The Major League Baseball calendar is about to hit September and that means playoff and wild card races will really start to get hot and with some already locked up, the most focus will be on the American League East, American League West, National League Central as well as the final two spots in both leagues.
With the new Wild Card system having two teams making the playoffs, more clubs than ever are in the running and in the American League the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics currently have the top two spots, while no less than four teams are still somewhat alive in the race. The American League wild card is a bit tighter than in the National League and behind the A's and Rays right now are the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians at four games behind the second spot, the New York Yankees at five games and the Kansas City Royals at six games. After that there is a steep drop-off to the Los Angeles Angels, who are a mere 14.5 games back in the playoff hunt despite signing Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols over the past two seasons.
The rest of the American League is in no place to be making a run and everyone under the Royals likely will be finishing under .500, including the Mariners, Angels, Blue Jays and White Sox. The National League Wild Card and the National League Central have been connected all through the summer and a similar situation is going on in the AL with the East. The Pittsburgh Pirates were leading the NL Central for a while this summer, but the Cardinals pulled ahead again and now the Pirates and Cincinnati Reds have the two spots in the NL.
Right now it appears that the three NL Central teams at the top are most likely to get into the playoffs, as the Arizona Diamondbacks are six games behind, while the Washington Nationals are 6.5 games back in the wild card race. The next closest team is the Rockies at 12.5 games and behind that are hopeless teams, including the Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Marlins and Mets. The Boston red Sox have been battling the Rays all summer and now have a three game lead in the division, while the Orioles are likely too far out at 7.5 games.
In the American League Central, the Detroit Tigers have a commanding 6.5 game lead right now over the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals are 8.5 games out and would need some luck to get into the race. The American League West is close and competitive like it was last season and now Texas is in first place over the A's after Oakland was in the top spot for a nice amount of the summer. The Angels have been a huge disappointment and so have the Nationals, as they sit 13 games behind the Braves in the NL East after winning the division last season. The Dodgers are also leading out West with a 9.5 game lead and are sitting pretty.
Predictions:
American League
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Detroit Tigers
West: Oakland Athletics
Wild Cards: Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays
National League
East: Atlanta Braves, obviously
Central: St. Louis Cardinals
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds