There are some players who are obviously going to be central to any success — or lack thereof — that their team has in the postseason. Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. … We all know who those guys are, and we won’t be taking our eyes off them.
But the determining factors, the players who may end up being the difference between winning and losing a series, are maybe not the obvious candidates. They’re guys who are integral to their team and, if they can have a great month, could even be the reason their team advances … and maybe wins a title.
Here’s a look at each team’s postseason X-factor.
When Toronto traded for Bieber at the Deadline — acquiring him from a team that the Blue Jays now could theoretically run into in the playoffs — he was mostly considered a lottery ticket. This was a former ace who hadn’t pitched in more than a year but could be healthy just in time for the postseason.
That is exactly what has happened. Bieber has been solid, if not quite his old Cy Young self, since heading up north, and he’s slated to be the team’s No. 2 postseason starter. He has shown flashes of Cy Young Award-winning Bieber, though, and if that’s the pitcher the Blue Jays get to pair with Kevin Gausman, they suddenly look terrifying for any postseason opponent.
The Guardians are forever in need of runs, and over the last few years, they’re never better on offense than when Kwan is hot. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in the second half, when he hit just .254 with a .310 OBP.
But Kwan is also a streaky player — this website has legitimately run a headline in the past that says “Kwan Flirting With .400”. If he can get hot this October, getting on base in front of José Ramírez, the Guardians would be their absolute best selves.
He ended up with 49 homers this season and was of course the big-ticket item at the Trade Deadline, but it should be said: He wasn’t quite the slam-dunk acquisition the Mariners were hoping for. He only hit .189 after coming over to Seattle, with a slugging percentage 148 points lower than he’d had in Arizona, and his OPS-plus was a below-average 94.
That’s to say: He still has some keep to earn in the Pacific Northwest. We know how his power can carry a team when he’s on one of his heaters. With the rest of the lineup as strong as it has been in many years in Seattle, Suárez can be the guy who pushes them over the top in one series, or more.
Story has in fact been in the postseason before. He hit .318 in five games for the Rockies in 2017-18, between two NL Wild Card Games and one NLDS appearance. But the fact that we’re even talking about a Wild Card “game” shows how long it has been.
Story has at last been healthy for the Red Sox this year, and while he hasn’t been spectacular, he has been a steadying veteran influence on a team that has a lot of young players (and a lot of injuries). Story knows better than anyone how rarely these postseason opportunities come up, and he will have every incentive to take advantage of this one.
Flaherty has had quite a wild run with the Tigers the last couple of years. He was outstanding for them last year, good enough to be traded to the Dodgers at the Deadline … just as the Tigers went on a highly improbable run to the postseason. Flaherty ended up pitching in the World Series and winning a ring.
He then returned to the Tigers and … led the American League in losses (but made the postseason anyway). The Tigers have nearly run out of pitching again this year, which gives Flaherty — who is actually around for the playoffs this time — a chance to make his mark in the Tigers’ postseason.
It turns out to be pretty handy to have a 24-year-old flamethrower just show up in the second half and solve a gaping rotation issue, no? Schlittler is exactly the sort of young pitcher the Yankees needed this season, and while he’ll be lined up to start an if-necessary Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, don’t be surprised if the Yankees deploy him in a variety of ways if and when they advance through October.
Sometimes, these young 100-mph arms catch lightning in a bottle in October, and that could well be the case for Schlittler. He could end up being a true Yankees playoff hero, even before most of the country knows his name.
Up until Saturday night, Misiorowski had only started games in his rookie year. But the temptation to use the sometimes-erratic-but-always-electric flamethrower as a potential multi-inning weapon in the playoffs was too much for the Brewers to resist. He wasn’t great in that game, but he has the sort of big arm that can be overpowering in the postseason.
Misiorowski may not be ready to serve a load-bearing starter just yet, but in a tough spot, when you need a strikeout, he’s a potentially very exciting option. Of course, he’s still a rookie: There’s blowup potential here, too. We’ll see him in a big spot at some point, and how he comes through could determine the Brewers’ entire October.
It has been a long time since those “Is Shohei the MVP — or is it PCA?” debates. Crow-Armstrong was arguably the story of the sport at the All-Star break, but fears that his lack of plate discipline would catch up with him proved prescient. He only hit .216 after the break, with a .634 OPS that was more than 200 points below his first-half mark (.846).
PCA was still important to the Cubs, of course; the way he plays defense in center field, it would be impossible for him not to be. But the spark he provided the Cubs in the first half was nowhere to be found later in the season. And the Cubs may need that spark in October. Can he rediscover the magic in time for a run?
It is remarkable, considering how much discussion we have all had about the Dodgers’ pitching shortages the last few years, that they don’t have a Wild Card Series rotation spot for Tyler Glasnow. With Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei lined up to face the Reds, that leaves Glasnow as the odd man out — for now, at least.
But there’s certainly an argument that could be made he’d be perfect for a relief role. Sure, he hasn’t done it since 2018, but he has the sort of high-effort, high-velocity, high-variance stuff that could work extremely well in short bursts. Frankly, the entire Dodgers staff, starters included, looks like it’s going to be patchwork in the postseason; they’ll just get the outs wherever they can get them, from whomever can get them for them. Glasnow will be central to that strategy. And who knows? He may end up starting in a potential NLDS anyway.
With all the talent the Padres have, it’s a little surprising that Arraez is still their No. 2 hitter. His numbers were down across the board this year — he actually hit under .300, which doesn’t seem like something Arraez should be allowed to do — and he had the lowest OBP of his career (.327).
He’s still an emotional leader, of course, as well as someone who perpetually puts the ball in play. He’s pretty far off from the .354 hitter he was two years ago in Miami, but having a player with bat-to-ball skills can be handy in the postseason. Though it helps to have guys that get on base at a higher clip in the No. 2 spot, too.
Bader is one of those fun players who might be a little bit overexposed as an everyday player, but as a role player — one who is fast, plays fantastic defense and just has an exciting, energetic vibe to him — he’s perfect.
He’s particularly perfect for a team like the Phillies, who, on the whole, lacked most of the things that Bader provides. He is an ideal fit in October, and, even better, he has put up the best offensive numbers of his career since arriving in Philly. Doesn’t he have postseason folk hero written all over him?
It is fair to say that Marte’s Reds career has been tumultuous so far. The once-hyped prospect has suffered through a suspension and a truly miserable 2024. But he has been a league-average hitter this year, and he may be personally responsible for getting them in the playoffs. The Reds ended up tied with the Mets for the final Wild Card spot, and that’s only because Marte made this incredible catch during the season’s final week:
That’s the sort of thrilling play that will get you, and your team, going in October … particularly when that team hasn’t been in the playoffs for a long time. Marte can erase everything bad that has happened in his Reds career so far, this very week. If he hasn’t already.
