Episode 188 of Tablesetters is LIVE!

The Wild Card round is over, and now the postseason gets even tighter. Four best of five Division Series, eight teams and three wins separating everyone from the League Championship Series.

It starts with Dodgers vs. Braves, where Atlanta goes directly from an exhausting three game series against Philadelphia into a rested Los Angeles team with one of the deepest pitching staffs in baseball. The Braves dominated the regular season matchup, but how much does the road they took to get here change things now?

Then it’s Yankees vs. Rays after New York swept Boston and scored nine runs in both Wild Card games. Tampa Bay won 98 games and took the season series, but the Yankees enter with their rotation lined up and some major questions still surrounding Aaron Judge.

Padres vs. Brewers brings together Milwaukee’s starting pitching and a dangerous San Diego lineup, but the biggest story might be what happens once these games reach the later innings. And Guardians vs. White Sox gives us two teams separated by only one game with completely different strengths and a season series that was about as close as it gets.

We’re breaking down all four matchups, the pitching situations, biggest X factors, numbers that stand out and the decisions that could ultimately determine who moves on.

Four series. Eight teams. Three wins from the LCS!

🎧 Listen to Episode 188 now. 👍 Like the episode and tell us who you have advancing. 📌 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 🗣️ Follow us on Instagram and X: @TablesettersPod

Episode 187 of Tablesetters is LIVE!

The 2026 postseason starts now, and the Wild Card round gives us four completely different best of three matchups with almost no room for error. We’re breaking down what stands out in each series, the biggest X factors, the pitching questions and the numbers that could end up deciding who gets through to the Division Series.

It starts in the Bronx with Yankees vs. Red Sox, where Aaron Judge’s calf hangs over everything. The Yankees still finished with the better record and run differential despite spending most of the year without him, and they enter October with a rotation built around Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole. The Red Sox have a different formula, leaning heavily on defense and a bullpen that finished top five in both ERA and expected ERA, with Garrett Crochet potentially returning in a completely different role after not pitching since April.

Then it’s Braves vs. Phillies, with all the recent postseason history coming right back to the surface. The Phillies eliminated the Braves in both 2022 and 2023, but this Braves team enters from a much stronger regular season position after going 9 and 4 against Philadelphia and winning the division. Chris Sale brings a 2.16 ERA into Game 1, Ronald Acuña Jr. just finished September with seven home runs and a .950 OPS, and Tyler Mahle quietly posted a 1.99 ERA after joining Atlanta. The Phillies still have the rotation depth to make this uncomfortable again, especially with Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler all in the mix.

Cubs vs. Padres might have the most interesting clash of styles in the entire round. Pete Crow Armstrong put together an MVP caliber season with 45 home runs, 41 steals and a .945 OPS while helping the Cubs lead MLB in OPS and runs per game. San Diego, though, might be the hottest team entering October, going 41 and 18 after July 24 while transforming from a bottom five offense into one of the best in baseball. Fernando Tatis Jr. has been right in the middle of that surge, and the Padres also have the bullpen advantage that could completely change the way these games are managed once they reach the middle innings.

And then there’s White Sox vs. Astros, which might be the strangest matchup of all. The White Sox became the first team in MLB history to reach the postseason after three straight 100 loss seasons, powered by a top five offense and three different 30 homer bats in Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery. The Astros somehow came out of a chaotic season with the AL West title despite finishing at .500 or worse, and now everything revolves around how much Yordan Alvarez can carry an offense that may need him to be the difference.

We get into Aaron Judge’s health, Garrett Crochet’s possible return, Chris Sale against Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, Tyler Mahle’s second half, Alex Bregman playing through multiple facial fractures, Pete Crow Armstrong against Fernando Tatis Jr., Munetaka Murakami’s late season power surge and whether Yordan Alvarez can once again take over October.

Four series, eight teams, and only two wins needed to move on. The margin for error is basically nonexistent.

🎧 Listen to Episode 187 now. 👍 Like the episode and tell us who you have advancing. 📌 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 🗣️ Follow us on Instagram and X: @TablesettersPod

Episode 186 of Tablesetters is LIVE!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s brutal 2026 season is becoming one of the biggest stories in baseball, especially with the first year of his $500 million extension going this badly. The Blue Jays are on the verge of elimination, Guerrero’s production has fallen off dramatically and his recent comments about the contract and fan support have only added another layer to what has already been a massively disappointing year in Toronto.

We get into the numbers behind Vlad’s collapse, including his 92 OPS+, nine home runs, .359 slugging percentage and 1.3 WAR after posting 4.6 WAR last season. Coming into 2026, Guerrero owned a career OPS+ of 136, so this has not been a minor step backward. Toronto committed to him through 2039 expecting him to remain one of the pillars of the franchise, and right now he is not producing anywhere close to that level.

His recent comments make the situation even more interesting. Guerrero said he views the contract as being based on what he had already accomplished rather than necessarily what he will do going forward, while also referring to the people still supporting him through the struggles as his “real fans.” We get into why those comments are going to rub people the wrong way when they are coming from a player with this kind of financial commitment attached to him and this kind of production on the field.

Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Rays are officially AL East champions and have secured the No. 1 seed in the American League. After everything Tampa Bay has gone through over the last two seasons, this might be one of the more impressive years the organization has put together. We get into Drew Rasmussen’s huge performance in the clincher, Yandy Díaz continuing to deliver and why this Rays team deserves plenty of attention heading into October.

The Yankees have a much different problem. Aaron Judge’s latest injury could keep him out of the Wild Card Series, leaving New York with another massive question at the worst possible time. The Yankees have survived without Judge for long stretches already, but surviving a three-game postseason series without him is an entirely different conversation.

We also get into the MLB playoff picture with the final weekend almost here. There are still American League division races that could come down to the wire, multiple National League teams trying to officially punch their tickets and some potentially incredible Wild Card matchups starting to appear. Yankees-Red Sox in a best-of-three? Yeah, sign us up.

Shohei Ohtani is also returning to the Dodgers lineup just in time for October, and Los Angeles suddenly has several important pieces getting healthy at once. We break down what Ohtani’s return means, the other reinforcements arriving around him and some interesting roster and lineup decisions the Dodgers have to make before the postseason begins.

What’s the Word? returns with three different statements. Did Boston see enough from Chad Tracy to remove the interim tag and commit to both him and Craig Breslow long term? Are the Mets making the right move by sticking with Andy Green after a massively disappointing season? And just how concerned should Toronto be about what has happened to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first year of his $500 million extension?

Plus, we’re Coming Around 3rd with everything we’re watching during the final weekend of the regular season. Division races, Wild Card scenarios, huge pitching matchups, scoreboard watching and a loaded Sunday afternoon where almost everything will be happening at once. By the time the dust settles, we should finally know exactly what October baseball is going to look like.

🎧 Listen to Episode 186 now. 👍 Like the episode. 📌 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 🗣️ Follow us on Instagram and X: @TablesettersPod