The Secret Weapon on Each Postseason Team Roster

Every year when October rolls around, teams strategically discuss and map out exactly how they are going to manage their 25-man roster and how they want it to look. As such, a lot of planning and discussion goes into the process to ensure that every team's front office sets their skipper up with plenty of options to turn to regardless of what type of situation might pop-up during a playoff game.

Sometimes those roster manipulations can be found on the pitching staff depending on how a team wants to manage their pitching staff in the postseason. For example, a contending team might have 6 or 7 starting pitchers, but elect to only use 4 during a postseason series with the other 1, 2, or even 3 moving into the bullpen for long relief. Regardless, it set's up the skipper to have plenty of options to turn to for various situations and prevents there from being any sort of panic during the game itself. The same can be said for the way that teams manage their bench come October and the amount of bench bats that a team might elect to take with them into the postseason.

Now that the postseason picture is set, here is one player to watch out for on each postseason roster as a secret weapon for their respective team, who can use said player to their advantage in hopes of gaining an advantage over their opponent and advancing deeper into the playoffs.

* All stats presented are current prior to the start of play today. * 

AMERICAN LEAGUE: 

1. Houston Astros (OF Myles Straw) - When it comes to the outfield, the Houston Astros are as talented as they come with Michael Brantley over in leftfield, George Springer setting up shop in centerfield, and Josh Reddick holding down the fort in rightfield. Although Myles Straw has (0) home runs this season over (54) games, he does provide the Astros with a valuable speed weapon off the bench and someone that can come into the game late for a stolen base or even as an offensive substitution. As such, the Houston Astros would be wise to consider adding Straw to their postseason mix. Heading into play today on the season, Straw has a cumulative slash line of: .269/.377/.337 with a (.346) BABIP. It's certainly not the best slash line out of every single Astros player, but it's enough to justify Myles Straw being part of the Astros postseason roster and being viewed as a valuable weapon. With the postseason, it's always good to have extra assurance in the event of an injury happening to a key component of a team's roster and that's exactly what Myles Straw provides.

2. Minnesota Twins (LHP Taylor Rogers) - The Minnesota Twins don't necessarily have a ton of starting pitching depth which means they are likely to lean heavily on their bullpen to help them make it through the postseason. As a result, they are going to likely put a lot of focus in having plenty of relievers (probably 9 or 10) and one of the key cogs of the bullpen is going to be left-hander, Taylor Rogers. On the season, heading into play today, Rogers has put up a 2.61 ERA over 69.0 innings of work with (90) strikeouts and has held opponents to a (.225) batting average. Rogers has done well against righties, but has really succeeded against lefties putting up a 1.13 ERA over 16.0 innings pitched against lefties this season. For Rocco Baldelli and his entire coaching staff, that could play quite well against some of the New York Yankees hitters including: Didi Gregorious, Brett Gardner, and Tyler Wade during the 8th or 9th inning. On the year, Rogers has a cumulative save percentage of (83%) with 30 saves over 36 save opportunities.

3. New York Yankees (LHP CC Sabathia) - CC Sabathia, the future Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees, is going to be New York's most valuable weapon out of the bullpen come the postseason. As mentioned previously in this article, some teams have enough starting pitching depth that they can transition 1, 2, or even 3 starting pitchers to their bullpen for long relief and to use in various situations. That's a scenario that applies directly to the New York Yankees as they are going to probably have a starting rotation consisting of: Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton (assuming he is fully healthy), and J.A. Happ. Rather than excluding CC Sabathia all together, the Yankees know that they are best suited to have him as a member of their pitching staff come October and have already started using him out of the bullpen as an experiment. However, if the Yankees do decide to use Sabathia as a reliever, they need to have him start an inning, as his ERA during those situations is (2.56) compared to (6.82) when there are two outs in an inning.

4. Oakland Athletics (Utilityman Chad Pinder) - All season long, utilityman Chad Pinder has been extremely valuable for the Oakland Athletics because he has provided some excellent offense and has the ability to play multiple positions including in the infield and the outfield. With the postseason, it is important for any contending team to have plenty of options to turn to in different situations and games and that's what Chad Pinder provides Bob Melvin and his entire coaching staff. So far this season, heading into play today, Pinder has put up a cumulative slash line of: .239/.287/.413 with 81 hits, 20 doubles, 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 19 walks, and 88 strikeouts. Beyond that, he has the ability to play second base, shortstop, third base, leftfield, and rightfield. Given that the Oakland Athletics first challenge is going to be trying to beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Wild Card Game, Oakland is going to have to get creative about how to produce runs against a potent Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff. Chad Pinder might just be the answer to help them solve that equation depending on the situation at hand.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (RHP Emilio Pagan) - The Tampa Bay Rays are always very creative in the methods and processes they use when monitoring workload among their pitchers and coming up with the best game plan for the matchups at hand. While Charlie Morton, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Yonny Chirinos are going to garner a lot of the attention, one outstanding part of the Rays bullpen this entire season has been righty, Emilio Pagan. Thus far, Pagan has posted a 2.31 ERA over 70.0 innings of work with a (.179) Opponent Batting Average Against and a Strikeouts Per 9 Rate of (12.34). As such, the Rays are going to heavily rely on Pagan and his ability to get strikeouts in high leverage situations when they matter the most. Furthermore, a bulk of the batters that Emilio Pagan ends up facing could be right-handers who he has a 1.54 ERA against throughout the span of this season and his appearances could come when there are already outs in an inning. So far this season, in situations where there are already two outs, Pagan has posted a 0.67 ERA over 26.2 innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE: 

