With just days remaining in MLB‘s regular season, the American League playoff race is getting down to the nitty-gritty with only eight teams in the running to grab one of five postseason spots.
The Kansas City Royals have already clinched the AL Central, and the Toronto Blue Jays are just one win or a New York Yankees loss away from clinching the AL East, although they are already firmly in the playoffs. The true intrigue undoubtedly resides in the AL West and AL wild-card races, though.
The Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros are locked in a tight battle, with only two of them likely to play extra baseball this season, while the Yanks continue to hang on to the top wild-card position.
As the 2015 campaign nears its conclusion, here is a look at the current American League standings, along with further analysis regarding the top races remaining.
American League Playoff Standings
Breaking Down Top Races
AL Wild Card
The addition of a second wild-card team was met with some displeasure from baseball purists a few years ago, but the American League is proof that it creates some interesting scenarios down the stretch.
New York enters play Wednesday with a three-game lead on the No. 1 wild-card spot and five games remaining. The Yankees have had a handle on that position ever since the Blue Jays surpassed them in the AL East race.
The Bronx Bombers would need something miraculous to happen to win the division by winning out with the Jays losing out, but that seems extremely unlikely. With that in mind, the Yanks’ sole focus figures to be locking down the top wild-card spot and securing home field in the AL Wild Card Game.
New York has stumbled a bit as of late, but it certainly has the talent to make some noise come playoff time. One of the team’s biggest issues has been the loss of first baseman Mark Teixeira for the season due to injury, although rookie Greg Bird has stepped in admirably.
Also, some of those who performed well earlier in the season have dropped off, most notably designated hitter Alex Rodriguez. His power numbers are impressive—he has 32 home runs and 85 RBI—but he is hitting just .250.
A-Rod improved from August to September, as he went from hitting .157 with two homers to .217 with six long balls, but it still isn’t good enough. Even so, Rodriguez believes he is rounding back into form at the right time, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
“I ran into a wall in August,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t feel that way now. I feel re-energized. When I come to the plate now, I expect to do damage. I am refreshed.”
The Yankees also have some starting pitching questions, as Masahiro Tanaka is working his way back from a hamstring injury, although he is scheduled to pitch Wednesday and likely in the AL Wild Card Game as well.
New York needs Tanaka to be good since Michael Pineda struggled mightily in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. If Tanaka isn’t in fine form, then Sherman believes a case can be made for the Yanks’ season to hinge on rookie righty Luis Severino:
The Yankees undoubtedly have their flaws, but they also have time on their side with a three-game advantage over the Angels, a 3.5-game lead over the Astros and a 4.5-game lead over the Minnesota Twins.
New York’s play isn’t exactly promising entering the playoffs, however, if it can win a game or two this week or get some help from the competition, it will be among the American League’s playoff teams.
AL West
Aside from the Yankees, essentially the same teams that are vying for an AL wild-card spot are also battling it out in the AL West with the Rangers, Angels and Astros all still having a shot to take the division crown.
Texas is certainly in the best position with a two-game cushion over L.A. and a 2.5-game advantage over Houston. The Rangers may also have the best overall team, as their lineup features mashers like Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo, while their starting rotation and bullpen boast the likes of Cole Hamels, Yovani Gallardo and Shawn Tolleson.
The Rangers certainly aren’t the hottest team in the AL West, though, as the Angels have won seven straight games and are set up extremely well entering the weekend, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com:
Both the divisional and wild-card races are likely to come down to the final series of the season, as Texas and Los Angeles will clash in a four-game set in Arlington, Texas. As pointed out by MLB.com’s Richard Justice, that is a series that seems to favor the visitors:
The odd team out right now is Houston, which is a foreign concept since it has been in a playoff position for nearly the entire season. The Astros trail the Angels by a half-game in the AL wild-card race, but they could benefit from Texas and L.A. playing each other.
If one team manages to sweep that series or take three of four games, then that will open the door for the young, exciting Astros to make a run, assuming they get the job done in their season-closing series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Houston is stacked with excellent hitters, such as Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Evan Gattis, and their rotation boasts several power arms in Dallas Keuchel, Scott Kazmir, Mike Fiers and more.
It would certainly be a shame if a team with that much talent misses out on the playoffs, but with the Angels playing out of their minds thanks largely to the combination of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, and the Rangers having a nice cushion, Houston faces an uphill climb.
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