Adam Dawson's 2021 MLB Wild Card Preview and Predictions

Now that the 2021 MLB regular season is coming to an end, I have decided to give my thoughts, predictions, and whatever else that may enter my head that is related to the upcoming MLB two Wild Card games. I will state the key pieces or players for each team and what they need to do to win. Obviously, I will give my prediction of who I think will win and why. Instead of doing one big Postseason preview, I have decided to write one post for each round of the playoffs. This way it can be separated and it can also be easier to read and follow along. Let's roll!

National League Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Wednesday October, 6th. 8:10 PM ET, TBS

Pitching Matchup: Adam Wainwright vs. Max Scherzer

Normally, I would begin with the American League, but as I am typing this, the American League Wild Card is still up for grabs, so I will begin with the National League.

Beginning with the Cardinals, they have major momentum going into the wild card game, at one point, winning 17 games in a row. As in typical Cardinals fashion, they had to make a late run and barely sneak in as the second wild card team.

Assuming Uncle Charlie or Adam Wainwright is named the starter and takes the ball for the Redbirds, I could see Waino going five or six innings. The battery of Wainwright and Molina is one of the best in all of baseball simply because their chemistry is amazing. Each one knows the other so well, which I believe is the biggest part of their success. As of this writing, Wainwright has tossed 206.1 innings, second in the league to only Zack Wheeler of the Phillies. An ERA of 3.05 on the '21 campaign is solid, as Wainwright has shown he has more left in the tank than what people thought he had in his surgically repaired right elbow.

Tyler O'Neill has seemingly been one of the biggest breakouts in the league this year, as he has 34 home runs, paired with an average of about .280. O'Neill seemed to have finally found the raw power that his Dad, former Mr. Canada, gave him, to hit the ball over the fence, as he is built like a house, and has a very stout figure.

Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt will have to play a major part in the win or go home game, as these two are what drive the Cardinals offense on a game to game basis. Consistent offense contributors, if they do not perform well, I honestly do not see the Cardinals going on to the NLDS.

Finally, Dylan Carlson, the rookie, the kid, whatever you want to call him, has turned it on late in the season, winning National League Player of the Week in mid September. Carlson will want to keep his hot streak going, as the Redbirds will need to bring all their firepower to Los Angeles.

Switching gears to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where do I even start? Personally, I believe they are the best team in the NL West, the best team in the National League, and the best team period in the whole league. No offense to the Giants, but the Dodgers should not even be in this spot fighting for their season. With that being said, if I were a Cardinals fan, I would much rather face the Giants and either Kevin Gausman or Logan Webb in the Wild Card than Max Scherzer, but that is not how it turned out.

Max Scherzer will be taking the mound for the Dodgers. Scherzer, simply put, is a beast, the best pitcher in the National League this season, aside from the great deGrom, at least in my opinion. When Max, the three-time Cy Young winner is on the mound, he is all business, locked in, and mowing hitters down left and right. Whether it be with his slider, fastball, changeup, or cutter, he makes the opposing hitters look like fools. Since being traded to the Dodgers from the Nationals at the trade deadline, Mad Max has been on a whole other level. In his 11 starts wearing a Dodgers uniform, Scherzer has gone 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 1.96 FIP, and 11.2 K/9, with 89 strikeouts. Keep in mind, all of those numbers were achieved in a mere 68.1 innings pitched. Those numbers are straight filth, as he has put himself as the top Cy Young candidate in the National League and I could not be more happy for him. What is even more crazy are his numbers against the Cardinals this season: 2 GS, 14 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 22 SO, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA. After reading the previous two stat lines, I will now pause for a moment of silence to let those numbers sink in....Writing about Scherzer is something that I could do for hours, as he is one of my favorites of all-time. With that being said, he would be one of my five pitchers included in my all-time pitching rotation, if that were a thing. Sadly, I will move on to the other Dodgers that will have to make an impact in the 163rd game of the season. Seriously though, watching Scherzer pitch is a thing of beauty.

Will Smith is one of the best offensive catchers in the league, as I would make a case that he is better with the bat than J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies, but I will save that argument for another day. Assuming Dave Roberts rolls with Smith, not Austin Barnes, he could provide a thud in the middle of the loaded Dodgers lineup. Most likely, Roberts will want the most offense in his lineup, which would lead me to believe that Smith would be locked in behind the dish, putting down the signs, and receiving Scherzer's filthy pitches.

