The American League might not feature many, if any, truly elite teams, but there are a slew of teams in postseason contention. That, frankly, has been the case all season long. Teams like the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays have done a nice job creating some separation, but for the most part, things are very cluttered in the American League.
What could end up deciding the packed AL Wild Card race is the remaining strength of schedule. Yes, the teams vying for postseason spots with easier schedules have to take advantage of the soft spots, but having more games against sub-.500 competition objectively makes their path easier.
With that in mind, here's a look at the AL Wild Card standings ordered by the remaining strength of schedule.
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American League Wild Card standings ordered by remaining strength of schedule
Team | Remaining Strength of Schedule | Overall Record (GB) |
|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | .481 | 67-57 (-) |
Seattle Mariners | .493 | 68-57 (+0.5) |
Boston Red Sox | .497 | 68-57 (+0.5) |
Cleveland Guardians | .501 | 63-60 (-3.5) |
Kansas City Royals | .508 | 63-61 (-4.0) |
Texas Rangers | .513 | 62-63 (-5.5) |
The three teams already in Wild Card position - the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox - happen to also have the easiest remaining strength of schedule. This goes to show that while there are six teams in the Wild Card race, there are three clear favorites. As a matter of fact, the Yankees have the fourth-easiest schedule in the sport the rest of the way, thanks largely to seven upcoming games against the Chicago White Sox and another seven against the Baltimore Orioles.
What's most interesting about New York's schedule, though, is that the Yankees play the Red Sox seven times down the stretch as well. These two teams have the leg up on the non-Mariners competition thanks to their remaining strength of schedule, but how these teams fare against one another could really impact how the final standings look. Based on what we've seen so far, the Red Sox have the advantage there, but the Yankees have picked up their play of late.
It felt as if the Mariners were going to run away with the top Wild Card spot, if not the AL West title, after their impressive trade deadline, but back-to-back series losses against the Orioles and Mets have them as the third Wild Card team. They should be fine considering their easy strength of schedule and their talented roster, but they failed to take advantage of a last place team and another club playing even worse than Baltimore over the past week.
What about AL Wild Card teams on the outside looking in?
As for the teams currently on the outside looking in, there's no disputing they face a major challenge to steal a Wild Card spot. The Cleveland Guardians have the easiest schedule of the three, but they also traded Shane Bieber away and are without both Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz possibly for the remainder of the season due to their involvement in gambling.
The Kansas City Royals have taken advantage of a soft spot in their schedule lately to get back over .500, but can they beat formidable competition? Kansas City has gone 22-37 against winning teams this season, the worst mark in the American League. Yes, worse than the White Sox. They might figure it out against good competition, but until they do, it's hard to take them too seriously.
A team I thought was going to make some noise after the trade deadline was the Texas Rangers, but their play since the deadline has lacked, and they now sit 5.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot with the hardest remaining schedule of the contenders. Never say never, especially with a team littered with as much veteran talent as Texas, but their odds are incredibly slim.
This isn't to say that the Mariners, Red Sox and Yankees have been perfect - they've been anything but - however, considering the lead they already have over the rest of the field and the remaining strength of schedules, it'd be surprising to see a team currently outside of the race steal a spot.