It will be an absolute party at the Rogers Centre, as the Toronto Blue Jays host the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 1 of the World Series. I can’t believe that I actually typed out the previous sentence!

The Leafs Nation’s staff aim to provide comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the vast majority of us are also fans of the Jays, or cover baseball in some shape or form. Our staff roundtable of Arun Srinivasan, Alex Hobson, Michael Mazzei, Dylan Nazareth and Jon Steitzer got together to provide their predictions, confidence level and miscellaneous thoughts about the Jays ahead of Friday’s Game 1.

Arun Srinivasan: 8 and skyrocketing. Maybe it’s irrational confidence, but I don’t care: the Toronto Blue Jays are going to the World Series, led by two bonafide superstars in George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. My confidence in the rotation is rising, can you imagine Mad Max stealing a game on the hill in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium to go up 3-0? I sure can. Toronto has multiple Cy Young winners, the bottom of the lineup is performing admirably, Ernie Clement can’t be stopped and nor can this city.

Alex Hobson: On a scale of 1-10 I’d put it at an 8. It will undoubtedly be their hardest matchup yet, but if I’ve learned one thing about this team this year, it’s never to doubt them or count them out of a comeback. I’m sure not a ton of people had them going to the World Series after Game 5 of the ALCS now, so why start doubting them now?

Michael Mazzei: I am at an 8/10, and it’s not often I am this optimistic about a team heading into a World Series going up against one of the best teams baseball has ever seen in the Dodgers. But the way this Jays team has played, their resiliency and effective hitting approach give them as good a chance as anyone to win it all. My confidence in the Jays was at an all-time low going into the year and rightfully so, but they have shown up and played a strong team game that makes them easy to root for. No doubt this will be a tough series and far from a sure thing, but why not Toronto?

Dylan Nazareth: I would put it at a 7. I’d be lying if I said they haven’t absolutely blown me away through this postseason, stepping up when it matters most and mounting some impressive comebacks. That being said, they still lack consistency. That could cost them against a punishing Dodgers team.

Jon Steitzer: I’d say at a nine with peak “why not us?” energy. The Dodgers are a behemoth but the Jays can absolutely get this done.

Srinivasan: I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several awesome games this year, so from an anecdotal level, the 11-9 victory over the Yankees on July 2 surely stands out. If you recall, Toronto took a 7-0 lead, squandered it, as Aaron Judge tied the game at 9 with a jaw-dropping homer, George Springer re-established the lead, sprinting home on a wild pitch, and the Jays won 11-9.

BUT ALSO HOW DID YOU GUYS NOT GO WITH DAAAAAAAAA YANKEEES LOSE!

In third place, Drake’s delivery of ‘get the boys a pizza and some Cokes’ lives rent-free in my mind.

Hobson: I’m going to cheat a bit and include two because they go hand in hand with eachother. Trey Yesavage’s performance against the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS and Vladdy’s grand slam to follow it. It was an insane accomplishment for Yesavage, who was pitching at A-ball to begin the year, and it was followed by Vladdy’s first true postseason hero moment. Both pivotal moments that I had the pleasure of listening to on the radio in my car.

Mazzei: If I were to pick one moment from the regular season, it would have to be their four game sweep of the Yankees at Rogers Centre. But in the playoffs, it would be Vladdy’s grand slam in Game 2 of the ALDS (along with Springer’s series-winner) that will be one of those moments that will stick out in my mind when reflecting back on this run. Also a shoutout to Trey Yesavage for his mastery in that same game.

Nazareth: Trey Yesavage’s playoff debut was incredible. Watching him embarrass one Yankee after another with his tricky splitter was just pure joy. And who wasn’t a little emotional watching his postgame interview with Hazel Mae? No matter how the season ends, that will go down as an unforgettable moment in Toronto sports history.

Steitzer: Having lived in New York and having put up with their god awful sports fans for through my teenage years, eliminating the Yankees is as good as it gets.

Srinivasan: George Springer. Springer will join Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Reggie Jackson and Corey Seager as two-time World Series MVP, capping off a miraculous season. He has authored one of my all-time favourite seasons by any Toronto athlete, he just delivered the greatest moment in the past 32 years of Blue Jays history, and if he’s fully healthy, this could be another tour-de-force series. It has to be George.

Hobson: If the series goes the way I hope it will, my prediction is that George Springer takes home World Series MVP. We’ve been waiting five years for Springer to have his postseason moments after he did it with Houston, we caught a glimpse of it with the home run in Game 7, and I believe he’s going to ball out in the final series of the season.

Mazzei: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the easy pick in my mind. While you need to have the whole team clicking to win a title, your best players have to lead the way and he has done exactly that. If he continues to at least get the ball in play, he has a good chance to win MVP.

Nazareth: Much to the chagrin of every Blue Jays fan, I’d be surprised if Shohei Ohtani doesn’t take home his first World Series MVP. His full-force pitching and hitting performance in the NLCS was nothing short of historic and there’s no reason to think he’ll bring anything less now, especially considering how dominant he’s been against the Blue Jays in the past

Steitzer: I’m not enough of a baseball guy to pick anyone other than Vladdy and honestly it just feels right.

Srinivasan: I don’t give a damn if the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the Blue Jays are a team of destiny. I’m growing more confident by the second. Seranthony Dominguez has awesome stuff, I believe he’s gonna give the Jays some crucial innings out of the pen when needed, Jeff Hoffman is having an incredible postseason too. I’ve been waiting for this moment for 32 years, the duration of my baseball fandom as a 36-year-old who narrowly missed having real memories of the ’92 and ’93 teams.

Hobson: It may have taken just under a decade, but both Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins deserve their flowers for the success this team has had all year, and hopefully now that the bar has been raised higher than Alex Anthopoulos left it, we can stop comparing them when things aren’t going well.

Mazzei: The World Series will come down to who has the better pitching, as both teams have pretty solid starters and a questionable bullpen. There is no doubt the Dodgers’ lineup is the better of the two on paper, but that doesn’t mean they are completely unbeatable. If the Jays have the edge in the arm, they have a shot to pull off an upset.

Nazareth: Formal apology to Jeff Hoffman for ever saying he wasn’t the right person to be our closer. He’s been amazing this October.

Steitzer: I’m setting the over/under of 2.5 on high profile meltdowns about a Canadian team being in the World Series and you should probably take the over.

Srinivasan: Blue Jays in 6.

Hobson: Jays in 7.

Mazzei: Blue Jays in 6.

Nazareth: Dodgers in 6.

Steitzer: Jays in 7. Even though I think they win it, this is still Toronto sports and it’s not going to come easy.

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.