Despite our love of narrative—remember Marco “Blockbuster” Scutaro?—stars generally come up the biggest in the LCS. Over the past six years, LCS MVPs have included Bryce Harper, Yordan Alvarez, Corey Seager, José Altuve and Justin Verlander, all of whom get another shot this year. But don’t discount the subtle influences that can turn a series.
In the NLCS last year, for instance, Phillies manager Rob Thomson called on Ranger Suárez as a starter and two days later as his closer in the clincher.
Like Suárez, most x-factors in postseason series emerge without warning. But based on the matchups, here is a stab at identifying the x-factors for each team heading into the LCS:
