The 2025 MLB playoffs got underway on Tuesday with the four Wild Card series. The Philadelphia Phillies are waiting for their opponent to emerge for the National League Division Series, with Game 1 scheduled for Saturday.
As happens every year at this time, experts weigh in with their predictions for what will unfold over the course of October as all 12 playoff teams eye the big prize of a trip to the World Series. The Phillies are no doubt favorites after posting the second-best regular season record (96-66) in the majors.
Phillies fans are excited for a long playoff run and have to think their team has a good shot to finally get over the hump and win it all.
Experts from The Athletic agree, with the staff writers from across the league picking their favorites to win the National League pennant and the World Series this year. The Phillies were a popular choice (subscription required).
The Athletic experts go with Phillies as NL and World Series champs
With 72 percent of The Athletic writers picking the Phillies to win the NL bracket, the Fightins took it by a landslide. Jayson Stark's reasoning? The Phillies had the best record in baseball in August and September, after losing Zack Wheeler. Chandler Rome points to the addition of lockdown closer Jhoan Duran, while others mention the emergence of Cristopher Sánchez as well as the veteran lineup.
The polling for the World Series winner was a bit closer, but the Phillies prevailed here too with 44 percent of the votes, edging out the Seattle Mariners' 36 percent.
Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner are all mentioned as reasons the Phillies could bring home the championship and parade it down Broad Street in November. And, as Grant Brisbee writes: “All of these teams are flawed, but the Phillies might be the least flawed. It’s one of [the] most (only?) rational picks left in the postseason field.”
Let's hope that these writers who cover the league for a living know what they're talking about. The Phillies last won the NL pennant and made it to the World Series in 2022, when their current contention window opened, but have fallen short in the playoffs the last two years.
They lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLCS and had a quick four-game exit last season in the NLDS against the New York Mets. They'll be looking to finish what they started in that 2022 run after a couple of postseasons of disappointment.
Nothing is decided yet, and there's a lot of tense baseball left to play, but the Phillies look poised to make a good run at this thing. Fourth time's the charm, right?