AL Wild Card race: The 3 contenders and one team who will let its fans down

No. 1 Contender who will make the postseason: Houston Astros

The Houston Astros currently hold a 90.2 percent chance of making the postseason, according to FanGraphs. They are currently leading their division by half a game over the Rangers and a game over the Mariners.

Besides some pitching injuries, the Astros are healthy and have all of their good players, ready for another huge postseason run. At the trade deadline, they improved by adding talent such as Justin Verlander, who will bolster the rotation alongside Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Christian Javier, and J.P. France, among others. Also, with players like Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve healthy, they are ready for the final push.

The Astros can't and won't miss the postseason after winning the World Series and now holding a healthy team; you can't bet against them. They only have nine games left, which is quite concerning, but they play three against the Royals, who they should sweep. Then they have to play the Mariners and Diamondbacks, both of which are in playoff contention.

The Houston Astros have struggled all season against the Seattle Mariners with a record of 2-8, but hopefully, they can put everything together for the final push and make it through. The Astros haven't played the Diamondbacks in 2023, but in 2023 they held a record of 2-2. With many improvements on both sides, this would be a good series to watch to see who could miss the postseason.