Our hottest MLB playoff hot takes: From one pitch deciding October to the Jays averaging how many runs per game?!

We're 1 week into the 2025 MLB playoffs, with 2 games having present been played successful each 4 part bid matchups.

In the small-sample-size satellite of October baseball, it mightiness look similar that means we've seen capable to cognize a lot. But the world for a athletics that combines 162-game seasons with the chaos of abbreviated playoff bid is: Things tin alteration successful a hurry this clip of year.

As we bash early successful each MLB regular season, we asked our MLB experts to spell all-in connected 1 happening they've noticed by giving america their boldest prediction for the remainder of the postseason based connected what they've seen truthful far.

Some of our predictions are rather bold, whereas others took a milder approach. But each of them person a accidental of becoming smokin' blistery by the clip the World Series trophy is raised this period -- oregon ending up freezing cold.

The themes that we'll each beryllium talking about

All 4 part bid volition spell 5 games

The part bid was introduced 30 years ago, and lone once, successful 2012, did each 4 of them spell the distance. It'll hap again this twelvemonth -- adjacent though 3 of the 4 person already begun with a 2-0 lead.

The spread among the 8 remaining playoff contenders feels smaller this twelvemonth than it has successful rather a while, particularly with arguably the 2 best, the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, squaring disconnected truthful early. The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs are perfectly susceptible of winning back-to-games astatine home. The bid betwixt the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, which began with a divided successful Seattle, seems primed to widen into a 5th game. And though the Phillies person their backs against the wall, coming disconnected 2 consecutive losses successful Philadelphia, they person the quality to instrumentality 2 successful a enactment astatine Dodger Stadium -- heck, they did it little than a period ago. -- Alden Gonzalez

One transportation volition determine October

The squad that wins the World Series volition beryllium the squad that has the champion differential successful show betwixt throwing splitters and hitting them. Do I cognize if this volition happen? Definitely not! But the proliferation of splitters truthful acold successful the postseason has been staggering.

TruMedia has pitch-type information going backmost to 2008. The percent of pitches classified arsenic splitters has ranged from 0.2% (2016) to 3.1% (2023). So acold this year: 5.7%. The starring practitioners: the Toronto Blue Jays, by far, astatine 25.9%, mostly acknowledgment to Kevin Gausman and the astonishing Trey Yesavage. Incidentally, they were besides by acold the best-hitting squad against splitters successful the regular play (.346 WOBA). Guess this means the Jays are going to triumph it all. -- Bradford Doolittle

The occurrence of the splitter this October volition marque it the most-talked-about transportation successful the spring

The eye-opening postseason performances of Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman and Roki Sasaki volition service arsenic pitchy substance for the rising popularity of the split-fingered fastball. There was already increasing involvement successful the splitter passim the 2025 season, acknowledgment to the occurrence of the likes of Hurston Waldrep. Then, on came Yesavage and Gausman and their diving splitters, neutralizing the almighty Yankees: I...