The current AL standings for the Wild Card spot are as shown above. It's a very close race with the Orioles holding a strong 2 game lead over the Red Sox and the rest of the contenders.
The Orioles have a stacked lineup from top to bottom with the power hitting of Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez. Along with the 5-tool players, Manny Machado and Adam Jones. The lineup is one of the toughest in the AL and will consistently give pitchers nightmares. The surprisng part about their playoff push so far is the pitching. With a pitching staff that starts with the ace of the staff Chris Tillman, after him the pitching is weak. To round of the staff they have Gallardo, Bundy, Gausman and Miley. Besides Bundy who has pitched great in the majors so far, this is a weak pitching staff. One of the least feared staffs in the AL, and they still hold the top wild card spot. I believe the Orioles will combust and fall out of the playoffs picture because of the weak pitching staff. But let's give credit where credit is due, the bullpen and offense have been phenomenal all year.
The Red Sox are the most interesting team in the Wild Card hunt, they have all the talent needed to win the AL but they can't seem to put it together. With the likes of Pomeranez and Abad, the trade deadline acquisitions have been AWFUL. Abad has been looking more like former Red Sox Franklin Morales than the pitcher the Red Sox traded for. Pomeranez also has pitched awfully until his last start (yesterday), where he pitched strong innings but couldn't even make it to the fifth innings. With a pitching staff of Price, Porcello, Pomeranez, Wright and Rodriguez, the Red Sox should have a formidable postseason rotation, if they can get some consistency. Now to the lineup, in my opinion, this is the most stacked top to bottom lineup in the AL. The lineup begins with the best lead off hitter (maybe just hitter) in baseball right now, Mookie Betts. With emerging stars Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr and Xander Bogaerts filling up the lineup. Not the mention with old veterans, David Ortiz (on pace for a record year), Dustin Pedrioa (a .300 hitter) and Hanley Ramirez (an aging player who has serious power). You might be wondering, why arent the Red Sox playing better baseball then? 1) because they have the most inconsistent, awful bullpen in the AL. 2) when the pitchers pitch well, the offense doesn't show up and when the offense shows up, the pitching doesn't. Very confusing team. I think they will figure it out, hopefully starting by firing John Farrell and win the top wild card spot.
For the second wild card spot, I believe the Houston Astros or the Seattle Mariners will grab that spot. I chose these teams because they both have the perfect mix of veterans (Nelson Cruz and Luis Valbuena) and young studs ( Alex Bregman/Carlos Correa and Seager/Marte). The only issue for these teams as well as the teams mention above is, consistent performances from the pitching staff and bullpen. I believe pitchers such as Dallas Kuechel and Felix Hernandez will stop struggling and pitch meaningful important games for them down the road. My prediction is the Astros win the second wild card spot, barely.
As for the other teams, any team below the Yankees in the wild card standings cannot and will not win a spot. They are all rebuilding and aren't better than the contenders.
*PS- the Tigers are the team I always find myself getting way too attached to and they end up blowing it. I think they do not that enough firepower to beat out the teams mentioned above
@belsner133
The Orioles have a stacked lineup from top to bottom with the power hitting of Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez. Along with the 5-tool players, Manny Machado and Adam Jones. The lineup is one of the toughest in the AL and will consistently give pitchers nightmares. The surprisng part about their playoff push so far is the pitching. With a pitching staff that starts with the ace of the staff Chris Tillman, after him the pitching is weak. To round of the staff they have Gallardo, Bundy, Gausman and Miley. Besides Bundy who has pitched great in the majors so far, this is a weak pitching staff. One of the least feared staffs in the AL, and they still hold the top wild card spot. I believe the Orioles will combust and fall out of the playoffs picture because of the weak pitching staff. But let's give credit where credit is due, the bullpen and offense have been phenomenal all year.
The Red Sox are the most interesting team in the Wild Card hunt, they have all the talent needed to win the AL but they can't seem to put it together. With the likes of Pomeranez and Abad, the trade deadline acquisitions have been AWFUL. Abad has been looking more like former Red Sox Franklin Morales than the pitcher the Red Sox traded for. Pomeranez also has pitched awfully until his last start (yesterday), where he pitched strong innings but couldn't even make it to the fifth innings. With a pitching staff of Price, Porcello, Pomeranez, Wright and Rodriguez, the Red Sox should have a formidable postseason rotation, if they can get some consistency. Now to the lineup, in my opinion, this is the most stacked top to bottom lineup in the AL. The lineup begins with the best lead off hitter (maybe just hitter) in baseball right now, Mookie Betts. With emerging stars Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr and Xander Bogaerts filling up the lineup. Not the mention with old veterans, David Ortiz (on pace for a record year), Dustin Pedrioa (a .300 hitter) and Hanley Ramirez (an aging player who has serious power). You might be wondering, why arent the Red Sox playing better baseball then? 1) because they have the most inconsistent, awful bullpen in the AL. 2) when the pitchers pitch well, the offense doesn't show up and when the offense shows up, the pitching doesn't. Very confusing team. I think they will figure it out, hopefully starting by firing John Farrell and win the top wild card spot.
For the second wild card spot, I believe the Houston Astros or the Seattle Mariners will grab that spot. I chose these teams because they both have the perfect mix of veterans (Nelson Cruz and Luis Valbuena) and young studs ( Alex Bregman/Carlos Correa and Seager/Marte). The only issue for these teams as well as the teams mention above is, consistent performances from the pitching staff and bullpen. I believe pitchers such as Dallas Kuechel and Felix Hernandez will stop struggling and pitch meaningful important games for them down the road. My prediction is the Astros win the second wild card spot, barely.
As for the other teams, any team below the Yankees in the wild card standings cannot and will not win a spot. They are all rebuilding and aren't better than the contenders.
*PS- the Tigers are the team I always find myself getting way too attached to and they end up blowing it. I think they do not that enough firepower to beat out the teams mentioned above
@belsner133