2015 MLB Postseason Race

The 2015 MLB postseason hunt is about to get into full swing. The Division races are about to turn the heat up.

The New York Mets recently overtook the Washington Nationals for first in the NL East. The Toronto Blue Jays are poised to do the same to the New York Yankees in the AL East.

The races in both the AL and NL West are nearly deadlocked. The Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros are ready to begin a boxing match in the AL. In the NL, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are already throwing blows.

In the Central, it’s been a different story.

The Kansas City Royals have opened up MLB’s only double-digit lead over the youthful Minnesota Twins.

In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals are baseball’s most dominant team. They currently hold a five-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates and an 8.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs.

Both the Cubs and Pirates would have a lead in any division other than the AL or NL Central. With the coasts battling it out for Divisional supremacy, the Central States continue to coast to October.

The Wild Card race is just as hectic. In the AL, there are seven teams within six games of a wild-card spot. While in the NL it’s a little more subdued with only four teams in that position.

So what does all of this mean?

Well buckle up and pull the bar across your lap, the roller coaster is about to begin, and it’s a wild ride.

My favorites for each division are as follows:

AL East: Toronto Blue Jays
AL Central: Kansas City Royals
AL West: Los Angeles Angels

NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

In the AL East, I lean towards Toronto heavy. The Blue Jays added Troy Tulowitzki and David Price; we’ve already seen the effects as they are 9-1 in the last ten games.

They have the most potent lineup in baseball with Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, and now Tulo.

And on the mound, Price is a clear ace. The pitchers behind him have seemed to step up.

Since August, the team has allowed three or fewer runs in seven of the nine games, including blanking the Yankees in back to back days for the first time since 1999.

Outside of the impressive run from Toronto, the Yankees have gone the opposite direction.

The Jays shut them out for the final 26 innings of the series, the longest drought in the Bronx since 1991.

Now do I think that continues forever?

No.

The Yanks will improve, and Jays will regress. At the end of the day, the Yankees lose out on the East.

The Royals are obviously going to win the Central. Period.

In the AL West, I give the nod to the Angels. The reasons are aplenty.

The Astros have been impressive in this unexpected run. But there are things to be concerned with.

The highest batting average that they have run out consistently is Jose Altuve’s .298. The team batting average is only .243. This all means they rely on the long ball, a lot.

With 156 home runs through Monday evening, they lead the majors by three over Toronto. And with 989 strikeouts, they are second in the majors. This means they rely on timely hits, especially homers, to win games.

The one thing that could save the Astros is the pitching with the seventh lowest team ERA (3.53) in the majors.

But I lean on the Angels because they have the best player on the planet, Mike Trout, a resurgent Albert Pujols, who has hit 30 homers this season, and more experience than the Astros.

I’ll take experience over youth in the AL West.

In the NL East, the Mets have come out of nowhere to become relevant again. With Matt Harvey and Jacob DeGrom at the top of the rotation, you’re great. Add in Noah Syndergaard and you have a stellar rotation.

Harvey (2.76), DeGrom (2.13), and Syndergaard (3.01) have quietly (relatively) become a dominant trio of pitchers.

The only team that compares in the NL is the Dodgers with Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw at the top of the rotation. (Note: Unless you include the St. Louis Cardinals, none of their starters has an ERA above 2.92, more on that)

The addition of Yoenis Cespedes at the deadline will have a huge impact on the Mets pennant chase. He is currently hitting .324 since becoming a Metropolitan.

With David Wright starting rehab games, he will be back in the next week or two. In his absence, Eric Campbell has covered the hot corner. Campbell has only hit .179 in 61 games, certainly not the same performance Wright will provide.

The Mets also have a solid bullpen trio in Jeurys Familia, Sean Gilmartin, and Carlos Torres.

The Nationals have been the biggest disappointment in the MLB this season, and due to injuries (Denard Span most notably with back spasms), the season may not have a happy ending.

The Mets win the East in blowout fashion.

In the Central, the Cardinals win.

My goodness, they are a force right now.

The lowest team ERA (2.60) in baseball by over 60 points.

The starting rotation was supposed to see a big drop in production when Adam Wainwright went down for the season. However, they have the best overall staff in baseball.

The Cardinal way is to win. No complaining, just winning. And that’s what they’re doing once again.

In the NL West I think the Dodgers will eventually start rolling.

I just cannot imagine the team will lose the division when they have the best pitcher of 2015 and Clayton Kershaw as his understudy . . .

Yasiel Puig has underperformed, and Joc Pederson can only crush balls, he can’t hit consistently. If those things trend up any, this team gets a whole lot better.

They will also be getting Justin Turner back soon, and that gives them a .323 hitter in the middle of the order.

The team can only realistically get better, I don’t foresee a major decline.

So that concludes my division winners predictions.

Will they work out the way I am predicting? Who knows?

That’s the beauty of baseball in the fall.