The San Diego Padres shocked the Los Angeles Dodgers and are now set to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. This projects to be an exciting MLB Playoff matchup as the Padres look to reach the World Series. San Diego's home field advantage will provide them with a major boost, but will it be enough to help them overcome Philadelphia?

Here is a look at 3 bold predictions for the Padres vs the Phillies in the NLCS.

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Josh Hader records 3 saves for Padres

In a series destined to go 7 games, Josh Hader will play a pivotal role for San Diego. The hard-throwing closer has found his rhythm following a difficult beginning to his Padres career and will be important to the team's success in the NLCS.

The Phillies and Padres are fairly evenly-matched. As a result, this series has a strong chance of going 7 games. And each game very well may be competitive. This means that Josh Hader will potentially have a number of save opportunities.

And with the way he performed against the Dodgers, it would be surprising to see him struggle against the Phillies. This is certainly a bold prediction, but look for Hader to tally 3 saves in the NLCS.

Padres' Trent Grisham steals the show…on defense

Trent Grisham played well in the NLDS. After a sluggish 2022 season at the plate, he found his confidence against the Dodgers. However, it will be his defense that is a talking point for the Padres in the NLCS.

Grisham will make mistakes from time to time in centerfield. But he also features the ability to make jaw-dropping plays in the outfield. The Phillies feature a lineup full of powerful batters who will likely hit no shortage of balls to centerfield. Grisham will be forced into making multiple highlight reel plays to rob Philadelphia's lineup.

Both ball parks in this series play big. In other words, Grisham will have to cover plenty of ground. But he thrives off of the challenge and his defense will play a major role for the Padres throughout the series.

Juan Soto struggles for Padres, until he doesn't

Juan Soto hasn't exactly torn the cover off of the baseball for the Padres since being acquired from the Washington Nationals. He's shown signs of life during the MLB Playoffs, but he hasn't been the superstar San Diego thought they were getting in the trade.

I expect Soto to start the NLCS slow. Fans will call for him to get moved down in the order and frustration will mount around him.

And then Soto will hit one of the most important home runs of the series.

The Padres will be trailing late in Game 4 or Game 5 and Juan Soto will step to the plate. The broadcasters will discuss his struggles at the dish and fans won't expect much. However, Soto will then remind everyone how talented he is and smash a home run deep into the night to give San Diego the lead.

When the Padres first traded for Juan Soto, this wouldn't have seemed like a bold prediction. But his underwhelming San Diego output places this firmly in bold prediction territory. Soto is the kind of player who features the talent to lead the Padres to the World Series. It will be interesting to see what kind of production he provides against the Phillies.