It’s that time of the baseball season, when teams in first place on pace to take the division pennant start resting start players, and teams in last place begin preparing for September call ups and some even have fire sales on players past their prime.
But then, somewhere in the middle, are the teams who are currently technically out of the playoffs, but are within striking distance of either snatching the divison title or sneaking in to the playoffs via a Wild Card berth.
There aren’t many teams who are this close to making a run with only about 40 games left in the regular season, but those teams who are on the cusp have a real chance to make some noise in the next four to five weeks.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
There’s no doubt that the American League East could be the most competitive division in the majors, with the New York Yankees in fourth place even with a 62-57 record. But the Rays have what it takes to make up the three games they are down to the Boston Red Sox. The Rays are on a tough streak, going 3-7 in their last 10 games, but Tampa Bay has enough talent, and the Sox are flawed enough that Boston could find themselves as a Wild Card team.
The Rays have five guys who have played 104 games or more, and are hitting .258 or higher, led by veteran James Loney who is hitting .314 and slugging .450. Every late-season team also always has to have a spark plug, and in Tampa’s case it’s Wil Myers who at 22 is hitting .316 and has driven in 33 runs in 46 games. Myers has also swiped five bases and is slugging .508. Speaking of young talent, 24-year-old Matt Moore is leading the pitching staff this season. Although he’s currently serving a stint on the disabled list, Moore could find himself back in the lineup before the year’s done. The second-year pro has a fairly high 3.41 ERA but has recorded 14 wins and has struck out 115 batters.
Through the latter stretch of the season, the Rays will be playing catch-up with the Sox, whose chances of closing the season out are slim with their pitching staff. Four of their starters who have started 21 games or more all have ERAs above 3.32, and two of them are above the 4.30 mark. Boston thought they could bolster their staff by acquiring Jake Peavy at the trade deadline, but Peavy has only made it through 12 innings in two starts and the veteran is carrying a 1.42 WHIP and a 6.00 ERA on the Sox. The Red Sox are a strong hitting team, but pitching usually is what makes or breaks a season.
Oakland Athletics
Out of all the teams on this list, the A’s easily have the best chance to take the division title when all is said and done. Oakland was in first place just over a week ago, and are currently only 1.5 games back of the Texas Rangers. Although the Athletics are 23rd in the majors in batting average, they rank 11th in runs scored (Moneyball at its finest). The often forgot-about team caught a break this month when Bartolo Colon was able to avoid suspension during the Biogenesis scandal. The 40-year-old, who has been caught using performance-enhancing drugs in the past) leads the team in wins and ERA, and closer Grant Balfour has converted on 30 of 31 save opportunities, according to Baseball Reference. Speaking of Biogenesis, the A’s are going after the Rangers, who just lost their start right fielder Nelson Cruz for the remainder of the season due to a PED suspension resulting from the Biogenesis scandal.
They aren’t the flashiest team, but Oakland is the most consistent team in the league. Behind the timely hitting of Josh Donaldson and the power of Yoenis Cespedes, expect the Moneyballers to surprise once again.
St. Louis Cardinals
While the Cardinals could be considered the best team in baseball, they currently trail the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central. The Pirates are the best story in baseball right now, but don’t count the Cardinals out. St. Louis ranks third in the league in runs scored, second in batting average and third in on-base percentage. Four of the team’s starters have batting averages over .300, and seven of the eight starting fielders have on-base percentages of at least .337.
The Cardinals are also one of the best defensive teams in the baseball, and are fifth in the league in fielding percentage, and have only committed 55 errors (also the fifth-best in the majors).
Fans are throwing their support behind Pittsburgh, but the Pirates have been historically bad in the second half of the season, and are 1-5 in their last six games. The Andrew McCutchen-led Pirates also have to face the Cardinals in six games before the year is done, and also must take on the Cincinnati Reds in six of the last nine games of the year. The Reds are only three games out of the first in the division as well. The Pirates are very likely to make the Wild Card slot, but the Cardinals are just too good to not win the division.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians have virtually no shot of taking the American League Central crown, but they are only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card. Second baseman Jason Kipnis is having a career year, and leads Cleveland in batting average, home runs, RBI and on-base percentage.
Without Cruz, the Rangers are likely to fall out of first place and the Wild Card race, which would bump the A’s up to division champs. The Rays could also be in first place over the Red Sox by season’s end, leaving the Sox and either the Indians or Baltimore Orioles as Wild Card teams. But with closer Joe Johnson’s recent struggles and Baltimore’s overall poor pitching, Cleveland is much more likely to seize that spot.
The Tribe’s pitching likely won’t get them far in the playoffs, but their hitting is timely enough and Terry Francona’s managing will be enough to get them over the three-game deficit.