Eight most important players for MLB’s 2022 Division Series

Albert Pujols were sent packing. Bo Bichette has plenty of time to play tennis. Tee time or tea time? Plenty of baseball’s greatest stars can make that choice after their teams failed to make it past wild-card weekend.

See, it’s often not the biggest names that prove most indispensable once Major League Baseball’s playoffs arrive. After all, anyone can be pitched to, or ignored altogether.

It’s often the performance of the less heralded that matter most, and as the four Division Series get underway Tuesday, USA TODAY Sports examines the eight players most important to their team’s chances:

Dodgers: Evan Phillips

Who could have imagined that a former Orioles and Rays castoff would emerge as the steadiest late-inning hand for the game’s most efficient machine? Well, bullpens and the relievers within them are vulnerable, and that’s why Phillips will have the hot spots in the eighth or ninth innings and eight-time All-Star Craig Kimbrel may not make the playoff roster.

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Phillips, 28, features both precision (a 0.76 WHIP) and punch (77 strikeouts in 63 innings) and now, he will try to take down outs in his first postseason. He’s one of a number of Dodgers – starters Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney among them – who may be unproven on this stage but have seemingly overperformed that they demand a larger role even as the stakes are off the charts for this 111-win team.

“It looks a lot different than we anticipated,” manager Dave Roberts acknowledged last month.

Forget the two saves Phillips amassed this year. The Dodgers had the onramp to give Kimbrel every chance to get right. It never happened, and now it will be on Phillips, Alex Vesia and friends to lock down what Julio Urias and Co. started.

Braves: Spencer Strider

Perhaps there’s no greater mystery in this postseason than the state of Strider’s oblique – and what he might be able to give the Braves this month.

Strider will likely finish second to teammate Michael Harris II in Rookie of the Year voting, but that’s not for lack of accomplishment: Strider struck out 202 batters in a mere 131 ⅔ innings. Yet when he complained of pain in September, the Braves made the choice to shut him down – and managed to win the division without him.

Manager Brian Snitker has acknowledged the Braves likely have just one shot to rehab and unleash Strider, that a setback would shelve him for the remainder of the playoffs. If he’s right, it gives the club a harrowing 1-2-3 shutdown staff of Cy Young candidate Max Fried, 20-game winner Kyle Wright and Strider, who’s proven fearless in his first year.

Without him, veteran Charlie Morton will be a fine No. 3 option, and the Braves’ bullpen might be the best in this field. But Strider would provide dominant innings – be it as a starter or out of the bullpen as he builds back strength.

Astros: Cristian Javier

Houston’s playoff rotation will feature Cy Young Award favorites Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez, which is nice. Yet they may not be the club’s most devastating weapon.

Instead, that honor might go to Javier, who started 25 games, came out of the bullpen in five others and shut down almost anyone he encountered, striking out 194 in just 148 ⅔ innings. He authored the first seven innings of a combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium, striking out 13. He gave up two hits or fewer in his last four starts of the season. And in this postseason, he can be unleashed whenever manager Dusty Baker might feel the chips are down – if Verlander or Valdez or Lance McCullers Jr. wobble early, or if he just wants to hand him the ball and say, ‘Go get ‘em.’

Yankees: Aaron Judge

Hey, why overthink it?

The playoffs remain a great challenge for the MVP-caliber player, let alone one who achieved at a historic level like Judge, whose AL-record 62 home runs captivated fans the entire second half. Now, it’s like a big, blinking red light will tail Judge, not just for his handiwork but also because those hitting behind him have been so inconsistent.

It’s paramount that Judge achieve what’s almost paradoxical: Take only what’s given to him and maximize damage on good pitches to hit.

Tough to ignore this fairly obvious but irresistible red meat: The Yankees were 40-11 in games Judge homered this season, a .784 clip. That leaves them 59-52 (.532) when he doesn’t, not bad but also far from dominant. One big swing from Judge can certainly swing a playoff game, but the home runs too often gloss over his other ridiculous numbers this season: The .425 OBP, 1.111 OPS, the 99th or 100th percentile in walk, barrel and hard-hit percentage, expected weighted batting average and exit velocity.

The Yankees don’t need Judge to get too big. While there are concerning spots in their lineup – third baseman and cleanup hitter Josh Donaldson’s .308 OBP immediately come to mind – there’s plenty of competency and occasional dominance with Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton lurking. If you thought Judge’s diet of pitches was distasteful during his Roger Maris chase, just wait ‘til you see what might be offered this month.

Bryce Harper hitting a go-ahead homer in Game 2, in his return to the playoff stage after a five-year absence.

Schwarber almost never left.

Schwarber has played postseason ball in all but one of his seasons, and has produced an .823 OPS and nine career homers, to boot. He homered in the 2021 AL wild-card game and ALDS and then smacked a grand slam in the ALCS for Boston, earning folk hero status in barely two months with the Red Sox.

Now, he totes an NL-leading 46 homers into the ALDS, but comes off an 0-for-7 wild card series performance that did include a pair of key sacrifice flies. Against Atlanta, he will need to both set a tone as the leadoff hitter and provide his usual punch.

Harper has not been his best self since returning from thumb surgery, with a .227 average and .676 OPS in 35 games; an ill-advised breaking ball from Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas allowed him to turn on the ball in a manner rarely seen of late. Against a top-to-bottom stout Braves pitching staff, it’s incumbent that Schwarber see a barrage of pitches, get on base close to his .339 career clip and, yes, knock a ball or two out of the park.

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