There is just a week of MLB regular-season action left, and drama is really heating up about which baseball teams will make the postseason, especially in the American League. Currently, there is a tie for the final Wild Card spot. Additionally, teams that looked like shoo-ins to win their respective divisions are no longer safe. So how does the AL playoff picture stack up with playoff action starting up in just over a week?
American League divisional leaders
Toronto Blue Jays, American League East, 90-66
Seattle Mariners, American League West, 87-69
Detroit Tigers, American League Central, 85-71
The Detroit Tigers spent a lot of the regular season as the best team in baseball. A top-two seed, and therefore a first-round bye, seemed like a certainty until recently. Now, Detroit has lost six straight games and have gone 1-9 over their last 10. They still lead the American League Central, but a divisional title is no longer a lock. A Wild Card berth isn't a guarantee at this point, either.
While the Tigers are fading, the Seattle Mariners are getting hot. Seattle is 9-1 over their last 10 games, and their excellent trade deadline performance is clearly paying off. The team traded for Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, both of whom have brought the influx of power that the team desperately needed. Cal Raleigh just might be the AL MVP, and Julio Rodriguez is playing like one of the best players in MLB.
The Toronto Blue Jays have the best record in the AL, though. The team is battling the injury bug right now, and it is starting to show in the standings. They underwent a recent mini losing streak that included a 20-1 loss. Bo Bichette is currently sidelined, and Chris Bassitt was just added to the 15-day Injured List.
American League Wild Card
New York Yankees, 88-68
Boston Red Sox, 85-71
Cleveland Guardians, 84-72
Houston Astros, 84-72
Only three teams will clinch Wild Card spots in the AL. There is currently a tie for the sixth and final Wild Card spot between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians. The Astros were a divisional leader not long ago, but they have been trending the wrong way ever since the Framber Valdez-Cesar Salazar scandal.
The Guardians, meanwhile, had won 10 straight games before losing to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Considering the team was down in the standings by as many as 11 games during the month of September, if they leapfrog the Tigers and win the division, they will have overcome the largest deficit within the final month of play ever.
Two AL East teams, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, are in a good spot to clinch Wild Card spots as the Guardians are more likely to win the AL Central than supplant New York or Boston in Wild Card positioning. If the Guardians and Astros remain in a tie, Cleveland would take the tiebreaker over Houston. They also have the tiebreaker with the Tigers for the AL Central race.
AL teams in the hunt
Texas Rangers, 79-77
Kansas City Royals, 78-78
The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals are the two teams in the playoff hunt that have neither been eliminated from contention nor are currently projected to make the playoffs. In all likelihood, neither team will make the playoffs. Something wild would have to happen over the final week of the regular season for that to happen. The Rangers were hot not long ago, but they collapsed at the wrong time and have lost seven straight games.
AL teams eliminated from playoff contention
Tampa Bay Rays, 76-80
Athletics, 73-83
Baltimore Orioles, 73-83
Los Angeles Angels, 70-86
Minnesota Twins, 67-89
Chicago White Sox, 58-98
The Tampa Bay Rays, Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox are all already eliminated from postseason contention. All of these teams have something to look forward to in the future, though. Young and exciting cores and impressive farm systems could lead to all of these teams contending for the playoffs as soon as next season.
