*Photo from CBS Sports*
It's time for the NLDS. It's the hotshot Atlanta Braves against the underdog St.Louis Cardinals, in which the starting pitchers for game one will be a playoff veteran against a playoff rookie. Let's take a look. The Cardinals and Braves haven't played since May, and the Braves won 4 out of the 6 games they played against each other. The teams last played postseason baseball against each other in the 2012 wild card game, in which the Cardinals emerged victorious. The Braves start playoff veteran Dallas Keuchel for the first game, his 11th postseason appearance, and the Cardinals start playoff rookie Miles Mikolas to start the best of 5 series.
The Braves had a great year last season, only to get destroyed by the Dodgers in the NLDS last year. This time, they hope for a deep playoff run, and they have the team to do it. They have an amazing young corps led by the slugger Ronald Acuna, defensive gem Ozzie Albies, star shortstop Dansby Swanson, and franchise face Freddie Freeman. They gambled in the offseason by signing 3B Josh Donaldson to a one year deal, and that has paid off in spades, with Donaldson putting up huge numbers. Nick Markakis has also had a nice resurgence since being a part of the Braves. The pitching staff is led by Keuchel, Cy Young and rookie of the year candidate Mike Soroka, and a Mike Foltynewicz looking very strong as of late. Max Fried also presents a left handed option both as a starter and reliever. The bullpen was bolstered at the trade deadline, adding Shane Greene and Mark Melancon to go with the newly reliable Luke Jackson, and it seems to have worked. These guys can be dark horse world series contenders, that's how good they are.
The Cardinals had a disappointing 2018, but have rebounded. The power hitters featured are Matt Carpenter, Paul Goldschmidt, and Marcell Ozuna, bashing homers left and right. Dexter Fowler has been a good signing for them, and Harrison Bader came out of nowhere to be a star centerfielder. Kolten Wong has been a steady force all over the diamond, and Yadier Molina remains the franchise catcher. The rotation features veteran Adam Wainwright, Dakota Hudson, Mikolas, who was plucked from Japan, and new ace Jack Flaherty, who has put up amazing stats this season. The bullpen features converted starter Michael Wacha, John Brebbia, Andrew Miller, and Carlos Martinez as top relievers, with guys like John Gant and Daniel Ponce De Leon playing smaller roles. This was a team built for October in the offseason, even though they didn't make it easy in the regular season.
With all this in mind, my pick to win the series is the Braves in 4 games. St.Louis does have a talented and competitive roster, but in my mind they just don't have enough to compete with Atlanta. They have one of the most complete teams, with impact hitting throughout the order, strong starting pitching, and a bullpen that has looked significantly better since July. I think it's just too much for St.Louis to handle, so the Braves will be going to the NLCS.
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