Ranking the MLB postseason lineups

Baseball’s postseason is defined by by the big moment. Whether it is a tense 3-2 count or a lost fastball that immediately results an erupting home team crowd, October is made for the dramatic.

So it should be no surprise that many of the most high octane offenses in the game today are still alive and well as series round of playoff baseball is set to take sail. But with these immovable objects pitted against equally unstoppable forces, which lineup can truly claim to be ‘the best' and why?

One thing for certain is that no two teams' attacks are the same. The Red Sox overwhelm with a diverse selection of talents, while the Blue Jays beat the walls down. The Cubs are driven by a pair of MVP candidates, but upheld by a relentlessly deep overall roster. The Indians tear the bases up getting around the diamond, while Rangers offer a little bit of everything, and so on and so forth.

Ranking out the best of anything at this point in the year is a difficult task, as only the strong are still surviving, but here is a shot at sorting it all out anyway. The MLB playoffs lineups, ranked to show if collective might truly will be right this fall.

8. San Francisco Giants

The Giants lineup is more about making few mistakes than being overwhelming. While they did have seven players reach double digits in home runs, no Giant topped 20. Brandon Belt’s team-leading 17 long balls are the fewest for a team leading total of any club in the postseason. However, what the Giants do well is not strike out and work their way on base. Belt led the team in K’s with 148, but also walked over a 100 times. Buster Posey nearly broke even in walks vs. strikeouts, with 64 bases on balls against 68 whiffs. As a whole, the pesky Giants finished fourth in the NL in on-base %, better than the Dodgers or Nationals, so they will do enough to get on the board and help their pitchers, but will likely not be overwhelming at any point. 

7. Washington Nationals

The Nats would be higher if not for the late season injury bug that hit them in a few critical places. All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos is lost to a torn ACL, suffered in the season’s final week. In addition to his woes, the team’s MVP on the year (no, not Bryce Harper), Daniel Murphy, has struggled to return from a glute injury and is questionable to be ready in time for the NLDS to start. While rookie outfielder Trea Turner and third baseman Anthony Rendon are still present, the fact that the team has been unable to depend on Harper to be the type of producer he was a year hurts them tremendously. Getting Murphy back would be huge for a team that is short on thump. 

6. Los Angeles Dodgers

It was once said that “and the little child shall lead them,” in a particular Biblical verse. And while Corey Seager is no child, the 22-year-old presumptive NL Rookie of the Year played a massive role in pulling the Dodgers up by their bootstraps back into position to win a fourth straight NL West title. The rookie shortstop hit .309, with 40 doubles, 26 home runs and scored 105 runs on the year. Meanwhile, Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez both drove in 90 runs, while the ageless Howie Kendrick and Chase Utley rounded out a surprising adept Dodger lineup.

5. Texas Rangers

It is truly a credit to the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Indians that this Rangers lineup checks in as the (relatively) ‘least’ dangerous in the AL field this year, because they can rake. Adrian Beltre had another in his seemingly eternal line of superb seasons, driving in 100 runs and connecting for 30 home runs for the fourth time in his career. But Beltre was just a part of a dangerous ensemble Rangers lineup that featured a number of breakout performances, (Roughed Odor’s 33 home runs), reclamation years (.302 average for Elvis Andrus) and All-Star veteran additions as well (Jonathan Lucroy, Ian Desmond and Carlos Beltran). The Rangers have a bit of it all up and down their lineup and are capable of matching runs with any team they face. 

4. Cleveland Indians

Indians go about their business in a slightly different fashion than their AL contemporaries, opting to manufacture runs in bunches, as opposed to make their bones with the big hit. The Indians finished second in the AL in runs scored, but finished a distant 10th in home runs, with Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana being the designated sluggers for the club, each connecting for 34 homers. Instead, the Tribe beat up the base paths like none other, stealing a MLB-best 134 bases this year. As a result four Indians stole 15 or more bases and four connected for 30 or more doubles as well. The Indians are a swarming attack that puts pressure on the pitcher to keep them off of base as much as possible, which can be an even greater mental advantage than attempting to just not throw the wrong pitch to the wrong slugger. 

3. Toronto Blue Jays

As the AL Wild Card proved, the Blue Jays have the type of pop that can instantly change the entire trajectory of a game at a moment’s notice. Between Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Saunders and Russell Martin, they have six everyday players that bested 20 home runs – with two that soared well past 30. However, that is only part of the story, as Kevin Pillar, Devin Travis and Justin Smoak also offer another line of impact bats that can set the table for the killers at the heart of the order. They are the type of team that can get hot and beat anybody on a given day – or series. 

2. Chicago Cubs

Top to bottom, the Cubs are an impressive collection of offensive talent, with a plethora of bats that can create the big inning at any point. They have the most dangerous top of the lineup in either league, with Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo producing a combined 15.3 Wins Above Replacement alone. Fowler contributed a .393 on-base percentage, while Bryant followed him with 39 home runs and Rizzo then with a team-best 109 RBI. Not to be forgot, Ben Zobrist scored 94 runs himself, while Addison Russell drove in 95 runs. And while top shelf talent is their strongest ally, depth is not far behind. Willson Contreras, Javier Baez, Jason Heyward, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler and more all are utilized in frustrating precise ways by manager Joe Maddon, who commands the deepest troops in all of baseball this season.

1. Boston Red Sox

No team bettered the 878 runs the Red Sox put up this year, as they simply pounded the ball all summer. Mookie Betts and David Ortiz are front runners for the AL MVP award this year, with Betts leading the league in total bases at 359, while Ortiz was relentless, pounding an AL-best 87 extra base hits. But they were far from alone in driving the BoSox, as Dustin Pedroia topped 200 hits and Xander Bogaerts hot on his heels with 192 of his own. Add in impressive performances from Hanley Ramirez, Jackie Bradley Jr. and rookie Andrew Benintendi, and the Red Sox are a top to bottom nightmare for opposing pitching.