MLB 2025: What is the team to win in October, according to Insiders?
In a season without aspiring teams to win 100 games, who will shine in playoffs, according to baseball experts?
The MLB playoffs are just around the corner and are emerging as a very close instance. For the second consecutive season, no team is on its way to winning 100 or more games. This means that there is a lot of parity in the big leagues, something that will surely remain until October.
With this in mind, we ask 19 players, executives and baseball scouts: what is the team to win in the National League? And what is the team to win in the American League?
There was little uniformity in their answers, although most coincided in one thing: a surprise team that, according to the opinion of both leagues, could be size in October. This is how experts see the next postseason.
The team to win in the National League is …
(Phillies, 5; Dodgers, 4; parents, 2; Mets, 1)
The vote was as close as you could imagine, considering that the Brewers are mixed with the defense champions, Dodgers, and the well -quoted Phillies. These teams dominated our survey, leaving few votes for others.
The three teams can reach the World Series with great force, but the Dodgers have a clear advantage in the power game, surpassing Philadelphia and Milwaukee by a wide margin in home runs this regular season. However, Phillies easily has the best closer of the three, a crucial element that could help close those pressed games in October.
Even so, it was the Brewers who won our survey because they have played at a very high level in all departments, in addition to having a deep and healthy opening staff.
Why the Brewers?
National League player: “They look like a team with a very solid plan and a cohesive approach. And they seem to be in tune. I like how they play. And they have done it all year; why can’t they continue like this?”
National League Scout: “They still have to define the final part of their bullpen, but in a short series, they are luxurious to send one of their good openers to the bullpen. And they could connect enough home runs to keep the pace in October.”
National League Executive: “Getting rest will be fundamental to them. They have been eliminated in those short series several times; this will give them a break. In addition, their opening staff is very good. If I were Milwaukee, I would like the longest series.”
Greater threats to brewers
Philadelphia Phillies
National League player: “For me it is simple. They still have a good pitching and have already been there. The playoffs are based on homers, and they can connect them.”
National League player: “Its lineup is a bit recharged in the upper part, but they have enough batters in the base that can fulfill their function. If those players appear, then the alignment is really good. His bullpen is incredible with Jhoan Duran.”
National League Executive: “It’s their last celebration, right? They have veteran players, some of whom will be free agents at the end of the season. I simply imagine Bryce Harper finishing his career without a ring, and this is his best opportunity, even without Zack Wheeler.”
Los Angeles Dodgers
National League player: “When we play against them, they did not have a good series, but they seem to come on when they need it. That is the sign of a champion. I think their offensive will have a great October and lead them as he did last year.”
National League Executive: “Talent will triumph, and have the potential to have the healthiest body of pitchers all year in October.”
If it is not Milwaukee, Philadelphia or Los Angeles, then who?
To tell the truth, these experts reacted before the last free fall of the Mets became so dramatic: New York wore a streak of eight consecutive losses that ended with a victory in extra tickets over Rangers, on Sunday. But, well, anyone can turn on at the right time, right? The Mets verified it last year. But they have to show that they can reach the October party before they can think of going far.
Parents are difficult to decipher, but that does not make them less dangerous than any other contender. Some days, their offensive enters Letargo, but they can stop anyone in the last tickets. His bullpen is that good and could take them away despite the loss of Jason Adam.
San Diego Padres
National League player: “I like San Diego. They are hungry. They made all the correct movements on the deadline. And they have the experience of approaching, but not reaching the end.”
National League Executive: “San Diego has many good things, but they can still pistchear even with the incorporations on the deadline. Sometimes it is as if they disappear. If they survive a round of wild cards and get some games at home, Petco Park’s energy could wake them up. It is still a great bullpen.”
New York Mets
National League player: “The Mets are really good. I know they have had difficulties, but I trust that they will be on a streak like the last postseason. Sometimes you leave your worst game behind and then you find your rhythm. I like the Mets to do that.”
National League Scout: “His lineup (1-9) has to drive them. I am not sure how they will do it in the mound, but sometimes you find the magic of a rookie in one or two arms. If two between Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat can highlight, why not the Mets?