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (INF David Freese) - When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for David Freese last summer from the Pittsburgh Pirates, they got him not only to add additional depth around the diamond at first and third base, but to essentially be a bench bat come the postseason. Bench bat he definitely was for the Dodgers during the postseason last year especially in the World Series. During last season's World Series against the Boston Red Sox, over 14 plate appearances, Freese put up a slash line of: .417/.500/.833 with 5 hits, 1 triple, 1 home run, 1 RBI, and 1 walk. With the amount of depth that the Dodgers have around the infield, it's not likely that David Freese will get the opportunity to start, but you can guarantee that he will be used as a pinch hitter the later it gets into the game, as Dave Roberts and his entire coaching staff hope to tap into some of the magic that Freese provided for the team last October. Even taking out the offense, you can't go wrong with the veteran leadership of someone that has been to the postseason a number of times before, like David Freese has, either.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (INF Tommy Edman) - Tommy Edman has been one of the quiet contributors for the St. Louis Cardinals all season long and he is going to play an especially vital role for the team once the calendar turns to October. While the decision came down to the wire about whether or not the Cardinals would end up winning the National League Central (they ended up winning the division), they are going to need some role players to help them get to where they want to go and Tommy Edman is just that. In fact, a lot of people don't realize that so far this season, Edman has (15) stolen bases on the year and has only been thrown out once over that span. That plays well come the postseason because the St. Louis Cardinals know that they can rely on Edman to generate some excellent speed on the base paths and be someone that can potentially score a run in a key situation. Furthermore, Tommy Edman has been especially impactful against lefties this season, putting up a: .333/.386/.605 slash line over 81 at bats with 27 hits, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 11 RBI, 4 walks, and 13 strikeouts.

3. Atlanta Braves (LHP Sean Newcomb) - Looking ahead to the postseason, the Atlanta Braves have a bit of a challenge ahead of them when it comes to their pitching staff, but that's not to take anything away from the talent of some of the names that are included within Atlanta's pitching staff or the potential that some of those names have. One of the individuals that sticks out the most is left-hander, Sean Newcomb, who has been used as a hybrid pitcher this season. As a starter, Newcomb posted a 3.60 ERA over 15 innings of work with (8) strikeouts, but as a reliever Newcomb has put up a 3.06 ERA over 53 innings pitched with (57) strikeouts and an Opponent Batting Average Against of (.216). Depending on how the Atlanta Braves end up configuring their postseason roster will determine how Sean Newcomb is ultimately going to be used, but you can figure that he will play a vital role out of the bullpen and could even be used in a scenario where the Braves either need an emergency starter or elect to go with an Opener for one of their games. Dallas Keuchel, Mike Soroka, and Max Fried are the three biggest names on Atlanta's pitching staff, but don't sleep on Sean Newcomb.

4. Washington Nationals (First/Second Baseman Howie Kendrick) - The Washington Nationals have really turned things around this season since the start of June and a big reason why was because of the contributions that some of the veterans on the team started making. For example, Gerardo Parra came in and instantly became a sensation eventually being known as the player who has "Baby Shark" as their walkup song. The same can be said for the contributions that Howie Kendrick has brought to the plate this season and the type of leadership that he has provided for some of the clubs key young stars such as Victor Robles, Juan Soto, and Trea Turner. Although he is well past his prime at 36 years of age, Kendrick is still going to be a valuable bat to come off the bench as a pinch hitter and could even be a starter at first base depending on the game and the matchup. On the season, over the span of 121 games, Kendrick is batting: .344/.395/.572 along with a (.359) BABIP. Even in the year of the home run, Howie Kendrick is proving that he still has power in his swing, plate discipline, and the ability to do some damage against the right pitcher.

5. Milwaukee Brewers (LHP Drew Pomeranz) - Prior to the conclusion of the July 31st Trade Deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers made a trade with the San Francisco Giants for left-hander, Drew Pomeranz. At the time, the deal received a lot of criticism and many people believed that Pomernanz wasn't going to be anything special, with all due respect to Pomeranz and the big league pitcher that he has worked to be. However, Drew Pomeranz has been anything but insignificant for the Milwaukee Brewers especially over the last 15 games and has really found himself again with a basic change of scenery. Over the past 15 games, Pomeranz has posted a 1.29 ERA, while allowing (9) hits, (2) earned runs, (2) walks, and recording (24) strikeouts. With the state of the Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation heading into the postseason, there still are some question marks about how the Brewers plan on using their pitching staff and how their pitchers will be utilized in different scenarios. Regardless, the Brewers are going to strategically manage their entire pitching staff throughout the course of the postseason and while every pitcher will have to contribute in one way or another, Drew Pomeranz is going to play a significant role in the Brewers fate come October.