The American League might be relatively weak, but the last remaining playoff contenders are at least keeping things interesting. We’re in for some fun down the stretch, as the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers entered Thursday tied atop the AL West. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians have finally overtaken the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and own a half-game lead.
Junior Caminero and the Tampa Bay Rays currently hold a 4.5-game advantage over the New York Yankees, though you can’t rule the Bombers out yet. Plenty can change over the season’s final ten days, and as a Hall of Fame receiver once said, it’s time to get your popcorn ready.
For this list, we’ve provided a suggestion for the three division leaders and the Rangers. Granted, the Astros would win the West because they own the tiebreaker, but we’re in a generous mood.
AL East
Team | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|
Tampa Bay Rays | 92-59 | -- |
New York Yankees | 88-64 | 4.5 |
Solution: Hope for more Yankees injuries
Admittedly, that sounds extremely harsh, but all’s fair in love, war, and pennant races. Aaron Judge left Wednesday’s loss to the Twins with lower leg tightness, and Trent Grisham is still working his way back from a right hamstring strain. Giancarlo Stanton suffered a setback while recovering from a calf injury last month and is not expected to participate in the playoffs.
We’ve already seen numerous key Yankees — most notably Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Carlos Rodón — miss time with injuries. For their sake, the Yankees better hope they’re mostly healthy when they host the Rays for a four-game set next week.
Fun fact: Assuming that the Rays hold on, it’ll mark their fifth AL East title in franchise history. None of those years involved them meeting the Yankees in the postseason, a streak that could change depending on how the Wild Card Series plays out: the two clubs would clash in the ALDS if the No. 4 Yankees are the lowest-remaining seed.
AL Central
Team | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|
Cleveland Guardians | 78-75 | -- |
Chicago White Sox | 77-75 | 0.5 |
Solution: Trust in José Ramírez and the veterans
Amusingly, the AL Central race isn’t the only department where the Guardians and White Sox are neck-and-neck. As of Sept. 17, Cleveland’s average age on their current 26-man roster is roughly 28.1, whereas Chicago is at 28.4. Don’t you miss being young?
But unlike the White Sox, much of the Guardians’ roster has experienced the playoffs. Ramírez is their longest-tenured player and has participated in the ALCS twice since debuting in 2013. Steven Kwan is a lifetime .321 hitter in 92 postseason plate appearances, and Tanner Bibee owns a 3.10 ERA across 20.1 playoff innings.
Outside of Kwan, there aren’t many on the Guardians who have been at their best in the playoffs. There’s nonetheless no substitute for having been there, done that, and we trust those in Cleveland’s clubhouse to keep the momentum moving in a positive direction.
AL West
Team | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|
Houston Astros | 76-76 | -- |
Texas Rangers | 76-76 | -- |
Astros’ solution: Does Jose Altuve have any value left?
Regardless of how you feel about Altuve or any Astros player around during the sign-stealing scandal, there’s no arguing that he’s always stepped up when the playoffs arrive. But did you know that he has a career .812 OPS in September/October regular-season games? Consider that the average OPS leaguewide typically hovers around .720, and it’s at .719 this year.
“Value” is unintentionally the perfect word, because he’s at -0.1 bWAR for the entire season. Houston needs the nine-time All-Star to dig deep up and channel his MVP-caliber self, if only for a 10-game stretch.
Rangers’ solution: Can Evan Carter finally step up?
We’ve talked quite a bit about Carter lately, even proposing that the Rangers should target Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews as a potential replacement. We heard so much about his plate discipline ahead of his 2023 debut, yet he’s hitting .193 with a .610 OPS through nearly 430 plate appearances this season.
Carter’s calling card has become his defense, and it’s a significant reason why he’s provided the Rangers with 2.0 bWAR. But his glove can’t do it all, especially amid a division race. The time has come for the 2020 second-round pick to prove why Skip Schumaker keeps him in the nightly lineup.
Add us as a preferred source on Google