The team to win in the American League is …
(Tigers, 5; Yankees, 3; Red Sox, 3; Astros, 2)
The vote was even more at odds in the American League than in the National League (four teams received three or more votes), but it was the Blue Jays who exceeded the competition with only one more than Detroit vote.
The local advantage could make the difference for the two best teams in the American League, who dominate at home but are around .500 as visitors. Tigers play very well in the Eating Parkwhere they are able to run the bases vertiginously and go from first to third in team. And, of course, they have Tarik Skubal on the top of their rotation. Meanwhile, Blue Jays can make the newly renewed vibrate Rogers Center with the same intensity as any other stadium of the big leagues. That first place in the American League is at stake in the final stretch, and it is very likely that one of these two teams will achieve it.
Why the Blue Jays?
American League player: “They are one of the most complete teams in the American League. They have experience, especially in the rotation, and a little of everything in the alignment. It is difficult to compete against that in a series. Simply, I think they have the most complete team.”
American League Scout: “Despite how good Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer have been, are the contributions of players on the left side of the dish like Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger who make Toronto really dangerous. They have some balance, something that has been elusive.”
American League Executive: “I love his team, but I doubt his bullpen. He has not been very solid in the second half. Tommy Nance could be a player to rely.”
Greater threat to Blue Jays: Detroit Tigers
American League player: “Detroit is among the first in the list (of teams to win). They know how to win. That is the most important thing. They demonstrated it last season. And they have turned that stadium into a good advantage of the premises. I know they go from first to third better than anyone. Play in that stadium is key.”
American League Scout: “Sometimes, seeing a team play a lot, one can have a more negative opinion than your record, sometimes you can have a more positive opinion than your record. With the Tigers, it is the latter. And they already have a pretty good record.”
American League Executive: “I have tried to complete the playoff rotations without a real ace. It is very difficult. So having Tarik Skubal makes the difference to me. Unless left without gas, Detroit is my choice.”
If it is not Toronto or Detroit, then who?
Any of the wild cards, depending on where Houston ends, since it remains in a close divisional battle with Seattle, could surprise in October with the experience in important games that overflow the alignments of the stars and the Yankees. New York can also hit, of course, while Yordan Álvarez’s return puts Houston’s offensive even more dangerous.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, have only reached the postseason once (2021) since they won the World Series in 2018. However, they have a balanced alignment with the leadership in the playoffs by Alex Bregman. In addition, Aroldis Chapman is practically the best closer.
New York Yankees
American League Executive: “I think their bullpen will be on a streak, and have enough powerful bats to overcome a weaker team in the American League.”
Boston Red Sox
American League player: “They are the Red Sox. They are playing a good baseball. They have a formidable pitching, starting with Garrett crochet, and their alignment is cohesive and it seems that they have fun together. They know how to win with Bregman.”
Houston Astros
American League player: “Everyone forgot that Yordan Álvarez lost most of the season. He is a player who makes a difference. And when we play against them, Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown were as good as any other pitcher. Houston is my favorite.”
The last moment choice of all For October: Seattle Mariners
Until recently, the Mariners had not shown their best level in the League, ending in the category of surprises for it. With whom we talk they said that Seattle simply has more potential than any other team.
American League player: “A team that may really be on and not playing their best baseball is Seattle. His launch body is legitimate. Cal Raleigh connected 50 homers, but they have other players prepared for that moment, the time of being the center of attention. Randy Arozarena and (Eugenio) Suárez are two of them. They are prepared to win in the last minutes.”
National League player: “It is one of those alignments where everyone expects them to give everything. His rotation is very talented and they have one of the best closures in the league. I think they are one of those teams that, if they are lit at the right time, nobody can beat them.”
American League Executive: “Seattle has one of the best teams we have seen in years. If there is a real surprise in this group of playoffs, they are the Seattle Mariners.”
American League Executive: “Seattle is my surprise team. I think a bad year for pitching in Seattle could change radically in the postseason with its openers improving.”
