Both ALDS start Saturday, and they both look to be exciting matchups. On one side of the bracket, the one-seed Tampa Bay Rays will host the four-seed New York Yankees. On the other side, the two-seed Cleveland Guardians will host the six-seed Chicago White Sox. The ALDS is a five-game series, split two-two-one between the home and away teams. They will run Saturday, October 3, through, potentially, Saturday, October 10.
Let’s take a look at some key storylines and players to keep an eye on during the 2026 NLDS.
The Yankees come out of a series where they took it to the Boston Red Sox, their biggest rival. They had Yankee Stadium in the Bronx jumping as they advanced to the division series. They were all-around great games for New York, who showcased their elite pitching staff as well as an offense that can be dangerous if it gets hot. Cam Schlittler, the AL Cy Young favorite, set the tone by throwing six and a third shutout innings in game one. He was almost overshadowed by Ben Rice, who had four hits, two of them homers.
The Rays locked up the number one seed in the AL the same day they clinched the AL East crown over the Yankees. Several days earlier, they locked up a playoff berth the only way that seemed right: with a walk-off home run by Junior Caminero, their young superstar. They have had a few days of rest in order to prepare for a team that they are all too familiar with. This is only the second time the division opponents have faced each other in a postseason series.
Any time that Caminero steps up to the plate, you can look for a ball to leave the yard. This kid has more power than almost anyone in the league, and he showed it off by hitting 42 home runs this season. The Yankees will have to be careful pitching to him all series.
Almost an inverse to Caminero, Simpson is a player who can hurt you in every way other than the home run ball. He excels at getting on base and uses his lightning-fast legs to be a menace on the basepaths.
The AL saves leader in 2026, Baker had, by far, his best season as a big leaguer. Tampa is one of those teams where you do not want to be trailing late in the game, because you know that Baker is lurking out in the bullpen.
Ben Rice had one of his best games as a Yankee in game one of the wild card, and it propelled the Yankees to victory. He is arguably the Yankees’ most important player if Aaron Judge can’t go, as he adds the pop in that lineup.
Lombard Jr. became the youngest player in Yankees history to have a hit in his playoff debut. He came up in August when the Yankees were having shortstop issues, and has played very well.
One of the linchpins of New York’s bullpen is Headrick, who is a name that most fans might not know. His numbers this season, especially towards the second half, have been great. He barely needed to pitch in the wild card, making him rested and ready for the ALDS.
It will be a challenge to hit in this series with the caliber of pitching that both teams possess. The Rays will have to manufacture runs off of a pitching staff that can be incredibly stingy. The bottom of the lineup especially needs to have good at-bats leading into the thump at the top of the order.
Exactly the reason the Yankees won the wild card series: their big names showed up. They need to continue to do that. Guys like Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Cam Schlittler need to have big games and buoy this team. The rest of the roster will follow.
Some teams, mostly the ones coming off byes, have announced starting pitchers for at least the first couple of games in the series. It gets a little murkier for the teams that have just played in the wild card. The names in parentheses are potential starters based on how these teams have used their starting rotations.
TBR – Drew Rasmussen
NYY – Gerrit Cole
TBR – TBD (Nick Martinez)
NYY – Cam Schlittler
TBR – TBD (Freddy Peralta)
NYY – TBD (Max Fried)
The White Sox are coming off a commanding series victory in Houston against the Astros. They feasted on Houston’s abysmal pitching, even chasing one of their better starters, Hunter Brown, in the first inning of game two. We know that this White Sox team can hit; that has very rarely been a problem for them this season. The issue has been the pitching staff. They were able to string enough solid outings together to win that short series, and they’ll have to keep doing that as the series’ get longer and longer if they want to advance in October.
The Guardians caught the White Sox in mid-September after Chicago had a firm grasp on the division for most of the year. In the act of winning the division, Cleveland also secured a first-round bye thanks to a weak American League. That bye gave them the chance to rest and line up their starting rotation, which has two of the more dominant starters in the league: Parker Messick and Gavin Williams. Cleveland is hoping they can change the script from last year, when, similarly, the Guardians won the division in the final hours, only to lose to said division rival in the postseason.
The Guardians secured another AL Central title and the number two seed, all with their perennial superstar, Jose Ramirez, playing mediocre baseball. Imagine what this team is capable of if Ramirez lives up to the back of his baseball card. If he brings his MVP-level juice to a playoff run, look out.
Adell was brought in to help a struggling Guardians lineup. He helped in the only way he knows how: by hitting homers. Adell’s average and other similar stats don’t jump off the page, but this is a guy who can get you that long ball when you need it.
Front to back, this Cleveland pitching staff is lights out, and Smith operates at the back end. He has closed out 41 games this season for the Guardians, and he hopes to do so a few more times in October.
Murakami brings an energy to the White Sox clubhouse that I haven’t seen in a while. He is a three-true-outcomes player, but that can look pretty good when a ball goes over the fence with runners on base.
Miguel Vargas is arguably the White Sox’s MVP this season. Despite that, he did not have a hit in their decisive series win over the Astros. Hopefully, Vargas can shake that off and perform like he has all of 2026.
Martin was a borderline All-Star in the first half of the 2026 season. He was the ace of a young White Sox pitching staff. In the second half, he has struggled mightily. If he can give them a good start or some solid bulk innings, that could be the boost that Chicago needs to string some wins together.
With the type of pitching staff that Cleveland has, it becomes a game of who can score first, because you really don’t know how many runs are going to cross. The Guardians have struggled to score runs with consistency all season, and their pitching has picked up the pieces. They will need to score early against the White Sox. Get on the board and let your arms go to work down the stretch.
It is hard to win any playoff series, but it gets harder for teams like the White Sox as the series’ extend longer. In order to keep from fully wearing out the bullpen, Chicago will likely need to see a strong effort from one or more of their starting pitchers. It doesn’t need to be a CGSO, but just a quality start or two would help tremendously in terms of the soundness of that pitching staff.
CLE – Parker Messick
CHW – Hagen Smith
CLE – Gavin Williams
CHW – TBD (Sean Burke)
CLE – TBD (Tanner Bibee)
CHW – TBD (Anthony Kay)
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