The road to the World Series is tough, but every team has their own way of how they got there and how they can win it all. Six teams make the playoffs in both the American and National League being the three division winners and three wild card spots. The top two division winners will get a bye to the Division Series. The first two wild card spots will play each other and the third division winner will play the third wild card spot. Right now, there are 12 teams that are in a really good spot to make the playoffs, if they haven’t already.
Here are the six American League teams, their current record and current playoff spot as of Sept. 17, how they got where they are and their road to the championship.
Toronto Blue Jays (89-62) (1 seed)
On May 27, the Blue Jays were 26-28. They were eight games back from the division lead, third in their division, and it looked like it was going to be another long year for the Blue Jays who have not won the AL East since 2015. Since then, the Jays have been on a tear going 63-34 in their last 97 games. Not only did they take the division lead, but they now have the best record in the American League as well.
If the Blue Jays want to win it all, they have to keep their foot on the gas offensively. Toronto leads the league in hits, batting average and on-base percentage. By getting on base and getting to the next guy, Toronto is able to generate runs, leading towards success. Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer are all great examples of the type of Blue Jays game. All three players are batting over .300, Springer has 29 home runs, Guerrero Jr. has 23 and Bichette has 18.
Toronto’s problem is going to be their pitching staff overall. Out of all teams with more wins than losses, the Jays have the highest earned run average (ERA), meaning they give up more runs per nine innings than any other team with a winning record. Although the Blue Jays have a high powered offense, the pitching staff needs to be better to have a shot to win it all.
Detroit Tigers (85-66) (2 seed)
In the middle of August last year, the Tigers had a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs, but after finishing the season 31-13 for their last 44 games of last season, they made the playoffs, swept the Astros, and lost to the Guardians in the ALDS in a sudden defeat.
The Tigers have kept their momentum up from last season after having a hot start and being a solid consistent team throughout the year, with only one rough stretch in mid July. Although they are in the middle of the pack for most hitting and pitching stats, they have last year’s AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who has been unreal this season. Skubal, the former triple crown winner, is currently leading the AL in ERA, and second in strikeouts. The Tigers are 21-8 in games when Tarik Skubal pitches, but only 64-58 when he doesn’t.
Detroit’s problem will be in games where Skubal is not on the mound. The Tigers road to the title is to win every game Skubal pitches. Therefore, they can put more pressure on their opponents by forcing them to win every game he doesn’t pitch, allowing Detroit to only have to win one out of three, or two out of five, to take the series.
Seattle Mariners (83-68) (3 seed)
The Mariners have had a lot of bad luck recently, despite winning 85 or more games in the last four years, they only made the playoffs once.
Currently, the Mariners are on a run and on a 10 game winning streak, overtaking the Astros for a half game lead of the AL West for the first time in several seasons. However, the Mariners go to Houston for a key three game series against the Astros. With both teams tied in the season series, whoever wins this key series will determine who has the division lead and tiebreaker going into the final week of the regular season.
Seattle’s success has come off of their power hitting, the team is third in the league in team homers, and has the league leader in home runs with their catcher Cal Raleigh. Raleigh, the power hitting catcher not only leads the league in home runs, but also broke the all time record for most home runs by a catcher in a single season with ten games still to play.
The Mariners path to success is through their starting rotation. In the regular season, you need five starters, but in the playoffs, the extra travel days allow you to only need four. The four man rotation of Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby is dominant top to bottom.
Seattle’s problem is playing on the road. The Mariners are 48-27 at home, but 35-41 on the road. If the Mariners do not win their division, they will be in a lot of trouble throughout the postseason, because the majority of their games will be on the road.
New York Yankees (84-67) (4 seed)
After coming off winning the American League pennant the Yankees were 39-23, one of the best teams in the league, and had their division lead up to eight games. Since then, it all went downhill. The Yankees are 45-44 since then, are trailing the division lead by five games, but still hold the first wild card spot.
New York has also had success as a power hitting team, leading the league in home runs, and the next closest team is 32 homers behind them. The Yankees superstar Aaron Judge has been the captain of the team and has dominated all year, leading the league in batting average, and second in the AL in home runs.
The Yankees problem is their bullpen with a 4.61 ERA, 23rd in the league with all the teams behind them not in the playoffs. New York’s bullpen arms they traded for Devin Williams and Camilo Doval, both have ERA’s over 5, and the Yankees need them and their bullpen to be better if they want to win.
If the Yankees can stay in the four spot, they will be the home team for the Wild Card series, which would be huge with the crowd they have, rather than having to play at a rival’s ballpark.
Houston Astros (83-69) (5 seed)
Over the last eight years, the Astros have been extremely successful in the playoffs, two World Series titles, four AL titles, and seven ALCS appearances.
They currently sit a half game back from the Mariners from the division lead, but a huge three game series in Houston against Seattle can change the outcome of the division, (importance of series was described back in the Mariners paragraph).
Hunter Brown has been extremely dominant for the Astros, second in the AL in ERA. The Astros back half of the bullpen has been lights out, Josh Hader has a 6-2 record, with 28 saves, and a 2.05 ERA. Bryan Abreu, and Bryan King have also posted sub 2.50 ERA and Steven Okert has been another dominant arm.
The Astros path back to the World Series is by doing what they have been doing recently in the postseason. Houston’s goal to end the regular season is to get the division crown, giving the dominant postseason team a much needed home field advantage during the wild card. Boston
Red Sox (82-69) (6 seed)
At the end of June, the Red Sox were 42-44, and no one really thought they would come close to playoff position. Boston even traded their superstar third baseman Rafeal Devers, and many Red Sox fans were outraged.
Once the calendar turned, the team caught fire and got into playoff position. Currently, they sit at the third highest batting average and second highest ERA in the American League.
Garrett Crochet, a potential Cy Young Finalist, is third in the league in ERA, and first in strikeouts. The bullpen has an AL best 3.44 ERA and has had an untouchable closer of Aroldis Chapman. Chapman has posted a .68 WHIP (walks hits / innings pitched), and a 1.26 ERA, the best out of all pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.
With a lot of big name call ups throughout the year, the Red Sox have an extremely young lineup, which will mean a lot of inexperienced players when it comes to playing in the postseason. However, the young offense has done a great job throughout the second half of the season, and look to keep the momentum up going into October.
Coming into the final 11 games they have a 2.5 game lead over the Guardians, but would love to gain two games on the Yankees, so they can bring the Wild Card to Fenway.
Down, but not out
Cleveland Guardians: 2.5 back from wild card, 4.5 from division. On a seven game win streak and have given themselves the chance to comeback and make the playoffs. The three game series against the Tigers could make or break their season.
Texas Rangers: 4.5 back from wild card, 5 from division. Four game losing streak has put them in a spot where they need to win a lot and have a team they need to catch collapse.
Seventeen teams are still alive, who all have different ways of how they got to where they are today. Twelve teams make it into the postseason, but only one can be the champion.
Check dragonmedia.org/sports later this week for a look at the National League.
