Our expert picks for Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series

We’ve reached the final -- and biggest -- stage of the MLB calendar. The stakes are at their highest, the lights are at their brightest and the chill of autumn is in the air.

That can only mean one thing: the World Series.

• World Series Game 1, presented by Capital One: Friday, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, FOX

The 121st edition of the Fall Classic will get underway with Game 1 between the Dodgers and Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday night. And this matchup is unprecedented -- never have these two clubs met with the game’s ultimate prize hanging in the balance.

With the defending World Series champions trying to become the first back-to-back champs in 25 years, and their opponent looking to win it all for the first time in more than three decades, it promises to be a tremendous series.

But who will win? In how many games? And who will be the World Series MVP?

We put those questions to a panel of MLB.com experts, and here are the results:

Dodgers vs. Blue Jays

The pick: Dodgers (36 of 56 votes, 64%)

The Blue Jays finished the regular season with the best record in the American League, and Toronto has been battle tested, defeating the Yankees in a four-game AL Division Series before winning a thrilling seven-game AL Championship Series over the Mariners.

But while the Jays have proven their playoff mettle and are led by a slugging first baseman having one of the great individual postseasons of all time, they now face a club that has won nine of its 10 playoff games this month.

They say pitching and defense wins championships. If that saying holds true, it’ll be tough to beat the Dodgers. Yes, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the hottest hitter on the planet -- Shohei Ohtani’s mind-boggling two-way performance in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series notwithstanding -- but the Dodgers’ starting rotation has a chance to have the finest postseason any starting staff has ever had.

The dominant quartet of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani has been nearly unhittable, posting a 1.40 ERA during these playoffs. While three of the four missed significant time during the regular season due to injury, they’re all healthy now, and it shows.

L.A.’s bullpen is a question mark because of its shaky end to the regular season, but also because it was barely needed in the NLCS. If the starters once again make the relievers mostly obsolete, it could be a long -- or perhaps more accurately, short -- series for the Jays.

If, on the other hand, Toronto’s marriage of contact and power in the lineup steals the headlines, this could be another dramatic series like the ALCS.

Why they’ll win

• “The Dodgers are a juggernaut that will not be stopped. As long as their starting pitchers are healthy and firing on all cylinders, they should win this Series with relative ease.” -- Mark Feinsand, senior national reporter
• “Their rotation is overwhelming when everyone’s healthy and free to work deep into games, as we just saw in the NLCS with Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani. The Blue Jays do a lot of things really well, and Vladdy could very well take over another series, but the Dodgers’ top-end talent and championship experience give them the edge.” -- Adam Berry, senior club reporter
• “The Dodgers seem inevitable. The Blue Jays feel like they have the vibes to overcome anything. This Series looks like a tossup, so my gut is going with the team that has Shohei Ohtani.” -- Dan Cichalski, senior manager, content operations

The dissenting view

• “Toronto has a deep lineup and is excellent at home (54-27 during regular season, 4-2 in October). Getting to play Games 6 and 7 in Toronto will carry the day.” -- Matt Meyers, vice president of content
• "The Blue Jays have an unshakable spark, the backing of an entire country and a young star in Vlad Jr. poised to leave his mark." -- Jen Vestuto, content producer
• “It won't be easy. But if Bo Bichette is really coming back ... if the Blue Jays can 'steal' one of the first two games at home ... if they can get the Dodgers' starters out early enough to expose the soft underbelly of L.A.'s bullpen ... if Max Scherzer can replicate his ALCS magic ... if Vlad Jr. can keep punching at Shohei Ohtani's weight ... they can do this.” -- Andy Werle, supervising editor
• “There's no denying the Dodgers are red-hot and are the chic pick to win back-to-back titles, but the Jays have a je ne sais quoi and never-say-die attitude.” -- Chris Begley, supervising editor

Series prediction
Dodgers (5 games): 21 votes
Dodgers (6 games): 12 votes
Blue Jays (6 games): 9 votes
Dodgers (7 games): 3 votes
Blue Jays (7 games): 11 votes

Who will be named World Series MVP?
Shohei Ohtani (LAD): 25 votes
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR): 15 votes
Mookie Betts (LAD): 4 votes
George Springer (TOR): 3 votes
Blake Snell (LAD): 3 votes
Bo Bichette (TOR): 1 vote
Teoscar Hernández (LAD): 1 vote
Alejandro Kirk (TOR): 1 vote
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD): 1 vote
Addison Barger (TOR): 1 vote
Max Muncy (LAD): 1 vote

The two best hitters in this World Series garnered the most votes from our panel for Series MVP. Ohtani and Guerrero are good choices for obvious reasons -- the former is the best baseball talent on the planet, and the latter is having the best postseason of anyone.

"Ohtani won the NLCS MVP Award largely on the strength of his sensational Game 4 performance. If he has a game even approaching that spectacular level in the World Series, especially after he didn't hit much in last year's Fall Classic, I think that will be enough to hand him the trophy," wrote senior content producer Elizabeth Muratore.

Ohtani received nearly half of the votes in this survey, and given what he did in Game 4 of the NLCS -- 10 strikeouts over six innings on the mound and three homers at the plate -- you could certainly see him taking home World Series MVP honors.

“After watching Game 4 of the NLCS, it would be downright foolish to pick anyone other than the author of the greatest individual performance in the history of the game!” wrote senior club reporter John Denton.

Supervising editor Len Hochberg stated the matter succinctly: “Because he’s Shohei Ohtani.”