After eliminating the New York Yankees in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the American League Division Series, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays must now wait and see who’ll they face next.

The Detroit Tigers defeated the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 on Wednesday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Seattle’s electric T-Mobile Park on Friday night.

CY Young favourite Tarik Skubal will get the ball for the Tigers while the M’s turn to right-hander George Kirby.

The winner will then hop on a plane and make the long trip east to Toronto where they’ll take on the Jays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night from Rogers Centre.

John Schneider and the Jays have their own questions to answer before then, like the status of star shortstop Bo Bichette and who to bring aboard as the fourth starter.

Should the Blue Jays have a preference for which team they play in the championship series?

Let’s take a closer look at the two teams and how they match up with the Blue Jays.

Cal Raleigh Seattle Mariners

Toronto’s annual trip to the West Coast to face the Mariners in Seattle is always one of the most-anticipated series of every Blue Jays’ season.

Jays fans travel well, and maybe nowhere better than to Seattle, as many supporters from British Columbia and even Alberta make the trip to watch their team live in person.

It makes for an energetic atmosphere, one that will ratchet up a few notches if the two sides were to square off in the playoffs for the second time in history.

Similar to the Blue Jays, Seattle’s 2025 regular season was one of the most memorable in franchise history.

After missing the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, the Mariners won 90 games to earn their first division title since 2001, the campaign where they won a MLB-record 116 games.

The Houston Astros had won seven of the last eight AL West titles.

Seattle’s success in 2025 can be attributed to two main factors: Cal Raleigh’s historic season and a strong pitching staff.

Raleigh, a 28-year-old switch-hitting catcher, smacked an MLB-leading 60 home runs, alongside 125 RBIs and a .247 batting average.

Big Dumper is the favourite to win the American League MVP, which would mark the first time a catcher won the MVP since Buster Posey accomplished the feat in 2012 with the San Francisco Giants.

Outside of Raleigh, the Mariners have many other threats in their lineup from a power perspective including Eugenio Suarez (49 homers), Randy Arozarena (27 homers), Julio Rodriguez (32 homers) and Jorge Polanco (26 homers).

It’s all lead to 238 long balls for the Mariners in 2025, third best in the MLB behind the Yankees (274) and Los Angeles Dodgers (244).

Seattle’s power will definitely be a threat to the Jays, but as we saw in the ALDS, Toronto is capable of keeping those types of teams at bay with strong pitching.

Blue JaysStatMariners94-68 (1st in AL East)Record90-72 (1st in AL West)54-27 / 40-41Home Record/Away Record51-30 / 39-424-2Head-To-Head2-44.9Runs Per Game4.74.5Runs Allowed Per Game4.3.265Batting Average.244.761OPS.740191Home Runs2381,099Strikeouts (Hitting)1,44677Stolen Bases1614.19Team ERA3.873.98Bullpen ERA3.72.241Batting Average Against.2411,430Strikeouts (Pitching)1,426209 Home Runs Allowed19242Saves43

Speaking of pitching, the Mariners have a strong starting staff and bullpen as well.

Both Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert had elite starts for the Mariners against the Tigers after ace Bryan Woo (15-7, 2.94 ERA over 30 starts) was left off the ALDS roster with a late-season pectoral injury.

If Woo is able to pitch in the ALCS, the Mariners should have the advantage when it comes to starting pitching.

Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage each had great outings against New York in the ALDS before Shane Bieber struggled in Game 3.

The Jays will also need to decide over the next few days who their fourth starter will be in the best-of-seven ALCS.

Max Scherzer, 41, has the resume and experience to get the job done in the playoffs, but struggled considerably in September to close the season. Chris Bassitt remains on the IL with lower-back inflammation.

Seattle might have the best bullpen remaining in the playoffs, led by righty Andrés Muñoz and his 1.73 ERA, fourth best in the majors among relievers.

In the regular season, the Blue Jays dropped two of three games against the visiting Mariners in April before sweeping Seattle on the road in May.

A potential ALCS clash would be a rematch of the 2022 AL Wild Card, a disastrous series for the Blue Jays, highlighted by a Game 2 blown lead at Rogers Centre as the Mariners completed the sweep.

Tarik Skubal Tarik Skubal Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are led by ace Tarik Skubal, who is expected to win his second straight AL Cy Young award after posting a 13-6 record alongside a 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts in 2025.

Skubal, 28, is scheduled to pitch for the second time in the ALDS in Friday’s Game 5, meaning if the Tigers advance, the Jays wouldn’t have to face him until at least Game 3 in Detroit on Oct. 15. He’d also likely be available to pitch in a potential Game 6 or 7 on short rest.

Against the Jays in 2025, Skubal threw six scoreless innings in late July, allowing five hits and striking out seven, before Toronto scored six runs over the last two innings to pick up the 6-1 win.

Detroit took two of three games in Toronto in a May series before dropping three of four back home in July during a stretch when the Blue Jays were playing their best baseball of the season.

Blue JaysStatTigers94-68 (1st in AL East)Record87-75 (2nd in AL Central)54-27 / 40-41Home Record/Away Record46-35 / 41-404-3Head-To-Head3-44.9Runs Per Game4.94.5Runs Allowed Per Game4.5.265Batting Average.247.760OPS.729191Home Runs1981,099Strikeouts (Hitting)1,45477Stolen Bases614.19Team ERA3.873.98Bullpen ERA3.95.241Batting Average Against.2411,430Strikeouts (Pitching)1,375209 Home Runs Allowed18742Saves40

Aside from Skubal, the story of the Tigers season was a near complete collapse in September.

Detroit were front-runners in the Central all season long as well as contenders for the No. 1 seed in the American League. They held an 11-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians on Sept. 4 when everything fell apart.

The Tigers went 6-15 over their last 21 games, eventually losing the division lead to the Guardians before just sneaking into the last wild card spot on the last weekend of the season.

Detroit got their revenge against Cleveland in the AL Wild Card series and have looked closer to their former selves against the Mariners in the ALDS.

Despite the late-season meltdown, the Jays should expect a Tigers squad similar to the one seen in the first five months of the season if they can punch their ticket to the ALCS.

Unlike the Mariners, the Tigers aren’t known for their power with just seven more home runs than the Blue Jays this season.

Left-handed slugger Riley Greene is their biggest threat after the 25-year-old put up the best numbers of his career in 2025 with 36 homer and 111 RBIs.

He’s been quieter in the postseason, however, a stark contrast to Guerrero Jr. and his 1.609 OPS.

The Blue Jays have never faced the Tigers in the playoffs.