It’s nearly September, and the National League playoffs seem largely set (unless the Nationals or Giants go on an absolute tear). However, the picture isn’t so clear over on the Junior Circuit, where as many as five teams still have a more than reasonable shot at the second Wild Card spot. Here are those five teams ranked by likelihood of seeing October baseball (standings are as of August 22nd):
1. (WC) Los Angeles Angels:
Mike Trout and Co. are the current holders of the second wild card position. Though they sport a pretty weak lineup outside of Trout and the newly resurgent Albert Pujols, any batting order with those two names penciled in can’t be counted out. If Garrett Richards can regain his early season form and Jered Weaver can keep up his recent streak of strong outings, there’s no reason this team can’t hold onto their spot.
2. (2 GB) Tampa Bay Rays:
Though they don’t have much of a lineup to speak of outside of Evan Longoria and a few over-performing no-names (looking at you, Logan Forsythe), the Rays’ pitching might just be good enough to push them over the top. Chris Archer has been one of the best starters in baseball this season (2.77 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.57 FIP), leading a Tampa Bay pitching staff that has the lowest BAA in the league. Don’t sleep on this team.
3. (0.5 GB) Baltimore Orioles:
By any metric, the Orioles have had one of the best offenses in the league this year. Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Adam Jones will continue to pick up the slack where they can, but if this team wants to stay in contention, somebody’s going to have to help Wei-Yin Chen (3 ER or fewer 14 out of his last 15 starts), Baltimore’s only reliable starter this season.
4. (0.5 GB) Texas Rangers:
They’ve had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball this year, and Cole Hamels hasn’t exactly been the world-beater Texas thought they were acquiring. However, they’re still in it, bolstered by a killer offense led by the still-chugging Prince Fielder. They can’t field, they don’t run well, and they’re barely above .500, but they’re still in it.
5. (2 GB) Minnesota Twins:
As far as playoff teams go, they generally don’t feature middle-of-the-pack offenses and bottom five pitching staffs, but here come the Twins. They’re showing some signs of life against good teams right now, but if they want to even sniff the playoffs, they’re going to have to keep it up; nearly all of their remaining games are against teams still in the thick of the playoff race.
Bernstein is a member of the class of 2018.
