Five MLB players to watch in Division Series: Aaron Judge needs redemption

The divisional round of the 2025 Major League Baseball playoffs starts on Saturday, and the pressure is only going to get bigger from here for both teams and players. Five players in this round really need to shine for their teams to excel and advance. Let's take a look at them. 

Your legacy is still on the line: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Aaron Judge is one of the greatest hitters of this generation and has put together some truly historical seasons for a right-handed hitter. He is on the threshold of being a Yankees all-time great. For him to actually walk through that door, he is going to have to do what all of the legendary Yankees have done — shine in the postseason.

Judge is still mostly missing that signature postseason moment, while his past few postseason performances have been wildly underwhelming given his regular-season success. His career playoff OPS is just .768, a .260 point drop from his 1.028 career regular season number. The 2024 postseason was especially bad for him. He needs redemption.

He was not a total zero in the wild-card round with four hits, but he needs to have a big impact if they are going to beat the Toronto Blue Jays. And if he is going to solidify his legacy as one of the Yankees' legends. 

We can't win without you: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers backed into the playoffs after surrendering the largest divisional lead in baseball history. They still managed to get through the Cleveland Guardians thanks to some great starting pitching. 

Tarik Skubal was the biggest factor in that with a dominant Game 1 performance, where he struck out 14 batters. The Tigers might be able to get two starts out of him in this series against the Seattle Mariners. They will need to win both of those. 

It's a contract year: Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

Kyle Schwarber has been one of the best power hitters in baseball since joining the Phillies, and he had a career year in 2025 with 56 home runs. He's also still searching for a new contract as a pending free agent, and whether it's with the Phillies or somebody else, he is playing for a lot of money. 

A big postseason showing would be the icing on the cake for his leverage in negotiations. It would also be a game-changer for the Phillies. 

You already got the contract, now it's time to deliver: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays

On the other side of that, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. already received his big money deal and helped get Toronto to the top of the American League East standings and back into the playoffs. With big money comes big responsibilities and expectations. While Guerrero, Jr. does not have a huge playoff sampling to go off, he's gone just 3-for-22 with only one extra-base hit (a double). That will not be enough to beat the Yankees. The Blue Jays need him to play like the big-money star they are paying him to be. 

It's time to end your slump: Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs

The Cubs' trade for Kyle Tucker was a good sign that they were going all-in on this season. Especially with the uncertainty of his contract situation beyond this season. For the first half, Tucker was everything the Cubs wanted him to be with an .882 OPS. 

The second half, however, has been a very different story. Injuries have slowed him down, and he went into the playoffs with only a .738 OPS in the second half, with an especially bad July and September (small sample size in the latter). Tucker has struggled at times in his postseason career, going back to his time with the Houston Astros, and the Cubs are going to need him to be better if they are going to get through the Milwaukee Brewers and advance to the NLCS series.