The MLB World Series is one of the most prestigious events to win in all of professional sports. Numerous all-time greats have made their mark on the sport of baseball with their performances in the World Series. Names like Reggie Jackson, David Freese, and Madison Bumgarner have all become well-known due to legendary performances in the fall classic.

The 2017 series has potential to be a classic, with plenty of star power and enough names that one player could become a hero with a signature World Series moment. The LA Dodgers and the Houston Astros will be an exciting series, and here is everything you need to know going into it.

Starting Pitching

This is a very close one. I went on record before the postseason began saying that I did not trust LA’s starting pitching. They have Clayton Kershaw, who I believed would be better than in previous postseason performances, but outside of that, I didn’t see much else to assure me the Dodgers would have a good rotation. I was wrong. So far, the 1-2 punch of Kershaw and Yu Darvish for the Dodgers has been nothing short of dominant, with Rich Hill providing a good number three starter in the four man rotation. Now, the Astros can counter with Verlander and Kuechel, plus Charlie Morton has been very reliable. The third starter is very important in this series. I trust Charlie Morton to be better against the Dodger’s lineup than Hill against the Astros’. I give the Astros the slightest of advantages on this one.

Bullpen

This one is not even close. The Dodgers bullpen has been absolutely dominant. It helps that their starters have been good, but should the need arise, the Dodgers are able to turn to Brandon Morrow (0.96 ERA), Kent Maeda (0.0 ERA in 5 IP), and closer Kenley Jansen, who has yet to give up an earned run in the postseason. The Astros have a good closer in Ken Giles, but nowhere near the depth out of the pen that the Dodgers have.

Lineup

Both teams have extremely potent lineups. Jose Altuve of the Astros is the favorite to win American League MVP this season. The Dodgers also have the favorite to win National League Rookie of The Year in Cody Bellinger. These two teams have absolutely stacked lineups. Justin Turner has been the postseason hero for the Dodgers thus far, while Altuve and Yuli Gurriel have been getting it done for the Astros. The Astros offense has been streaky, but has the potential to be great after leading all of baseball in runs. Call it a hunch, but I expect the Astros offense to prove problematic for the Dodgers at times in this series.

Managing

Both teams have relatively untested postseason managers, so this is another tough call. The bonus here is that Dave Roberts has made some big postseason plays in his career on the field, giving him an understanding of the “game within a game” aspect of postseason baseball. AJ Hinch of the Astros has a little more managerial experience than Roberts, but overall, that won’t come into play much. What it comes down to is that Roberts had his team so well coached that in mid-July, they took off and never looked back. There is a lot to be said of a manager who can get so much out of his team.

These teams match up well with each other. It is essentially pitching vs hitting, and both teams are good in those areas. Ultimately, the Dodgers have home field advantage in this series, but it’s the Astros who have been particularly dominant at home. I expect this to be a good series, but the Astros will come out on top.

Prediction: Houston Astros over Los Angeles Dodgers in 6.