We are back after a week off for travel. We are in September now, coming down to the wire, rankings below.
Out of Hunt
30. Orioles 43-93 5th in AL East LW: 30
Nice series win for the Orioles in New York over the weekend, still playing hard down the stretch.
29. Diamondbacks 45-93 5th in NL West LW: 29
Dbacks were playing well for a while but a 1-5 homestand has them close to hoping right back into the cellar of these rankings.
28. Pirates 49-89 5th in NL Central LW: 27
That over/under of 58 is going to be really close. Boy I thought the over was a lock until the Pirates traded away any major league talent at trade deadline.
27. Rangers 49-88 5th in AL West LW: 28
The Rangers are almost a .500 team at their brand new ballpark, but a putrid 18-51 on the road.
26. Marlins 57-80 5th in NL East LW: 26
Unfortunately this season proved the 2020 Marlins were COVID darlings and not a team on the rise.
25. Nationals 57-80 4th in NL East LW: 24
The Nats were 41-40 in early July and looked to be a contender in the NL East. But traded away more talent than anyone not named the Cubs at the deadline.
24. Twins 60-77 5th in AL Central LW: 23
Nobody could have expected the Twins to finish last in the AL Central. Will be interesting to see if they reload or rebuild this offseason.
23. Royals 62-75 4th in Central LW: 22
Great work by Mike Matheny to rally the Royals as they have been playing above .500 ball since the All star break.
22. Rockies 63-75 4th in NL West LW: 21
Also Kudos to Bud Black for having the Rockies who are talent devoid playing far above expectations. About to eclipse the over for year.
21. Cubs 64-75 4th in NL Central LW: 25
Let’s keep giving Kudos out, this time to David Ross. The baby Cubs (which sounds like an oxymoron) has won 7 games in a row.
20. Tigers 65-74 3rd in AL Central LW: 20
The Tigers played a huge spoiler over the weekend taking two of the three from the Wildcard contending Reds over the Weekend.
19. Angels 68-70 4th in AL West LW: 19
Shohei Ohtani is almost certainly a lock to in the MVP in the AL. The Question is can he hit 50 homeruns and qualify for the ERA title?
18. Mets 69-69 3rd in NL East LW: 18
I know they are only 4 games out but can a team that is at .500 and lost their best pitcher (on a not deep pitching staff)really compete for postseason?
17. Indians 68-67 2nd in AL Central LW: 17
The future Guardians of Lake Erie could be setup to be a contender again in 2022 with arguably the best young rotation in all of baseball.
In Playoff Hunt
16. Cardinals 69-67 3rd in NL Central LW: 15
That was possibly a season killer on Sunday in Milwaukee. But with the Padres and Reds not running away the 69-67 Cardinals cannot be considered dead yet.
15. Phillies 71-66 2nd in NL East LW: 16
Thanks to the Padres August swoon the Phillies aren’t just not out of the division race, but also still in the wildcard hunt. Also have a favorable schedule left.
14. Reds 73-66 2nd in NL Central LW: 10
The Reds have picked the worst time to have the offense go into a slump. The bullpen also is not good enough, but can still sneak in if offense wakes up.
13. Braves 72-64 1st in NL East LW: 11
Austin Riley is a darkhorse NL MVP candidate. hitting .305 with 29 homeruns and an impressive 138 OPS +.
12. Padres 73-64 3rd in NL West LW: 13
The Padres got a huge series win over the Astros over the Weekend. They should be the favorites to land the 2nd wildcard spot, just too much talent here.
11. Athletics 74-63 3rd in AL West LW: 9
The A’s are doing the opposite of what we are used to seeing from them in the second half as they have fallen close to being out of the race.
10. Mariners 75-63 2nd in AL West LW: 12
The Mariners have always been an enigma. This season is no different as they are 12 games over .500 with a minus 55 run differential.
9. Blue Jays 74-62 4th in AL East LW: 14
The Blue Jays lineup is flat out the best in baseball. Their run differential also is far better than the Yankees and Red Sox, but they can’t win close games.
8. Red Sox 79-61 3rd in AL East LW: 8
The Red Sox have righted the ship after a mid season swoon. Kyle Schwarber has continued to rake since he’s arrivedin Boston, season OPS + of 150!!
7. Yankees 78-59 2nd in AL East LW: 6
Foolish of me to put the Yankees in playoffs secure in last rankings. This team is just not as good as the big names on this roster would make you think.
October here we come
6. White Sox 79-58 1st in AL Central LW: 7
The White Sox have not been playing inspiring baseball for two months now, a little bit unproven of a team to be playing with some much complacency.
5. Astros 80-57 1st in AL West LW: 5
The Astros are in good shape to clinch the AL West. With this rotation however their offense and bullpen will have to carry this team to any playoff success.
4. Brewers 84-55 1st in NL Central LW: 4
With the trio at the top of the Brewers rotation, notorious quick hook down the stretch Craig Counsell will likely shift course and trust his horses in the dance.
3. Rays 87-51 1st in AL East LW: 3
The Tampa Bay Rays do not have the big names that the Yankees and Dodgers have. Have fans that don’t care. But boy can this team flat out play baseball.
2. Dodgers 87-51 2nd in NL West LW: 2
The Dodgers were on the verge of taking over the top spot in these rankings but a series loss in San Fran keeps them at number 2, Turner/Scherzer=awesome.
1.Giants 88-50 1st in NL West LW: 1
The Giants fell out of first for a day and had a rough series against Mil. But that series win over the weekend proves hot much grit and confidence they have.