Using numberFire's Power Rankings to Predict the 2016 World Series Champion

Wild Card Round

Toronto Blue Jays over Baltimore Orioles

The AL East was brutally tough this year, y'all. All five teams finished in the top 15 of numberFire's power rankings, and two of them were in the top six. One of those top-six teams was the Toronto Blue Jays, and that's enough to put them over the Baltimore Orioles.

The big area that helped separate the Blue Jays from the Orioles is their starting pitching. Marcus Stroman had the sixth-best SIERA in baseball over the second half of the season, and Francisco Liriano's SIERA dipped all the way to 3.04 in the month of September. The Orioles' best starter was clearly Kevin Gausman, but he threw 106 pitches on Sunday, meaning the Blue Jays' advantage here will only increase.

San Francisco Giants over New York Mets

It's honestly just impressive the New York Mets made it this far, given the laundry list of injuries they've had in the starting rotation. Unfortunately, they run into a fully-healthy unit in the Giants that could pull through despite the trek across the country.

Obviously, Noah Syndergaard's going to play a huge role in how this shakes out. He finished things on a high note in the regular season, striking out eight batters over six innings with no walks against the Miami Marlins, but his second-half 3.35 SIERA wasn't quite on the same level of dominance he displayed before the All-Star break. Additionally, much of his value comes from his ability to get whiffs, but the Giants have the second-lowest strikeout rate in the league against righties. It should be a tight game, but the Giants do hold the edge when it comes to the power rankings.