October baseball is not about one-man shows, although a leading man capable of showing the way can make a difference when it comes to making a World Series run.
With four division series about to commence, now that the wild-card round is complete with four best-of-three sweeps, each of the eight teams remaining have a key player who figures to blaze a trail for his club.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles
Rangers
Corey Seager: From consistent contact to high-exit velocity and a sure glove, Seager was better than everybody in the AL, outside of Shohei Ohtani. Seager went 4-for-8 with three doubles in Texas’ two-game wild-card sweep of the Rays, another productive playoff series. When the Los Angeles Dodgers won the title in 2020, Seager had a 1.171 OPS and eight homers in 18 playoff games and a 1.256 OPS while winning the World Series MVP.
Orioles
Adley Rutschman: The Orioles enter their first playoff appearance since 2016 having not been swept in 91 consecutive series (minimum two games) during regular-season play. The run began in May 2022, days before Rutschman arrived in the major leagues, and the connection is no coincidence. Rutschman reached base 257 times this season by either hit, walk or hit batter, tied for 15th most in major league history by a primary catcher.
Minnesota Twins vs. Houston Astros
Twins
Royce Lewis: Just three players have hit home runs in their first two postseason at-bats, and Lewis is one of them after going deep twice in the opener of the wild-card round against the Toronto Blue Jays. Former Twin Gary Gaetti (1987) also did it, as did the Tampa Bay Rays’ Evan Longoria (2008). Lewis has just 70 games of regular-season experience and 58 this year, but he produced 15 homers and 52 RBIs in basically a third of a season in 2023.
Astros
Yordan Alvarez: As many as 4 1/2 games out of the AL West lead in the second half and chasing the Rangers for most of the season, the Astros needed a late-season hero. Alvarez was selected the AL Player of the Month for September after registering a .629 slugging percentage, a .441 on-base percentage and eight homers, all fourth or better in the league during the month. Houston’s leadership core is getting older, but at 26, Alvarez is just hitting his stride.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves
Phillies
Trea Turner: Bryce Harper is the Phillies’ heartbeat, but the moment the club turned back into a World Series threat was when Turner got his act together after a slow four months with his new club. A standing ovation for a struggling Turner on Aug. 4 was a curious idea. But after the show of support from the often-critical Philadelphia faithful, Turner batted .342 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs over his final 48 games.
Braves
Ronald Acuna Jr.: As September arrived, the Braves entered an NL showdown series with the Dodgers and left with a commanding advantage as Acuna burnished his MVP credentials. Acuna showed his big-game chops with six hits, four runs, three homers and six RBIs in the series. Acuna missed the Braves’ 2021 title run with an injury. He looks ready to make up for lost time after putting up the majors’ first-ever 40-homer, 70-steal season.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Corbin Carroll: Another player with a stunning blend of power and speed, Carroll is the prohibitive favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year. Carroll was the first rookie ever to hit 25 home runs and steal 50 bases, and he was the first player in AL/NL history to finish with 25 homers, 50 steals and 10 triples in a year. He was an All-Star in July, and he went 4-for-7 with three runs and a 444-foot home run in the wild-card series opener against the Milwaukee Brewrs.
Dodgers
J.D. Martinez: While Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were in the NL MVP mix, Martinez holds the key to keeping the Los Angeles lineup moving. Martinez drove in 103 runs in just 113 games, with the Dodgers slowing down from a hot August while he was out with a mysterious groin injury. The 36-year-old veteran looks healthy again, as he amassed eight homers, 25 RBIs and a 1.117 OPS in 20 September games.
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media