2018 MLB Playoffs: Division Round Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Division Round of the 2018 MLB Playoffs.

National League Division Series
(WC2) Colorado Rockies vs (1) Milwaukee Brewers: This is going to be a sneaky great series. The Rockies won their Wild Card game to get here and the Brewers won the NL Central courtesy of winning a tiebreaker game in Wrigley Field. The Rockies offense is great led by Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, and the red hot David Dahl. The Brewers offense is great too led by MVP favorite Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Jesus Aguliar, and trade acquisition Mike Moustakas. The Rockies rotation is improved led by Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, and Antonio Senzatela. The Brewers rotation isn't great and will start the likes of Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, and Jhoulys Chacin and will start an opener in Game 1 with Brandon Woodruff. The Rockies pen is pretty solid with Wade Davis, Scott Oberg, and Adam Ottavino leading the way. The Brewers pen is the best in the NL led by Josh Hader, Woodruff, Jeremy Jeffress, and Corey Knebel. I love this series and with the presence of Hader and his nasty stuff in that Brewers pen, I love them to advance.
Prediction: Brewers in five games.

(3) Atlanta Braves vs (2) Los Angeles Dodgers: This should be a somewhat interesting series. The Braves deserve a lot of credit for being here winning the division and there offense is solid led by Freddie Freeman and Rookie of the Year favorite Ronald Acuna Jr. The Dodgers offense is the best in the NL led by Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Manny Machado. The Braves rotation is solid led by Mike Foltynewicz, Anibal Sanchez, and Kevin Gausman. The Dodgers rotation is the best of the NL Playoff teams led by Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Hy-Jun Riu, and Rich Hill. The Braves bullpen has fallen off a little bit the final few weeks of the season with the likes of Arodys Vizcaino, AJ Minter, and Brad Brach. The Dodgers bullpen is deepened with the presence of Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood coming over from the rotation to go with Kenley Jansen. The Braves have had a phenomenal season, but I don't see them upsetting the Dodgers and all the talent they have.
Prediction: Dodgers in four games.

American League Division Series
(WC1) New York Yankees vs (1) Boston Red Sox: The best rivalry in sports meets in postseason play for the first time since Boston's famous comeback from 3-0 down to win in seven in 2004. This series is fascinating for so many reasons. The Yankees, fresh off their Wild Card win over the Oakland Athletics have many reasons to believe they can win this series. Their offense is great led by Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius, AL Rookie of the Year candidate Miguel Andujar, and the red hot Luke Voit. The Red Sox offense was the best in the game this season led by MVP favorite Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, and Xander Bogaerts. The Yanks rotation is solid led by Luis Severino, JA Happ, and Masahiro Tanaka. The Sox rotation is good too led by Chris Sale (who's been dealing with some arm and velocity issues), Rick Porcello, and David Price. The Yanks bullpen is the best in the game led by Chad Greene, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, and Aroldis Chapman. The Sox pen is not very good outside of closer Craig Kimbrel and guys like Joe Kelly, Brandon Workman, and Tyler Thornburg aren't going to cut it. Because of the bridge to Kimbrel being an issue the Sox failed to address at the deadline plus the questions surrounding Sale and the fact the Yankees are healthy as a whole right now, give me the Yanks to end the Sox dream season early.
Prediction: Yankees in four games.

(3) Cleveland Indians vs (2) Houston Astros: This is the best series of the four and these two teams have excellent chances to win the World Series assuming who wins this series. The Indians lineup is very good led by Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Edwin Encarnacion. The Astros lineup is strong too led by reigning MVP Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa (who's dealing with back issues), and Alex Bregman. The Indians rotation is strong led by Corey Kluber, Carlos Corrasco, Shane Bieber, and Mike Clevenger. The Astros rotation is probably the best in baseball led by Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton, and Dallas Keuchel. The Indians pen is improved with deadline acquisitions Brad Hand and Adam Cimber to go with Andrew Miller and Cody Allen and you also have Trevor Bauer as a weapon out there for the playoffs. The Astros pen is improved with Roberto Osuna coming over in a trade and recent call up Josh James to go with Chris Devinski. With Correa dealing with his back issues and some of the Indians hitters with past success against Verlander, I like the Indians to steal this series.
Prediction: Indians in five games.