Max Muncy has been one of the most productive infielder's in the league this season, as he has split time between first and second base. Muncy may not shock anyone in the batting average department, but it is his power that brings home his paycheck. Hitting 36 home runs with 92 RBI, Muncy is as consistent as it gets when it comes to hitting baseballs out of the park.

Trea Turner came over with Scherzer from the Nationals for Josiah Gray, Kiebert Ruiz, and a slew of other Dodgers prospects at the August trade deadline and man has he made an impact in just one month with his new team. Two words that I would use to describe Turner would be: Speed Demon. Turner has elite speed and is one of the best, if not the best base stealer in all of baseball. Turner hits at the top of the Dodgers lineup and with good reason. Currently hitting at around a .320 clip, Turner has great bat to ball skills and has some pop in his bat as well. Hitting .319 in August and .340 in September, Turner hit two home runs, including a grand slam against the Padres to bring his home run total up to 22 on October 1st, the day that I am typing this with two games left in the regular season. Look for Turner to be busy on the base paths, although it will be interesting to see if he gets the green light to steal considering Yadier Molina will be gunning down any runners who try to run on him.

Corey Seager has had a productive season amidst injuries, resulting in him only playing 92 games during the regular season. Those 92 games though have been awesome, resulting in 15 home runs, a .298 batting average, and a slugging percentage above .500, at .512. As a side note, Corey is one of my favorite shortstops in the league because of his play style. Now healthy, Seager once again, poses a threat to Wainwright and the Cardinals.

Mookie Betts has not had the best of seasons of his career, but still remains an offensive powerhouse at the top of the Dodgers order. Already winning a World Series with the Red Sox, he knows what winning a ring takes. Hitting a mediocre .268 through 160 games, his home run numbers are down just a bit, 23, than what they normally may be. Still, I would not put it past Betts to at least do something in the Wild Card game, whether it be with his bat or with his Wilson branded glove in right field.

The Final Verdict: As a general baseball fan, I never, ever, EVER, bet against Max Scherzer. Anyone who is a true baseball fan, knows to not bet against Max, it is just common sense, or an unwritten rule. As this rule would be near the top of "Adam's List of Baseball's Unwritten Rules". Having watched Scherzer pitch consistently for the past five seasons and owning him in a few fantasy leagues, I can tell anybody with the upmost confidence that there are very few players, not just pitchers, that are on Max Scherzer's level. To put this into perspective, there is only one pitcher in the league that I would bet my money on against Mad Max in a head to head matchup and his name is Jacob deGrom. Luckily, this is a different situation, as I am all in on Scherzer dominating the Cardinals like usual. The Dodgers offense by itself would beat Wainwright, at least in my opinion, even if Scherzer did not get the ball. The previous statement is nothing against Wainwright, as he has had a great season, but I believe the Dodgers offense is just that much better. The only "downside" to Scherzer, if there even is a downside, is that he will give up the occasional long ball, but never just gets shelled and allow hit after hit on a consistent basis. Adding in the aforementioned Chesterfield, Missouri native to the mix to pitch the win or go home game in Los Angeles for the Dodgers is a wrap, thanks for playing, go home type of situation for the Redbirds. The Cardinals offense and overall team simply cannot keep up with the Dodgers and besides, the depth the Dodgers have is just incredible. Simply put, I am taking Max Scherzer everyday of the week and twice on Sunday's in an elimination game and nobody can tell me otherwise. Honestly, I could care less that the Cardinals or any team for that matter is coming off of a 17 game win streak to end the season, they still have to win against one of the best pitchers of all-time. Once Scherzer starts stalking the mound, it is game over for whoever he is playing against, not just the Cardinals.

Note: Max Muncy left Sunday's game and his status is unknown for Wednesday's Wild Card game.

My Predicted Score: Dodgers win 6-2

My Predicted Pitching Stat Lines:

Wainwright: (L) 5 IP, 4 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB

Scherzer: (W) 6 IP, 2 ER, 11 SO, BB

American League Wild Card: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox

Tuesday, October, 5th 8:08 PM ET, ESPN

Pitching Matchup: Gerrit Cole vs. Nathan Eovaldi

According to the schedule, the AL Wild Card will be played first on Tuesday, October 5th, at 8:08 PM ET, on ESPN. As I am typing this paragraph, it is currently Saturday, October 2nd at around 8:30 PM. With that being said, Brandon Lowe of the Rays just steamrolled the Yankees all by himself a few hours earlier with three home runs and seven RBI. Out of the four teams in contention for the two AL wild card spots, the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Mariners, I am going to go with my gut instinct and say the Yankees and Red Sox meet in a one game playoff at Fenway. If I am wrong, then that just means a bit of extra writing for me. No complaints though, this is what I love to do!

