Forcing baseball writers to make predictions isn’t particularly nice. People tend to remember the bad picks more than the good ones, and a lot of flukiness can reveal itself in a short stretch of games. Still, I’m a scamp, so I asked my colleagues for their postseason winners. Thirty-two writers from across our family of blogs answered the call. Many of them proved to be Astros and Dodgers believers but some went in less well-worn directions. Below are the results by league and round, as well as each writer’s complete forecast. Happy playoffs!
National League
Wild Card and Divisional Series
National League Wild Card
| Winner |
Votes |
| Nationals |
21 |
| Brewers |
11 |
Braves vs. Cardinals Division Series
| Winner |
Votes |
| Braves |
23 |
| Cardinals |
9 |
Dodgers vs. Wild Card Winner Division Series
| Winner |
Votes |
| Dodgers |
21 |
| Nationals |
10 |
| Brewers |
1 |
Championship Series
NL Championship Series Matchups
| Matchup |
Votes |
| Dodgers vs. Braves |
17 |
| Braves vs. Nationals |
6 |
| Dodgers vs. Cardinals |
4 |
| Cardinals vs. Nationals |
4 |
| Cardinals vs. Brewers |
1 |
NL Championship Series Winner
| Winner |
Votes |
| Dodgers |
19 |
| Nationals |
7 |
| Braves |
4 |
| Cardinals |
2 |
American League
Wild Card and Divisional Series
American League Wild Card
| Winner |
Votes |
| Rays |
20 |
| Athletics |
12 |
Yankees vs. Twins Division Series
| Winner |
Votes |
| Yankees |
21 |
| Twins |
11 |
Astros vs. Wild Card Winner Division Series
| Winner |
Votes |
| Astros |
30 |
| Athletics |
1 |
| Rays |
1 |
Championship Series
AL Championship Series Matchups
| Matchup |
Votes |
| Astros vs. Yankees |
20 |
| Astros vs. Twins |
10 |
| Yankees vs. Athletics |
1 |
| Twins vs. Rays |
1 |
AL Championship Series Winner
| Winner |
Votes |
| Astros |
26 |
| Yankees |
5 |
| Rays |
1 |
World Series
World Series Matchups
| Matchup |
Votes |
| Astros vs. Dodgers |
16 |
| Astros vs. Nationals |
7 |
| Dodgers vs. Yankees |
3 |
| Astros vs. Braves |
2 |
| Yankees vs. Cardinals |
1 |
| Astros vs. Cardinals |
1 |
| Yankees vs. Braves |
1 |
| Braves vs. Rays |
1 |
World Series Champion
| Winner |
Votes |
| Astros |
15 |
| Dodgers |
8 |
| Nationals |
4 |
| Yankees |
3 |
| Cardinals |
1 |
| Braves |
1 |
Full Writer Predictions
FanGraphs 2019 Staff Playoff Predictions
| Writer |
NL WC |
AL WC |
ATL/STL DS |
LAD/WC DS |
NYY/MIN DS |
HOU/WC DS |
NLCS |
ALCS |
World Series |
| Tony Wolfe |
MIL |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
ATL |
HOU |
HOU |
| Justin Mason |
WSN |
OAK |
ATL |
WSN |
NYY |
HOU |
ATL |
HOU |
HOU |
| Dylan Higgins |
MIL |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
MIN |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Shelly Verougstraete |
MIL |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Jake Mailhot |
MIL |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Josh Herzenberg |
WSN |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Dan Szymborski |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Benjamin Pasinkoff |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Shane Tourtellotte |
MIL |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
MIN |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| Birchwood Brothers |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
MIN |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| Kiley McDaniel |
MIL |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| Brendan Gawlowski |
MIL |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| Ben Kaspick |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| Rachael McDaniel |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| David Laurila |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
WSN |
MIN |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
HOU |
| Nick Dika |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
WSN |
NYY |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
HOU |
| Devan Fink |
WSN |
OAK |
ATL |
WSN |
NYY |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
WSN |
| Brad Johnson |
WSN |
OAK |
ATL |
WSN |
MIN |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
WSN |
| Paul Sporer |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
WSN |
MIN |
TBR |
ATL |
TBR |
ATL |
| Brice Russ |
WSN |
TBR |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
ATL |
NYY |
NYY |
| Dustin Nosler |
WSN |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
NYY |
LAD |
| Nick Pollack |
WSN |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
NYY |
NYY |
| Rian Watt |
MIL |
OAK |
ATL |
LAD |
NYY |
OAK |
LAD |
NYY |
NYY |
| Eric Longenhagen |
WSN |
TBR |
STL |
WSN |
MIN |
HOU |
STL |
HOU |
HOU |
| Craig Edwards |
WSN |
TBR |
STL |
LAD |
MIN |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Jay Jaffe |
MIL |
OAK |
STL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Jeff Zimmerman |
WSN |
TBR |
STL |
LAD |
NYY |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
HOU |
| Justin Klugh |
MIL |
TBR |
STL |
LAD |
MIN |
HOU |
LAD |
HOU |
LAD |
| Meg Rowley |
WSN |
TBR |
STL |
WSN |
MIN |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
HOU |
| Ben Clemens |
WSN |
TBR |
STL |
WSN |
MIN |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
WSN |
| Jason Martinez |
WSN |
TBR |
STL |
WSN |
NYY |
HOU |
WSN |
HOU |
WSN |
| Audrey Stark |
MIL |
OAK |
STL |
MIL |
NYY |
HOU |
STL |
NYY |
STL |
I did MLB.com’s bracket and came out with the exact same as Nick Dika. It’s a shame I’m ineligible as a non-US resident. Nick, if you’re happy to sign up and take part, I’ll gladly accept half the winnings.
Non-US residents are ineligible?! I think I’ve got the same bracket as Nick Pollack, and that’s clearly the winner. I offer 50% of the $250k prize to anyone who will let me use their New York state address (since I registered as a New Yorker) when I win.
I believe you have to be a resident in the US or Canada-except-Quebec. Same for Beat the Streak.