For each team, we’ve selected a player who is relatively unknown to the wider baseball world who has a chance to change that in a hurry in the MLB Division Series.
The MLB postseason is a microscope.
All the stretched out little things and aggregated averages of a 162-game season get blown up to statuesque proportions in the month when statues are earned.
Under that microscope, the 26-man roster becomes more distinct. The characters of the summer’s ensemble cast find their way into the spotlight in climactic moments.
And some of them change the course of the season. This, then, is our attempt at an introduction to some of the pivotal players of October whom you might not know. Yet.
For each team, we’ve selected one player who is relatively unknown, unheralded or perhaps unfamiliar to the wider baseball world who has a chance to change that status in a hurry as their teams charge into their Division Series matchups.
Remember these names.
Michael Massey, Kansas City Royals
Lifted by the heroics of freshly minted superstar Bobby Witt Jr. and the stalwart Salvador Perez, the Royals boast only three qualified hitters with above-average raw value+ (RV+), and one of them (Vinnie Pasquantino) just returned with a surgically repaired thumb. RV+ measures contact, plate discipline and damage done upon contact with the league average being 100. (RV- measures pitchers’ ability to stymie those abilities.)
Massey, a second baseman with some pop, played only 100 regular-season games due to injury, but he might be No. 5 seed Kansas City’s best bet at lengthening the lineup in the next round of the playoff bracket against the AL East-champion New York Yankees.
He has often found himself in the leadoff role despite lackluster on-base skills, with power just threatening enough to make pitchers’ lives difficult as Witt’s bat looms behind him.
Luke Weaver, New York Yankees
One of the pieces the Arizona Diamondbacks received in their ill-fated Paul Goldschmidt deal, Weaver looked for all the world like a guy on his way out of the majors just one year ago. Across 2022 and 2023, his stat sheet showed five different teams and an ERA that started with a six.
As a starter, Weaver never found a consistent third offering to join his fastball-changeup arsenal. But late in 2023, Weaver started working in a cutter (below via Baseball Savant).
This year, operating exclusively out of the bullpen, he has honed that three-pitch mix and stepped up in the Bronx bullpen mix.
In September, he struck out an MLB-best 55.6% of the batters he faced while often closing games. In October, he’ll likely be called upon in the Yankees‘ highest-leverage moments.
Sean Manaea, New York Mets
New face? No. New arm angle? Very much so. The tall lefty on a short-term deal took his “prove it” year to a new level when he decided, midway through, that perhaps he could throw from the dastardly angles that help make likely NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale so effective. He dropped down lower on the fly around midseason and, as it turns out, he was right.
The wider angles accentuated his horizontally oriented arsenal – sinker, sweeper, changeup – and helped him attack hitters more confidently and boost his whiff+ to a 114, which ranked 18th in the majors. (Whiff+ measures the ability to general swings and misses).
In the second half, he logged more strikeouts, fewer walks and helped fill what could have been a void left by Kodai Senga’s lost season. After the Mets stunned the third-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the wild-card round, Manaea is likely to start an National League Division Series game against the rival Phillies.
Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
Finding an unheralded contributor on Dave Dombrowski’s second-seeded Phillies is like looking for a local who doesn’t like Wawa. So forgive us for selecting a starter who ranked in the top 20 in RV-. The late-blooming lefty carried his 2023 breakout through his first full season – 31 starts, a 3.32 ERA and the third-best homer prevention numbers of any qualified starter.
His out pitch is a twisting changeup that he keeps tightly bunched with his sinker, leading to lots of “oops” swings and softly hit grounders.
No, more than being overlooked, Sanchez’s emergence as a trusted arm represents the Phillies’ biggest edge. Behind ace Zack Wheeler, the Phillies have better options than anyone else in field. Philadelphia has the home-field advantage as the higher seed against the Mets and Sanchez might even start Game 2 ahead of mainstays Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez.
Parker Meadows, Detroit Tigers
The fifth-seeded Tigers, on the other hand, are the “Who’s That Guy” All-Stars. Beyond presumptive AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, manager AJ Hinch told reporters to expect “pitching chaos.” Since singling out any one of their low-ERA, low-Q score relievers feels silly, let’s take note of a young outfielder whose progression has helped spark their sprint to face the second-seeded Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series.
Meadows’ numbers across 82 games, his second taste of the big leagues, won’t bowl you over, but the lanky lefty hitter’s momentum has tracked with that of the Tigers. Where many of Detroit’s hitters are downright patient, Meadows is a touch further up on the spectrum. He’s selective, willing to attack when he can drive the ball.
After Aug. 15, he slashed .291/.345/.483 with five homers and three triples. He added another homer against the Houston Astros in a wild-card series game for good measure.
Kyle Manzardo, Cleveland Guardians
That loaded Guardians bullpen needs a lead. And smart opponents are going to force someone other than Jose Ramirez to produce it. After hot starts by Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor, Cleveland basically had to build the whole plane out of Ramirez in the second half.
Until Manzardo returned. A top prospect acquired in last summer’s Aaron Civale trade, the defensively limited slugger looked overmatched in June, then came back ready to mash when rosters expanded in September. He batted .270 and whacked five home runs in the final month — elevating himself into the No. 2 slot in the order.
If Cleveland is going to play to its strengths against top competition (like the surging Tigers in the ALDS), it will likely need Manzardo’s hot streak to continue.
Michael King, San Diego Padres
The cat’s out of the bag now, but the third-seeded Padres have a second ace. King, a major piece in the Juan Soto trade, finished in the top 10 in RV- and second behind Tarik Skubal in strike+ (measures the ability to generate swings and misses and called strikes). He is filling up the zone and not allowing damage.
A blitz-balling right-hander, King wields a diabolical swerving two-seamer to maximum effect. He uses both his changeup and a four-seamer to play off of it, depending on the batter’s handedness, in addition to a sweeper. Both the change and the four-seam have whiff+ marks over 130, while his two-seamer scores highly with a 113 command+.
His 12-strikeout masterpiece in a wild-card game against the Atlanta Braves has the league on notice and there’s little doubt San Diego will try to get him the ball against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers
As you may have heard, the Dodgers, who finished atop the National League standings, will need to outscore the opposition in October with a shaky starting rotation, and they probably have the bats to do it. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, it goes on and on.
One of the reasons it actually goes further than you might realize? Lux, a 26-year-old second baseman, proved to a serious threat in the second half. On the back of a scalding August, he batted .304/.390/.508 after the All-Star break.
He has the chance to break San Diego’s backs by keeping things moving at the bottom of the order.
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