Did you think we would get here? With one week staying in this shortened, 60-game season, without the benefit of a bubble to keep the players totally separated from the COVID-19 infection, the 30 groups and 1,295 various players who have actually used a major league uniform in 2020 are going to make it to the end. With a mandatory quarantine date set for Wednesday, some groups will leave for the road today– packing for a journey that might encompass 50 days if they reach the World Series.
It didnt appear like we would get here after the very first weekend of the season, when the Miami Marlins had a break out in the company and after that the St. Louis Cardinals had one a few days later on. The Marlins didnt play for eight days, the Cardinals for 16, and doubleheaders piled up for those two clubs and their opponents who had their own schedules disrupted. Incredibly, both the Marlins and Cardinals go into the final week in a playoff position.
With the 16-team postseason competition looming next week, we still have a few things to choose– most significantly, which teams, particularly in the National League, will in fact get in. Heres what to enjoy these last seven days:
The National League playoff race
Jeff Roberson/AP PhotoThe Dodgers, Cubs, Braves and Padres remain in. After that, its a battle in between 6 groups for four spots; sorry, Mets fans, your team is seventh in this sprint, and its odds are slim. Look, this is a race to a. 500 record, and its not exactly reliving the NL West race from 1993. With the current talk about keeping the postseason at 16 teams, ideally this will work as a guide as to why thats a bad concept. Obviously, if your group is one of those scrambling to get in, delight in the video games. The teams and their staying schedules:
Miami Marlins (28-25, 83.4% playoff odds): at Atlanta (4 games), at Yankees (3 ). After a multitude of doubleheaders over the previous two weeks, its seven video games on the road. Theyll miss out on Gerrit Cole the last weekend, because hell be established for New Yorks very first game of the playoffs. They still have the toughest remaining schedule with the Braves and Yankees and a pitching staff that has been vulnerable to blowout games (like Sundays 15-0 loss).
From the video games that matter most to what the matches would be if the season ended today, we get you all set for baseballs wild sprint to the finish.MLB Playoff Push ”
St. Louis Cardinals (26-24, 80.4%): at Kansas City (3 ), vs. Milwaukee (5 ): The Milwaukee series consists of a Friday doubleheader. The Cardinals will have played 53 games in 44 days– thanks to 11 doubleheaders– which only gets them to 58 video games played. If it affects the playoff race– which is most likely, a last doubleheader against the Tigers will be played on Monday.
Philadelphia Phillies (27-26, 73.7%): at Washington (4 ), at Tampa Bay (3 ): The good news is the Rays will be establishing their rotation for the playoffs, so the Phillies will most likely miss both Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. The Phillies also are fighting injuries, without Rhys Hoskins and hoping J.T. Realmuto makes it back into the lineup on Monday. Their 2 aces, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, are scheduled to go Monday and Tuesday, so they would be prepared to go on Saturday and Sunday if required. The Phillies hope Nola will not need to make that final start and instead be ready for the first game of the postseason.
Cincinnati Reds (27-27, 52.2%): vs. Milwaukee (3 ), at Minnesota (3 ): A six-game winning streak last week got the Reds back into the mix, however there are no Pirates matchups left on their schedule. Luis Castillo will begin Monday, so hell get two starts in the last week, however Trevor Bauer wont pitch again until Friday– lining him up for Game 1 of the wild-card round if the Reds make it.
Milwaukee Brewers (26-26, 58.6%): at Cincinnati (3 ), at St. Louis (5 ): Your enjoyable fact of the day: The Brewers may make the playoffs in spite of not being over.500 at any point of the season. They began 0-1 and have been 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 5-5, 10-10, 11-11 and now 26-26 after winning four in a row.
San Francisco Giants (26-26, 42.7%): vs. Colorado (4 ), vs. San Diego (4 ): They get 4 at home, consisting of a Friday doubleheader against the Padres. Theyre 6-16 against the Dodgers, Padres and As, but they went 8-2 versus Arizona and 4-0 against Seattle.
The Marlins are the surprise story of the season, provided their 57-105 record in 2015 and how they needed to scramble simply to fill their roster; theyve used an incredible 61 players this season– 11 more than they utilized in 2015 in 162 games.
The Reds are the group the Dodgers do not wish to deal with in the best-of-three first round, although theyre striking simply.212. Bauer and Castillo can close down any lineup and send even the Dodgers home early. The Brewers also have a hard time at the plate, but they suddenly have a formidable one-two punch, also, in Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff, plus the one-two bullpen punch of Devin Williams and Josh Hader.
The American League playoff race
The eight teams are quite much set here; its simply a matter of what order they end up. The Rays, White Sox and As lead their departments, with the Rays and White Sox resting on 19 losses and the As at 20, so any of them might get the No. 1 seed. Thats not necessarily a huge factor considering that everybody will be using the roadway after the initial wild-card series; but with the Indians the likely No. 7 seed, you actually dont desire to complete with the No. 2 seed and need to deal with Shane Bieber in your first playoff video game.
2 RelatedThe Yankees and Twins appear like they will face each other, too, which is bad news for the Twins. The Twins have lost 16 championship game in a row returning to 2004, 13 of them to the Yankees. No, the 2020 Twins do not care what occurred in 2004, but numerous will remember last years sweep or the loss in the 2017 wild-card game. The Yankees likewise are fuming again at the correct time, with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both back, Gerrit Cole back in a groove and J.A. Happ on a roll (1.93 ERA over his previous 6 starts). For what its worth, the Yankees (21-7) and the Twins (21-5) have actually both been excellent at home, and that first-round series is played at the greater seeds home arena.
