With all the playoff seeds officially clinched and the postseason starting later today, I wanted to get my predictions out before it starts. Unlike my WNBA postseason predictions article, I won’t be listing my top championship contenders, as I believe that almost half of the teams have a legitimate chance at winning it all. Instead, I’ll be giving my reasons behind my predictions for each round.

These predictions are based on MLB’s new 12-team playoff format. Like the NBA, there will be no re-seeding after rounds, so the winner of each Wild Card series—whether the higher or lower seed—will be facing their designated opponent (check the postseason bracket below). The Wild Card round is a best of 3 series, with the higher seed hosting all three games. The Divisional Series round is a best of 5 series, which follows a 2-2-1 format. Under this format, the higher seed would host Games 1, 2, and 5 (if necessary). Finally, the Championship Series and World Series rounds are best of 7 series, which follow a 2-3-2 format. This means that the higher seed would host Games 1 and 2, and Games 6 and 7 (if necessary). Without further ado, here are my predictions for the 2022 MLB playoffs.

Wild Card Round

Seattle Mariners over Toronto Blue Jays: In what should be a close matchup, this could turn out to be a low scoring series. Both teams boast a strong pitching staff and strong lineup. I think Seattle will win because I favor their starting rotation over Toronto. While the Blue Jays will likely have Alex Manoah, José Berrios, and Kevin Gausman lined up to start, the Mariners have Luis Castillo, Robbie Ray, and Logan Gilbert lined up. Between their starting trio and the pair of All-Star Ty France and likely AL Rookie of the Year (ROY) Julio Rodríguez, I think Seattle will muster just enough offense to eke out two wins on the road and advance.

Cleveland Guardians over Tampa Bay Rays: To me, this is a series that could go either way. If the Rays win one of the first two games, I can see them running a bullpen game or combining two of their starters not named Shane McClanahan and Corey Kluber to fill innings in Game 3. However, I think Cleveland has a slight advantage at pitcher for Games 1 and 2, as Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie are slated to go. With third baseman José Ramírez providing offense and a lights out bullpen led by closer Emmanuel Clase, I think Cleveland will win the first two games at home and get some rest before the next round.

New York Mets over San Diego Padres: Simply put, New York has Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, and San Diego does not. While the Padres do boast two of the best position players in third baseman Manny Machado and outfielder Juan Soto, pitching and defense usually win you games in the postseason. In this series, I expect deGrom and Scherzer to provide at least seven innings and allow two runs or less in each game, and the team—which was tied for second in fielding percentage this season—to do well defensively. With this formula, the Mets should be able to win the first two games and advance to the next round.

St. Louis Cardinals over Philadelphia Phillies: This is another series that could go either way. The X-factor of the series to me is the bullpen for both teams. Considering how close the starting rotations are to me, I feel that these games will be closely contested. However, behind NL MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, I believe St. Louis will find ways to lead late and give their bullpen multiple chances to hold leads during the series. From there, I expect the bullpen to close the games out, and St. Louis to advance.

AL Division Series (ALDS)

Houston Astros over Mariners: Since I believe it will take Seattle three games to advance to the ALDS, their Game 1 starter will likely be pitching on three days rest. I think Houston will take advantage of the extra rest, and with a pitching staff led by AL Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander, I believe they will match up well with Seattle and easily advance to the next round. The only reason why I don’t have this series as a sweep is because I feel Seattle will throw everything but the kitchen sink and get one win at home to keep their hopes alive before Houston closes the series out.

New York Yankees over Guardians: Led by AL MVP frontrunner Aaron Judge, I believe New York will follow Houston’s lead and make quick work of this series. With the emergence of All-Star Nestor Cortes Jr. and starter Luis Severino seemingly returning to ace form, the Yankees have a starting trio led by Gerrit Cole that can rival any trio in the MLB. Like Seattle, I think Cleveland wins Game 3 at home, but New York closes the series in Game 4.

NL Division Series (NLDS)

Los Angeles Dodgers over Mets: In another closely contested series, both teams boast strong pitching rotations. However, led by outfielder Mookie Betts, I think the Dodgers will overpower the Mets offensively and win this series. While I think it’s possible for deGrom and Scherzer to get a win in this series, I believe the Dodgers will beat whoever starts Game 5 (likely Scherzer) and move on to the next round.

Atlanta Braves over Cardinals: While I believe that Goldschmidt and Arenado will have a great series, Atlanta is plain and simply the better team in all facets of the game. As a result, I believe this series will look a lot closer than it actually will be. While I have the series going five games, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is another series that is done in four.

American League Championship Series (ALCS)

Astros over Yankees: The biggest X-factor in this series to me will be who wins the batting with runners in scoring position (RISP) battle. For New York, this will be a series where they will have to grind out runs to win. I think this series will likely go to six games, as Houston has been able to solve the “How do you pitch to the Yankees” question for years. However, I’m predicting seven games because I feel that Judge will be able to carry his team to at least one win, whether that’s within the three games at home or within the first three games in Houston. In the theoretical Game 7, I believe we would see a battle of Verlander vs Cole. However, I trust Verlander more, and I think he would pitch an eight inning gem to help Houston advance to the World Series and help him win the ALCS MVP.

National League Championship Series (NLCS)

Dodgers over Braves: In the Freddie Freeman sweepstakes series, I think Los Angeles uses their home-field advantage to advance to the World Series. While this could very easily go to seven games, I believe the Dodgers find a way to win one game in Atlanta and close it out in six. Freeman will be my NLCS MVP prediction, as he has a .348 batting average (BA), 2 home runs (HR), and 4 runs batted in (RBI) in six games against Atlanta this season.

World Series

Dodgers over Astros: In a rematch of the 2017 World Series, the Dodgers get their revenge and win their second championship in three years (2020 and 2022). While I believe Verlander will continue what will be another legendary postseason for him, I think the Dodgers have the advantage over Houston the way I believe Atlanta does over St. Louis. My World Series MVP prediction will be Mookie Betts, as I think he will be the catalyst and the best player on the diamond for the Dodgers.

How do you see the playoffs panning out? Share your thoughts in the comments below!