The baseball postseason is usually about who gets hot, who gets hurt, and who pulls off the biggest surprise. In 2023, however, the playoffs could be decided by the hitters.

The Atlanta Braves, whose six-year streak of division crowns is the longest in the majors, earned a first-round bye after leading the majors with 104 wins, a record .501 slugging percentage, and 307 home runs, duplicating the feat of the 2019 Minnesota Twins. Matt Olson led the majors in home runs and was one of four 100-RBI men on the team. He was also one of three Braves to hit 40 home runs, along with Marcell Ozuna and MVP favorite Ronald Acuña, Jr.

To reclaim their 2021 World Series title, however, the Braves will have to get by two other juggernauts in the Phillies, who went to the last dance last year as a wild-card winner, and the Dodgers, who reached the postseason for the 10th time in 11 seasons.

As they did a year ago, the Phils enjoyed a second-half surge fueled by Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos. The Dodgers survived multiple pitching crises by banking on the 1-2 punch of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, both MVP contenders.

If experience counts most, Dusty Baker’s Houston Astros should be in great shape: they are not only defending World Champions but winners of six division titles, four pennants, and two world championships in the past seven years. The cast of characters begins with Jose Altuve, the little big man at the top of the lineup, and continues with Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez.

Houston, which won a grueling American League West title fight in the final weekend, will have to survive a likely battle with their upstate rivals, the Texas Rangers.

Led by Bruce Bochy, whose resume includes three world championships in San Francisco, the revitalized Rangers have a pair of MVP candidates in Corey Seager and Marcus Semien – big reasons why the team led the majors with 26 double-digit games.

Texas last won a pennant in 2011 but that’s recent history compared to Baltimore, which hasn’t been to the World Series since 1983, or Toronto, which last went there in 1993.

The Miami Marlins have two world championships without virtue of a division crown (thanks to the wild card) while the Milwaukee Brewers have never won a National League pennant, reaching the World Series only as an American League entry in 1982.

Any of the 12 teams in the 2023 playoff picture could reach the World Series but three have never won it. That list includes the Rangers, Rays, and Brewers.

Winning two in a row – as the Astros hope to do this fall – is difficult but not impossible. The last team to do it was the Yankees in the year 2000, when they won their third in a row.

Neither New York team reached the postseason this year, with both the Yankees and Mets contradicting pundits who predicted a potential return of the 2000 Subway Series.

If money counted more than performance, the New York teams would still be playing.

The Mets led the majors with a payroll of $376.4 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, while the Yankees ranked second at $298.5 million. The third-ranked San Diego Padres, at $296 million, also finished well out of the running for playoff berths.

On the other hand, some contenders squeezed every last dollar to stay alive. The Baltimore Orioles, who won 100 two years after losing 100, employed a young-and-hungry roster at a total cost of $92.5 million, next-to-last among the 30 teams, while the Miami Marlins paid their players $129.4 million, ranked 25th by Cot’s.

Frugal Tampa Bay was 23rd at $135.4 million.

The Dodgers, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Braves all were among the seven best-paying teams – even though Atlanta spent less in free agency than any other team last winter.

Players on playoff teams will make more money depending on how long their clubs last. World Series shares for the winning Astros last year were $516,347, thanks in part to the addition of the best-of-three Wild Card Series.

The Division Series is a best-of-five, with the Championship Series and World Series both best-of-seven.

Picking the winners is never easy but always fun for the typical baseball writer. So here’s one man’s opinion:

Wild Card Series

Toronto over Minnesota in 3

Texas over Tampa Bay in 3

Milwaukee over Arizona in 2

Philadelphia over Miami in 2

Division Series

Houston over Toronto in 4

Texas over Baltimore in 5

Los Angeles over Milwaukee in 4

Atlanta over Philadelphia in 5

Championship Series

Houston over Texas in 6

Atlanta over Los Angeles in 7

World Series

Atlanta over Houston in 6