2024 MLB Playoffs: ALCS and NLCS Expert Predictions

Only four teams remain in the 2024 MLB Playoffs after the New York Mets eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in a thrilling divisional series series and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated their division rivals, the San Diego Padres, in a thrilling win-or-win sweep defeated game 5.

Now that the Mets-Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians-New York Yankees matchups have been determined, it's time for some (more) predictions! We asked our MLB experts to weigh in on who will advance to the World Series, which players will earn MVP honors in the league's championship series, and what topics we'll all be talking about in the coming week. Our experts also explain why their original predictions for the Fall Classics still hold true – or were completely wrong.

LCS previews: Mets-Dodgers | Guardians Yankees | Bracket

Jump to: NLCS | ALCS | Predictions we got right | … and wrong |

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National League Championship Series

Los Angeles Dodgers (8 votes)

In how many games: Seven games (2 votes), six games (4), five games (2)

MVP if the Dodgers win: Shohei Ohtani (5), Mookie Betts (2), Teoscar Hernandez (1)

Who picked the Dodgers: Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, Eric Karabell, Tim Kurkjian, Buster Olney, David Schoenfield, Xavier Scruggs

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New York Mets (6 votes)

In how many games: Seven games (4 votes), six games (2)

MVP if the Mets win: Francisco Lindor (2), Sean Manaea (1), Starling Marte (1), Brandon Nimmo (1), Mark Vientos (1)

Who picked the Mets: Jorge Castillo, Paul Hembekides, Tim Keown, Kiley McDaniel, Jesse Rogers, Jeff Passan

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The one thing we'll all talk about:

The Mets' incredible rise to the World Series included defeating a division rival (Braves) to clinch a playoff spot, firing David Stearns' former employer (Brewers) in the NL Wild Card Series, and eliminating one other division rivals and NL pennant favorites (Phillies) in the NLDS. They will add that they defeated the organization that Steve Cohen has openly said he has hoped to repeat since purchasing the Mets before attempting to topple their big brother in the Bronx. — Castillo

As much early attention will be focused on the showdown between Ohtani and Lindor, ultimately the focus will be on Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Whether he makes good decisions or not is pretty much irrelevant. Either the Dodgers fall short again or they don't. Of course that's not fair and the win against the Padres helped, but Roberts isn't out of the woods yet. –Doolittle

Walker Buehler is back. It was difficult coming back from a second Tommy John surgery, but Buehler actually looked pretty good in Game 3 of the NLDS. He endured a terrible six-run second inning in which he was mostly let down by his defense, but still managed to get through the fifth inning, freeing up a bullpen game the following night. Buehler loves this stage. And he's in line for Games 2 and 6 at Dodger Stadium. He will deliver. –Gonzalez

How could anyone ever have wondered if they would win given 20/20 hindsight and listening to the Dodgers' postgame interviews? The brave, brave and respectful Dodgers work against all the disadvantages in front of them and win in 5. — Olney

With Freddie Freeman hobbled – presumably for the rest of the postseason – the responsibility for Ohtani to be at the top of the Dodgers lineup is greater than ever. After a strong first game of the division series, Ohtani struggled. He'll be at the center of any conversation about the Dodgers, with the main question being: Can Ohtani lead the Dodgers to the World Series in his first season with the team? — Passan

How incredible the trio of Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana continue to pitch. They're going to give the Dodgers fits — and we won't understand exactly how they do it. –Rogers

Ohtani. We'll talk about the five home runs Ohtani hit in the Series – including the go-ahead run in Game 7. — Schoenfield

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American League Championship Series

New York Yankees (12 votes)

In how many games: Seven games (5 votes), six games (6), five games (1)

MVP if the Yankees win: Aaron Judge (7), Juan Soto (3), Gerrit Cole (1), Gleyber Torres (1)

Who picked the Yankees: Jorge Castillo, Tristan Cockcroft, Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, Paul Hembekides, Eric Karabell, Tim Keown, Tim Kurkjian, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers, Xavier Scruggs

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Cleveland Guardians (1 vote)

In how many games: Seven games (1)

