Ranking MLB’s four divisional playoff series: Mets-Phillies could be chaos

The Major League Baseball playoffs continue on Saturday when the divisional series kick off. In three of the series we will see divisional rivals going against each other.

All four matchups have their own charm and intrigue to them, but some stand out above the rest.

So with that in mind let’s rank the four series from most to least intriguing before they begin. 

1. Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets

This not only has the chance to be a great series on the field, it could also be must-see TV in the stands. These two teams are a roughly 70-minute Amtrak ride apart from each other and both fan bases not only travel exceptionally well, they will be trying to take over the other stadium every game. It will be madness. It is always wild and intense when these clubs meet for a regular-season game and now we are talking about a playoff series with a trip to the NLCS on the line. 

The Phillies have the better team on paper, but the Mets have some crazy run happening here that is giving them a team of destiny type of vibe in the National League. 

It was a very evenly matched regular-season series with the Phillies winning seven of the 13 games. 

2. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres

The other divisional series in the National League features an NL West rivalry with the Dodgers playing the Padres.

There is perhaps no team under more pressure to win the World Series this season than Dodgers. Not only because they have fallen short in the playoffs so many times over the past decade, but also because of their spending spree this offseason that saw them add Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

The Dodgers were one of the best teams in the league a year ago and then failed to win a single playoff game. That cannot happen again this season.

It is officially World Series or bust for the Dodgers.

This series will also feature the postseason debut of Ohtani. 

The Padres, meanwhile, ended up taking the season series over the Dodgers (8-5) and have become something of a model franchise for smaller/mid-market teams. They are not afraid to spend to compete with the big boys and have a star-laden roster that is perfectly capable of winning it all. 

3. New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals

The Yankees playing the Baltimore Orioles would have certainly had more juice in terms from a rivalry and bitterness angle, but there is still plenty to like about this matchup. 

Specifically….

• The small market upstart team trying to beat the big spending Yankees.
• The Royals’ pitching staff trying to shut down the superstar Yankees duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
• The fact the two best players in the American League this season (Judge and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.) will be facing off against each other.

Nobody expected the Royals to be here, not after losing 106 games a year ago and not after drawing the Orioles in the wild-card round. But they are and they have nothing to lose at this point. The Yankees are the team with all of the pressure on them. 

4. Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians

Just because this series is at the bottom does not mean it is uninteresting. Plus, these unexpected series can sometimes produce some of the best baseball.

The Guardians have some star power with Jose Ramirez leading the way at the top of the roster, but the Tigers are still a mostly anonymous team that baseball fans outside of Detroit are still getting to know. 

The Tigers do have one big advantage for them going into this series and that is the fact they have the best starting pitcher in the American League in Tarik Skubal and could potentially throw him in two games in this series if it goes five games. Nobody should want to face that. All the Tigers have to do is try to steal one of the other three games in the series to help make him the biggest X-factor.