Who should the Yankees want to play next in the ALCS?

The New York Yankees missed the postseason last year after a disastrous season. A year later, they are back in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in Game 4 of the ALDS to advance to the ALCS.

It wasn't a pretty series as the Yankees' offense was pretty pathetic, but they scored just enough runs to beat the Royals and their equally pathetic offense. But the starting rotation was strong, particularly from Gerrit Cole in Game 4, and the bullpen was empty, which is a surprise given their struggles throughout the season.

Now they wait for the winner of Game 5 between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers, which takes place on Saturday evening. From there we continue to the ALCS. So, who should the Yankees want to face?

Cleveland Guardians

With the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros eliminated in the Wild Card Round of the postseason, the Yankees would face two members of the AL Central on their way to the World Series. Perhaps the toughest opponent on paper would be the Cleveland Guardians.

The last time the Yankees made the playoffs, they had to face the Guardians in the 2022 ALDS, and it wasn't an easy series. New York's bats were in the landfill, but things were even worse in Cleveland. The Yankees closed out the series in five games before being swept by the Astros in that year's ALCS.

The Guardians have five All-Stars on the roster – outfielder Steven Kwan, closer Emmanuel Clase, first baseman Josh Naylor, designated hitter David Fry and third baseman Jose Ramirez. On paper they are the toughest duel.

Clase may be leading Cleveland's strength this season – the bullpen. At the end of the regular season, Cleveland's bullpen had a cumulative ERA of 2.57, the best in all majors. If the Yankees bats don't come alive, it might be difficult to beat the Guardians this time.

Detroit Tigers

It's truly incredible how a few months can change things. At the trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers had no chance of making it into the playoffs. But since that date, they've made a series of runs and are now just one win away from making it to the ALCS for the first time since 2013.

The Tigers have picked up a lot of momentum since the end of the regular season. They pulled off an incredible upset against the heavily favored Astros in the Wild Card round. Then the Tigers won Games 2 and 3 in the ALDS and nearly pulled off a comeback win in Game 4 on Thursday night. Simply put: This team doesn't give up.

The Yankees would also have to deal with a familiar face: AJ Hinch, who was responsible for knocking them out in the 2015 Wild Card round and in the 2017 and 2019 ALCS when he was the Astros' captain. Now he leads a brave, determined Tigers team.

The Tigers also have Tarik Skubal, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award. Skubal posted a 2.39 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, an 18-4 win-loss record and 228 strikeouts in 31 starts. This postseason, Skubal posted a 0.00 ERA, 0.62 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in two starts (13.0 innings).

Who should the Yankees want to play next?

That's a tough question considering both teams will compete hard against each other, no matter what anyone may say. But the last thing you want is to be playing the hottest team in the postseason, which is the Tigers. Considering the fact that Skubal will likely have two starts on the mound and that Hinch will be the Detroit manager who has beaten Aaron Boone in the postseason in the past, the Yankees shouldn't want any part of it.

That doesn't mean the Guardians will be the easier match. But there are other factors with the Tigers that could cause the Yankees to miss another World Series.