America's Pastime: Postseason Preview (AL Edition)

by Kyle Feinberg

Earlier, The Sports Kids previewed the NL as baseball enters October, now we will discuss the AL. (Beware: Lots of Mike Trout love). All records/standings/stats are as of September 20.

AL EAST CHAMPION: BALTIMORE ORIOLES (92-61)

The Orioles caught fire post All-Star break, going 40-19 and taking a stranglehold on the AL East. Nelson Cruz shocked everyone, displaying that he is not over-the-hill quite yet posting a league-leading 39 homeruns and 104 RBI good for 6^th in the Majors. Adam Jones’s bat is good for a .284 average and 25 homers. Chris Davis, not what he was last year, still has 26 homers. Steve Pearce has quietly put together a solid year, with a .376 OBP and 20 homers of his own. The Orioles do it with power, but they also have a decent rotation. Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, Chris Tillman, and Miguel Gonzalez fill out a deep rotation that does not have a true ace. Zach Britton has been a filthy closer with opponents only batting .177 off of him and posting a 0.90 WHIP. Darren O’Day is also dirty out of the pen with 72K in 65.2 IP, posting a 1.64 ERA. Andrew Miller in just less than 20 IP has been fantastic recording a 0.98 ERA with an incredible 31 Ks.

AL CENTRAL LEADER: DETROIT TIGERS (86-68)

As of writing this article, the Tigers are only 2.5 ahead of the Royals, but seem to have figured it out beating the Royals 3-2 today. The Tigers rival, if not beat, the Dodgers for the best 1-2 pitcher punch in baseball with aces Max Scherzer and David Price. For the year they have combined for 498 strikeouts. Only the Indians’ Kluber sits between them for top of the majors in strikeouts. However, since joining the Tigers, Price has not been overly impressive with a 4.09 ERA. Rick Porcello has quietly had a great year despite not getting Ks. Verlander has had a down year all-around. Offensively, the Tigers have their fair share of weapons. Miguel Cabrera’s numbers aren’t quite where they usually are for him, but they are still far better than most, batting .316 with 23 homers and 104 RBI. J.D. Martinez on the other hand is having a career year, batting .318 with 23 homers and 76 RBI. Victor Martinez has launched 31 homers with an amazing .334 average. Torii Hunter and Rajai Davis (33 SB) both have respectable numbers as well. Joe Nathan has been a problem at closer, with a 5+ ERA. Al Alburquerque and Joba Chamberlain are not the most reliable, while Blaine Hardy who made his debut in June has been with a 2.19 ERA.

AL WEST CHAMPION: LOS ANGELES ANGELS (95-59)

The Angels took advantage of the A’s slumping down the road to take a commanding AL West lead and eventual championship. The face of the Angels and quite possibly the face of professional baseball: 23 year old Mike Trout. The absolute definition of a five-tool player, Trout has a .377 OBP, 34 homers, and 107 RBI. All of this…along with 14 SB. He has the highest Wins Above Replacement in baseball with 7.8. If Mike Trout was replaced with an average player, the Angels would still be battling it out with the A’s for the division championship. For the Angels, it doesn’t end with Trout. Young rookie Kole Calhoun, Howie Kendrick, and the consistent Erick Aybar all sport averages above .280 and combine for 30 homers with 195 RBI. Albert Pujols has had a bounce back year with 26 homers and 98 RBI. The Angels have lost Garrett Richards, who was their ace, due to injury, but the rotation is still respectable featuring Jered Weaver, Matt Shoemaker, and C.J. Wilson. Since becoming an Angel, Huston Street has been reliable out of the pen with Joe Smith just as dependable behind him. Kevin Jepsen has also been nasty out of the bull pen with 73 Ks in 63IP.

AL WILDCARD #1: OAKLAND ATHLETICS (84-70)

Since the All-Star break, the A’s have posted a record of 25-34. Despite trading for both Jeff Samardzija and Jon Lester, and despite both putting up respectable numbers. Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir have both fallen off a little since their start, but Gray is still more than capable of having ace-like performances. Josh Donaldson has been the offensive MVP, with a .336 OBP, 27 homers and 95 RBI. Brandon Moss maintains 25 homers and 80 RBI despite a rough slump post All-Star break. If the A’s want to be competitive in the postseason, they need others to step-up. No one with more than 100 ABs on the team has a batting average higher than .270. This includes Jed Lowrie, Coco Crisp, and Alberto Callaspo. Sean Doolittle has been nice as the closer with 83 Ks in 58.2 innings. Luke Gregerson, Dan Ortero, and Fernando Abad round-out one of the best bullpens in the majors.

AL WILDCARD #2 KANSAS CITY ROYALS (83-70)

The Royals haven’t made the playoffs in 28 years. Ronald Reagan was president when they last made it. Let that sink in. The Royals have been a streaky team all year, featuring players Billy Butler, who had a power outage this year with only 9 homers, catcher Sal Perez with 16 homers, Lorenzo Cain who is batting almost .300 with 25 SB, Alcides Escobar with 31 SB, and their leader Alex Gordon with a .348 OBP, 19 homers, and 79 RBIs. Their rotation has been extremely consistent with James Shields, Jason Vargas, Yordano Ventura, and Danny Duffy, all four of which have ERAs sub 3.60. Greg Holland has been amazing as closer, while Wade Davis has been a workhouse out of the pen. Otherwise, the Royals pen has been inconsistent.

ON THE BUBBLE: SEATTLE MARINERS (83-71)

General fans of baseball outside New York City are rooting for the Mariners to make the playoffs so Felix can finally get his chance. Felix has been a top 5 pitcher over the last 6-7 years, and this year has been no exception. King Felix has 236 Ks over 226 IP with a 2.07 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. Hisashi Iwakuma is a solid 2, and Chris Young and Roenis Ellis make out a good 3 and 4. All these guys have an ERA below 4. The Mariners’ bats aren’t the best, but Cano has been his usual self minus the down power numbers (a product of going from Yankee Stadium to Safeco Park). He has a .386 OBP 14 homers and 79 RBIs. Kyle Seager leads the team in homers and RBIs with 24 and 92 respectively. James Jones leads the team with 27 SB. Out of the bullpen is Fernando Rodney and his bow and arrow. He leads the majors in saves with 46. Tom Wilhelmsen is productive behind Rodney, as is Charlie Furbush and Danny Farquhar.

AL PREDICTION: First off, I believe that the Mariners will take over the Royals and take the last playoff spot. Beyond that, I predict that the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS in seven games.

WORLD SERIES PREDICTION: ANGELS over DODGERS in 6 games