1
|
Phillies
|
Once a team gets its magic number lower than the lead in the division (by games), it’s pretty much over. As such, that late comeback Saturday over the Mets very likely sealed the deal.
|
1
|
90-59
|
2
|
Yankees
|
The Great Judge Home Run Drought is over!
|
1
|
87-63
|
3
|
Brewers
|
Jackson Chourio became the youngest to ever reach the 20-20 plateau this past week, barely beating out Mike Trout and Vada Pinson.
|
1
|
86-63
|
4
|
Dodgers
|
It’s certainly possible for them to scrape together a playoff rotation and then win the World Series. It’s not like we’ve necessarily seen staffs full of aces in the Fall Classic these last several seasons.
|
3
|
88-61
|
5
|
Guardians
|
It’s gotten lost in the shuffle with monster seasons from others, but José Ramírez has an outside shot at 40-40. He’s one stolen base and five homers away. The only other players to ever even go 30-30 in Cleveland franchise history were Joe Carter (1987) and Grady Sizemore (2008). Ramírez also did it in 2018.
|
1
|
86-64
|
6
|
Padres
|
It is very unlikely they can pull off the NL West title, but it remains possible. Zero in on that schedule. This coming weekend, the Padres get the White Sox three times. Sweep that and then they’ll get three chances in Dodger Stadium to take care of business on their own.
|
2
|
85-65
|
7
|
Diamondbacks
|
Since they got really hot, it has felt like the Diamondbacks were safely in the playoffs and, if anything, were fighting for seeding. Things are still a little tenuous, though, as they are only two up on both the Mets and Braves. How cruel would it be if the D-backs missed the playoffs with 90ish wins after making a World Series run with 84 last season?
|
—
|
83-66
|
8
|
Orioles
|
Fresh off a 2-4 week, at least the Orioles get to head home. I suppose the mantra has to be to keep the AL East margin within three games before next week’s trip to New York City. It’s exactly three right now.
|
3
|
84-66
|
9
|
Astros
|
As he continues to re-acclimate himself after a three-plus month absence, Kyle Tucker had two hits Thursday and a home run Saturday.
|
2
|
81-68
|
10
|
Royals
|
Remember when Matt Harvey refused to come out of the game and the Royals stormed back, including an excellent baserunning play at third base by Eric Hosmer. Of course the K.C. faithful remember that! It was Game 5 of the 2015 World Series. I bring this up because it was the most recent playoff game that featured the Royals. Barring an epic collapse, that is about to change.
|
—
|
82-68
|
11
|
Mets
|
The names do not immediately scream “ace,” but it’s gotten to the point that Sean Manaea and David Peterson have to be considered a pair of frontline starters heading toward the playoffs.
|
2
|
81-68
|
12
|
Braves
|
Fascinating free agency coming up for Max Fried. He’ll be 31 next year and has dealt with several injuries the past two seasons. We’ve seen the ace upside, though. I wouldn’t expect a Braves extension, so it should be a fun rumor season.
|
—
|
81-68
|
13
|
Tigers
|
Give the Tigers a ton of credit for getting right into this AL wild-card race. They have a huge week in front of them, with three games in Kansas City before three in Baltimore. If they can emerge in good shape, that final week looks to provide a soft landing with the Rays and White Sox visiting Detroit.
|
1
|
77-73
|
14
|
Mariners
|
When a team narrowly misses the playoffs — and it looks like things are headed that way again — we can look back at head-to-head matchups and see where wins were left on the table. The Mariners went 5-8 against the Angels and lost two of three to the Marlins. They definitely want some of those 10 losses back.
|
1
|
77-73
|
15
|
Twins
|
On Saturday night, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis were all in the Twins lineup together. This is news because it was the first time this happened since July 2. The Twins do have big upside if they could just keep everyone healthy. It just doesn’t feel like they can pull off the health part at this point.
|
2
|
79-70
|
16
|
Cubs
|
Late in April, I pointed out that the Cubs had already blown four games that they should have won, pointing out that it could come back to bite them. They are five games out of a playoff spot right now. I make this point not to toot my own horn but to illustrate how much the early-season games can matter, even if it feels by now like they didn’t.
|
—
|
76-73
|
17
|
Red Sox
|
Tyler O’Neill has 31 homers and 61 RBI. The lowest RBI total for a 30-plus HR season is 59 (Curtis Granderson in 2016, Jedd Gyorko in 2016, Kyle Schwarber in 2017 and Cedric Mullins in 2021). Before this season, there had only been 19 instances of a player topping 30 homers and not getting to 70 RBI.
|
1
|
75-75
|
18
|
Cardinals
|
The Cardinals have gone 2-6 in Erick Fedde starts since acquiring him in front of the trade deadline.
|
1
|
74-75
|
19
|
Reds
|
Encouraging stuff from Rhett Lowder so far, giving the Reds a ton of young rotation talent moving into 2025. Now can they get full, healthy, consistent seasons from Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott behind Hunter Greene?
|
3
|
73-78
|
20
|
Blue Jays
|
Bowden Francis has now taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning twice. In his last six outings, he has a 1.26 ERA, but perhaps more impressive? He’s only allowed 13 hits in 43 innings.
|
3
|
72-78
|
21
|
Rays
|
The Rays last had a losing season in 2017, at 80-82. That means we’re about to see the worst Rays record since 2016.
|
1
|
73-77
|
22
|
Giants
|
On Sunday, the Giants scored a run in the sixth inning. That normally wouldn’t be news, but it broke a 32-inning scoreless streak, the fourth-longest in franchise history. That’s a franchise that goes back to 1883.
|
1
|
72-78
|
23
|
Pirates
|
In the Wild Card era (1995-present), here’s a list of rookies with at least 150 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.50: Jose Fernandez, Paul Skenes. That’s it, as long as Skenes keeps that 2.10 ERA low enough.
|
1
|
71-78
|
24
|
Rangers
|
It was really cool seeing Kumar Rocker and Jacob deGrom start back-to-back nights, both throwing well.
|
5
|
71-79
|
25
|
Nationals
|
Youngster James Wood hit two homers on Sunday for the first multi-homer game of his career. He’s shown a lot of great signs here in the second half as a 21 year old and looks like a future star.
|
—
|
68-81
|
26
|
Athletics
|
Win a series over the Astros and then lose one to the White Sox. Sure, why not? Our baseball is a fickle game.
|
—
|
65-85
|
27
|
Angels
|
The Angels haven’t finished in last place since 1999, if you can believe that. They are headed that way here in 2024.
|
—
|
60-89
|
28
|
Rockies
|
Catcher Hunter Goodman had a seven-RBI game on Friday. It was only the second time in history a Rockies catcher pulled off such a feat (Elias Díaz did so in 2022).
|
1
|
57-93
|
29
|
Marlins
|
Xavier Edwards is showing some promise. Through 59 games this season, the diminutive switch hitter has a .324 average, .395 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases. He’s only 25 and could be a foundational piece.
|
1
|
55-95
|
30
|
White Sox
|
The win Saturday night, which the White Sox tried to blow, snapped a 16-game home losing streak. And then they won again on Sunday!
|
—
|
35-115
|
