Yankees' path clear to World Series? Dodgers-Phillies NLCS? LDS predictions

All four MLB wild-card series featured a 2023 postseason participant facing an opponent that missed the playoffs last year. The returning team was eliminated in each instance.

Welcome to October baseball.

With four intriguing — and largely dissimilar — matchups set for the League Division Series, FOX Sports MLB experts Deesha Thosar and Rowan Kavner preview and predict the upcoming round in this week's roundtable.

1. Which team is currently better built for the postseason, the Dodgers or the Padres ?

Thosar: The more I think about it, the more of a toss-up this is. On one hand, San Diego's pitching has outpaced Los Angeles' across the board since adding key arms at the trade deadline. The Padres lead the National League with a 3.38 ERA in the second half, while the Dodgers are eighth at 4.16. It was obvious why Padres pitching has been such a boon for them in their wild-card series against the Braves, particularly with starter Michael King shoving seven scoreless innings in his first career playoff start, but also because of their dominant bullpen. 

Also since the All-Star break, San Diego registered the NL's second-best bullpen ERA (3.16) and WHIP (1.15). The Padres have one of the most important postseason elements — excellent pitching — fine-tuned for a deep October run. With that said, the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani. It will be fascinating to see how Ohtani performs in his first career postseason, and if his finish to his first season with the Dodgers was any indication, he can eradicate excellent pitching just as much as he can pounce on mistakes. In the end, since playoff baseball is increasingly dependent on a deep pitching staff, I'll give the edge to San Diego.

Kavner: The Padres, who right now might be