Baseball is about to crown a new first-time World Series champion this Halloween night, with the National League-best Milwaukee Brewers and American League-best Tampa Bay Rays squaring off in the Fall Classic. Both of these squads are hunting their first-ever title, with the Brewers making their second appearance since 1982, and the Rays on their third pennant run after 2008 and 2020. But forget the actual dugouts for a second, because we are building something wild: the ultimate combined roster from these two powerhouses.
The Unanimous Calls and Surprise MVPs
William Contreras is the undisputed starter behind the dish, and it is not even a hard call. Sure, Liam Hicks outhit him in the regular season, posting a 126 OPS+ to Contreras’s 108, and they both hit 3.0 WAR. But when the lights get bright, Contreras steps up, thoroughly outhitting Hicks in the postseason. Plus, you have to go with the guy who is not getting platooned against lefties, right? That is our catcher.
First base? That has to be Jake Bauers. This guy’s NLCS MVP performance pretty much sealed it. He ranked 13th among qualified hitters with a 140 OPS+ during the regular season, putting him right behind studs like Elly De La Cruz and Shohei Ohtani. And those two signature postseason at-bats? A 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in NLCS Game 2, and then an 11-pitch go-ahead homer versus Blake Snell in Game 3. Jonathan Aranda is good, but Bauers is just playing on another level right now.
At second, Brice Turang is the easiest pick on this entire ultimate roster. He is an absolute all-around beast, getting MVP votes this season, possibly even top five! He crushed his past postseason demons, going 4 for 11 in the NLCS and drawing more walks, five, than strikeouts, four, in that series. There are barely any players you would pick over Milwaukee’s second baseman to build a team around.
Rookie Takes the Crown at Short
Shortstop is a wild one. The numbers scream for Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt here. He only made his MLB debut on June 16, but already outhit Taylor Walls, 99 OPS+ to 71 OPS+, and out-WAR-ed him, 1.7 to 0.8, during the regular season. That is some serious early impact! And heck, Prat
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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