World Series Preview: Do the Dodgers or Blue Jays Have the Edge?

by Julian Spivey

 
The National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers look to become the first team to repeat as World Series champions in a quarter-century. However, they must go through the American League champion Toronto Blue Jays, making their first World Series appearance since they were back-to-back champs in 1993, to do so.

​Here are the position breakdowns for the 2025 World Series to see which team has the edge in the Fall Classic:

Catcher:
Catcher is probably a bit closer between the Blue Jays and Dodgers than many think. Will Smith has been one of the better catchers in baseball during his tenure with the Dodgers and had another terrific season, hitting .296 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI, but a hairline fracture in his right hand cost him the last month of the season. He missed the N.L. Wild Card series against the Cincinnati Reds, played poorly in his postseason debut against the Philadelphia Phillies in the N.L. Division Series, but began looking like himself against the N.L. Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, going 6-for-15.

Alejandro Kirk may not be as familiar to some baseball fans as Will Smith, but the Blue Jays backstop has been an All-Star in two of his first four full-time seasons, including this year. Kirk had career highs this season with 15 homers and 76 RBI, and his .282 batting average was just slightly behind his career best. Kirk hasn’t been one of Toronto’s best hitters in the postseason, only hitting .222, but he does have five extra-base hits. Still, when it comes to which backstop is more threatening, you’d have to go with Smith.

Did you know that every World Series champion of the 2020s has featured a Will Smith on its roster? Only twice has it been the Dodgers catcher (2020 & 2024), but relief pitcher Will Smith pitched for the 2021 Atlanta Braves, 2022 Houston Astros and 2023 Texas Rangers. How long can this streak go?

Edge: Dodgers

First Baseman:
The Blue Jays and Dodgers arguably have the two best first basemen in Major League Baseball in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Freddie Freeman. I could easily understand someone wanting to take the cop out and say this position is a push for the World Series. However, the way Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been dominated on offense this postseason, I think you have to give him and the Blue Jays the edge at first base. Guerrero, the A.L. Championship Series M.V.P., has been the hottest hitter during the postseason with a .442 average, six home runs, 12 RBI, and 19 hits. Freeman, however, is the reigning World Series M.V.P., and it wouldn’t be surprising if he had another fantastic series, but thus far in the 2025 postseason, he hasn’t quite been himself with a .231 average, one homer, and just one RBI. I will say, though, that .231 average is actually higher than N.L.C.S. M.V.P. Shohei Ohtani’s .220, but Ohtani does have five homers, nine RBI and 26 total bases.

Edge: Blue Jays

Second Baseman:
At this time last season, Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman was coming off winning the N.L.C.S. M.V.P. and on quite a heater at the plate. It’s not been quite the same this postseason, but he’s still been one of the team’s better hitters at getting on base with a .286 average. He has two homers, six RBI, 17 total bases and 10 hits this postseason.

I don’t quite know what’s going on with the Blue Jays at second base for the World Series, because Blue Jays All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette has said he’s returning to action for the series after missing the entirety of the postseason thus far with a knee sprain suffered in early September. In Bichette’s absence, the team’s usual second baseman, Andres Gimenez, has been playing at short, with Ernie Clement and Isiah Kiner-Falefa splitting stars at second. Clement had a huge A.L.D.S. against the New York Yankees, going 9-for-14 with a homer. Then, he played third base primarily in the A.L.C.S., with Kiner-Falefa mostly at second, and had a good series, going 5-for-15 with two doubles. Gimenez, who might return to second when Bichette plays, has hit .263 this postseason with two homers and eight RBI, which is tied for third on the team this postseason. I suspect Clement will probably remain mostly at third for the World Series and second will probably be a combo of Gimenez and Kiner-Falefa.

Edge: Dodgers

Third Base:
As previously mentioned, Ernie Clement mostly played third in the A.L.C.S., despite having manned second base in the A.L.D.S. Addison Barger had the hot corner duties in the A.L.D.S. for the Jays. Both can play multiple positions and might during the World Series. Both Clement and Barger have had good postseasons at the plate. Clement is hitting .429, and Barger is hitting .286. They have combined for 44 total bases, three homers, 11 RBI and 28 hits. The Dodgers, however, have Max Muncy at third base, who has a lot of postseason and World Series experience. Muncy has been one of L.A.’s weakest hitters this postseason with a .214 average and a solo home run being his only RBI, but he also gets on base a lot via walks. It’s hard to choose here … do you go with the hot hand or the veteran experience? In this case, I think I’m going to take the vet experience.

Edge: Dodgers

Shortstop:
It’s amazing how often Mookie Betts has changed positions and wound up potentially the best player in the game at each position. He’s made shortstop, maybe the most challenging position in the game, look easy. He’s also been potentially the Dodgers' best hitter this postseason, with a .292 average and leading the team with 12 hits. He’s driven in six runs. It looks like the Jays might end up with a platoon of Bichette, who hasn’t played since early September and could easily be cold as a result, and Gimenez. If Bichette were healthy, this could be a lot closer, but as of now, the Dodgers have a pretty big edge at shortstop.