MVP if the Guardians win: Jose Ramirez

Who chose the Guardians: David Schoenfield

The one thing we'll all talk about:

The first Subway Series in nearly a quarter century will begin with an exciting subplot: ALCS MVP Juan Soto takes on the team everyone believes will be the Yankees' rival for his services this winter. — Castillo

No matter what happens, the spotlight will be on Aaron Judge. If he's out, that's his way of overcoming his postseason problems. If he doesn't, these fights will continue. I wish this didn't have to be discussed every time the camera finds Judge during the game, but only he can make it stop. –Doolittle

Here's one thing we have habit what we're talking about: Aaron Judge's break-in. Much like he overcame a difficult April to put together an MVP regular season, Judge will emerge from a sluggish ALDS in which he went 2-for-13 with an extra-base hit to lift the Yankees into the World Series to lead. –Gonzalez

How much can Stephen Vogt get out of his bullpen? The Guardians' greatest strength this season was their late-innings impenetrability due to a tremendous group of relievers, and Vogt leaned heavily on them. Cade Smith ranked fifth in the AL in innings pitched among relievers. Hunter Gaddis was sixth and Emmanuel Clase was eighth. Vogt's ability to ride his backup army will continue to be a question for the Guardians until the end of their season. — Passan

How much money will Juan Soto make? He will be key in his best playoff series yet against the right-handed Guardians. This includes a few walks, but hey, it's progressing. –Rogers

How the vaunted Cleveland bullpen shut out Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to lead the Guardians to the World Series. — Schoenfield

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We're right about our World Series predictions – so far

David Schoenfield: Hey, I had the Dodgers Guardians at the start of the playoffs – when everyone else was jumping on the Padres bandwagon. Considering the Dodgers have advanced without Ohtani doing much, it seems like it's time for him to put together a monster series to get the Dodgers to the World Series – just like the bullpen did will do for Cleveland.

Kiley McDaniel: I had the Dodgers in the World Series, but the only problem is they lost to the Orioles. I thought the AL would be wide open, leaning toward youth, a deep lineup, and an ace, while the NL would basically play chalk. I can predict the outlook better than the playoffs, especially if the series is down to three or five so far.

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The World Series predictions went wrong

Jorge Castillo: Astros over Phillies. I believed the Astros' experience and starting rotation would carry them through the open American League. Turns out neither matters much in a three-game series against a red-hot team. As for the Phillies, who could have predicted their hitters would disappear? It's stupid to go against the Mets at this point.

Tristan Cockcroft: Padres over Yankees. Whether it happened in the division or the championship series – heads up, MLB, they really should be seeded back into the playoff round – Padres-Dodgers was a matchup that I viewed as a premier league championship, and the Padres came close – – within two runs in the decisive game. These Mets impressed me in October, and it would certainly be fun to predict another subway series, but many of these feel-good playoff stories run out of fuel near the finish line.

Alden González: The Astros and Padres competed in the World Series, and neither made it to their respective championship series. Although they came up short, both teams emphasized an important point about October baseball: Even the best offenses can fail when you have detailed game plans and throw an array of effective weapons at them.

Eric Karabell: Obviously predicting a 2022 World Series rematch was silly, so let's go with 1977, 1978 and 1981 instead. Have fun, traditionalists!

Tim Keown: It turned out that, as I predicted, the Padres fell a few runs behind the Yankees in the World Series, but who doesn't love a Subway Series? It seems unlikely that the Dodgers — despite their bullpen championship in the NLDS — can muster enough pitching to win a seven-game series.

Jeff Passan: The less I say about my World Series prediction, the better. I'll leave it at this: I didn't expect four relievers with a combined ERA of 2.20 during the regular season – Carlos Estevez, Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman and Orion Kerkering – to post a 12.10 ERA in the postseason .

Jesse Rogers: My World Series pick – the Phillies – quickly went out of contention, meaning the team that beat them should be taken seriously. And it helps that the $300 million Mets can play the underdog card again simply because they're facing the Dodgers. I'll also go along with this trend: the team that beats Milwaukee in the playoffs always wins the pennant. These are the Mets.