2022 MLB World Series players to watch: Bryce Harper, Justin Verlander, Rhys Hoskins, Jose Altuve...

The first game of the World Series takes place tonight between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Astros dominated that American Leagues and are now 7-0 in the postseason. The Phillies flew in by the seat of their pants, clinching the Wild Card berth in the National League.

In the post season, the Phillies and Astros had some key difference makers who helped lead them to the Fall Classic. Here’s the players to watch in the World Series who could be key to the games for both sides.

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José Altuve, 2B - Astros

Altuve had a fabulous regular season, hitting .300/.387/.533 in 141 games with 28 homers and 18 stolen bases in 19 attempts. Things didn’t start off great in the playoffs for Altuve though. He went hitless for his first 25 at-bats, setting an MLB record. But October is where he is known to shine - he’s had 23 postseason home runs in 86 games in his career. He started to look alive towards the end of the ALCS with three hits in his last seven at-bats. He’s also averaging just a 78.8 mph exit velocity in the post season, which is 6 mph slower than in the regular season. And yet, the Astros are 7-0 in the playoffs. Altuve’s rate of swings outside the strike zone, though, is 41%, up 13% in the postseason.

Bryce Harper, DH - Phillies

Bryce Harper came into the season having recovered from a broken thumb and he got off to a bit of a slow start. But in the post season, he’s been impossible to look away from. It was he who hit the eighth-inning go-ahead homer that sent the Phillies to the World Series. Until this year, the National League did not allow designated hitters. Now that they do, it has worked to Philadelphia’s advantage in the form of Harper in the post season. He is batting .419 with 5 home runs and 11 RBIs. Phillies manager Rob Thomson is considering moving Harper up to third so that they’ll have a rotation of righties and lefties against the predominantly righty Astros. Astros pitcher Justin Verlander needs to work on his fast ball and Harper has been whacking those, with .313/.436/.375 on four-seamers.

Justin Verlander, SP - Astros

After missing the entire season last year, Verlander came back this year better than ever. He went 18-4 in the regular season with a league-best but career-low 1.75 ERA. He is favored to win the Cy Young award this year, for the third time, at 39 years old. In the post season, Verlander started two games with one win and an ERA of 6.30. He will start the series tonight to set the tone for Houston.

Rhys Hoskins, 1B - Phillies

In the regular season, Hoskins had a 122 OPS with 30 home runs and a career-high 3.1 WAR. The start to the post season was not kind to Hoskins, who opened the playoffs 1-for-19 with seven strikeouts and was even booed by the Phillies fans. He finally turned things around and in the last two games of the NLCS, he went 3-for-7 with three home runs and six RBIs. In Game 4, he became just the sixth player in Phillies history to hit a multi-homer in the postseason.

Jeremy Peña, SS - Astros

Rookie Jeremy Peña has had his breakout in October. He went from .253 with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs in the regular season to .303 with three home runs over his first seven post season games. He’s been especially fun to watch for his clutch homers in the post season - of the three, two were clutch home runs. He hit a solo shot at the top of the 18th inning in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners to win it 1-0. Then in Game 4, he hit a 3-run home run against the New York Yankees to take them to an eventual 6-5 victory.