Cubs playoff nightmare could come to life if they host the Braves in the Wild Card Round

Over the next week, the NL playoff picture will come into focus with the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, in some order, representing the Senior Circuit as wild-card teams in the postseason.

Home-field advantage remains up in the air, but the seeding itself will determine the potential playoff matchups and, while much has been made of potentially having to go to San Diego or Philadelphia in the first round, the Atlanta Braves coming to Wrigley Field for a best-of-three series comes with a unique risk in the form of Ozzie Albies.

Shoutout to Bob Nightengale of USA Today for pointing out Albies' dominance at the Friendly Confines in his weekend column because the numbers are, well, they're not what you want to see if you're thinking about a potential Cubs-Braves matchup next week with the season on the line.

In his career, Albies is a .376 hitter with eight long-balls and 18 runs batted in. That's the second-highest batting average of any player with at least 100 plate appearances in Wrigley Field history. He collected a trio of hits - including a homer - and drove in two during last week's three-game set between the two teams.

Cubs must force role players to beat them if they want to make a run

Of course, nobody kills the Cubs like Eugenio Suarez, but Albies has been a constant thorn in Chicago's side over the years and could play spoiler come October. Personally, I'd still rather take my chances against Albies and the Braves (especially at home) than go to play the Padres or Phillies on the road, but Atlanta is no pushover matchup.

Just like teams try to keep Pete Crow-Armstrong from being the one that beats them when they play the Cubs, Chicago will need to do the same in the postseason. That means working around superstars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Kyle Schwarber in potential wild-card matchups and, later on, limiting the damage caused by Shohei Ohtani (assuming he's back on the IL).

But in a matchup with Atlanta, even though he may not carry the same weight at those names, Albies is a name to circle - and one to make sure doesn't singlehandedly send you packing in October.

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