Edge: Dodgers

Outfield:
The Blue Jays have been playing Nathan Lukes in left field, Daulton Varsho in center field and Addison Barger, mostly, in right field. The Dodgers have been playing Kike Hernandez in left field, Andy Pages in center and Teoscar Hernandez in right field. Teoscar Hernandez, a former Blue Jays star, has been the Dodgers biggest power threat throughout the postseason with four homers and a team-leading 11 RBI. Meanwhile, Kike Hernandez has led the team in average, hitting .306 with his 11 hits being tied with Teoscar for the second most on the team. Pages, on the other hand, has been the Dodgers worst offensive player this postseason hitting .086.

Varsho has had a strong postseason at the plate for Toronto, hitting .273 with two homers and eight RBI. Lukes has also had a strong postseason, hitting .333 with seven RBI. Barger’s numbers were discussed in the third base section. Depending on where Bo Bichette plays in the World Series coming back from injury, George Springer could see time in the outfield, as well, be he’s hobbled with a knee injury suffered in the A.L.C.S. himself.

Edge: Dodgers

Designated Hitter:
George Springer has been getting most of the designated hitter at-bats for Toronto in the postseason, but as previously mentioned some of those ABs could go to Bo Bichette in the World Series, pushing Springer into the outfield. Springer is one of the greatest hitters in postseason history, mostly via his time with the Houston Astros, and has had another good showing with four home runs and nine RBI, but the Dodgers have the greatest player currently in the entire game of baseball as their DH in Shohei Ohtani, so this comparison isn’t even close. Ohtani hasn’t been his best self throughout much of the playoffs, but he did have a three-homer game in the N.L.C.S. clincher against the Milwaukee Brewers. Look for him to have a strong World Series.

Edge: Dodgers

Rotation:
The Dodgers' rotation has been nearly unhittable this postseason and is the primary reason the team has returned to the World Series. Blake Snell has taken over the ace position in the rotation and is 3-0 this postseason, only allowing two earned runs on six total hits over 21 innings pitched. Snell’s 28 strikeouts lead the team. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the No. 2 guy for the Dodgers. He was knocked around a bit by the Philadelphia Phillies in the N.L.D.S. but had the most dominant pitching performance of the entire postseason against the Milwaukee Brewers, with a complete-game shutout in the N.L.C.S. Yamamoto has allowed four earned runs over 19.2 innings, with 18 strikeouts. Tyler Glasnow leads the Dodgers' rotation with a 0.68 ERA this postseason. He’s also seen some time out of the bullpen and has only allowed one earned run in 13.1 innings. Shohei Ohtani is 2-0 this postseason with an incredible 19 strikeouts in just 12 innings pitched.

The Blue Jays are going with a rookie in Game One of the World Series in Trey Yesavage, who only has six combined starts at the big league level between the 2025 regular season and postseason. He’s been a stud in that short amount of time, though, and is 2-1 in the postseason with a 4.20 ERA, allowing seven earned runs over 15 innings pitched. His 22 strikeouts lead the Jays this postseason. It isn’t an enviable task opening up your World Series debut against the Dodgers 1-2-3 of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.

The Jays' best pitcher this postseason has been veteran Kyle Gausman, whose 2.00 ERA is the team's best this postseason. Gausman is 2-1, allowing four earned runs over 18 innings pitched this postseason. Shane Bieber is the Jays' No. 3 guy. He’s looked fairly well coming back to the game from Tommy John Surgery late in the season. He’s started three games, only one of which qualified as a quality start. He’s given up six earned runs over 12.1 innings pitched. Max Scherzer hadn’t started a game in nearly a month before taking the mound against the Seattle Mariners in the A.L.C.S., and the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer looked like he had turned the clock back a bit with a gutsy 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out five. The Blue Jays also have Chris Bassitt, but he’s been pitching out of the bullpen thus far this postseason.

Edge: Dodgers

Bullpen:
The Blue Jays bullpen has been strong this postseason relying a lot on closer Jeff Hoffman (2 saves, 12 strikeouts, 7.1 innings), Louis Varland, who has pitched in 10 of the team’s 11 postseason games (13 strikeouts over 11 innings), Siranthony Dominguez (5 strikeouts in 6.2 innings) and Mason Fluharty (seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings). The bullpen had been the Dodgers' strong suit throughout the postseason and World Series last year, but with the stellar starting pitching this postseason, the team hasn’t had to rely on it much. Roki Sasaki, a starting pitcher, has been the team’s biggest threat out of the pen in the postseason, with Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts converting him into the team’s closer. He's been terrific, giving up just one run over eight innings and garnering three saves. Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen have been the Dodgers' other biggest go-to arms out of the bullpen, appearing in seven games each. Vesia has given up two earned runs over 4.2 innings pitcher. Treinen, who was the team’s closer during the regular season, hasn’t looked good this postseason with a 7.36 ERA in just 3.2 innings.

Edge: Blue Jays

Prediction: Dodgers in 6 games
I know this won’t be a popular prediction because damn near everybody who isn’t a Dodgers fan will be rooting for the Blue Jays to win the World Series, even if they are the lone MLB team outside of the United States. But the way the Dodgers' pitching staff has looked this postseason, coupled with so many All-Star caliber players in their lineup, it’s going to be hard for the Jays to even take two games this series.