The NL MVP race
A couple of weeks ago, Fernando Tatis Jt. had this one locked up; however over his previous 12 games, he has struck.125 without any home runs and two RBIs. It now looks like a four-player race:
Tatis:.275/.366/.565, 15 HR, 40 RBI, 47 R, 2.55 WAR, 1.1 WPAManny Machado:.316/.378/.607, 16 HR, 46 RBI, 41 R, 2.8 WAR, 0.8 WPAFreddie Freeman:.346/.464/.634, 11 HR, 48 RBI, 46 R, 2.7 WAR, 2.1 WPAMookie Betts:.303/.376/.597, 16 HR, 39 RBI, 42 R, 2.85 WAR, 2.1 WPA
MLBs 60-game regular-season sprint is boiling down to the wire. Catch the enjoyment on ESPN.
Tuesday, Sept. 22Yankees at Blue Jays, 6:30 p.m.Athletics at Dodgers, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 23Cardinals at Royals, 8 p.m.
On ESPN and the ESPN App; all times ET.Don t have ESPN? Get immediate gain access to.
WAR here is the average of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference flavors of wins above replacement, and WPA is win likelihood included from Baseball-Reference. Both are the overalls getting in Sunday.
Tatis might still be the preferred because he has gotten the most attention this season: Sometimes the story trumps the stats, especially in an otherwise close race, and Tatis owns the story with his mix of youth, enjoyment, design and power-speed combination.
What leaps out, nevertheless, is that Freeman and Betts have the much greater WPA than the two Padres hitters. Here is each players performance in high-leverage scenarios, when games are closest:
Tatis:.306/.375/.694, 3 HR, 15 RBIs in 40 PAMachado:.263/.362/.605, 4 HR, 17 RBIs in 47 PAFreeman:.333/.500/.633, 2 HR, 16 RBIs in 40 PABetts:.314/.385/.543, 2 HR, 11 RBIs in 39 PA
. Betts struck.429 versus the Padres, the group the Dodgers fought for the NL West title. Machado likewise struggled against the Dodgers, while killing the AL West (.414, 24 RBIs in 17 video games).
I believe Tatis probably remains the small favorite. Freeman is surging late, a lot of the clutch data go in his favor and that big edge in batting average over Tatis might assist– and the 2 Padres could split the vote.
The AL MVP race.
This feels like a three-player field and is made more complicated by the truth that one of them is a pitcher and two of them are teammates:.
Jose Abreu:.335/.381/.651, 18 HR, 53 RBIs, 39 R, 2.7 WAR, 1.6 WPATim Anderson:.360/.395/.601, 10 HR, 21 RBIs, 43 R, 2.45 WAR, 0.7 WPAShane Bieber: 8-1, 1.74 ERA, 72.1 IP, 44 H, 112 SO, 2.95 WAR, 2.8 WPA.
The stretch is on! How real are your teams postseason hopes with simply weeks delegated go? ESPN+ MLB Stock Watch “.
Abreu might lead the AL in RBIs for the second straight year– he is driving in Anderson much of the time– and is 2nd to Luke Voit in home runs and slugging portion. Abreu also is the team leader of the enhanced and young White Sox and an important coach to the Latino gamers such as Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada.
As good as Abreu has actually been, you need to really control as a first baseman. And no gamer in the AL has dominated quite like Bieber. Since the Indians dont score many runs, he has had to be this excellent. He has actually won 3 video games by 2-0 ratings, hasnt enabled more than three runs in any start and has actually held batters to a. 171 average with a 40.6% strikeout rate that would be the all-time record for a starting pitcher. (My take is that although Bieber will certify under 2020 standards, his record shouldnt stand as the single-season mark.).
Anyhow, since of the schedule, Bieber has actually dealt with the White Sox simply when, getting a no-decision when he allowed three runs in 6 innings. In fact, Abreu hit among the 2 home runs off him that game. The groups do play today, and Bieber is set up to pitch on Tuesday. Maybe that contest will figure out the MVP race.
Tim Anderson chasing after another batting title.
With just 60 games on the schedule and 16 groups headed to the playoffs, the races are intense.MLB standings “.
Newest MLB Power Rankings “.
The White Sox shortstop was one of the most unlikely batting title winners in history in 2015, hitting.335 after entering the season with a career mark of.258. Absolutely nobody anticipated him to win once again, considering his ultra-aggressive method at the plate (he walked 15 times all of 2019) and a. 399 BABIP.
Well, hes doing it once again, with his.360 average trailing only DJ LeMahieus.361 mark. Anderson does not have elite exit speed, but he strikes line drives, his ground balls discover holes and he is tied for the MLB lead with 11 infield hits. He is a little bit like Ichiro– though Anderson strikes the ball harder and has more power– in that he has a special design and method that might not work for anyone else.
Of course, if your group is one of those rushing to get in, enjoy the games. After a multitude of doubleheaders over the past two weeks, its seven games on the road. The Cardinals will have played 53 games in 44 days– thanks to 11 doubleheaders– and that just gets them to 58 video games played. Thats not necessarily a huge factor given that everyone will be playing on the roadway after the preliminary wild-card series; however with the Indians the most likely No. 7 seed, you actually dont want to complete with the No. 2 seed and have to deal with Shane Bieber in your very first playoff game.
The Twins have actually lost 16 playoff games in a row going back to 2004, 13 of them to the Yankees.
