For the last time this season, it’s time to break down how the 2017 World Series was made. For the other entries this postseason, check out:
NLCS
ALCS
ALDS
NLDS
Wild Card Round
The Dodgers and Astros are two of baseball’s leading teams when it comes to analytics, and their similarities are represented a bit in how they’ve assembled their rosters. While the Astros squeezed in two more players via the draft, the Dodgers have one more player acquired from IFA and via trade, respectively. As with other rounds, the story here again appears to be the extent to which teams are relying on trades, as both teams have a plurality of their World Series roster brought in from other teams.
When it comes to payroll, well, there are no surprises there. The Dodgers have the more expensive payroll, shelling out $25 million more than the Astros to build their roster. The difference lies in that the Dodgers have spent, percentage-wise, more on their prospects and IFAs, while the Astros have leaned more on free agents.
Both teams have excelled at generating production from their farm system, with the Astros registering an incredible 36 percent of their roster’s WARP from draftees. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have netted more than 50 percent of their roster’s WARP from guys they’ve traded for—perhaps a credit to their many-headed front office?
Positional WARP shows us a lot of counter-intuitive aspects when you examine what’s happened in the postseason. The Astros’ bullpen edged out the Dodgers’, despite one being maligned in postseason play and the other being nearly untouchable. Of course, the Astros’ pen was dominant early in the season, while the Dodgers have benefited from a converted starter being a shutdown option in relief, in Kenta Maeda, which skews how those numbers are presented above.
Both teams have been incredibly efficient, paying $2.18 million dollars per WARP—the lowest this postseason! Houston has gotten as much bang for their buck from their rotation—Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers will do that for you—but have been weighed down behind by their bullpen, outfielders (looking at you Cameron Maybin), and infield (probably Brian McCann?).
The Dodgers’ pitching staff is predictably not efficient, but is predictably talented. There’s a ton of money sunk into the rotation, plus Kenley Jansen, and they seem to have gotten what they’ve paid for. Given that their infield and outfield is built on prospects and traded-for pieces who are paid like prospects, it evens out.
While the Dodgers have a glut of players hitting more than .260 TAv, the Astros seem to have the more balanced lineup. Nevertheless, we’ve seen the Astros recently shut down while the Dodgers have torn through their opponents. As good as the Dodgers have been in waiting out opposing pitchers and churning through bullpens, they might have met their match with an incredibly deep Astros lineup.
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now