It’s that time of year when the 162-game season all comes down to this last series. The defending World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the Toronto Blue Jays.

So, who will take home the trophy this year? The dynasty organization that seems impossible to beat or the team that hasn’t seen the World Series since the last time they won back in 1993.

Well, let’s break it down into more manageable categories like overall roster and keys to the series.

Toronto Blue Jays

If we look at the Blue Jays roster, you won’t find an all-star lineup with a ton of notable names that the average baseball fan would know. However, I wouldn’t run to the conclusion that they can’t compete in this World Series.

Starting with the obvious stars on this team like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who’s batting .442 in the playoffs, George Springer, who had the go-ahead three-run home run in game seven of the ALCS, and Bo Bichette who’s coming back from the injured list. 

They are the core of this team that needs to stay hot to be able to compete with the Dodgers dominant pitching.

However if we look at a smaller name on this team that has flown under the radar and will contribute immensely is third baseman Ernie Clement.

He currently has a .429 batting average with a .444 on-base percentage and a whopping 1.063 one-base plus slugging this postseason. This is very close to the same stats that his all-star teammate Guerrero Jr. has. But hasn’t gotten the recognition he deserves.

I’d watch for him to get the offense going and have some big impact hits.

Los Angeles Dodgers

From the mound to the batter’s box, this team is the most complete team this generation of baseball fans has probably ever seen. So, what’s their weakness?

Their bullpen. They have a high number of blown saves, 27, and altogether have a high collective earned runs average of 4.61. This is why we’ve seen Dodger’s starting pitchers pitch late in these postseason games.

But past that, their starting lineup is so dominant and literally looks like an all-star lineup you’d see during the All-Star Game. Most teams in the league could only dream of having one of these guys in their starting lineups on opening day.

From Shohei Ohtani to Mookie Betts to Freddie Freeman to Will Smith, this lineup seems impenetrable.

Then you look at their starting rotation and there’s no “easy game” you can take from them. I mean the Milwaukee Brewers saw it first hand in the NLCS. They were the hottest and arguably the best team in baseball entering their series against the Dodgers, with the best record in the MLB.

However, when the Brewers got swept, they only scored a total of four runs in their four games against the Dodgers. That series made history for the Dodgers as their starting pitchers had a combined 0.63 ERA,the best in NLCS and ALCS history. 

Keys To The Series

For the Blue Jays, they have to get the Dodger’s starters out of the game as quickly as possible so they can attack their weak bullpen and bury the Dodgers before they can bury them.

Also, they have to get the bats hot fast and keep them going. In the ALCS, the Blue Jays offense seemed to get stagnant at times, which can’t happen, if they want to stay in this series. If they fall deep behind in the series, it’ll be hard for them to make a comeback.

For the Dodgers, they have to honestly keep doing what they’re doing. Which is having their starting pitching go deep in the game and bury the other team with their bats. That’s how they’ve steam rolled their way to the World Series again.

My predictions for this series are, that the Dodgers will pull through for the back-to-back World Series win. Even though my heart says to pick the underdog Blue Jays, my mind says to pick the no-brainer dynasty organization. So give me Dodgers in six.

Nonetheless it’s October baseball and anything can happen.