MLB LDS MVPs: Dodgers' Roki Sasaki, Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and other second-round standouts

The first two rounds of the 2025 MLB postseason are complete and four teams are still standing. It will be the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, guaranteeing one very long pennant drought will end. In the NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the Milwaukee Brewers as they look to become baseball's first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.

MLB hands out two (really three) awards each the postseason: World Series MVP and one MVP for each of the two Championship Series. There is nothing to recognize the best player in the Wild Card Series or Division Series though, and we're here to right that wrong. Here are our hypothetical Wild Card Series MVPs and now here are our Division Series MVPs. 

Blue Jays vs. Yankees: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Poor Ernie Clement. He went 9 for 14 (.643) and barely got consideration for our hypothetical ALDS MVP. Depending on who won the series, it was going to either Vlad Jr. or Aaron Judge, so Guerrero it is. He tormented the Yankees, going 9 for 17 (.529) with three home runs and 9 RBI in the four games. Guerrero's Game 2 grand slam will go down as a signature Toronto postseason moment.

How good was Vlad Jr.'s ALDS? He entered this year as a career .136/.240/.182 hitter in six postseason games. That's now up to .308/.378/.564 in 10 postseason games. Guerrero led all players in the series in championship probability added (by a lot) and also win probability added (by not as much). The Blue Jays gave him $500 million to do exactly this. He was a monster in the ALDS.

"It means a lot to me," Guerrero said after the clinching Game 4 win. "We're going to the next round, to the Championship Series, and that's my focus, and it means a lot."

Brewers vs. Cubs: Andrew Vaughn

The first ever Brewers vs. Cubs postseason series was awfully compelling. Chicago forced a Game 5 after dropping Games 1 and 2, and there were heroes abound. Jackson Chourio drove in three runs in each Game 1 and 2. Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run in seven innings in his two appearances. Rookie Chad Patrick got big outs in high leverage situations all series.

We're going to give NLDS MVP to Vaughn because I dig home runs, and he hit two big ones in the NLDS. His three-run shot in the first inning of Game 2 was an underrated huge moment. The Brewers were down 3-0 early, and Vaughn punched right back. Make an out there and that game -- and the series -- could have played out very differently. Vaughn also hit the go-head homer in Game 5.

All told, Vaughn went 4 for 14 (.286) with the two home runs in the NLDS, which might've been the two biggest hits of the series. He led all players in the series in championship probably added and not by a little either. The Brewers got him from the White Sox in a minor trade in June. A few months later, Vaughn is making an impact in the postseason. Baseball, man.

"It's just being where my feet are," Vaughn said before Game 5 about his success with the Brewers. "Life can be crazy. Baseball as a profession can be crazy, but really just whittle it down to taking it one pitch at a time, be exactly where my feet are and enjoy every moment of it."

Dodgers vs. Phillies: Roki Sasaki

This series will forever be remembered as the Orion Kerkering error series, which is unfortunate because it was four terrific games between two pretty evenly matched teams. Teoscar Hernández has a good argument for NLDS MVP thanks to his game-flipping three-run homer in Game 1. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell too given their dominant performances.

The pick here has to be Sasaki though. He's emerged as a game-changing force as a reliever. Sasaki saved Game 1, entered with runners on the corners and a one-run lead to save Game 2, then threw three perfect innings in the Game 4 win. He faced 14 batters in his three appearances and allowed just one baserunner, all in supremely high-leverage situations.

Just how impactful was Sasaki in the NLDS? He led all players in the series in championship probability added by a healthy margin despite throwing only 4 ⅓ innings. The 13 outs he recorded were that important to the outcome of the series. After a rough and injury-interrupted start to his MLB career earlier this year, he's become a difference-making bullpen weapon for the Dodgers.

"You're talking about one of the great all-time appearances out of the pen that I can remember," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Game 4. "Certainly given where he started this year, what he is as a starting pitcher, to go out there and not only go one inning, two innings and then three innings, and to do what he did gave us a huge boost. I can't speak enough to his growth and his contribution to this club. We're starting to see something really special in him."

Mariners vs. Tigers: Cal Raleigh

You could make a pretty good argument that, even in defeat, Kerry Carpenter deserves ALDS MVP. He hit two very important home runs and was clearly the guy the Mariners were most afraid to face. As good as Carpenter was, I don't think he was "MVP despite being on the losing team" good, so we have to go with someone else. That someone else is Raleigh.

Seattle's 60-homer backstop went 8 for 21 (.381) with a homer and four walks in the ALDS, which is a .480 on-base percentage. He drove in three runs in the pivotal Game 3 win, which gave Seattle a 2-1 series lead and the wiggle room to continue playing after the Game 4 loss. Plus, Raleigh caught 15 innings in Game 5. I'm sure he was feeling it in his legs the next day.

Andrés Muñoz deserves a mention here as well. He pitched four times in the five games, did not allow a hit, and retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced. Also, Muñoz made his first two-inning appearance since 2019 in Game 1, and got four outs in Game 5. Really, the entire Mariners pitching staff should win ALDS MVP. They had a 3.29 ERA in 52 innings.

"It takes everybody in a game like this," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the 15-inning win in Game 5. "... We've talked about the fight all year long. To go 15 innings tonight, 15 rounds, so to speak, and to come out on top, that sure feels good."