“Who Would You Rather Be?” MLB Postseason Edition

Now that the Trade Deadline is definitively behind us don’t think of August leading toward September as the dog days; think of this month as the acceleration ramp.

The front offices have definitively decided whether they’re gunning for the postseason or not, and the capitalization on the field from those moves or non-moves in this “stretch before the home stretch” is monumental and can turn seasons around since that was the initial hope.

There are incredible races to keep track of throughout the rest of the year to configure the playoff.

It’s one thing actually to be in the lead, but it’s another to have positive energy and momentum going forward.

Let’s take a look at some of the best races and decide who we’d rather be for the remainder of the year.

Who would you rather be wearing a jersey of? Who is going to have a positive aura? Who’s a fan base that can say, “We can see a path?” and is on the upswing?

Arizona Diamondbacks or San Diego Padres?

The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Padres are in uniquely similar situations: both underperformed or had injuries to start the year in an NL West that already had the Dodgers. However, they’ve both gotten healthier, made additions at the deadline, and gone 8-2 to start after the All-Star break, and they are separated by just half a game.

The case to be made for the Diamondbacks is that while Christian Walker is on the IL, Josh Bell stepped in seamlessly as a replacement with a couple of homers off waivers in his position. Corbin Carroll put up his best slugging percentage last month as we’ve worried about his health all season and he may have his power back, and they’ll be getting Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly back from injury to round out the starting rotation. The issue for the Diamondbacks is the unreliability of the closer role, which has major meltdown potential despite the new addition of AJ Puk.

The Padres, meanwhile, seem to be peaking and getting healthier at the right time, and the vibes are incredibly high. Sweeping the Dodgers for the first time in 14 years with Dylan Cease throwing a no-hitter to end the month, arguably winning the trade deadline by going out and getting Martin Perez and Tanner Scott, and the likely end-of-year return of Fernando Tatis Jr., Joe Musgrove, and Yu Darvish makes it feel like the arrow is only swinging upwards. The moves that they made from AJ Preller in the past have told us that they believe they can take aim at the NL Pennant, and it’s certainly starting to look like it in the clubhouse. They do end the season with back-to-back series against the Dodgers and Arizona to end the season, which will be the defining week, but they’ll have the White Sox to ramp up confidence before then!

Verdict: Padres

Houston Astros or Seattle Mariners?

While the Astros were once dead in the water, a dynasty that was finally aging and ushering in a new era, the Mariners and their best rotation in baseball got off to a 10-game lead in the AL West despite having the worst offense in baseball.

And just like that, the Astros made up the 10-game deficit in the fewest-needed games in baseball history to catch them for the lead.

The Mariners may have been the most miserable first-place team during that stretch, with franchise players Julio Rodriguez and JP Crawford having career-low years before being put on the IL, DFA’ing former All-Star Ty France, and losing some of the most miserable games that would have been winnable with any sort of run support for their rotation. By addressing the offensive need at the deadline and adding vibes bats to the clubhouse in Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner, they’ve scored at least 6 runs in their first 7 games since then to show some life. With Julio and JP back on the way, they’ll also get to end the year with 10 total games against the A’s and Angels.

However, as Ashanti once said, it’s all about trust.

The AL West belongs to the Astros until we’re proven otherwise, and they’ve been able to withstand a pitching situation that has been shaky at best all season, an injured Kyle Tucker, Luis Garcia, and Justin Verlander, who will be coming back, and made up that ground like a shark in pursuit just as they did on Texas to end the regular season last year. Tucker will look to be returning for the postseason by September, and Verlander and Garcia rounding out the rotation will add a spark. Just as we labeled them a trade deadline loser for the price they paid to get Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays, he threw an 11-strikeout outing. Houston is Michael Myers returning from the dead after we’ve buried him.

Verdict: Astros

Baltimore Orioles or New York Yankees?

Baltimore and the Yankees have been exchanging blows both in the standings and on the field all season at the top of the AL East and are tied. While the Yankees felt a sense of urgency to add and build around the two behemoths they have in Judge and Soto by adding Jazz Chisholm and getting back Stanton and Rizzo from injury, the Orioles, for the most part, stood pat instead of taking a huge swing with their assets- despite the brutal Jordan Westburg injury,  they like their young core and called up both Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday so that the kids get some reps in before playoff baseball. The depth and the connectivity of the kids were seen as more valuable despite being less proven.

