The MLB playoffs are underway, and plenty have put forth predictions on how everything will work out, often sticking to the “safe” predictions. This won’t be that – these are bold predictions, one for each team!
Many have put forth predictions for the MLB playoffs with fairly safe and tame predictions – the highest seed winning, the American League winning the World Series, etc. Instead of staying “tame”, we’re going to push the envelope a bit!
We will have one prediction for each team involved in the division series of the MLB playoffs, going from the worst record to the best among all 8 teams.
Editor’s note: This was originally written before the start of the NLDS.
Atlanta Braves: The key offensive performer in the MLB playoffs will be Ozzie
Sure, the Atlanta Braves have multiple hitters who challenged for the top hits mark in the National League, they have the player that most think will run away with the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League leading off their lineup, and they have four players who had .800+ OPS marks on the season. Ozzie Albies is none of those.
On the Atlanta Braves, the one thing that Albies has is that he is the only Brave to score 100 runs in the 2018 season. He was one of three Braves to hit 40 doubles, one of three to hit 20+ home runs, one of four to drive in 70+ runs, and one of five to steal 10+ bases.
What most see about Albies is that he opened the season on a tear, finishing his first half with a .281/.318/.516 line with 29 doubles and 20 home runs. He slumped to a .226/.282/.342 line in the second half with 11 doubles and 4 home runs.
However, looking at just the half-season splits ignores the growth Albies experienced as a hitter over the season. In September, he was able to put together a walk rate of 9%, having not posted over a 6% walk rate in any other month of the season. He also had horrid luck on the month, even though he was clearly seeing the ball well. A .213 BABIP in September kept his slash line down, but correcting that to his .290ish BABIP that Albies sported for the season, He would have put together a final month of around .265/.340/.450.
Albies is a dynamic runner, graded as a 70 on the 20 to 80 scouting scale for his raw speed, and he’s been known for his frequency of pushing for an extra base this season. His aggressiveness on the bases and seeing the ball well will allow Albies to be the key bat for the Braves in the MLB playoffs.