How the Guardians Can Win the World Series

The Guardians enter MLB's playoffs as an underdog, as usual. They spent most of the season struggling to stay over .500, and then turned it on from the end of the August through September for the third year in a row. Their flaws are easy to see: they lack a 20-home run hitter ( Jo Adell hit 23 this season but most of those were with the Angels), they are missing a strong third starter, and the loss of Emmanuel Clase due to a gambling scandal has winnowed the depth of their bullpen. With that said, the Guardians have some important assets baseball fans shouldn't overlook when considering potential contenders for baseball's biggest prize. Let's take a look at some things that will likely have to happen for the Guardians to end their 78-year title drought:

This is now Stephen Vogt 's third time managing a playoff team. Growing edge mistakes he has made in the past – failing to intentionally walk an en fuego Giancarlo Stanton , going one to many times to the same relievers in a short series, and putting the worst defender you have ever seen in the field while facing Tarik Skubal – should be lessons learned for one of the best managers in the game. Additionally, Carl Willis's steady hand will guide a playoff pitching staff for the umpteenth time.

On the field, World Series winners Austin Hedges and Nathaniel Lowe will provide needed voices of experience, and, because of the playoff runs of the past two years, Jose Ramirez 's vast amount of playoff experience is not the only source of familiarity with baseball's biggest stage on the team. David Fry , Chase DeLauter , Brayan Rocchio , Angel Martinez, and almost the entire pitching staff have postseason memories to draw upon to anchor them for the current run. Vogt has the pieces in place to position his guys to last.