2024 MLB Division Series preview

With the Wild Card Series in the books, the MLB Postseason will move to the next phase Saturday as all four Division Series matchups get underway.

In the American League, the Yankees are set to face the Royals, while the Guardians take on the Tigers. And in the National League, the Dodgers will square off with the Padres, while the Phillies go head to head with the Mets.

Here’s a breakdown of all four series heading into Game 1.

Yankees (1) vs. Royals (5)

Season series (Yankees 5, Royals 2): The Yankees took three of four from the Royals at Kauffman Stadium from June 10-13, outscoring Kansas City, 28-12. The two teams met again at Yankee Stadium from Sept. 9-11, with the Yankees winning two of three.

Postseason history: These two franchises were once heated rivals, facing off in the AL Championship Series four times in a five-year span from 1976-80, with the Yankees winning three of those series (1976-78). However, this will be the first time they have played each other in the playoffs since the Royals’ ALCS victory in 1980.

One player to watch for each team: This series will feature the two players likely to finish first and second in AL MVP voting this year, Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (as well as Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, who will likely place third). Judge led the Majors in homers (58), RBIs (144), walks (133) and OPS (1.159), and he was third in the AL in batting average (.322). Witt won the batting title with a .332 average and recorded his second straight 30-homer/30-steal season, becoming the first shortstop with multiple 30-30 campaigns in MLB history.

Potential series X-factor: On the one hand, the Royals come in with a starting pitching advantage, no small thing in a best-of-five series. On the other, the Yankees got to set their ALDS rotation, and the Royals didn’t. That leaves the pitching matchups looking mismatched all around, with New York all but guaranteed to get two starts out of its ace, Cole, should the series go beyond Game 3.

Guardians (2) vs. Tigers (6)

Game 1 start time: 1:08 p.m. ET on Saturday
Probable starting pitchers: Tanner Bibee (CLE) vs. TBA (DET)

Season series (Guardians 7, Tigers 6): Cleveland edged Detroit by one game in the season series, but these two teams haven’t played since July 30. The Tigers were 52-57 at that point, 14 games behind the Guardians and 7 1/2 games out of the AL Wild Card race.

Postseason history: These two franchises have met 2,326 times in the regular season, but this will be their first postseason matchup.

One player to watch for each team: Guardians third baseman José Ramírez had another standout season in 2024, falling one homer shy of becoming the seventh member of the 40-homer/40-steal club. However, postseason success has eluded the six-time All-Star, who has hit .242 with two homers and a .638 OPS over 32 playoff games. “Pitching chaos” has worked well for the Tigers during their improbable run to the ALDS, but the team will continue to lean on AL Cy Young Award frontrunner Tarik Skubal to provide stability on the days he starts.

Potential series X-factor: With off-days after Game 1, Game 2 and Game 4, the ALDS schedule could be advantageous to the Tigers’ pitching situation, which features only one true starter (Skubal) along with a bunch of openers and bulk relievers. The schedule will not only give Detroit a chance to start Skubal twice in the series — including in a potential winner-take-all Game 5 — but also allow manager A.J. Hinch to freely deploy his relievers without having to worry much about rest.

Dodgers (1) vs. Padres (4)

Season series (Padres 8, Dodgers 5): The Padres and Dodgers split their season-opening two-game series in Seoul, South Korea. San Diego then took two of three at Dodger Stadium from April 12-14, and again at Petco Park from May 10-12. The Padres swept another two-game series in San Diego from July 30-31, and the Dodgers won two out of three in the clubs’ final series of the regular season from Sept. 24-26 in Los Angeles.

Postseason history: This playoff matchup may be the NL West’s new even year phenomenon. It’ll be the third time in the past five years that the Dodgers and Padres have met in the NLDS, and at the moment they’re even, with the Dodgers having swept the 2020 series and the Padres winning the 2022 rematch, three games to one.

One player to watch for each team: Shohei Ohtani will be making his postseason debut in his seventh year in the Major Leagues after becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs (54) and steal 50 or more bases (59) in the same season. On the other side, Padres rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill had a regular season that could make him the NL Rookie of the Year, and he followed that up by going 3-for-7 with a double, triple and two RBIs in the NL Wild Card Series. His exciting play both at the plate and in the field, as well as his penchant for delivering in clutch situations, make him a player to watch in his first postseason.

Potential series X-factor: The Padres could be without Joe Musgrove, meaning that the rest of the starting rotation will need to step up. Dylan Cease is slated to start Game 1, which makes him the presumed starter for Game 5, if necessary. Given that both teams have loaded lineups and are fairly evenly matched in the bullpen, starting pitching could be the difference. The Dodgers’ rotation is very thin, with questions surrounding even the pitchers who will start. That includes Cease’s Game 1 counterpart, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has never pitched in the MLB postseason and hasn’t thrown more than 79 pitches in a start since coming off the injured list in early September. Cease, who had a 1.40 ERA over his final three regular season outings, could be an X-factor, especially if he starts two games.

Phillies (2) vs. Mets (6)

Game 1 start time: 4:08 p.m. ET on Saturday
Probable starting pitchers: Zack Wheeler (PHI) vs. TBA (Mets)

Season series (Phillies 7, Mets 6): These rivals have been back and forth all year. The Phillies took three of the first four games between the two clubs in mid-May. The next time they met was in London in June, where the Mets and Phils split the two-game London Series. Philadelphia won the next series at home in mid-September, but the Mets came back to win three of four at Citi Field from Sept. 19-22 to close out the regular season series.

Postseason history: The Mets and Phillies are division rivals in the NL East — and the Phillies memorably overtook the Mets down the stretch in 2007 and 2008 to win the East and keep the Mets out of the postseason — but they’ve never met in the playoffs, until now.

One player to watch for each team: Francisco Lindor carried the Mets into the playoffs, but it was Pete Alonso who sent them into the NLDS with the most important swing of his career and one of the most dramatic swings in Wild Card Series history. Alonso’s go-ahead three run homer in the ninth inning of the winner-take-all Game 3 off elite Brewers closer Devin Williams saved the Mets’ season. If Polar Bear Pete gets his power stroke going against the rival Phillies, it could make all the difference for New York. For the Phillies, it has to be Bryce Harper. The leader of this Phillies team has delivered some of the biggest moments for Philadelphia over the past two postseasons. Harper hit 11 home runs between the 2022 and ’23 playoffs for the Phillies — tied with teammate Kyle Schwarber for the most of any player over that time.

Potential series X-factor: The Phillies are fresh. They have their ace (and former Met) Zack Wheeler ready to go in Game 1, with Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez lined up to pitch Game 2 and Game 3 in some order behind him. The Mets had to pull out all the stops just to make it to the NLDS — Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and José Quintana all pitched in the Wild Card Series … and so did David Peterson, who closed out Game 3 by pitching the ninth inning. And not only that, closer Edwin Díaz has thrown 105 pitches in the last five days. So the Mets will have their work cut out for them facing the Phillies’ dangerous lineup … but they also have the “OMG” magic on their side after their hard-fought wins over the Braves to get into the playoffs and the Brewers in the first round.