The ALCS names to know

A former Yankees third baseman, Boone moved from the ESPN broadcast booth to the dugout last season. He won 100 games in his first season and did even better this year, winning 103 games during the regular season.

A former major league catcher, Hinch has been Houston's manager since 2015. He led the team to a World Series victory in 2017, and the Astros have won more than 100 games in three consecutive seasons.

One of the top hitting catchers in the game, Sanchez hit a career-high 34 home runs during the regular season with an .841 OPS. He was just 1-for-8 during the ALDS.

Chirinos is in his first year with Houston after coming over from the Rangers in free agency. He hit .238-17-58 during the regular season and hit a home run during the ALDS.

LeMahieu is a natural second baseman but played all over the infield this season. The former Colorado Rockie had a fantastic regular season, hitting .327-26-102 to make his third All-Star appearance. He had a strong three-game series vs. Minnesota, going 4-for-14 with one home run and four RBI.

The 35-year-old Gurriel has had a career year in his fourth season in MLB. He hit .298-31-104 during the regular season and went 6-for-19 during the ALDS.

Torres has emerged as one of the game's brightest young stars since he was promoted last season. The 22-year-old middle infielder hit .278-38-90 during the regular season, making his second consecutive All-Star appearance. He was blazing hot during the ALDS, going 5-for-12 with one homer, three doubles and four RBI.

The 2017 AL MVP, Altuve hit .298-31-74 with 89 runs scored in 124 games during the regular season. He was on fire during the ALDS, going 7-for-20 with three home runs.

A defensive specialist and minor league veteran before this season, Urshela replaced the injured Miguel Andujar to hit .314-21-74 during the regular season. He went 3-for-12 during the ALDS.

Bregman finished fifth in the AL MVP voting last year and is an even better candidate this season after hitting .296-41-112 with a 1.015 OPS and a league-leading 119 walks. He went 6-for-17 with one home run during the ALDS.

Gregorius returned from Tommy John surgery this season to hit .238-16-61 in 82 regular season games. The power-hitting shortstop did get his bat going during the ALDS, going 4-for-10 with one home run, a grand slam.

The 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, Correa has struggled with injuries over the last three seasons. He played only 75 games during the regular season this year, hitting .279-21-59.

The 2017 NL MVP with the Marlins after hitting 59 home runs and 132 RBI, Stanton was shipped to the Yankees before the 2018 season. He had a successful first year in New York but battled injuries for most of this year, appearing in only 18 regular-season games. The Yankees are hopeful he can get a hot bat after going 1-for-6 during the ALDS.

Brantley signed with Houston in the offseason after 10 seasons in Cleveland. He hit .311-22-90 with an .875 OPS in his first season with the Astros and added a home run during the ALDS.

Gardner is now in his 12th season with the Yankees and has been a team leader for most of that time. He had a career year at age 35 (he turned 36 in late August) hitting .251-28-74 with an .829 OPS. Gardner was able to carry his production to the ALDS, going 3-for-12 with a homer and three RBI.

Springer had a terrific year, making his third consecutive All-Star appearance, and he hit .292-39-96 in 122 games during the regular season. He serves as Houston's regular leadoff man.

An oblique injury sidelined Judge for much of this season and prevented him from making his third consecutive All-Star appearance. He did still hit .272-27-55 with a .921 OPS in 102 games. Judge was 3-for-9 in the ALDS.

A former Gold Glove winner, Reddick is in his third season with Houston and hit .275-14-56 during the regular season.

Encarnacion managed to hit more than 30 home runs for the eighth consecutive season in 2019, sharing time between Seattle and the Yankees. He had a strong ALDS, going 4-for-13.

Alvarez is the likely AL Rookie of the Year after a huge year as Houston's DH. He hit .313-27-78 with a 1.067 OPS in only 87 games and also went 6-for-19 with four RBI during the ALDS.

Injuries limited Hicks to only 59 games this season, most recently missing two months with an arm issue. The Yankees have enjoyed his great defense since 2016, and he could be activated for the ALCS.

