The New York Yankees missed the postseason last year after a disastrous campaign. 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 woeful, but they scored just enough runs to beat the Royals and their equally woeful offense. But the starting rotation was strong, especially from Gerrit Cole in Game 4, and the bullpen was out, which is a surprise considering their struggles throughout the season.

Now they await the winner of Game 5 between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers, which takes place on Saturday night. From there it goes to the ALCS. So, who should the Yankees face?

Cleveland Guardians

With the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros out of the postseason in the Wild Card Round, 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 faced the Guardians in the 2022 ALDS, and it wasn’t an easy series. New York’s bats were in the dumps, but Cleveland’s were even worse. The Yankees ended 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, design hitter David Fry and third baseman Jose Ramirez. On paper, they are the toughest matchup.

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 any major. If the Yankees bats can’t come alive, it could be tough to beat the Guardians this time around.

Detroit Tigers

It’s really incredible how a few months can change things. At the trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers had no chance of making the playoffs. But since that date, they’ve gone on a run and are now one win away from reaching the ALCS for the first time since 2013.

The Tigers have had a lot of momentum since the end of the regular season. They pulled off an incredible upset over the heavily favored Astros in the Wild Card round. The Tigers went on to win Games 2 and 3 in the ALDS, and nearly pulled off a comeback victory Thursday night in Game 4. Simply put, this team doesn’t give up.

The Yankees would also have to deal with a familiar face in AJ Hinch, who was responsible for eliminating them in the Wild Card Round in 2015 and the ALCS in 2017 and 2019 when he was captain of the Astros. Now he leads a brave and courageous Tigers team.

Additionally, the Tigers 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 an ERA of 0.00, a WHIP of 0.62 and 14 strikeouts in two starts (13.0 innings).

Who should the Yankees want to play next?

This is a tough one, considering both teams are going to be tough games no matter what anyone might say. But the last thing you want to do is play the hottest team in the postseason, the Tigers. Add to that the fact that Skubal will likely have two starts on the mound, and that Hinch will be the manager of Detroit, which has historically gotten the better of Aaron Boone in the postseason, and the Yankees would have no part of that want to decide.

That’s not to say the Guardians will be the easier matchup. But there are more factors with the Tigers that could cause the Yankees to miss out on another World Series.