default-cbs-image

Baseball's regular season came to an end Sunday night, and Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, the 2017 postseason will begin with the AL Wild Card Game. The NL Wild Card Game will be played Wednesday, then the ALDS and NLDS will begin Thursday and Friday, respectively. Here is the full postseason schedule.

Now that the postseason field has been finalized, we can look ahead and figure out which potential World Series matchups are most intriguing. There are 25 of them. Some are interesting because the current rosters are so exciting. Others are interesting because the two teams have World Series history. And several have a little of both.

With some help from my fellow CBS Sports baseball scribes R.J. Anderson, Jonah Keri, Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, I have authoritatively ranked those 25 potential World Series matchups. The rankings are based on many things. Star power, style of play, historical significance ... basically anything that can lead to a thrilling postseason series.

While I have no doubt fans of literally every team will feel slighted by our rankings, keep in mind they are intended to take a big picture look at mass appeal for all baseball fans. Who do most fans want to see matchup head-to-head? That's what we try to answer here. Now on to the rankings.

25. Colorado Rockies vs. Minnesota Twins

Among hardcore baseball nerds, this might be the best potential World Series matchup because it features Jon Gray (ghost hunter) and Jorge Polanco (ghost fearer). Otherwise the Rockies and Twins don't have much history, and as the second wild-card teams in their leagues, they both sneaked into the postseason by only a handful of games.

24. Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Minnesota Twins

Are these the two biggest surprise teams in the postseason? They have to be. The Twins lost 103 games last season! The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, went from 63-93 in 2016 to 96-66 in 2017. Both clubs made tremendous turnarounds this year. Aside from D-Backs bench coach Ron Gardenhire, who managed the Twins all those years, there's not much history here.

23. Minnesota Twins vs. Washington Nationals

Once upon a time the Twins franchise was located in Washington -- when they were the Senators -- which is where the Nationals call home now. Interestingly enough, as part of their trade deadline veteran purge, the Twins shipped closer Brandon Kintzler to the Nats. Then the Twins went on a big run the final two months to make the postseason.

22. Colorado Rockies vs. New York Yankees

Part of me is rooting like crazy for this series for one reason and one reason only: Aaron Judge in Coors Field. His batting practice alone would be worth the price of admission. Also, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was the first catcher in Rockies history. Colorado plucked him from the Cubs in the 1992 expansion draft, and he spent three years with the team before being traded to ... the Yankees.

21. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Minnesota Twins

The first World Series rematch in our rankings. The Twins and Dodgers met in the 1965 World Series -- that was five years after the Senators moved from Washington to Minnesota to become the Twins -- which went the full seven games. Sandy Koufax struck out 10 in a three-hit shutout in Game 7 to give the Dodgers their third World Series title in seven years.

20. Chicago Cubs vs. Minnesota Twins

Minneapolis and Chicago are separated by only 400 miles or so, making this one of the closest World Series matchups, geographically. Cubs fans travel well, so you know Target Field would be raucous. Also, who could forget the Mike Morgan-Scott Downs trade?  

19. Colorado Rockies vs. Houston Astros

The highest (Astros) and third highest (Rockies) scoring teams in baseball would get to play (potentially) seven games at Minute Maid Park and Coors Field. This series would also feature Justin Verlander against mini-Justin Verlander (Gray), as well as each league's batting champion. Jose Altuve led the AL with a .346 average while Charlie Blackmon paced the NL at .331. I suspect I am criminally under-ranking this potential World Series matchup. This one could be really fun.

18. Cleveland Indians vs. Colorado Rockies

By the FanGraphs version of WAR, the 2017 Indians have the best pitching staff in baseball history. For real. Is that pitching staff good enough to handle Coors Field? Only one way to find out, I suppose. These two clubs also make a fairly significant trade a few years back, when the Rockies sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland for a package headlined by Drew Pomeranz.

17. Colorado Rockies vs. Boston Red Sox

Another World Series rematch. That 2007 World Series was one of the most lopsided World Series in recent memory -- the Red Sox outscored the Rockies 29-10 in the four-game sweep -- and is perhaps best remembered for Alex Rodriguez exercising the opt-out clause in his contract in the middle of Game 4. Still, a 2017 series between these clubs sure would be fun. These are two very talented teams. Mookie Betts and Blackmon, Chris Sale and Gray, Andrew Benintendi and Nolan Arenado, this series would have something for everyone.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are connected quite a bit for two franchises that couldn't be any more opposite. They're in opposite leagues and on different sides of the country, and one team has been around forever while the other was part of MLB's most recent expansion. Most notably, these two clubs got together for the Curt Schilling trade back during the 2003-04 offseason, which helped the Red Sox win their first World Series title in 86 years in 2004.

Furthermore, D-Backs general manager Mike Hazen worked in Boston's front office from 2006-16 before being poached by Arizona last winter. Hazen brought Torey Lovullo, John Farrell's bench coach with the Red Sox, over as well and named him his manager. Pretty fun storylines in this one. Also, Paul Goldschmidt and the Green Monster could be a match made in baseball heaven.

15. Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Houston Astros

The J.D. Martinez revenge series. The Astros released Martinez during spring training 2014 and general manager Jeff Luhnow infamously said the move was made because the team was a "victim of their own success" despite losing 324 games from 2011-13. Martinez went to the Tigers, broke out as one of the game's top power hitters, then was traded to the D-Backs at this summer's deadline. Martinez hit .302/.366/.741 with 29 home runs in 62 games after the trade.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Cleveland Indians

The Trevor Bauer revenge series. The D-Backs selected Bauer with the third pick in the 2011 draft, but the team quickly grew tired of his quirky and eccentric workouts, so they traded him to the Indians in a big three-team deal that also included Indians setup man Bryan Shaw. Bauer hasn't quite lived up to the hype of being the third pick in the draft, though he has become a rock solid MLB starter.

13. Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees

The 2001 World Series between the Yankees and D-Backs was one of the most riveting and emotionally charged World Series in history. That series turned Derek Jeter into Mr. November, featured a Herculean performance from Randy Johnson, and ended when Luis Gonzalez dunked a single into shallow left field against Mariano Rivera in Game 7. As far the 2017 teams, a strong case can be made Goldschmidt/Martinez and Judge/Gary Sanchez are the two best lineup 1-2 punches in baseball right now.

12. Chicago Cubs vs. New York Yankees

Had the Cubs not won the World Series last year, this series might've ended up at the top of our rankings. Is there a juicier storyline than the team with baseball's longest World Series drought going up against the team with more championships than anyone? I don't think so. Don't forget about last year's Aroldis Chapman trade, either. That helped the Cubs to a World Series and the Yankees move forward with their rebuild.

The Yankees and Cubs have met in the World Series twice before, in 1932 and 1938. The Yankees swept both series.

11. Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox

You could do worse than having Sale and Max Scherzer on the mound facing off in Game 1 of the World Series. No team in baseball is more desperate for a World Series title than the Nationals right now, and it wasn't too long ago that the Red Sox and their fans knew that feeling. Watching Bryce Harper and sweet swingin' Daniel Murphy take their hacks at Fenway Park sure would be fun.

10. Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

It has been more than a century since these two clubs last met in the World Series. The Red Sox bested the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in five games to win the 1916 World Series, thanks largely to Babe Ruth, who threw 13 shutout innings in Game 2. The 2017 versions of the Red Sox and Dodgers might have the two most talented rosters in baseball, plus we could see a Sale vs. Clayton Kershaw matchup. Pretty please?

9. New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals

Judge vs Harper, Harper vs. Judge. Oh boy. Might the two one day be teammates? It's hard not to notice the Yankees are shedding lots of payroll and loading up on young talent as Harper inches closer to free agency. When he hits the market next offseason, the Yankees figure to be very involved. For now, watching him launch balls at Yankee Stadium's short porch could make for a very interesting World Series.

8. Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals

These two teams are loaded with talent -- Harper, Carlos Correa, and Stephen Strasburg were all the No. 1 picks in their draft -- and neither has ever won the World Series, which is a tremendous storyline. The Nationals have been trying like crazy to win a championship for the better part of a decade, while the Astros have been building up to this for years now. What a fun series this would be.

7. Chicago Cubs vs. Houston Astros

Remember when these teams were in the same division? It wasn't that long ago. Also not long ago: a time when the Cubs and Astros were the deepest rebuilding teams in baseball. Theo Epstein rebuilt and brought the Cubs a championship last season while Luhnow is hoping the Astros get over the hump this season. There might not be two more progressive front offices in baseball today. This one goes out to all the people who say Moneyball is ruining baseball.

6. Cleveland Indians vs. Washington Nationals

It has been 15 years since the Indians traded veteran Bartolo Colon to the Expos for prospects Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips, all of whom all went on to have productive careers. And Colon still might outlast them all. Crazy. Anyway, the Nationals and Indians may need a World Series title more than any other team this year. The Nationals know their best chance to win is right now, with Harper and Scherzer and Strasburg still in their primes. The Indians have Corey Kluber, Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor all signed affordably and in their primes. The window for both teams won't get any more open than it is right now. 

5. Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs

Again, it's too bad the Cubs had to go out and win the World Series this year, because this series would've been awfully juicy otherwise. Epstein of course came over from the Red Sox a few years ago, and Epstein later imported former Red Sox draft pick Anthony Rizzo to be the centerpiece of his rebuild. And a few years after that, former Red Sox ace left-hander Jon Lester headed to the north side. The Cubs looking to end their World Series drought against Epstein's former team wouldn't been fun. Instead, we'll have to settle for Rizzo and Kris Bryant and Javier Baez against Betts and Benintendi and Sale. Shucks.

4. Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Both the Astros and Dodgers spent most of the season as the best teams in their respective leagues, and while both clubs have young rosters that figure to contend for years to come, there is a sense of "time to turn all these smart moves everyone is talking about into a championship" around both franchises. Correa and Corey Seager at shortstop, Verlander and Kershaw on the mound ... golly.

3. Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Simply put, the Dodgers and Indians are the two best teams in baseball. They had the best records in their leagues this season and they finished with the two best records in baseball. They are the cream of the crop, and anytime you pit the two best teams in baseball against each other in a short series, exciting things tend to happen. A Dodgers-Indians World Series would be a rematch of the 1920 World Series, by the way. The Indians won that best-of-nine series five games to two.

2. Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians

What a phenomenal series this was last year. It was epic. The Indians and Cubs went to extra innings in Game 7 and three of the final five games of the series were decided by one run. A rematch this year would be happily welcomed by this baseball enthusiast. Of course, the Indians are better (and healthier) than last season while the Cubs aren't quite as dominant, so if they do get together for a rematch, the results could be very different.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees

No two franchises have met more often in the World Series than the Yankees and Dodgers. Eleven times these two clubs have played for a championship, most recently in 1981. The Yankees won in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1977, and 1978 while the Dodgers won in 1955, 1963, and 1981.

Beyond the historical significance, the Dodgers are the best team in baseball and the Yankees are very rapidly emerging as a powerhouse. We're talking Judge vs. Kershaw, Seager vs. Luis Severino, Sanchez vs. Yu Darvish, Cody Bellinger vs. Chapman. Those are the matchups baseball fans -- and television network executives! -- love to see.