The Cleveland Guardians have turned what was a tightly contested playoff race atop the American League Central between themselves, the Chicago White Sox, and the Minnesota Twins, into a laugher. The Guardians have already wrapped up the AL Central, and will almost certainly head into the playoffs as the number three seed in the AL.

The Guardians have once again exceeded expectations this season, and watched a dominant pitching staff carry a mediocre lineup into the postseason. Cleveland always seems to find a way to field a strong team, and the 2022 season has been no exception. They will be looking to carry the momentum they have picked up over the past few weeks with them into the playoffs for a deep postseason run.

In order for that to happen, Cleveland's best players are going to have to continue to play their best baseball. With that in mind, the Guardians biggest X-factor heading into the playoffs may be a bit surprising, but this players' success could determine how successful Cleveland is in the playoffs this year. So let's identify this X-factor and see why he could end up being mightily important for the Guardians.

Guardians X-factor for 2022 MLB playoffs: James Karinchak

It feels somewhat strange labeling a relief pitcher as the Guardians biggest X-factor, but it's clear the Guardians pitching staff is going to be the key to their success throughout the postseason. For the most part, you know what you are getting with each of these guys. But James Karinchak is the wild card out of the bullpen that could help Cleveland take their game to the next level.

Karinchak missed the first three months of the season with a shoulder injury, before finally making his debut with the team in July. After having an up-and-down 2021 campaign, in which he finished with a 4.07 ERA, Karinchak has been lights out all season long. He's posted a 1.49 ERA over 35 games, and has been the Guardians most dangerous reliever behind only Emmanuel Clase, who closes games for Cleveland.

If it weren't for Clase being locked into Cleveland's closer role, there's a chance he would be their X-factor. But X-factors are defined by their somewhat unpredictable ability to help their team reach heights that they may not have initially been able to hit. With Clase, we know what we are getting. With Karinchak, that isn't necessarily the case.

Relief pitching becomes all the more important in the postseason, when starters have shorter leashes and managers become more aggressive in finding ways to win. That's why Karinchak is so important. He can be head coach Terry Francona's hidden ace, the guy he calls on in the biggest situations to get outs. If Karinchak delivers, the Guardians will likely win a lot in the postseason.

Cleveland is going to have to grind out victories in the postseason. Their lineup isn't good enough to obliterate starting pitching and make games laughers. They are going to rely on their starting pitching to go two times through the lineup without giving up too many runs before turning things over to their bullpen. When things get hairy, Karinchak will be called upon.

The good thing about having a pitcher like Karinchak who has the ability to be a lockdown closer but isn't is that they can be used whenever. Karinchak could be used to start the eighth and turn things over to Clase for the ninth. Or, if Francona feels the game could slip away from Cleveland in the fourth or fifth inning, he could call on Karinchak to calm things down.

This wouldn't be a possibility if Karinchak wasn't good enough to handle this responsibility. We've always known Karinchak has had lights out stuff, and he has been electric since making his return to the mound midway through the season. Since he has hasn't really pitched a full season, Karinchak should have the juice to go a little bit longer than he normally would since it is the playoffs after all.

Karinchak is likely going to be the guy Francona calls on to get out of tight situations deep in the games. How Karinchak fares in these situations will play a huge role on how long the Guardians are playing postseason baseball. There are a lot of strong arms in the Guardians pitching staff, but it's clear that Karinchak's role and skill make him the team's biggest X-factor heading into the postseason.

It may seem like an odd choice considering Karinchak will often only pitch an inning when he takes the mound, but again playoff baseball is a different game. Relief pitchers are ten times more important, and having an ace in the wild like Karinchak is crucial to postseason success. Karinchak won't play more than one inning on most nights, but how he fares in his limited time will have a huge impact on the Guardians success, making him the Guardians most important X-factor come playoff time.