2014 MLB Playoff ALDS Picks: Detroit Tigers versus Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Free ALDS Picks

2014 MLB Playoff ALDS Picks: Detroit Tigers versus Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Free ALDS Picks: After a thrilling AL wild-card game that saw the Kansas City Royals stage several comebacks to eventually knock off the Oakland Athletics 9-8 in 12 innings, the American League Division Series matchups are now set. The action will begin Thursday evening when the AL Central Division champion Detroit Tigers face the AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles, and later that night, the Royals will return to action against the AL West Division champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Orioles and Angels will be the home teams in their respective series, and the Angels have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Here is closer look at the two ALDS matchups.

Detroit Tigers versus Baltimore Orioles

In many ways, these two teams are mirror opposites of each other. The Tigers have a ton of star power with Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez anchoring their lineup and Max Scherzer, David Price and Justin Verlander giving them a trio of Cy Young winners to head their rotation. The Orioles on the other hand don’t have a true ace, but they have five solid starters to go along with one of the best bullpens in baseball. Meanwhile, Baltimore slugger Chris Davis is suspended and Manny Machado and Matt Wieters are injured, but Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce are among the players that have stepped up and helped the Orioles lead all of baseball with 211 home runs.

While Baltimore’s depth on the mound led to plenty of regular-season success, the format of the playoffs should favor Detroit. If push comes to shove, the Tigers could start Scherzer, Price and Verlander in all five possible games depending on how the series plays out. Suddenly, the pitching depth that made Baltimore so consistent over the course of the year doesn’t give them the same advantage in a shorter, best-of-five format. Not to mention he fact that Detroit enjoyed a lot of success against Baltimore this season, posting a 5-1 record and outscoring the Orioles 33-20. Granted, the Orioles have a huge edge when it comes to the bullpen, but thanks to Detroit’s rotation, I don’t see Baltimore’s greatest edge in this matchup coming into play enough to tip the scales in favor of the Orioles.

Prediction: Detroit Tigers Win in 5 Games

Kansas City Royals versus Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Royals already defied the odds just to make the postseason, becoming the first team in history to do so despite ranking last in the majors in home runs and walks. The fact that the Royals are in the ALDS might be even more amazing as they survived a series of sketchy managerial decisions by Ned Yost to stage a shocking comeback against the Oakland Athletics in the wild-card game. Now, a Kansas City team devoid of star power but armed with plenty of speed and resiliency has to face an Angels team that led the American League in victories and has likely MVP Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton leading the way.

Despite what appears to be a mismatch at least in terms of the lineups, these teams actually split six meetings during the regular season. Meanwhile, there are plenty of questions about the Angels’ rotation. Garrett Richards was lost for the season, C.J. Wilson has been walk prone, and Matt Shoemaker didn’t pitch the last few weeks of the regular season because of an oblique strain. Of course, Kansas City’s rotation isn’t exactly lined with ace-caliber pitchers either, and while the Royals have the speed to manufacture runs, the Angels led the majors in runs scored this season. In the end, Trout and the rest of the LA’s big bats will be enough to win this series.

Prediction: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Win in 4 Games

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