Before the Division Series round began on Oct. 7, we asked a panel of our experts to make their predictions for the rest of October. Their picks are below.

ANTHONY CASTROVINCE

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 4
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Twins in 5
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Braves in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Twins in 6
NLCS: Braves in 6

WORLD SERIES
Braves in 5
WS MVP: Matt Olson

I rode the Phillies’ bandwagon into this postseason, thinking they were poised to be the team to knock off the mighty Braves (again) and finish the job they did not complete in last year’s World Series. But right now, I’m looking around, and it’s pretty crowded on that bandwagon. It makes me nervous. As does the inclination to assume that the Astros will advance to the ALCS, as they always do. So I’m going in a different direction. The Twins’ pitching staff is in a really good place right now and their lineup mashes, so I could see them escaping the AL. And though the Braves have obvious pitching concerns, it appears that too many people are assuming they’ll be the latest regular season “champion” that comes up short in October. So I’m going to do something bold and … go with the No. 1 overall seed! (The fact that this can be construed as bold just shows how beautifully bizarre baseball is.)

ALYSON FOOTER

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 3
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Twins in 4
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Phillies in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Orioles in 6
NLCS: Phillies in 7

WORLD SERIES
Phillies in 7
WS MVP: Bryce Harper 

If the Phillies get by the Braves in the NLDS -- and I believe that’s where we’ll see the one true upset this postseason -- that clears a reasonable path to a World Series title. The Orioles on paper look like the more well-rounded team, but they lack experience, both in terms of playing that deep into October and on a stage this big. The Phillies are on quite a roll, and they were in the Fall Classic just last year. That gives them the very slightest of edges.

MARK FEINSAND

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 5
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Astros in 4
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Phillies in 4
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Orioles in 6
NLCS: Phillies in 7

WORLD SERIES
Phillies in 6
WS MVP: Bryce Harper

Philadelphia has unfinished business after last year’s World Series loss, and with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola leading the way, the Phillies are primed to make a run this month -- as long as they can get past the Braves, of course. Harper watched the Nationals win a World Series after he left Washington, but with former National Trea Turner finally looking like a $300 million man for the Phils, Harper finally gets his ring this year with a win over the upstart Orioles in a thrilling I-95 Fall Classic.

JESSE SANCHEZ

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Rangers in 5
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Astros in 5
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Braves in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 5

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Astros in 6
NLCS: Braves in 6

WORLD SERIES
Braves in 6
WS MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr.

The best team in baseball nearly all season will cap off its magical year with a World Series title. Atlanta is an offensive powerhouse with threats up and down the lineup. Maybe the biggest challenge here is picking which player will emerge as the hero in the Fall Classic. Sure, there are some questions about their starting pitching, but this offense cannot be stopped, and it won’t be.

DAVID VENN

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 4
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Twins in 4
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Braves in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Orioles in 6
NLCS: Dodgers in 6

WORLD SERIES
Dodgers in 5
WS MVP: Freddie Freeman

The Orioles will continue their magic against the Rangers in a season in which nothing has seemed to faze them, not even losing their dominant closer in the season’s final month. The Astros’ ability to “flip the switch when it counts” will finally falter against their old teammate Carlos Correa, but more importantly, against the the 1-2 of Pablo López and Sonny Gray, in addition to a deep bullpen punctuated by the least famous 100+ mph specialist around, Jhoan Duran. Baltimore will prevail over Minnesota in a longer series, where the Twins’ lack of star power in the rotation after López and Gray will be exposed.

In the National League, the Dodgers will have enough to defeat Arizona, where they will eliminate the D-backs and celebrate in their pool at Chase Field. The Braves will exact their revenge on the Phillies in a tough NLDS but will not have enough pitching to stop the Dodgers’ seasoned lineup in the NLCS. In the World Series, the Dodgers’ ability to mix and match pitching and greater experience/stamina playing into early November will be the difference for their second World Series title in four years.

SARAH LANGS

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 5
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Astros in 5
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Phillies in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Astros in 6
NLCS: Phillies in 6

WORLD SERIES
Phillies in 6
WS MVP: Trea Turner

I cannot wait to see this all play out and can’t wait to be completely wrong about everything. These Phillies have been better than last year’s, which made it all the way to Game 6 of the World Series. Last year, we saw the Astros win it all a season after losing in the Fall Classic -- why not add another line to that list? As for MVP, we’ve seen Turner be a game-changer in the Post-Ovation Era. Expect to see World Baseball Classic-level Trea on the big stage again.

