Ranking the potential World Series matchups

Now that we are into the League Championship Series of the 2023 Major League Baseball playoffs, let's take a look ahead at potential World Series matchups and which ones stand out as the best. 

The ALCS begins on Sunday with the Texas Rangers visiting the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, while the NLCS opens on Monday with the Philadelphia Phillies hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

If the first two rounds of the playoffs have told us anything, you should expect the unexpected.

1. Philadelphia Phillies vs. Houston Astros. This matchup would have a little of everything to potentially make everybody happy. 

First, you have the World Series rematch angle, and that is something Major League Baseball does not get very often. The last time we had a World Series rematch was all the way back in 1977 and 1978 when the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers played in back-to-back years. Before that, it was 1957 and 1958 with the Yankees and Milwaukee Braves. So it's been a while. 

The Astros and Phillies are the two best teams remaining and have huge star power on both sides of the ball. It also might be the one matchup that gets critics to stop complaining about the playoff format. Houston is the reigning World Series champion and has been one of the top teams in baseball for nearly a decade, won its division and took advantage of the bye week. The Phillies were the top wild-card team in the National League and would have still made the playoffs under the previous format. 

This matchup would be the best of both worlds and the best possible one of the four teams remaining. 

2. Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks. If we can not get the rematch, let's just bring in something completely different and go with the fresh faces. 

The Rangers have not been in the World Series since they made back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011, and are still searching for their first-ever championship.

The Diamondbacks have not made it since 2001 and are looking for their second-ever title.

They are two of the hottest teams in the playoffs as well, as both have rolled through the wild card and divisional rounds without losing a single game. 

Not to mention it is an interesting contrast in team-building styles, as the Rangers were largely pieced together through big-money, big-name acquisitions, while the Diamondbacks were more of a traditional and methodical rebuild through the farm system and stockpiling prospects. 

3. Philadelphia Phillies vs. Texas Rangers. This is the World Series matchup most likely to turn into a home run derby. 

The Rangers were tied for third in the Major Leagues with 233 home runs, while the Phillies were eighth with 220. 

The Phillies have already clubbed 13 home runs in five playoff games, while the Rangers have already hit seven and are slugging near .500 as a team. 

4. Houston Astros vs. Arizona Diamondbacks. The instinct here is to say this would be the most lopsided potential matchup on paper, but it seems like we have been saying that about the 84-win Diamondbacks the entire postseason. All they have done is rip the cover off the ball and steamroll Milwaukee and Los Angeles on their way to the NLCS. 

They are a young, fast team with a rising star and likely NL Rookie of the Year in outfielder Corbin Carroll and it would be interesting to see if they could knock off the league's most dominant postseason team on the biggest stage.