Baseball fans, it is that favorite time of the year again: October. The MLB Postseason is upon us, and the playoffs welcome six new teams to the field to compete for the coveted World Series trophy. The Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Texas Rangers have returned to the postseason after some time. The St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and the 2014 runner-up Kansas City Royals are the only teams from last year’s bracket. It will be an interesting showdown as these teams square off against each other.

The postseason commenced on Tuesday, October 7 with the American League Wild Card match. The visiting Astro’s defeated the New York Yankees by a score of 3-0. They were able to accomplish this thanks to the masterful pitching performance by starter Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel went seven strong on only three days’ rest. The Astro’s ace only surrendered three hits to the Bronx Bombers. Houston broke through with two home runs courtesy of outfielders Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez. Second baseman Jose Altuve provided a crucial insurance run with his RBI-single in the seventh inning.

In the National League, the Chicago Cubs were victorious over their fellow wild card winners, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chicago left PNC Park with a win largely due to Jake Arrieta’s complete game effort, in which he held the Pirates scoreless. The final score was Chicago 4; Pittsburgh 0. While the Pirates only managed to string four hits total, Pirates starter Gerrit Cole was out after only five innings. Rookie Kyle Schwarber did most of the damage to Pittsburgh with a home run, which landed in the Allegheny River, and three runs batted in. The Cubs and Pirates broke out into a brawl after Pirates’ relief pitcher Tony Watson plunked Arrieta in the seventh inning. Utility player Sean Rodriguez of the Pirates was ejected, adding insult to injury for the Pirates’ abrupt ending to a 98-win season.

The Cubs have begun their battle with their oldest rival, the top seeded St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are no strangers to October, as they seem to never miss a playoff berth, but taking down the red-hot Cubs will not be an easy task.. The Cubs are full of young and inexperienced players, but are in no way lacking in the talent department. Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Javier Baez all made their rookie debuts this season. The Cubs also have a veteran presence in the clubhouse in former World Series winner and pitcher Jon Lester. This could help a young group like the Cubs.

The Cardinals bring consistency and experience to the table, while the Cubs are only beginning to scratch the surface of their potential. The Cardinals have overcome injuries all across the diamond this season, most notably all-star starting pitcher Adam Wainwright and all-star outfielder Matt Holiday, as well as first baseman Matt Adams.

I believe that the Cubs are in a better position to win this round of the playoffs because of the hot streak they have put together towards the end of the season, and first year manager Joe Maddon led a similar caliber team in the Tampa Rays to the World Series in 2007. The Cardinals are difficult to pick against because they won 101 regular season games, but the Cubs have the talent and the right manager to lead them to defeat the Cardinals.

Final prediction: Cubs win over the Cardinals in 5 games.

The Astros will take on the Kansas City Royals, the number one seed in the American League. Coming off of a World Series loss a season ago, the Royals look poised to return. Similar to the Cubs, Houston fields a very young, inexperienced lineup, but they are also an extremely talented group. Led by Altuve, rookie shortstop Carlos Correa and Keuchel, the Astros have the skill to be in contention for a number of years. They widely considered a fan-favorite underdog, and many baseball fans would be excited if they made a playoff push.

The Royals possess youth as well, but they endured the emotions and grind of the playoffs last year. They are better prepared to go deeper in the postseason than the Astros due to the preceding reasons, and the Royals have on the best bullpens in baseball. They will have to face the Astros and their top ranked defense and fence-clearing batting order to the series.

As a fan of the game, I am personally pulling for the Astro’s to continue on with their remarkable season. After considering all of the facts however, I believe that Kansas City will be victorious over Huston in what will likely be a very hard-fought series.

Final prediction: Royals win over the Astros in 5 games.

The final two remaining division series matches feature the Texas Rangers taking on the number two seeded Toronto Blue Jays in the American League, and the New York Mets playing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the final spot in the National League Championship Series.

The Rangers made a late push to boost themselves into the postseason, especially after the acquisition of starting pitcher Cole Hamels. Texas jumped all the way from third place to first in the AL West to claim the division crown under first year manager Colin Banister.

Their opponents, the Blue Jays have the best offense in the majors with a lineup that includes Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and MVP hopeful Josh Donaldson. After trading for Tulowitzki and pitcher David Price at the deadline, the Blue Jays became the instant World Series favorite, and rightfully so. The Blue Jays will blow any foe out of the water with their bats, but do struggle in pitching after Price. The Rangers are a good, balanced team and should be able to challenge the Blue Jays with their combination of hitting and pitching. In spite of the Rangers strengths and wide variety of skill, I feel that Toronto’s lineup will power them to the next round of the postseason over Texas.

Final prediction: Blue Jays win over the Rangers in 5 games.

The Mets and Dodgers boast two of the top pitching rotations in the MLB. The Dodgers have two potential Cy Young candidates in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, while the Mets challenge opposing hitters with Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and rookie Noah Syndergaard. Unfortunately for New York, they are the worst hitting team in the 2015 postseason, and that will not bode well against the Dodgers’ staff. Therefore I feel that the LA Dodgers will win in the end.

Final prediction: Dodgers win over the Mets in 4 games.

Moving onto the National League and American League Championship Series, I predict that the Blue Jays will face a true test in the Royals, while the Cubs will be likely be tasked with upsetting another Vegas favorite in the Dodgers. The same strengths and weaknesses for each club that effected them during the division series will also play crucial roles in the rest of the Fall Classic. The free-swinging Cubs will have to find a way to defeat the Dodgers’ strike out artists, Kershaw and Greinke. The Dodgers however will struggle against Arietta and Lester, and Jason Hammels might give their linup  fits. The Dodgers do not have pitching after their two aces, where they are truly exposed.

Final prediction: Cubs win over the Dodgers in 6 games.

The Royals may have a fantastic bullpen, but their rotation is weak. Even though the Royals have some offense in Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain, the Blue Jays will have no trouble out hitting Kansas City. The Blue Jays will likely look to make it a contest in which the higher scoring team will move on to the next round of the playoffs because based on the regular season, they should have no trouble putting runs across the board. I feel that the Royals will put up a good fight, but in the end Toronto will win.

Final prediction: Blue Jays win over the Royals in 6 games.

I believe the Cubs will do the unthinkable and reach the final stage of the MLB postseaon which has eluded them for decades, one step away from breaking the legendary curse which looms over them every season, as they are said to not be allowed to win a world series. The Cubs and Blue Jays are not entirely different from each other. Toronto, like Chicago, does not have top tier pitching after their first starter. Arrieta versus Price should prove to be an incredible matchup. The X-factor in the World Series will be Arrieta; if he can pitch in two or three games, the Cubs can come out on top. I believe that he will be up to the challenge, and help Chicago capture their first World Series victory since 1908..

Final prediction: Cubs are the World Series Champions in 6 games.

– Zach S.