End Of Season (Week 20-21) Preview
Aug 13, 2018 14:01:52 GMT -5
Padres GM (Noah) and Rays GM like this
Post by White Sox GM (Michael) on Aug 13, 2018 14:01:52 GMT -5
There are two weeks left in our regular season, yet plenty of playoff spots are still up for grabs. Let's look at the races still up for grabs.
American League
Current seeding:
1. Astros
2. Twins
3. Orioles
4. White Sox
5. Tigers
Central
Wild Card
The Central is the only AL division with a real race, and even that one is a tough climb for the White Sox. They sit 5 games back and must face the Pirates and Rangers, while the Twins get the A's and Indians.
The race for the second Wild Card is by far the AL's most exciting, with four teams falling within 10 games of each other. The Blue Jays are also included here due to a final week matchup vs. the Red Sox. Here are the remaining schedules:
Tigers vs. Royals, Mariners
Rays vs. Nationals, Orioles
Mariners vs. Astros, Tigers
A's vs. Twins, Royals
Blue Jays vs. Padres, Red Sox
All five teams here are facing at least one contender in the final two weeks, with the Rays and Mariners both facing two. Tigers has a slim hold of the lead and probably faces the easiest schedule, so they're presumably the favorites for the Wild Card. Even then, it's hard to say any team here has even a 50% chance of taking the final playoff spot.
National League
Current seeding:
1. Pirates
2. Giants
3. Mets
4. Cubs
5. Padres
East
Wild Card
The NL East will come down to the wire, with bitter rivals Mets and Nationals fighting to be kings of the league's weakest division.
Mets vs. Braves, Nationals
Nationals vs. Rays, Mets
Neither team has an easy opponent before going into a Week 21 head-to-head showdown. It'll be interesting to see how the teams manage when they aren't able to trade future draft picks away for 2 starts from garbage pitchers on Sunday.
The race for the second Wild Card spot is again super competitive here, with three teams tightly bunched up and a fourth dark horse.
Padres vs. Blue Jays, Giants
Reds vs. Phillies, Yankees
Nationals vs. Rays, Mets
Cardinals vs. Angels, Brewers
The Reds could easily be the leaders after an easy Week 20 matchup vs. the Phillies, and the Cardinals could get back into it with a proper dickstomping of the Angels (easier said than done). The Nationals may have the toughest schedule here, but they have two shots at the playoffs with the Wild Card or AL East crown. The Padres also have two difficult matchups, but have a few games of cushion above their opponents.
Pick Race!!
The core 4 are more or less set in their spots, but the Angels could hop the Phillies if they do poorly enough. The Phillies' pick is owned by the Brewers.
The rest of the top 15 (team that owns pick is in parentheses):
5. Marlins
6. Indians
7. Brewers (CIN)
8. Rangers
9. Royals (BOS)
10. Dodgers (SEA)
11. Yankees
12. Diamondbacks
13. Braves
14. Blue Jays (BOS)
15. Cardinals (ARZ)
American League
Current seeding:
1. Astros
2. Twins
3. Orioles
4. White Sox
5. Tigers
Central
| Team | GB |
| Twins | -- |
| White Sox | 5 |
Wild Card
| Team | GB |
| White Sox | +20 |
| Tigers | -- |
| Rays | 1 |
| Mariners | 4 |
| A's | 9.5 |
| Blue Jays | 14.5 |
The Central is the only AL division with a real race, and even that one is a tough climb for the White Sox. They sit 5 games back and must face the Pirates and Rangers, while the Twins get the A's and Indians.
The race for the second Wild Card is by far the AL's most exciting, with four teams falling within 10 games of each other. The Blue Jays are also included here due to a final week matchup vs. the Red Sox. Here are the remaining schedules:
Tigers vs. Royals, Mariners
Rays vs. Nationals, Orioles
Mariners vs. Astros, Tigers
A's vs. Twins, Royals
Blue Jays vs. Padres, Red Sox
All five teams here are facing at least one contender in the final two weeks, with the Rays and Mariners both facing two. Tigers has a slim hold of the lead and probably faces the easiest schedule, so they're presumably the favorites for the Wild Card. Even then, it's hard to say any team here has even a 50% chance of taking the final playoff spot.
National League
Current seeding:
1. Pirates
2. Giants
3. Mets
4. Cubs
5. Padres
East
| Team | GB |
| Mets | -- |
| Nationals | 2.5 |
Wild Card
| Team | GB |
| Cubs | +15 |
| Padres | -- |
| Reds | 2.5 |
| Nationals | 3 |
| Cardinals | 12.5 |
The NL East will come down to the wire, with bitter rivals Mets and Nationals fighting to be kings of the league's weakest division.
Mets vs. Braves, Nationals
Nationals vs. Rays, Mets
Neither team has an easy opponent before going into a Week 21 head-to-head showdown. It'll be interesting to see how the teams manage when they aren't able to trade future draft picks away for 2 starts from garbage pitchers on Sunday.
The race for the second Wild Card spot is again super competitive here, with three teams tightly bunched up and a fourth dark horse.
Padres vs. Blue Jays, Giants
Reds vs. Phillies, Yankees
Nationals vs. Rays, Mets
Cardinals vs. Angels, Brewers
The Reds could easily be the leaders after an easy Week 20 matchup vs. the Phillies, and the Cardinals could get back into it with a proper dickstomping of the Angels (easier said than done). The Nationals may have the toughest schedule here, but they have two shots at the playoffs with the Wild Card or AL East crown. The Padres also have two difficult matchups, but have a few games of cushion above their opponents.
Pick Race!!
| Team | GB |
| Red Sox | -- |
| Rockies | -21.5 |
| Phillies | -33.5 |
| Angels | -37.5 |
The core 4 are more or less set in their spots, but the Angels could hop the Phillies if they do poorly enough. The Phillies' pick is owned by the Brewers.
The rest of the top 15 (team that owns pick is in parentheses):
5. Marlins
6. Indians
7. Brewers (CIN)
8. Rangers
9. Royals (BOS)
10. Dodgers (SEA)
11. Yankees
12. Diamondbacks
13. Braves
14. Blue Jays (BOS)
15. Cardinals (ARZ)
