By BRENDAN MEYERS
October is here which means the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season is coming to a close. The postseason will feature 12 teams in the mix to try and win the Commissioner’s Trophy- the reward for winning the World Series.
This season has had many surprises, especially amongst teams who did not perform to their expectations and missed the playoffs. The New York Mets had the highest payroll in the MLB at the beginning of the year with superstar players like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Pete Alonso. The St. Louis Cardinals had a much easier division to play in but had similar talent. The Los Angeles Angels had two of the best players in baseball; Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. All three of these teams vastly underperformed, missing the playoffs completely. It just proves baseball is not won by star talent, it takes all 26 guys to have a great team.
Moving on to some favorites and sleeper teams. Starting in the American League, the Baltimore Orioles have consistently been one of the best teams in baseball all year with a surplus of young talent. What’s most impressive is they were able to do it with the third-lowest payroll in the MLB at just over $71 million. Their lineup and bullpen are loaded, the only question mark is how will their starting pitching hold up. Many experts thought they should have traded for a starter at the trade deadline.
A sleeper that could make some noise is the Minnesota Twins. Nobody has talked about this team at all because they play in the weakest division in baseball. If their starting pitching can be as good in the playoffs as the regular season, this could be a dangerous team. Many things would need to go right for them, but weirder things have happened in baseball.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves are the clear favorite. They have the best lineup in baseball leading the MLB in batting average, home runs, runs scored, and OPS. Their only question mark is their bullpen, but they did make a couple of key acquisitions at the trade deadline getting Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand to help out.
A sleeper in the National League is the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nobody expected them to make the playoffs this season after losing 110 games just two years ago in 2021. They are led by ace Zac Gallen who is one of the best pitchers in baseball. The lineup has gotten hot in September. Watch for them to steal some bases as well because the Diamondbacks have the second most stolen bases in the league.
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