Both teams are struggling at the same time this part of the season- Baltimore had a stretch where they went 1-5 with inexcusable losses to the Marlins and also had the Guardians put up an offensive clinic on them in a series that should have been showcasing the American League’s best. Meanwhile, the Yankees, in their worst month of the season (only outperforming the White Sox!), have had Gerrit Cole miss starts from “fatigue,” Juan Soto make questionable comments about the team’s ability to build around him and Judge, and the PR Circus that was Aaron Boone yelling and benching Gleyber Torres for his lack of hustle.

Plain and simply, there’s an added pressure to winning as the Yankees, particularly with Juan Soto in a contract year, and the addition of Jazz has helped with his multiple homers since being added, but the depth of Baltimore, in spite of it being young and unproven, is going to go a long way in October, and their “college team”-esque bonding is going to pay dividends to keep the momentum and vibes high. They have a brutal stretch of the Red Sox, Mets, Astros, and Dodgers in a row, but they get to round it out with the Rockies, White Sox, and Rays afterward. New York will be a pressure cooker, whereas the Orioles still feel young and playing with house money going at the Goliath of sports conglomerates. Just take a look at their homer hose and the splash zone in Birdland for proof.

Verdict: Orioles

Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, or Kansas City Royals?

The rotating cast of characters that are battling out for the second and third AL Wild Card spots has been fascinating since the beginning of the year. The Twins were the reigning AL Central champions that elected not to buy this offseason because of financial restraints and the confidence they already had in the team. The Royals and Red Sox were both projected to be at the bottom of their divisions, yet they both have overperformed and have had some of the best “thanks for doubting us to start the year” chip on their shoulders all year.

The Twins, it will come down to whether or not you believe in the health of the team. Plain and simply, Royce Lewis has played 34 games this year. Carlos Correa has played 75 and is still currently injured. Byron Buxton has surprisingly been reliable and available but has to consistently be wrapped in bubble wrap in order to avoid the fear of losing someone who many compared to Mike Trout. The highs of the Twins are unbelievably high with the deepest lineup of the three teams, and Bailey Ober has looked like an ace going 4-1 deep into games over his last five starts. However, the lows are ugly and may include Pablo Lopez throwing meatball pitches for home runs over the plate rather than striking out 14 Oakland A’s players. The swings have created distrust despite being the most talented “on-paper” team, and they have the 5th-most difficult strength of schedule left with 8 games against Cleveland.

Kansas City’s schedule is even harder—7 against Cleveland, 6 against the Twins, and a series with the Braves, Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox. The Royals have had to rely on their starting rotation all season, Bobby Witt Jr., and the skin of their teeth.

And it’s worked!

Bobby Witt Jr. has played his way to the point where the debate about an AL MVP between him and Judge is a conversation because of his defensive and offensive skills together. His Julu was absolutely historic with a 489/.520/.833 split and went superhuman. It’s elevated the players like Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia who bat around him since he simply can’t be walked every time, right?

The Red Sox started the year as the darling by getting clowned online from their “full throttle” offseason to having a pitching rotation that was turned around with their magician pitching coach, Andrew Bailey. Both Rafael Devers and Jarren Duran look like cornerstone franchise players, with Devers being the slugging thunder and All-Star MVP Duran being the hit-leading lightning.

There still remains a lack of trust in the Red Sox despite how incredible Alex Cora has been as a manager, as seen by the massive payday he got. The Sox play in Fenway is unbelievably volatile, as their pitching comes in and shells them, and having to pick up James Paxton doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence. Tanner Houck has looked like an ace, but the lack of depth has prevented them from keeping up what they unlocked to start the year, and has fallen to the middle of the pack. The Sox also have had 3 win streaks longer than two games since the beginning of July, and it feels like they’ve just had a valiant effort of plugging up holes in the boat until now on a team that has surprisingly turned it around.

Unbelievably, the vibes are with Kansas City for the remainder of the year.

Verdict: Royals

PHOTO: ClutchPoints