With images of Derek Jeter, Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander and many others gracing the television ads the past week, it is time to take a look at the non-mainstream stars that could have a direct impact on the World Series. Edgar Renteria, David Eckstein, Cody Ross, Placido Polanco, Scott Brosius and Craig Counsell have all won playoff MVP awards over the past decade and a half. Tampa Bay Rays: The momentum the Rays carry into the 2011 playoffs can’t be underestimated as it gets a rematch with the Texas Rangers from last year’s 2010 ALDS. Overpowering pitching and strong bullpens are recipes for success come the post-season. In this vein, players to watch are closer Kyle Farnsworth and left-hander Matt Moore. Farnsworth has been inconsistent throughout his career with two blown saves and an ERA of over 4.00 in September. The 35 year old righty started the year 16-for-17 in save chances, but it just 9-for-14 since. Moore will get the start in Game 1 in making only his second big league start. Texas Rangers: Despite grabbing the top spot in the RealGM rankings and being the defending American League champions, the Rangers are somewhat the forgotten team in the AL playoffs starting on Friday. Outfielder Nelson Cruz missed 38 games this year and hit just .190 in limited action in September. He was key in last year’s run to the World Series in hitting .321 with five home runs and having an OPS over 1.000. Can the Rangers get that same production this year? New York Yankees: The rotation after CC Sabathia has been an issue since Day 1 of spring training, but the Yankees have appeared to find a solid No. 2 in Ivan Nova. The 24 year old right hander is 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA and hasn’t taken a loss since May 12. While he doesn’t have overpowering numbers (57 walks to 98 strikeouts in 165.1 innings), more quality starts give the Yankees depth to support the offense for a run at a possible World Series title. Detroit Tigers: While the purpose of this article is to uncover the non-headline players who could end up deciding the 2011 playoffs, it is an ace (Verlander) which holds the fortunes of Detroit. Especially going up against the Yankees, it is a must win for the Tigers to get game one with Verlander on the mound with only Doug Fister having an ERA less than 4.00 in the rotation. In many ways, this is the same dilemma facing the Minnesota Twins in so many of their playoffs runs. It makes Friday excellent theater in the Bronx. St. Louis Cardinals: For the Cardinals, it may come down to the healthiness of outfielder Matt Holliday and shortstop Rafael Furcal. Holliday is a good middle of the order hitter and helps fill out this portion of the line-up for St. Louis with Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman. In a series against the stellar pitching and hitting of Philadelphia, the Cardinals will need their best team available. With Furcal, he adds some defense and speed up the middle with good post-season experience with the Braves and Dodgers. Philadelphia Phillies: Hunter Pence has played very well for the Phillies since coming over from Houston in a midseason trade. In 54 games, he has hit .324 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI, but is entering his first playoff action this weekend. The starting pitching will be consistent for Philadelphia and if it can get one more bat alongside Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and company, it has to be considered the clear favorite to win the National League. Milwaukee Brewers: The pieces are in place for Milwaukee to get to a World Series with a powerful offense, good frontline pitching and momentum from the regular season. Another strong area has been the bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford creating a dominant end to games. Since coming over from the New York Mets, Rodriguez has a 1.86 ERA and is averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. Axford is also over 10 K/9 innings in tallying 46 saves. Continued production like this is an important part of the plan for the Brewers. Arizona Diamondbacks: In handling a young pitching staff as well as being counted on to keep production up for a Top 10 run scoring offense, Miguel Montero is a player to watch this fall for Arizona. The 28 year old catcher has hit .282 with 18 home runs and 86 RBI and is the best in baseball at throwing out runners, though Milwaukee is in the lower third in stolen bases. His work with starters Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson will be something to watch develop.