American League Division Series Predictions: Our Experts Make Their Picks

We've reached the divisional round of the American League playoff marathon and one division is in first place – the AL Central. AL Central has been heavily vilified in recent years and is home to the worst team in MLB history. Still, it is the only division in the American League that is guaranteed to have at least one representative in the Championship Series. And if the Royals have another surprise up their sleeve, it will be an all-AL-Central showdown for the pennant.

But first, we have the Royals-Yankees and Tigers-Guardians — as we all predicted in March — to determine who will compete for the AL crown. Our crystal ball was clearly foggy in the wildcard round. Will we target the ALDS?

Note: Playoff seed in parentheses.

Kansas City Royals (5) vs. New York Yankees (1)

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Grant Brisbee (Kansas City): I'd love to be an idiot and go with the traditional favorite, and I also appreciate a good underdog story. My only interest here, however, is in the level of flames on social media if either team is eliminated. The Royals' flames would reach knee-high at best. The Yankees' flames would reach space. No competition.

Stephen Nesbitt (New York): It's hard to beat the Royals after they just beat the Orioles on the road. But in the battle between AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr., I still prefer the Americans. However, the Royals certainly have the rotation and superstar to pull off an upset. The Yankees won five of seven games against Kansas City in the regular season.

Neither lineup is what you would call deep, but the Yankees' combination of Judge and Juan Soto is unrivaled. If Gerrit Cole looks like he did in late September in Game 1, the Americans will be fine.

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Jen McCaffrey (Kansas City): The Yankees have a superior offense, but when it comes to pitching, the Royals have them covered. The overall stats favor New York, but I prefer the Royals. We've already seen that numbers don't always matter in the postseason.

Kaitlyn McGrath (New York): The Yankees had eight more wins than the Royals in the regular season and failed to play the Chicago White Sox 13 times. With Juan Soto and Aaron Judge at the helm, the Yankees are primed for a postseason where home runs can be the difference between winning and losing.

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C Trent Rosecrans (Kansas City): Bobby Witt Jr. will be a difference maker on both sides of the ball – offensively and defensively. It's time for one of the game's brightest young stars to get the stage he deserves, and there's no better place to do it than Yankee Stadium.

Andy McCullough (New York): The Royals did an admirable job shutting down the Orioles' offense. But Aaron Judge and Juan Soto offer a far greater challenge. The power of the Yankees should carry the series.

Sahadev Sharma (Kansas City): I like KC's appetizers so much that I think they can provide a surprise.

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Eno Sarris (New York): The Royals will lose because they can't score.

Andrew Baggarly (Kansas City): The Yankees can't trust their bullpen. That seems suboptimal. But mostly I'm just here in case there's another pine tar incident.

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Katie Woo (Kansas City): The Royals don't make it to the postseason very often, but when they do, they rarely lose.

Melissa Lockard (New York): The Royals' rotation is impressive, but the Yankees have a strong top three of their own and a lineup capable of doing more damage. However, if there is a bullpen battle, the Royals are in a good position to capitalize. Yankees by far.

Colt Keith (right) makes the throw over a slipping Brayan Rocchio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Detroit Tigers (6) vs. Cleveland Guardians (2)

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Andrew Baggarly (Cleveland): Like a fussy Michelin-starred restaurant, the Tigers and Guardians serve you a deconstructed pitch plan and then leave the kitchen to collect applause for their creativity. Presumptive AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is the only Tigers pitcher to work more than 115 innings this season. The Guardians only have two (Mitch Lively and Tanner Bibee).

Cleveland doesn't have a match for Skubal, who may be the only guy in the series who will get off to a conventional start – and who has already beaten the Tigers through a best-of-three series. But the Guardians' staff has more quantity and quality to cover innings. And their lineup can beat you with power as well as speed and bat control.

Sahadev Sharma (Cleveland): The Tigers have the best starter, but at some point they will run out of pitches.

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Stephen Nesbitt (Detroit): There comes a time every postseason when a forecaster must decide whether to pick with his brain — listening to the ball-knowing frontal cortex — or go with his teeth. I always chose the latter. Bit is in my last name! Four tigers, baby. Tarik Skubal will win the ball twice, and pitching chaos will descend on Cleveland in between.

AJ Hinch will continue to appeal to platoon hitters and fake-name pitchers, those hairy and anonymous guys who hit game-winners and sling 100-mile-per-hour heaters. You can't make sense of the Gritty Tigs. You can only be amazed.

Eno Sarris (Cleveland): The bullpen! Oh, and all the contact the Guardians can make.

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Katie Woo (Detroit): Strange things happen in the postseason, which explains why Detroit's “pitching chaos” worked. The Tigers can adjust their rotation so that Tarik Skubal can pitch in Game 2 and Game 5 if needed. They have now proven that they are capable of closing the gaps.

The Guardians have the best bullpen on the AL side of the bracket and every Cleveland pitcher will be available and rested. But if we've learned anything from the Tigers over the last two months, it's that we can't leave them out.

C Trent Rosecrans (Cleveland): The Guardians were one of the best teams in baseball all year long. They're not flashy, but they're just doing everything right and that will get them to the ALCS.

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Andy McCullough (Detroit): The Guardians won the regular season series between these two clubs. Guess what? The regular season is over.

Grant Brisbee (Cleveland): I don't want to be an idiot and I appreciate a good underdog story, but the Guardians are a better team and their biggest weakness (starting pitching) seems less obvious compared to a team that finished the season with the fourth-worst OPS+ be in the American League.

Jen McCaffrey (Detroit): Both teams are tied in pitching and the postseason is all about pitching. Cleveland should have the edge here, but it's too hard to beat the Tigers at this point.

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Kaitlyn McGrath (Cleveland): As magical as the Tigers' run has been, I don't think it will last for a long streak, especially given the position they're in starting behind Skubal. The Guardians didn't have to struggle to get to the postseason, and while they don't necessarily win, their bullpen is elite and that's an X-factor this time of year.

(Top photo of Bobby Witt Jr. knocking out Aaron Judge: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)