Starting with New York, those dang Yankees seem to always get in the playoffs every season, but seem to never win it all since 2009, as it must be a shame to have only won 27 other rings... In all seriousness though, they pose a threat to take home their 28th ring with one of the most raw power lineups in the league.

Beginning with the most important part of a baseball game, the pitching matchup. Gerrit Cole, the Yankees ace will be given the ball for Aaron Boone's New York squad. Figuring out Cole this season is still a mystery to me, as he was under investigation for using foreign substances earlier in the season. Cole then shut all the doubters up with a complete game against Houston where he decided to go full on beast mode. Cole has had mixed results against the Red Sox though this season, allowing 11 runs this season at just Fenway Park. It will be interesting, as Cole is a top tier pitcher in the league, but has had his struggles against Boston this season.

Nathan Eovaldi has had a great year, considering his ERA was at 5.99 in 2019. Averaging about 10 strikeouts per nine innings this season, Eovaldi is more of a swing and miss guy, than a pitcher who likes to pitch to contact.

Instead of breaking up specific players like I did with the other Wild Card game, I decided to put Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Joey Gallo in the same paragraph, simply because their skill set is so similar.

Judge and Stanton have been in New York from the beginning of the season, as both had a great season, with Judge in the AL MVP conversation. Stanton ended the season on a high note, as he hit 20 home runs after the All-Star break, compared to his 15 in the first half of the year. Joey Gallo came over from Texas in the craziest trade deadline that I had ever seen. The only difference between Gallo and the other two is that he can barely hit over the dreaded "Mendoza Line" season after season. Although this may hurt his overall value, his power is undeniable and certainly makes up for the poor average. Hitting 13 bombs in 58 games since the deadline, Gallo is bound to either boom or bust in the Wild Card game.

Anthony Rizzo, also came over in the trade deadline from the Cubs. Rizzo put up a similar average, .249 in a Yankees uniform, than he did as a member of the Cubs, at .248. The lefty has had 15 extra base hits since the deadline as well, as he had 33 for Chicago.

Finally, it will be interesting to see if Boone rolls with Kyle Higashioka or Gary Sanchez to pair with Cole. Usually, Higashioka is behind the plate, as Cole and Higgy work better together. Although, Sanchez is the better catcher by an offensive standpoint, I will be very interested to see which way Boone goes.

The Red Sox seem to have a four headed offensive monster, in Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Alex Verdugo. Devers, the Sox third baseman, specifically has given Cole the most trouble this season, seemingly homering off of him quite a bit. Martinez, led the league in doubles, with 42 this season. J.D. seems to always get on base, whether or not the ball stays in the park. Newly outfield acquisition, Kyle Schwarber, also can provide power and hit balls out of the park at a pretty good rate. Hunter Renfroe has been the most underrated member in the lineup this season in my opinion. Renfroe has quietly had a great season, while hitting 31 home runs with 96 RBI.

The Final Verdict: This one could go either way, as deciding this winner was much tougher compared to the National League Wild Card. Personally, I seem to always go with the better pitcher, which would be Cole in this matchup. Betting against the Yankees in a one game playoff would be foolish, but I could also see the Red Sox getting into a rhythm and consistently getting on base and jumping out to an early lead. A tossup for sure, I am going to have to go with the Yankees in a close game that should come down to the bitter end. Mixing in a one game playoff with the historic rivalry of the Yankees and Red Sox could not get much better than this. If it comes down to a bullpen type of game, I am betting my money on New York's relief arms to pull through.

My Predicted Score: Yankees Win 7-5

My Predicted Pitching Stat Lines:

Cole: (W) 5 IP, 3 ER, 9 SO, 3 BB

Eovaldi: (L) 5 IP, 4 ER, 7 SO, 2 BB

Final Thoughts: I hope you all have enjoyed reading my 2021 Wild Card predictions. Giving my baseball insight and knowledge to other people is something that I try my best at and something that I enjoy doing, as I consider baseball to be the sport that I am the most familiar with. As I mentioned in the introduction, I will be breaking up the playoffs, by having one individual post for each round. With this in mind, I will have a post dedicated to the Division Series later in the week. Let the Postseason begin, because it is going to be a fun and memorable ride!!!

See you at the Ballpark!!!

Adam