MIKE PETRIELLO

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 4
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Twins in 5
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Phillies in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Twins in 7
NLCS: Phillies in 6

WORLD SERIES
Phillies in 6
WS MVP: Trea Turner

All year, teams have been struggling to keep their pitching healthy and mostly failing to do it, and even now, the Dodgers (and to a lesser extent, the Braves) are headed into the Division Series with a ton of questions about their pitching staffs. The Orioles have one unit on the way up (the rotation) with another coming back to earth (the bullpen), but the Phillies and the Twins are the two clubs with the strongest top-to-bottom pitching right now -- and they each have bullpens with extremely different faces than they did earlier this year. But Philadelphia’s lineup might have a slight edge over Minnesota’s. They definitely have a home field advantage. The Phillies have, as the saying goes, the smell.

ANDREW SIMON

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Rangers in 4
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Twins in 5
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Phillies in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Twins in 6
NLCS: Phillies in 7

WORLD SERIES
Phillies in 5
WS MVP: Bryce Harper

Normally I would throw a bunch of numbers at you in this space, but you know what? Vibes are as good a reason as any for picking postseason winners, and the Phillies’ vibes are off the charts. It feels like they have unfinished business from last year’s Fall Classic defeat against the Astros, everything is clicking for them right now and Citizens Bank Park is a house of horrors for visitors. Having to go through the Braves and potentially the Dodgers makes Philadelphia’s degree of difficulty extremely challenging, but this group seems up to the task. It’s time to make it happen -- and for Harper to stamp a couple more legendary moments on his career resume.

NATHALIE ALONSO

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 5
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Astros in 4
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Braves in 5
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Orioles in 6
NLCS: Braves in 7

WORLD SERIES
Braves in 7
WS MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Home runs are often difference makers in the month of October, and the 2023 Braves hit a lot of them. So while there are question marks surrounding Atlanta’s rotation ahead of the NLDS, expect baseball’s best team in the regular season to mash all the way to the World Series. During their last World Series run, in 2021, the Braves were missing a key weapon: Acuña, who was out after suffering an ACL tear. Acuña is at full strength now -- and coming off his historic 40-70 season, he’ll continue to torment opposing pitchers at the plate and on the basepaths. Meanwhile in the American League, the Orioles will cap off their own magical 100-win season with a trip to the Fall Classic but will come up just a little bit short against the powerhouse Braves.

WILL LEITCH

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 4
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Astros in 5
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Braves in 4
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 3

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Astros in 6
NLCS: Dodgers in 7

WORLD SERIES
Astros in 6
WS MVP: Kyle Tucker

It really is mind-blowing that, if the Astros can beat the Twins, they will reach their seventh consecutive ALCS. Every year, we try to talk ourselves into someone other than the Astros, and every year, it’s the Astros. I don’t see why this year should be any different. The Astros sleepwalked a little this year, as teams that just won a World Series tend to do, but that sleepwalking still got them a division title. And they’re looking close to their best selves heading into the playoffs. We haven’t had back-to-back World Series champs this century. It’s time.

JON PAUL MOROSI

DIVISION SERIES
ALDS: TEX-BAL, Orioles in 5
ALDS: MIN-HOU, Twins in 4
NLDS: PHI-ATL, Phillies in 4
NLDS: ARI-LAD, Dodgers in 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
ALCS: Twins in 6
NLCS: Phillies in 6

WORLD SERIES
Phillies in 7
WS MVP: Trea Turner

October isn’t even one week old, and Phillies fans already are defining the 2023 postseason. Their support of Trea Turner helped to turn his season around, and the raucous atmosphere they’re creating at Citizens Bank Park will make visiting teams miserable. Of course, the Phillies can win the World Series for plenty of reasons that have little to do with the crowd’s reaction to a Bryson Stott grand slam. In Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, the Phillies have playoff aces who miss bats. Their lineup is balanced and powerful. Meanwhile, after the Twins expunged a 19-year postseason win drought, why stop now? Pablo López and Sonny Gray are capable of headlining a run to the American League pennant, backed by a lineup featuring phenom Royce Lewis and postseason stalwart Carlos Correa.