Nine games over three days were enough to knock off one-third of the playoff field. The wild-card round was full of standout performances as dominant Game 1 starts set the tone for three series sweeps, and dramatic late-inning home runs changed the course of the only series to last all three games. It was a frantic few days of October baseball. With one round down and three to go, these have been the best playoff performers so far: our All Wild Card Team.
- Catcher
Kyle Higashioka, Padres
2-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI
The wild card actually had some of the game’s biggest-name catchers, but it was relatively unheralded Higashioka who homered twice — once in each game — and got a congratulatory guitar from Tom Delonge. That’s hard to beat. Similarly under-the-radar Jake Rogers had three hits for the Tigers, while Salvador Perez went 2-for-7, William Contreras was 2-for-12, and Adley Rutschman was 1-for-8, continuing to struggle after a rough second half.
- First base
Pete Alonso, Mets
2-for-9, 1 HR, 3 RBI
It doesn’t matter that he was 1-for-8 before that final at-bat on Thursday, because Alonso delivered the biggest hit of the round to send the Mets into the division series and keep his Mets tenure alive for at least another week. There really weren’t any other standout first basemen in the wild-card round. Before Alonso went deep, our choice might have been Brewers bench player Jake Bauers, also because of one (seemingly) massive home run.
- Second base
Brice Turang, Brewers
5-for-11, 3 2Bs, 3 runs
Coming off a bad second half (.564 OPS), Turang delivered a bounce-back performance in the wild card, much more reminiscent of his strong first half that made him a solid All-Star candidate. The second-best second baseman of the round was probably Royals leadoff hitter Michael Massey, who went 3-for-8 with a double in a series in which offense was at a premium.
- Third base
Alex Bregman, Astros
3-for-8
Honestly, this probably should be Mets third baseman Matt Vientos, who was 3-for-12 but with a lot more impact than Bregman (two runs, two RBIs). Bregman, though, stands out as basically the only source of offense for the Astros who got one hit from Jose Altuve and saw Kyle Tucker go 0-for-8 while hitting into a double play (one of three Astros double plays in two games). Not a terrible series for Bregman, in what might have been his farewell performance with the Astros.
- Shortstop
Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
3-for-9, 2 RBIs
Francisco Lindor had two hits and drew four walks — he also started that sprinting double play to end Game 3 — but Witt was the difference in the Royals/Orioles series. He drove in the only run in Game 1, and he drove in the go-ahead, winning run in Game 2. The Royals swept that series, and there’s no way they do that without their star shortstop. (The other star shortstop in the series, Gunnar Henderson, went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.)
- Left field
Jackson Chourio, Brewers
5-for-11, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs
The youngest player in the majors didn’t flinch in his first postseason. His dramatic moments came with two home runs in Game 2 — the second of which started the comeback that gave the Brewers life — but he also had two hits in Game 1, and a hit and a stolen base in Game 3. The kid showed up ready to play, and along with Bauers, Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick, he was one of four Brewers that would have played the role of hero had they moved on.
- Center field
Michael Harris II, Braves
5-for-8, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI
The lone bright spot for the depleted Braves, Harris accounted for half of their runs, half of their extra-base hits, and nearly a third of their hits. The rest of the Braves went 8-for-58 (.138) with a double and home run. Cedric Mullins (3-for-7 with a homer) was in a similar boat for the Orioles as he drove in (and scored) their only run of the series. Young center fielders Jackson Merrill (3-for-7) and Parker Meadows (go-ahead homer in Game 2) also had good series for the Padres and Tigers.
- Right field
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
4-for-6, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
On base six times in two games, Tatis kept his tremendous season going and helped keep the Padres alive. His homer was on the first pitch he saw in Game 1 and gave the Padres a 2-0 lead before they’d made an out. Frelick (4-for-11) and Starling Marte (3-for-9) were also good in the Mets/Padres series.
- Designated hitter
Vinnie Pasquantino, Royals
2-for-7, 2 BB
Luis Arraez had three hits and a couple of runs as the Padres’ leadoff hitter, but we’re giving bonus points to Pasquantino for returning from a broken thumb — earlier than expected — to have a productive couple of games after missing more than a month. He was especially good in Game 2 with two hits and a walk.
- Utility
Andy Ibáñez, Tigers
2-for-3, 2 2Bs, 3 RBI
A fairly shocking choice as the team’s cleanup hitter in Game 1, Ibáñez wasn’t even in the lineup for Game 2 but came off the bench with a pinch-hit, three-run, go-ahead double in the eighth inning. He played some second, played some third and delivered one of the biggest hits of the round. (That’s kind of the way the Tigers do it. Matt Vierling started Game 1 at third base, started Game 2 in right field, and was on base four times.)
- Starting pitcher
Michael King, Padres
7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K
King had more strikeouts in seven innings than the Braves had in the entire series (11), and he had nearly as many strikeouts as the Orioles (14) or Tigers (15) had in the round.
- Starting pitcher
Corbin Burnes, Orioles
8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
He didn’t have nearly the strikeouts of King, but Burnes was the only starter to pitch beyond the seventh inning. If he’d gotten any run support, Burnes might also have gotten a win.
- Starting pitcher
Cole Ragans, Royals
6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
One reason Burnes didn’t win his start is that Ragans, the Royals Game 1 starter, was nearly as good. The Royals staff allowed just one run the entire series.
- Starting pitcher
Tarik Skubal, Tigers
6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
A predictably dominant start by arguably the game’s best starting pitcher. If we were to extend our All Wild Card Team to a five-man rotation, Astros Game 2 starter Hunter Brown would deserve some consideration (5 2/3 innings, 9 strikeouts) as would each starter in the winner-take-all Game 3 between the Mets (José Quintana, six scoreless innings) and the Brewers (Tobias Myers, five scoreless).
- Closer
Lucas Erceg, Royals
2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 saves
The only pitcher to save two games in the wild-card round, Erceg did it in fairly dominant fashion. He led the round in Win Probability Added (WPA) and led a Royals bullpen that pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
- Reliever
Beau Brieske, Tigers
2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 save
Sure, Brieske kind of lucked out in closing Game 1 — Jayson Heyward crushed a ball that happened to go right into Spencer Torkelson’s glove — but Brieske earned his spot with 1 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 2. The players he retired that day were Altuve, Tucker, Bregman and Yainer Diaz, who hit into a double play. Brieske had the second-highest WPA of the wild-card round. The only other relievers in the top 11 were Padres closer Robert Suarez (two scoreless innings, one save) and Tigers reliever Will Vest (2 2/3 scoreless innings, five strikeouts, one save).
(Top photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
