September has arrived and it is an exciting time for Major League Baseball. Teams in playoff contention are competing to win divisional crowns as well as the two wild card spots in both the American and National League. Teams who have been eliminated are playing to spoil the chances of their division foes making it to the playoffs.
The AL East features four teams in playoff contention. In first place are the Boston Red Sox, who hold the division lead over the second place hometown Tampa Bay Rays by a comfortable margin (The Rays also hold the second place wild card spot in the AL). In third place are the New York Yankees. The Yankees appear to be out of the running for the division title behind Boston but are on the heels of the Rays for the second wild card spot. Finally, the fourth place Baltimore Orioles are neck and neck with the Yankees and also within striking distance of the Rays for the wild card. Both the Yankees and Orioles have a chance to play in the wild card play-in game. This play-in game includes the better wild card team hosting the other wild card team, currently the Rays. This is one of the most exciting races in all of baseball.
Praver’s Pick: The Red Sox have this division in the bag! Their young talent has impressed many fans around the league this season, including performances from starting pitcher Felix Doubront, who holds a 10-6 record, and third baseman Will Middlebrooks, who despite hitting an abysmal .234 average this season, has been exceptionally hot of late, hitting .348 AVG with 2 home runs and 7 RBI’s in his last seven games. The Rays are out of the running for the division crown, sitting too far behind Boston with 23 games left in the regular season.
The AL Central division features the first place Detroit Tigers, who, similarly to the Red Sox, sit comfortably ahead of the second place team in their division, the Cleveland Indians. Behind the Tigers and the Indians are the Kansas City Royals, who hold the third place spot. The Tigers have won the division two consecutive years, mainly due to the fact that they have an incredible pitching staff and incredible hitting talent. Their team features Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, outstanding pitcher Max Scherzer, who leads the entire league with 19 wins, and MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera’s 2013 statistics include a .355 AVG, which leads the AL, 43 HR’s, which is second in the AL behind Orioles’ slugger Chris Davis, and he leads the league in RBIs as well. If he passes Davis in Home Runs, Cabrera will repeat as a Triple Crown winner.
Praver’s Pick: The Indians and Royals both do not have nearly the amount of talent that the Tigers have. Tigers run away with this one.
In the AL West, currently in first place are the Texas Rangers, who hold a narrow lead over the second place Oakland Athletics. The Rangers are loaded with quality pitchers Yu Darvish, Matt Garza and Derek Holland. Darvish has a 12-7 record with an outstanding 2.91 ERA and leads the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 240. The A’s are also loaded with good pitching, including starters Bartolo Colon (14-6 with a 2.90 ERA); and Jarrod Parker (11-6 with a 3.57 ERA); as well as relievers Jerry Blevins (5-0 with a 3.57 ERA) and Ryan Cook, (6-3 with a very impressive 2.07 ERA).
Praver’s Pick: These two teams are almost identical in talent. The team with the easier schedule for the remaining 22-23 games will win the division. The A’s have remaining games against the lowly Astros, Twins twice, Rangers, Angels twice and the Mariners. The Rangers, on the other hand, face the Pirates, A’s, Rays, Royals, Astros and Angels. With exception to Texas, the A’s are playing teams among the worst in the league. The A’s win their second consecutive AL West title.
Now to the National League: In the NL East, the Atlanta Braves, who are well ahead of the second place Washington Nationals, have already won the division (not mathematically, but close to an elimination).
Praver’s Pick: The Atlanta Braves. They are filled with talent, including first baseman Freddie Freeman, a NL MVP candidate, who is hitting .306 AVG, 19 HR’s and 94 RBI’s; third baseman Chris Johnson, whose .330 AVG is among the league leaders; outfielder Justin Upton, who has hit 24 HR’s; young pitcher Julio Teheran, who is 11-7 with a 3.01 ERA; and arguably the top closer in the NL, Craig Kimbrel, who has a league leading 44 saves and a 3-2 record along with an exceptional 0.94 ERA. This team has the right tools to go a long way into the postseason.
The NL Central has the most exciting divisional race in all of baseball. As of today, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have not had a winning season (82 wins) since 1992, lead the second place St. Louis Cardinals by 1.5 games and the third place Cincinnati Reds by 3 games. The Pirates made a splash this past week by acquiring two impact players, Marlon Byrd from the Mets and Justin Morneau from the Twins, both of whom are batting for high averages with the Pirates. The Cardinals, in addition to the Pirates, have a lot of depth in their lineup, including catcher Yadier Molina, second baseman Matt Carpenter and right fielder Carlos Beltran. The Reds, more so than the Cardinals, also have a lot of depth in their lineup, including second baseman Brandon Phillips, first baseman Joey Votto, center fielder Shin-Soo Choo and right fielder Jay Bruce.
Praver’s Pick: Most of the nation’s baseball fans would like to see the Pirates reach the playoffs this year. This would be a great story for the MLB because this franchise has been the worst out of the 30 teams for the past 20 years. However, I do not think the Pirates will win the division––the Cardinals will. They have the easiest schedule of the three teams and after this weekend’s series against the Pirates, they are done with matchups against the Pirates and the Reds. The Pirates and Reds face each other for six games, and let’s figure that each team will win three games and lose three games against each other, which means that they will have gained nothing on St. Louis as their path to the end of the season is as easy as it gets.
In the NL West, similarly to the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a large divisional lead. They are currently well ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Praver’s Pick: The Dodgers. They are rolling and will not lose many games in September. Since being called-up mid-season by the Dodgers, Yasiel Puig has hit for a .350 AVG, 14 HR’s and 32 RBI’s. In addition, standout pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke have been dominant. Kershaw and Greinke both have 14 wins and 1.89 and 2.78 ERAs, respectively.
Praver’s AL Wild Card Picks: The Texas Rangers will finish at the number one wild card spot and the Tampa Bay Rays at number two. In the play-in game, the Rays will travel to Texas to play the Rangers. This will be a tough game for the Rays to win on the road. The Rays lack big name hitters in their lineup that could hit well off of a Texas Ranger pitcher at home. The Rangers have a more reliable selection of hitters than the Rays do and will send them home to miss the postseason. Rangers move on to face the number one seed.
Praver’s NL Wild Card Picks: The Pittsburgh Pirates will finish at the number one wild card spot and the Cincinnati Reds at number two. The Reds will travel to Pittsburgh right after the Reds host the Pirates to end the season. No matter who pitches for the Pirates, I think the Reds will outscore the Pirates due to their very loaded lineup. Votto, Phillips, Choo, Bruce and company will be too much for McCutchen, Alvarez, Byrd, Morneau and the rest as the Reds go on to face the top team in the National League.
After all of these races end, October will have arrived. However, we must first enjoy the madness and excitement of baseball in September before thinking about the playoffs and the World Series.