There might be no greater fool's errand than trying to predict the MLB postseason. But that has never stopped us before. Rather than a full round-by-round breakdown, we're going to take a more broad approach here and lay down odds for each of the eight Division Series participants' chances of winning the World Series. Each team's biggest strengths and weaknesses were highlighted to provide some context to those odds and give a preview of sorts for the month ahead.A powerful offense and a dominant bullpen. Those were the Yankees' two biggest strengths during the regular season, and they were on full display against the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Game. They put eight runs on the board behind three homers, while the bullpen allowed just five hits and one run while striking out 13 in 8.2 innings of work. However, the Cleveland Indians—who await in the ALDS—were able to keep that offense in check this year. They allowed just 20 runs in seven games and posted a plus-11 run differential while going 5-2. If the Yankees can score early runs to back a questionable starting rotation and turn to their bullpen with a lead, they'll be in good shape.Starting pitching has been the biggest question mark for the Yankees all season, and watching Luis Severino get only one out in the Wild Card Game did nothing to ease those concerns.

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Sonny Gray, Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia will join him in making up the postseason rotation. While all three are capable of pitching well enough to get the team a win, they've been far from dominant. Gray (6 GS, 2-4, 4.58 ERA) and Tanaka (5 GS, 3-2, 4.99 ERA) were mediocre in September, and Sabathia has completed six innings in just seven of his last 15 starts. That group will be tasked with slowing down a Cleveland offense that averaged 5.6 runs per game over the final month of the season.With a 5.19 ERA and just 62 quality starts in 162 games, the Diamondbacks had the worst starting staff in the National League last season. What a difference a year makes. Zack Greinke returned to ace form, while Robbie Ray joined him as a front-line option. In addition, prized pickup Taijuan Walker slid nicely into the middle of the staff, and Zack Godley turned in one of the surprise breakouts of 2017. Meanwhile, the offense ranked fourth in the NL in scoring (5.0 RPG) and took off after the addition of J.D. Martinez as a complimentary run producer to NL MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt. The Los Angeles Dodgers await in the NLDS, and the D-backs got the best of them during the regular season, going 11-8 with a plus-28 run differential. That included a dominant three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium in early September where they outscored them 19-2 amid a 13-game winning streak.


Arizona was also one of just three teams to win at least 50 games at home this season.Manager Torey Lovullo won't be able to turn to Ray next time his starter gets into trouble like Greinke did in the Wild Card Game. And beyond lefty Andrew Chafin and standout setup man Archie Bradley, the Diamondbacks don't have a deep stable of relievers. There's also an inexperience factor as far as their otherwise stellar starting pitching is concerned. Walker and Godley will be making their postseason debuts in the NLDS, while Ray will be making his first playoff start. That might not sound like an obvious weakness, but the other three contenders on the NL side all have significant experience on their staffs. Since pitching is a different animal come October, that lack of seasoning could come back to bite Arizona. Offensively, the D-backs ranked 25th in the majors with a .243 average against left-handed pitching, and they'll run into two (Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill) and potentially three (Alex Wood) lefties when they take on the Dodgers. On paper, they look as dangerous as any wild-card team in recent memory, but it's still an uphill battle.While they are not the same offensive juggernaut that averaged a MLB-best 5.4 runs per game a year ago, the Red Sox are still plenty dangerous at the plate. Mookie Betts (108 PA, .944 OPS, 15 XBH, 24 RBI) hit his stride in September, and the offense as a whole tallied 5.2 runs per game for the month. Defense might be Boston's biggest strength, though. According to FanGraphs, the Red Sox were the best overall defensive team in baseball by a wide margin. Betts (31 DRS), Mitch Moreland (10 DRS), Jackie Bradley Jr. (9 DRS) and Andrew Benintendi (9 DRS) were all standouts on an individual level. While there may be some questions about the pitching staff, having Chris Sale as the Game 1 starter and the dynamic duo of Addison Reed and Craig Kimbrel atthe back of the bullpen is also a clear strength.