2014 MLB League Division Series Predictions

Here are my predictions for the division round of the 2014 MLB postseason.

American League
(A1) Los Angeles Angels vs (A4) Kansas City Royals: Kansas City won a thriller in twelve innings over the collapsing Oakland Athletics. The Angels are poised for a deep postseason run, lead by the leagues best all-around player in outfielder Mike Trout. The Angels have a good offense with underrated pitching while Kansas City is going to continue their small ball approach they used in order to win the wild card game. Kansas City manager Ned Yost received a lot of heat for taking starter James Shields out and replacing him with the hard-throwing rookie Yordano Ventura, who gave up a home run to Oakland's Brandon Moss that gave Oakland the lead. Expect Yost to be out managed by Angels skipper Mike Soscia en route to the Angels taking the series. Prediction: Angels in 4.

(A2) Baltimore Orioles vs (A3) Detroit Tigers: Baltimore is in the postseason again after missing October last season. Detroit is poised to make a World Series run with their great pitching and offense  that they have. This is an intriguing matchup by all means. Baltimore has a great offense with underrated pitching. An underrated strength of Baltimore is their bullpen, which is Detroit's achilles heel. Will this series be the last of shortstop JJ Hardy and outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis in Baltimore? Is this the last of Max Scherzer in Detroit? Time will tell because those players will be free agents after the season. Experience matters, and that's what puts Detroit at a whole different level. Prediction: Tigers in 5.

National League
(N1) Washington Nationals vs (N4) San Francisco Giants: This is a fascinating series. Washington is back in the postseason after a disappointing season last year and the same goes for San Francisco, who won the National League Wild Card game in dominant fashion in Pittsburgh. Washington has arguably the best starting pitching in baseball and a solid offense. San Francisco has a solid offense as well with an underrated pitching staff, including staff ace, Madison Bumgarner. San Francisco has a mediocre bullpen, while Washington has a solid bullpen. This should be a great series, but Washington doesn't have what San Francisco has- experience. Prediction: Giants in 5.

(N2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs (N3) St. Louis Cardinals: This is the best matchup of the four. A rematch of last years National League Championship Series is here! Outstanding starting pitching with the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and St. Louis's Adam Wainwright, star power, good bullpens, etc. The Dodgers have a better offense than St. Louis with the rejuvenated Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig playing well both offensively and defensively of late for the Dodgers. St. Louis is a team many people overlook going into the postseason, including this season and the past several years, they've played their best baseball in October, and expect that trend to continue. Prediction: Cardinals in 5.