Tucker is Houston's top outfield prospect but spent most of the season at Triple-A. He did hit .269-4-11 with five stolen bases in 22 games and appeared in two games during the ALDS.

Paxton was acquired from the Mariners in an offseason blockbuster trade and went 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA and 186 strikeouts in 29 starts over 150.2 innings with New York. He started Game 1 of the ALDS vs. Minnesota, giving up two homers and three runs but striking out eight over 4.2 innings.

Verlander has a chance to win his second Cy Young Award this year after going 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA and a league-leading 223 innings. He made two starts during the ALDS, pitching well in Game 1 but struggling on short rest in Game 4.

Signed with New York to a seven-year contract out of Japan in 2014, Tanaka has been a staple in the team's rotation ever since. He did struggle this season despite making his second All-Star appearance, posting a 4.45 ERA over 182 innings. Tanaka started Game 2 of the ALDS and was effective, allowing one run in five innings.

Cole has a chance to win his first Cy Young Award as he approaches free agency. The hard-throwing right-hander went 20-5 with an AL-best 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts in 212.1 innings. He was also dominant during the ALDS, going 2-0 with only one run allowed in 15.2 innings and 25 strikeouts over his two starts.

Severino made only three regular-season starts this year due to shoulder issues, but he was the team's ace in 2017 and 2018. The hard-throwing right-hander pitched up to that standard in Game 3 of the ALDS, throwing four scoreless innings.

Acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, Greinke is a six-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner in 2009. He went 18-5 with a 2.93 ERA in 33 starts over 208.2 innings during the regular season.

Happ re-signed with the Yankees this offseason after pitching well for the team last year, but he's struggled in 2019. The veteran lefty had a 4.91 ERA in 161.1 innings during the regular season. He has a chance to pitch Game 4 of the ALCS, with CC Sabathia nursing a knee injury and Domingo German on administrative leave.

One of Houston's best pitching prospects, Urquidy made a nice contribution late in the year for the team with a 3.95 ERA in 41 innings with 40 strikeouts. He has a chance to start Game 4 of the ALCS given Wade Miley's recent struggles.

Chapman has earned a reputation as one of the elite closers in the game and is coming off one of his best seasons, with a 2.21 ERA and 37 saves over 57 innings. The flame-throwing lefty made two scoreless appearances in the ALDS.

Osuna has been one of the game's top closers since 2015. He was acquired from Toronto last season and led the AL with 38 saves this year, along with a 2.63 ERA over 65 innings.

A former closer in Baltimore, Britton was acquired by the Yankees at the trade deadline last year and retained on a three-year contract. He provoked an incredible groundball rate of over 70 percent during the regular season, helping him produce a 1.91 ERA in 61.1 innings. The lefty acts as one of the Yankees setup men. While he left Game 3 of the ALDS with an ankle injury, he's not expected to miss additional time.

Harris had a tremendous year for Houston, with a 1.50 ERA and four saves over 68 appearances spanning 60 innings. He made three scoreless appearances during the ALDS.

A native New Yorker, Ottavino signed with the Yankees in the offseason after a great 2018 season in Colorado. He had another great year with a 1.90 ERA over 73 appearances, and he also appeared in all three ALDS games.

Pressly has been terrific for the Astros since they acquired him in 2018, with a 1.85 ERA over 81 regular-season appearances. He made his first All-Star appearance this year but allowed two earned runs in one inning of work during the ALDS.

Green has been one of the Yankees' most reliable relievers since 2017. He had a 4.17 ERA during the regular season but dug out from a poor start and finished with a dominant 98 strikeouts in 69 innings. The right-hander threw two scoreless innings during the ALDS.

Miley served as the fourth starter during the regular season for Houston but struggled down the stretch. The lefty finished the year 14-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 33 starts but pitched in relief during the ALDS. He's a candidate to start Game 4 of the ALCS.