From Bregman to Luzardo, 8 players who will decide MLB playoffs wild card series

By admin — In News — September 28, 2026

   ​SAN DIEGO — It’s a Major League Baseball postseason filled with stars, award-winners, and future Hall of Famers.Slugger Yordan Alvarez, who will win the American League MVP, carried the Houston Astros on his back to the AL West title.Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, who should finish runner-up, led the Rays to the best record in the American League.Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler, who will win the AL Cy Young award, will be pitching Game 1 against the Boston Red Sox. Milwaukee Brewers All-Star pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, who will win the NL Cy Young award, will be pitching Game 1 when the Brewers face the winner of the San Diego Padres-Chicago Cubs series.Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who will unseat Shohei Ohtani as the NL MVP, will be trying to get the Cubs past the Padres in their three-game series at Petco Park in San Diego in a rematch of a year ago.And, oh, how this postseason field is littered with future Hall of Famers from everyone from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, Manny Machado of the Padres, Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians, Chris Sale of Atlanta, Aaron Judge of the Yankees, Jose Altuve of the Astros and Bryce Harper of the Phillies.There are players who have been a postseason fixture like Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, who will be playing in his 10th consecutive postseason with his third different team, and Judge who hopes to play in his ninth postseason in 10 years.There are aged veterans like 39-year-old Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar, 38-year old Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, 37-year-old Freeman, 37-year-old Sale and 36-year-old Sonny Gray of the Red Sox.And then there are the real kids, like 20-year-old Ethan Salas of the San Diego Padres, who will be the youngest catcher to ever appear in the postseason, along with 22-year-old outfielders Jackson Chourio of the Brewers, Roman Anthony of the Red Sox and Justin Crawford of the Phillies.Now that the postseason field is set with eight teams playing in the wild-card round beginning Tuesday, here is one player from each team who could have the biggest impact on whether they’ll still be playing into the weekend.Chicago CubsThird baseman Alex BregmanA week ago, he didn’t know whether he could play another game this year n when he suffered multiple fractures in his face after being hit by a foul ball near the on-deck circle. Well, he proved he’s back by going 4-for-4 with two home runs Sunday in his second game since the injury. If Bregman resembles the same guy that hit .298 with 19 homers and 53 RBI with a 1.000 OPS in his last 60 games, he could make sure the Cubs’ offense is too powerful to stop. He has begun taking ground balls but has been restricted to DH duties since his return.San Diego PadresPitcher Michael KingThe Padres’ rotation has been a mess all year outside of one pitcher. King was 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA, leading the team with 185 innings. King will start Game 1 against the Cubs. If he struggles and   

Content Source: Yahoo News

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