While the American League Championship Series matchup may be a good one, the National League Championship Series matchup is about as sexy as a baseball fan could have asked for.

There are globs of young talent all over the field, not to mention the established superstars that both teams boast. And, as is the case in the ALCS, Baseball Factory and Team One alumni will play huge roles in this series. Let’s take a look at some of the key factors in determining whether the Chicago Cubs or the Los Angeles Dodgers will advance to the World Series.

Anthony Rizzo at the 2006 Cape Cod High School All-Star Game.

Cubs Big Bats:

Despite the fact that the Cubs received a lot of pop from the bottom of their lineup (Javy Baez and the 9-spot in particular), the only bat that got really got going in the top half of the lineup was Baseball Factory’s own Kris Bryant (2008 Under Armour Pre-Season All-American). The Cubs managed to hit a meager .200 with a .597 OPS in the NLDS, yet they still won the series in four games. 2006 Team One Alumni Anthony Rizzo is going to have to do way better than just one hit in the series, and 2010 Under Armour All-American, Addison Russell will need to get his bat going as well. If the big bats and known commodities in the Cubs lineup produce as they are supposed to, it will make the Dodgers already tall task that much more difficult.

Dodgers Lefties:

It has been documented how many left-handed hitters the Dodgers have in their lineup, from Corey Seager to Adrian Gonzalez. Even right-handed third baseman Justin Turner has reverse splits. As such, left-handed pitching seems to be the Dodgers kryptonite. If Cubs starter Jon Lester throws in two or even three games and shuts them down, it will be very difficult for the Dodgers to win the series. However, if the lefty bats are able to weather the storm against Lester, the Dodgers will see a slew of right handers.

Battle of the Bullpens:

Both of these teams have bullpens capable of shutting down opponents and managers that aren’t afraid to be unconventional, as we saw with Cubs manager Joe Maddon using Aroldis Chapman in the 8^th inning, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts using Josh Fields in the 4^th inning, Kenley Jansen in the 7^th and even bringing Clayton Kershaw back on one day’s rest for two outs in the 9^th. You can fully expect at least one bullpen game out of both of these ball clubs, and whichever team comes out on top in those could well be the difference in the series.

This is set up as a series that could go down as a classic. The Dodgers are trying to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1988, and the Cubs, of course are trying to get back for the first time since 1945, and win for the first time since 1908. With two of the three largest media markets competing head to head, this has all the makings of one of the most entertaining NLCS in recent memory.