It's mid-August. There are eight potential teams that are still in play for two Wild Card spots. The two teams who currently are in the Wild Card spots are the Blue Jays and the Angels. Teams that trail the Angels and Blue Jays include the Orioles, Rangers, Twins, Rays, and if you count the Tigers and White Sox still being in contention (I do).
Breaking it Down
The Orioles and Blue Jays are hot right now. Baltimore is coming off a sweep of the Athletics and Toronto has won eight of their last ten games. I expect Toronto to win more games as the season is declining, earning the first Wild Card spot. The Orioles, however, have played inconsistent all year, will they stay hot or will they fall back into their inconsistency of winning and losing ball games. In their next eight series, they play teams over .500, except for Tampa Bay, who is not too far off a .500 winning percentage.
The Angels have one of the worst records since the All-Star break, and has lost their lead in their division. This team has been playing good all year, and I expect them to be able to come out of their cold spell and start winning more ball games. Will they be able to, however? The Texas Rangers have had injuries to the starting pitching (once again this season), but acquired Cole Hamels at the trade deadline to help not only this season, but for next season, making their pitching rotation dominant granted if everyone stays healthy.
The Twins and Rays are similar teams to me. Both have similar records, are young teams, and have surprised people. These teams still have a shot at making the playoffs, and veteran leadership to help push the young guys to do so. Evan Longoria of the Rays and Joe Mauer of the Twins both have postseason experience, and knows what it takes to get to the post season. Both teams were hot in the beginning months of the regular season, but have cooled down and have stayed cool since.
I still believe the Tigers and the White Sox can get hot and make a run, but will they? The two teams certainly have the players to do so. The Sox struggles are staying consistent in their offense. Detroit's weakest link is their bullpen, which has blown countless games this season. These teams better amend these struggles quick if they want a chance to play in October.
