This Major League Baseball (MLB) season has been fascinating to watch so far because there have been many good teams, especially teams with a lot of young up-and-coming talent that have very outrageous personalities. With all of this talent, these teams give themselves a shot to do something special. 

     October and November are some of the biggest and best months for MLB the playoffs taking place during this time. With the playoffs currently going on, it will be interesting to see who will prevail in the end. Many ask if it will be a team with a lot of talent or an underdog team who just has that ‘it’ factor. This question will make it interesting to see which teams were just flukes and which ones had a normal season. 

     Currently, the wild card games have taken place with the Los Angeles Dodger and Boston Red Sox winning those games.

     Currently, the American League Championship Series (ALCS) is taking place with the Boston Red Sox facing off against the Houston Astros in a seven-game series. The series is currently tied 2-2. 

     The NLCS (National League Championship Series) is also taking place with the Los Angeles Dodgers facing off against the Atlanta Braves. In the seven-game series, the Braves lead the series 2-1.

     Here are a few teams that have made the playoffs and could possibly make a run.

     Top 2 Contenders – 

1. Atlanta Braves – The Atlanta Braves have been on a tear this season and have continued this tear throughout the playoffs. They have great odds of making it to the world series and currently have a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers.it is obvious that it is hurting them due to how their biggest star, Ronal Acuna Jr, is on the bench with a torn ACL. However, they still have Freddie Freeman along with a very good pitching staff that could carry them to the World Series. 
2. Houston Astros – The Houston Astros have also been on a tear this season. They have had a record of 95 wins and 67 losses. Many people are going to be suspicious about them, especially after a cheating scandal they had a few years back. (What happened was when they were playing, in the playoffs, they were using cameras to figure out what pitch was coming so that they could give their hitters an advantage). Although, what really gives them an advantage is the fact that they have many experienced baseball veterans that have played in big games before. Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman were both starters on the team when they won the world series. This type of experience could give them an advantage throughout the playoffs. 

     Here are a few teams that made the playoffs but do not have the best chances of winning.

     Not top 2 contenders  –

1. Los Angeles Dodgers – The Los Angeles Dodgers have just been squeezing by this season. They just were able to make the playoffs by securing the wild card. They have a lot of talent on the team, so many would think that they would have easily made the playoffs and won their division, but they failed to do so. They are also giving themselves a tough route through the playoffs. Playing that many games will just wear a team out. They are currently worn out and cannot match the Brave’s energy. Especially with the Brave’s young talent and pitching staff, it will be too much for the Dodgers to handle in the seven-game series. 
2. Boston Red Sox – The Boston Red Sox is another team that has just squeezed by this season due to how they made the playoffs with one of the wild card spots. They have a lot of young talent such as Rafael Devers but due to how they have given themselves a tough route through the playoffs it is difficult to manage. Mostly, the Houston Astros’ experience and talent will be too much for the Red Sox. 

     Obviously, you cannot complete this without talking about the hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds really have had a good season, and they were predicted to make the playoffs towards the end of the season. All they had to do was beat a couple of teams a few times, but in typical Reds fashion, they choked and lost the majority of these games, which took them out of the playoffs. They once again gave many of their fans and supporters a false sense of hope. Hopefully moving forward they can stop doing this and begin to start winning. Many can hope that they may even make the playoffs next year, but knowing the Reds this is unlikely to happen.

      Although these are just my personal opinions and predictions, it is always tough to tell who will win and show out for these big games. There is always that unknown factor that could come into play, making it difficult to know what is going to happen. So ask yourself, who do you think will win the world series?