MLB Power Rankings: Why World Series race is wide open with eight contenders left standing

We finally saw a good Wild Card Series round, with three of the four extending to a do-or-die Game 3. We can just forget that series in Dodger Stadium ever happened, too, and move on. Right?

Move on we will, because now it's time to think ahead to the divisional round in the playoffs. Eight teams remain standing in pursuit of the World Series championship. There are stories all over the place. Two teams (Brewers, Mariners) have never won it while one, the Dodgers, is looking to become the first repeat champion since 2000. The Blue Jays haven't won it all since 1993, the Tigers since 1984. Phillies (2008) and Yankees (2009) fans are pretty anxious to get another, as it's been a minute since they last won one and we could probably loop in the Cubs (2016) there as well. 

That's our eight. The 2025 World Series champion is listed in there. Who will it be? I only know it's one of those eight. All are capable in varying ways and all have an Achilles heel or two that could haunt them as early as this round or as late as the World Series, as the 2024 Yankees can attest. 

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How do the eight teams rank? Well, that's a very difficult task. It's the playoffs for me, too, though, so I will not shrink in the face of pressure. It's time to step up and get the job done. 

Keep in mind, we're now ranking playoff teams. The rotations are shorter, the bench doesn't matter as much and, more generally, playoff baseball is different than regular season baseball. Every team enters this round on equal footing, so toss out those regular-season records, too.

8. Detroit Tigers

Kudos to the Tigers for surviving that Guardians team in the Wild Card Series and hopefully letting some of their fans feel a little bit better about the gut punch that was the end of the regular season. It is difficult to feel good about the Tigers offense or non-Tarik Skubal pitchers moving to the next round, though, against the Mariners. Of course, they might get two Tarik Skubal starts in the ALDS and that means they only have to steal one other game to advance to the ALCS. It's totally possible. Let's put it this way, I usually have a last-ranked team heading to the divisional round in worse shape than this (and two years ago, the eighth-ranked team -- Arizona -- ended up in the World Series). 

7. Chicago Cubs

I tried to spin it differently above, but in reality, I just don't think it's possible the Tigers can win the World Series. With this No. 7 team in the Cubs, it starts the countdown of teams I do think have a realistic chance of winning the title. That's how wide open I believe this tournament is. I'm expecting a lot of unpredictable twists. 

The Cubs have an offense that could go dormant but also has three 30-homer guys and three others with at least 22 home runs. It also has three players with at least 25 steals and two more with at least 17. The rotation is capable of being very good with Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon while hoping to get rookie Cade Horton back from his rib injury. The bullpen showed its stuff in the Wild Card Series. 

It's a very good roster capable of making a run. There are six teams better, though. 

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6. Milwaukee Brewers

Uh oh. The team with the best record in baseball is ranked sixth. What have I done?!

Well, the Brewers look to me like a better regular-season roster than a playoff one. With pitching and defense being so much better in the playoffs, the offenses will need power instead of relying on stringing together a bunch of hits. The only playoff team with fewer home runs in the regular season than the Brewers (166, 22nd in MLB) was the Padres, and look how anemic their offense was in Wrigley Field for most of the Wild Card Series (they scored five runs and three of those came on home runs).

There are also rotation concerns with injuries to Brandon Woodruff and José Quintana in addition to major struggles down the stretch from rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski. 

The Brewers still have a legit ace in Freddy Peralta and depth behind him, ranked first among playoff teams in stolen bases and play great team defense. They have a stacked bullpen. And they have a nice combination of swagger from the best regular-season record combined with a "nobody believes in us" chip on their shoulder. They can certainly win it all. 

5. Toronto Blue Jays

I love the Blue Jays offense. Just love it. In the regular season they were first in batting average, first in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging and they have a deep lineup. Bo Bichette should return to the lineup after his injury and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the centerpiece, but George Springer was almost as good as ever at age 35 and the supporting cast of Daulton Varsho, Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk is what makes this group great.

The pitching is a concern, though. Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber are capable of throwing like aces, but they've been knocked around at times. Past that, it's all question marks. The bullpen should be settled around closer Jeff Hoffman and setup men Seranthony Domínguez and Yariel Rodríguez, but, again, there are question marks. 

4. New York Yankees

The Yankees' offense led the majors in OPS and home runs (by thirty!) in the regular season. It's a much deeper lineup than last season with Trent Grisham's power surge, Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s 30-30 exploits, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice. Don't forget, Giancarlo Stanton hit 24 homers with 66 RBI in only 79 games and looked great in the first playoff series. 

They have a very good rotation in Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and, if Wild Card Series Game 3 from the rookie is any indication, Cam Schlittler. 

The bullpen, however, is a mess that could turn into a series-losing disaster. 

3. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners' offense actually ranked 10th in OPS this season despite playing their home games in the most pitcher-friendly venue in the sport. They can rake. Cal Raleigh obviously leads the way, but there's more star power with Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez. Don't sleep on Dominic Canzone, either. 

The rotation was inconsistent for most of the season but really settled in down the stretch. The best versions of Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo would mean four frontline starters (think 2005 White Sox). The back-end of the bullpen is great, too, with All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz leading the way. 

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2. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers rotation is in excellent shape right now with fully functional versions of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. The offense looks great, especially with Mookie Betts having hit like his old self the last seven weeks or so. They are absolutely loaded. So why not No. 1? 

Despite Roki Sasaki looking absolutely filthy in a one-inning relief role in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, the bullpen is far too worrisome to give the top spot to the defending champs. 

1. Philadelphia Phillies

Yes, the top two teams are playing each other this round. Sometimes that's just how it shakes out. 

The Phillies lost Zack Wheeler for the season, but the rotation heading into this series has an ace in Cristopher Sánchez, another likely frontline starter in Ranger Suárez (though he's struggled a bit down the stretch) along with Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola, who looked great in his last start after a disaster of a season. Jhoan Duran is a lock-down closer with a quality setup man. Trea Turner (though coming back from a hamstring injury) is a great leadoff man with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber behind him. The rest of the lineup can run hot and cold, but it's loaded with potential firepower.

The Phillies are the top team, for me, heading into an NLDS in which it wouldn't even remotely surprise me if they lost. 

That's just how wide open this thing looks.

I can't wait. What a playoff season this will continue to be.