2022 MLB Playoffs: Buster Olney's top wild-card matchups

Every fall, the postseason surprises us with new heroes. Like Joe Kelly, who was nearly left off Boston's playoff roster in 2018 because of ineffectiveness but suddenly emerged as a shutdown reliever on the Red Sox's drive to a championship. Or the 35-year-old Howie Kendrick, who, at the end of an excellent career, had moved into a part-time role for the 2019 Nationals before delivering the biggest hits in the biggest moments. Or how about Christian Colon, whose one plate appearance in the 2015 World Series resulted in a tiebreaking pinch-hit in extra innings.

It's impossible to predict — but for every team in every postseason series, there are discernible fault lines that could break or make a deep run.

The top dozen matchups of the wild-card round of the playoffs:

Josh Hader vs. weariness In his years with the Brewers, the left-hander was a dominant force, to the degree that his former manager, Craig Counsell, felt a case could be made for Hader as the best reliever ever. Counsell would roll out Hader for an inning, for two innings, maybe more, and Hader tended to strike out most of the batters he faced.

Eight teams will take the field this weekend. Only four will make it to the division series. Watch every wild-card series matchup from Friday through Sunday on ESPN and ABC.

Friday's schedule:TB-CLE: 12 p.m. ET on ESPNPHI-STL: 2 p.m. ET on ABCSEA-TOR: 4 p.m. ET on ESPNSD-NYM: 8 p.m. on ESPN

But something has changed in 2022 for Hader, who was dented before and after the Brewers traded him to the Padres, finishing the season with a 5.22 ERA. Eventually, the San Diego staff settled on a belief that Hader now needs more rest — and probably is better off limited to an inning per game — and Hader seemed to bounce back. In