The 10 Players Who Will Decide the Astros vs. Braves 2021 World Series Winner

The World Series matchup is set with the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros poised to battle it out for a title. It's time to start breaking down all things Fall Classic.

In any series, a handful of players are X-factors who will play a major part in who comes out on top.

That's the focus here, as we've highlighted 10 players—five from each team—set to help decide who is crowned World Series champion in 2021.

Both teams will need to play at a high level to hoist the trophy, but these players can tip the scales in their team's favor with strong performances.

Off we go.

Jose Altuve is no stranger to postseason success.

The 31-year-old began the 2021 postseason with a .306/.378/.565 line in 63 career playoff games, tallying 18 home runs and 40 RBI.

However, his bat has been much quieter this October.

He homered twice during the ALCS but went 3-for-24 overall, including 0-for-4 in the decisive Game 6 victory.

If he starts swinging it like he has during previous playoff runs, the Astros offense becomes much more dangerous.

Yordan Alvarez is the hottest hitter on the planet.

After a three-hit performance in Game 5, he went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple in the clincher Friday. He finished the series an absurd 12-for-23 with five extra-base hits, six RBI and seven runs scored en route to ALCS MVP honors.

Sidelined for the bulk of the 2020 season following arthroscopic surgery on both knees, he showed no ill effects this year while posting a 136 OPS+ with 35 doubles, 33 home runs and 104 RBI.

"It means everything," Alvarez told reporters of winning MVP. "I didn't really imagine myself being able to come out of that surgery on both knees and be able to do this as quickly as I did."

Equally effective against righties and lefties, Alvarez is in a groove at the plate that will be difficult for Atlanta to game-plan against.

One of the most pleasant surprises of the 2021 season, Luis Garcia has gone from an unheralded rookie to a key arm in the Houston Astros rotation.

After getting knocked around in Game 3 of the ALDS (2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER), he exited in the second inning of Game 2 of the ALCS with knee discomfort. There was some question about whether he might need to be removed from the postseason roster.

Instead, he returned to start Game 6 after being cleared by the Houston trainers and pitched the game of his life.

The 24-year-old no-hit the Boston Red Sox through 5.2 innings before a triple off the bat of Enrique Hernandez ended his pursuit of history and chased him from the game.

The question is which version of Garcia will show up in the World Series: the one who was shelled, the one who was injured or the one who was untouchable?

Who will start Game 4 of the World Series for the Houston Astros?

Zack Greinke is only stretched out for a few innings of work and Jake Odorizzi has been ineffective, so regardless of who starts the game, expect Cristian Javier to work multiple innings.

The 24-year-old threw three scoreless innings of relief in Game 4 of the ALCS after Greinke recorded the first four outs in a pseudo-opener role. He has allowed three hits and four walks in 7.2 shutout innings this postseason.

Every team needs a multi-inning weapon it can lean on in the postseason if a starter is chased early or the middle relievers are stretched thin. That is especially true of an Astros team that has just three legitimate starting options.

Expect Javier to chew through some big innings during the series.

Framber Valdez was brilliant in the pivotal Game 5 of the ALCS, allowing three hits and one earned run in eight stellar innings.

It was a welcome reversal of fortune after rocky outings in Game 2 of the ALDS (4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER) and Game 1 of the ALCS (2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER). The Astros will need more of the same out of him as the co-ace of the staff alongside Lance McCullers Jr.

The 27-year-old went 11-6 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 134.2 innings during the regular season, continuing his emergence as one of the better left-handed starters in baseball—a rise that began during the shortened 2020 season.

The Braves ranked 20th in the majors with a .732 OPS against left-handed pitching during the regular season, but they didn't have any issues with Julio Urias in the NLCS, so the matchup against Valdez will be an interesting test.

Second baseman Ozzie Albies tied for ninth in the majors with 106 RBI this season, hitting .307/.362/.607 with runners in scoring position while shuffling around the top four spots in the Atlanta Braves batting order.

However, he has struggled in clutch situations this October.

In a team-leading 13 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, he's gone 1-for-11 with a single RBI and four strikeouts, including a 1-for-8 showing in those situations in the NLCS.

He still found ways to make an impact with two stolen bases and seven runs scored in six games against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, and he is rock solid defensively at second base.

Still, with plenty more key at-bats ahead in the Fall Classic, the Braves need him to come through when it matters most.

Just six starts into his MLB career, Ian Anderson was brilliant in his postseason debut with the Braves last year, going 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 18.2 innings over four starts as the No. 3 starter in an injury-plagued Atlanta rotation.

With a full year of experience under his belt, he is back in that No. 3 starter role after going 9-5 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 124 strikeouts in 128.1 innings this season.

He tossed five shutout innings in Game 3 of the NLDS, but he threw just seven innings combined in his two NLCS starts, allowing six hits, four walks and three earned runs while getting a quick hook from manager Brian Snitker in both outings.

Part of that was by design. He was pinch-hit for in the fourth inning in Game 6, which helped pave the way for a two-out, three-run home run from Eddie Rosario. But it would still be beneficial if he can pitch deeper into games.

With two World Series starts on tap if the series stretches to six games, the 23-year-old will be put to the test.

Max Fried was the best pitcher in baseball after the All-Star break.

In 14 second-half starts, he went 8-2 with an MLB-best 1.74 ERA and a pair of shutouts in 93 innings, leaving him poised for a big October performance leading the Atlanta rotation.

His dominance continued against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the NLDS when he allowed three hits with nine strikeouts in six scoreless innings, but he looked more human in his two starts against the Dodgers.

The 27-year-old settled for a no-decision in Game 1 (6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER) while allowing more than seven hits for the first time since July 10. He then took the loss in Game 5 (4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER) when he surrendered more than four earned runs for the first time since July 5.

Can he bounce back with a strong start in his World Series debut?

During Cleveland's run to the World Series in 2016, lefty reliever Andrew Miller was a lethal weapon out of the bullpen in a fireman role ahead of closer Cody Allen.

The closest thing we have to that in 2021 is Tyler Matzek.

After flaming out as a starter and spending four years out of the big leagues, Matzek remade himself as a reliever last season and enjoyed a career renaissance in Atlanta.

The 31-year-old then posted a 2.57 ERA and 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings with 24 holds in 69 appearances in 2021, and he has been even better this October.

He has allowed four hits and two earned runs in 10.1 innings, logging a 1.74 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 17 strikeouts against four walks while limiting opposing hitters to a .118 average.

Snitker called on him to protect a 4-2 lead with runners on second and third and nobody out in the seventh inning of Game 6 of the NLCS on Saturday after Luke Jackson allowed a run while failing to record an out, and he struck out the side to squash the Dodgers rally. Then he threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning for good measure before Will Smith slammed the door in the ninth.

Matzek might be the most important bullpen arm for either team in this series.

Never forget: The Braves acquired Eddie Rosario from Cleveland at the July 30 trade deadline in exchange for Pablo Sandoval, who was immediately released.

A non-factor in Cleveland after signing a one-year, $8 million deal, Rosario hit .271/.330/.573 for a 131 OPS+ with seven home runs in 106 plate appearances following the trade, and he's the hottest hitter in the Atlanta lineup.

The 30-year-old hit what turned out to be the game-winning, three-run home run in the fourth inning of Game 6, and he also had a two-homer performance in Game 4 as part of an epic NLCS performance.

He went 14-for-25 with one double, one triple, three home runs and nine RBI during the six-game series to win NLCS MVP honors. He's hot enough that Houston will need to game-plan against him going into the World Series.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.