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FanGraphs | Jeff Sullivan: If we were to project the playoff teams’ rankings based on WAR/162 moving forward, the best team would actually be the Yankees, followed by the Indians, Astros and Red Sox. If we were to project using regular season statistics, then it would be the Dodgers then Yankees and Athletics.
The Athletic | Cliff Corcoran ($): There have been a lot of crucial wild card game moments, so keep that in mind as we watch: Madison Bumgarner’s shutdown performance in 2014, as well as the Royals’ epic victory over the Athletics immediately come to mind. There’s also the no-Zach-Britton-game, as well as the Yankees’ 1⁄3 inning from Luis Severino that ended in a win.
Bill James Online | Mark Simon: The best defensive player according to DRS was Matt Chapman, unsurprisingly, completing what was absolutely and under-the-radar MVP-like season. The best defensive team was the Diamondbacks, and other notables (best at their position) include Nick Ahmed, Mookie Betts, Lorenzo Cain, and Alex Gordon.
Tangotiger Blog | Tom Tango: Tango’s Cy Young predictor is done, and it says that Jacob deGrom and Blake Snell will walk away with the prize. The rankings are interesting in explanation, and also of note is that Edwin Diaz and Blake Treinen will likely get a few votes as well.