Two of the very best offenses in baseball are matching up within the World Sequence, which begins on Friday night time in Toronto.
Throughout the common season, the Dodgers scored the second-most runs within the Majors, whereas the Blue Jays have been fourth. The 2 golf equipment have been second and third, respectively, in OPS, and second and fourth in park-adjusted wRC+. They did go about issues a bit in a different way: extra dwelling runs and walks for the Dodgers however extra contact and fewer strikeouts for the Blue Jays. But the tip outcomes have been related.
Provided that these are the final two groups left standing, it’s no shock to be taught that their lineups have continued to provide in October. In reality, the Toronto offense has been traditionally good this postseason. Whereas the league as an entire has hit .229/.306/.384 within the 2025 playoffs, the AL champs are at .296/.355/.523 and the NL champs at .256/.340/.430.
In different phrases, these two pitching staffs have an enormous problem forward of them. And so did we in placing collectively this World Sequence version of the Hitter Energy Rankings, as narrowing down these lineups into a listing of the highest 10 bats took some doing.
In the end, some harmful hitters needed to miss the reduce. That features two stars who handled accidents down the stretch: the Dodgers’ Will Smith, who returned to motion for the NLDS however has slugged .286 since then, and the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette, who hasn’t performed since Sept. 6 however has proclaimed himself “prepared” for Friday night time. If both have been clearly 100% wholesome and rust-free, they’d have been within the prime 10. Additionally falling brief right here have been gamers who’ve come up huge for his or her groups within the postseason, together with Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández for L.A., and Addison Barger, Andrés Giménez and Nathan Lukes for Toronto. There isn’t room for everybody, however any a type of gamers is able to taking the largest swing of the collection.
With out additional ado, listed here are the 2025 World Sequence Hitter Energy Rankings.
Clearly. Sure, Ohtani had an eight-game stretch this postseason through which he hit .121 and slugged .182. However he bookended that “stoop” with a two-homer effort in Recreation 1 of the NL Wild Card Sequence after which a three-homer outburst within the NLCS clincher (when he additionally, after all, dominated on the mound). No person on this collection is as harmful as Ohtani. No person shall be pitched as rigorously as Ohtani. And no one has as a lot potential to fully take over a recreation as Ohtani. As traditional, all eyes shall be on him.
The primary thrice Guerrero went to the postseason (2020, ‘22 and ‘23), he batted simply .136 and not using a dwelling run, and Toronto misplaced all six video games it performed. This October has been completely completely different, for each participant and (not coincidentally) staff. Guerrero has been the most efficient hitter in these playoffs: first in hits (19), homers (six), slugging (.930) and OPS (1.440). He’s had some large swings already, and now he has an opportunity to make his mark on the largest attainable stage.
Springer already was top-of-the-line tales of the common season, placing two subpar years behind him and turning again the clock to provide arguably the very best offensive season of his 12-year profession. If that wasn’t sufficient, he’s homered 4 occasions and slugged .609 within the postseason, shaking off a knee damage to take the largest swing by a Blue Jay since Joe Carter walked off the 1993 World Sequence.
The reigning World Sequence MVP has already cemented his legacy by main his staff to a championship in two cities: Atlanta and Los Angeles. He has been comparatively quiet this postseason (up to now) with a .744 OPS however continues to supply the Dodgers with constant, powerful at-bats. Living proof: Drawing a hard-earned, six-pitch stroll off Jacob Misiorowski that helped arrange the Dodgers’ go-ahead, two-run rally within the sixth inning of NLCS Recreation 3.
Late within the season, Betts turned the web page on an un-Betts-like 2025, batting .299/.343/.557 with six homers and 23 RBIs in September. He adopted that up with an enormous efficiency within the NL Wild Card Sequence, together with a four-hit recreation within the clincher. Whereas Betts hasn’t made a ton of noise within the eight video games since then, he’s nonetheless, you understand, Mookie Betts. Along with his fourth World Sequence championship on the road — which might be essentially the most amongst lively gamers — there’s a superb probability Betts will make his presence felt.
Betts is one in every of solely 5 gamers to look in additional postseason video games since 2018 than Muncy (72), who has a .389 OBP in these contests, with 10 extra walks (61) than some other participant. The Dodgers know that, in huge postseason conditions, they’ll depend on Muncy forcing the pitcher to throw strikes. He has the power to make them pay after they do, too. Boosting Muncy’s standing for this World Sequence is the truth that the Jays have an all-righty rotation; he had a .564 OPS vs. lefties this season however .923 vs. righties.
Among the gamers above Kirk on this record have been excessive Draft picks or prime signings on the worldwide market. Not Kirk. Signed for $30,000 out of Mexico by the Blue Jays — the one staff to supply him a contract — Kirk needed to hit (and catch) each step of the best way to show himself. He did that, after which some. Now a two-time All-Star with a long-term contract extension in hand, Kirk has been a key cog within the Toronto lineup all 12 months, embodying the staff’s strategy by rating within the 83rd percentile for lowest whiff charge and ninety fifth percentile for lowest Okay-rate.
If Freeman hadn’t grabbed maintain of the World Sequence MVP Award final 12 months, it might need gone to Hernández, who hit .350 with a .550 SLG in 5 video games in opposition to the Yankees. Hernández was such a superb slot in his first season with the Dodgers that either side appeared set on persevering with the connection, with Hernández coming again on a three-year deal. It’s paid off this October, as he’s slugged .585 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs, which ranks second solely to Guerrero.
Not like many within the Toronto lineup, Varsho will rack up the swings and misses and the strikeouts. He doesn’t stroll a ton and simply accomplished his third straight season with a sub-.300 OBP. In 2025, although, his 15.9% barrel charge put him alongside the likes of Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout, Rafael Devers and Springer. Solely a handful of huge league regulars turned a better share of their plate appearances into huge flies than Varsho (7.4%), who went deep twice and slugged 1.000 in opposition to the Yankees within the ALDS.
Had we been given this World Sequence matchup and requested to place collectively these rankings earlier than the postseason started, Clement most likely wouldn’t have garnered sturdy consideration. A key participant on this 12 months’s Toronto roster? Completely. However that was thanks extra to versatility and protection than a very potent bat. Whereas we hesitate to place an excessive amount of emphasis on the small pattern dimension that’s the postseason, Clement has been too profitable this October to disregard. He’s now solely the nineteenth participant to document a minimum of 18 hits over his first 11 profession playoff video games, and he’s batting .429 with a 1.063 OPS.
