Now that the 2025 World Series matchup has been set, it’s time to explore the two opponents.
The National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers are the betting favorite to repeat as champions after winning the 2024 Fall Classic, with odds of -220 per BetMGM. Meanwhile, the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays are at +180 odds, a clear underdog in this series.
However, Toronto finished the regular season with 94 wins, better than Los Angeles’ 93 wins, despite the latter’s expectations of going to more than 100 wins by 2025.
With that being said, let’s break down the top three positional groups for both World Series teams.
Start pitching
The Dodgers have an elite starting rotation, led by lefty Blake Snell and his microscopic 0.86 postseason ERA. Following Snell on the right are Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani (who, by the way, is also DHs) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This staff is a complete 180 from last year’s team, which relied on a great bullpen.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have solid starters of their own, especially top prospect Kevin Gausman, as well as veteran Shane Bieber and rookie Trey Yesavage. But let’s be honest: Toronto’s starting pitching is no match for Los Angeles’s.
Advantage: Evaders
Setups
Offense hasn’t been an issue for either team, with the Dodgers boasting a deep lineup led by many of last year’s champions, including Ohtani, shortstop Mookie Betts, first baseman Freddie Freeman, right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, third baseman Max Muncy and catcher Will Smith.
You could argue that Toronto has the best pure hitter in this series in first baseman (and ALCS MVP) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., while outfielder George Springer is as good as it gets. Importantly, shortstop Bo Bichette is also set to return for the World Series, which only lengthens the Blue Jays’ lineup.
We’re only giving the nod to the Dodgers here based on experience, but it’s very close, with enough star power to get by.
Advantage: Evaders, sort of
Bullpen
This is where things get interesting. The Dodgers’ bullpen has been notoriously bad this postseason, save for the emergence of righty Roki Sasaki as the dominant closer. In fact, Los Angeles resorted to piggybacking starters on other starters in multiple playoff games in October, citing their utility issues.
However, it’s not like the Blue Jays have a vastly superior bullpen. They have some decent weapons like righties Louis Varland, Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman, but none of those names would be mistaken for a top-tier Mariano Rivera.
Ultimately, quantity triumphs over quality here, and Los Angeles simply doesn’t have enough manpower to surpass Toronto’s collection of utility weapons if that comes down to a few games.
Advantage: Blue jays
Overall, the Dodgers and Blue Jays appear to be more evenly matched than people would expect. Both clubs will have a formidable line-up every night. However, Los Angeles’ starting pitching has a clear advantage in this series, despite Toronto’s bullpen being slightly better.
Prediction: Evaders in five
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