for teams with something to prove. The Braves come out as the NL East Champion, which is easily the toughest division in baseball, but are still most likely looked at as the least likely to come out of the NL this year. For the Cardinals, this is their first time in the playoffs and have been dealing with a ridiculous amount of injuries for the last month, which has slowed down their record breaking season and now leaves them battered going into NLDS.

Mental Advantage: Atlanta Braves

Pitching

The starting pitching is a little confusing due to the fact, the pitching is not all shown as of yet. The Rays are a bunch of whack jobs and don’t show their starters, but Blake Snell will be in the rotation and will be the main force of this Atlanta staff. Fulmer vs Kansas City, Nola vs. Nationals, and possibly Newcomb vs Rays plays as the best match ups for the Braves with Barria having the worst going up against the Stros. For the Cardinals, they are a shit show for the fact I don’t know what the situation is for Carlos Martinez, James Paxton, and Eduardo Rodriguez. Coming off injuries could always have pitchers leave early or be a bit rusty after a long stint of not pitching. Walker Buehler and Kyle Gibson both have double starts, but I’m still a bit worried about match ups ad can see some struggle if there is any early inning trouble.

Starting Pitching Advantage: Atlanta Braves

Relief Pitching

I just noticed Walker Buehler was in a RP spot for the Cards and hopefully tey get that fixed. For the actual bullpen of AJ Minter, Jordan Hicks, and Rasiel Iglesias, I like the mix of those guys and could put up around 15-20 points each, which would boost the chances of Cardinals winning immensely. For Braves, Blake Trienen, Brad Hand, and Shane Greene is a good group of guys led by Trienen who has been filthy this year. I like both of these groups, but advantage goes to Braves based on the possibility of Trienen going off for big points despite his tough match ups.

Relief Pitching Advantage: Atlanta Braves

Hitting

For hitting, I do like the big names for the Braves with Mitch Moreland, Moose, Merrifield, Realmuto, Trevor Story, and Adam Eaton, but the Cardinals heavy hitters take the cake for me. I think the hitting isn’t too far apart even after me saying they take the cake, bad wording on my part. I think the difference makers are with the Cardinals who can put up 30 plus point weeks, including Ozzie Albies, Matt Carpenter, Benitendi, Shin-soo Choo, Max Muncy, and Joey Votto if healthy. There is other solid role players for the Cards, but those boys can put up big points if they can get hot as Carpenter’s salsa. If Votto can be ready by Tuesday and Carpenter keeps up his MVP numbers, Cards have a good chance.

Hitting Advantage: St. Louis Cardinals

Final Score Atlanta Braves – 289.5 St. Louis Cardinals -285.5

This is the closest match up of the week and this can easily go in favor of the Cards, but with the uncertainty of guys off the DL, I’m giving the slight edge to the Braves.