Kansas City Royals: Postseason Picture Update

With the first week of August wrapped up, the Kansas City Royals are in the thick of the postseason hunt. How are their competitors looking? Here’s how things in the American League shake out at this point.

The Kansas City Royals have gone all-in on the playoff push. With the team’s core set for free agency at season’s end, it could be the last push for some time.

With that kind of all-or-nothing mindset, we here at Kings of Kauffman figured we might as well look ahead to the good stuff.

Starting this week (and every Monday moving forward), we will take a look at the postseason picture in the American League. We will analyze how teams performed the previous week and look ahead to the coming one.

If you think this idea is a home run or a swing-and-a-miss (because, you know, baseball), let us know in the comments and on social media.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Waffling teams

These are the teams whose fans should be most upset at this point of the campaign. Rebuilds are a tough process to go through, but at least the teams on the previous slide fully committed to them.

The only thing worse than choosing to rebuild is being forced to. These teams fall into the latter category, although most sold off at least a few pieces at the deadline.

Some of these teams are still mathematically on the fringes of the postseason chase but likely won’t be for long.

Toronto Blue Jays

Overall record (through Sunday): 52-59

Last week: 3-4

This week: Off Monday; vs. New York Yankees (Tue.-Thu.); vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (Fri.-Sun.)

Like the Kansas City Royals, the Blue Jays got off to a horrendous start to the season.

Unlike their 2015 ALCS opponent, Toronto has not turned things around and would need nothing short of a miracle to steal a Wild Card bid.

The Blue Jays traded pitchers Francisco Liriano (Houston) and Joe Smith (Cleveland) at the deadline.

However, they held on to their other assets, including former MVP Josh Donaldson and pitchers Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ. According to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, the Kansas City Royals were in talks to land Estrada or Happ on deadline day.

Whether the organization expected too much in return for those guys is unknown, but it’s safe to say postseason baseball will not happen in Canada this year.

Texas Rangers

Overall record (through Sunday): 53-58

Last week: 3-4

This week: Off Monday; at New York Mets (Tue.-Wed.); off Thursday; vs. Houston Astros (Fri.-Sun.)

The biggest trade of the season signaled a realization that postseason hopes were bleak deep in the heart of Texas.

Yu Darvish being shipped to Los Angeles to bolster an already ludicrous Dodgers team might have determined the fate of all 30 teams in Major League Baseball. It definitely sealed the Rangers’ fate.

After consecutive West Division titles, the Rangers will in all likelihood be watching October baseball from their couches this time around.

Minnesota Twins

Overall record (through Sunday): 53-56

Last week: 3-3

This week: Vs. Milwaukee Brewers (Mon.-Tue.); at Milwaukee Brewers (Wed.-Thu.); at Detroit Tigers (Fri.-Sun.)

At the All-Star break, the Twins held a half-game lead over the Kansas City Royals for second place in the Central Division. Minnesota was just one game out of the second Wild Card spot.

An abysmal second half, though, has all but ended the Twins’ playoff hopes. Minnesota currently sits just 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot, but with four teams ahead of them in the Wild Card standings, things aren’t looking good for the overachieving Twins.

If Minnesota was to turn things around, this would be the week to start. The Brewers have been wildly inconsistent in the second half and the Tigers, as mentioned before, care not where they end up at the end of this season.

In the hunt

In the National League, Colorado and Arizona have long had a firm grip on the two Wild Card spots. The American League has seen an amount of parity not seen in the Senior Circuit this season.

While it appears more and more likely the top AL Wild Card spot (including home-field advantage) will go to New York or Boston, the second spot—with all due respect to the NL Central Division—is the most wide-open race in baseball right now.

These are the teams currently sitting just outside the fifth and final playoff spot.

Los Angeles Angels

Overall record (through Sunday): 55-57

Last week: 4-2

This week: Vs. Baltimore Orioles (Mon.-Wed.); at Seattle Mariners (Thu.-Sun.)

This could be a make-or-break week for the Angels.

Three games against the Orioles and four versus the Mariners gives this team a chance to make a huge dent in the teams directly above them in the Wild Card standings.

The Angels have gone 10-10 since Mike Trout’s return from the disabled list at the start of the second half. The two-time MVP has been playing like the best player in baseball, but he will need to get more help if the Angels will still be “in the hunt” come next week.

Baltimore Orioles

Overall record (through Sunday): 55-56

Last week: 5-2

This week: At Los Angeles Angels (Mon.-Wed.); at Oakland Athletics (Thu.-Sun.)

A three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals kicked off a solid week for the Orioles. Although a four-game split with Detroit will be somewhat disappointing, Baltimore established itself as a legitimate Wild Card threat over the past seven days.

Universally panned by national baseball writers for a failure to trade off assets at the trade deadline, the Orioles have gotten back in contention. That alone is impressive, but the struggles of Baltimore’s starting rotation (although absent against the Royals) will likely keep the Orioles from reaching the Wild Card game.

At that point, fans might rue the team not trading Zach Britton & Co. For now, they are likely just enjoying the ride.

Seattle Mariners

Overall record (through Sunday): 57-56

Last week: 4-3

This week: Off Monday; at Oakland Athletics (Tue.-Wed.); vs. Los Angeles Angels (Thu.-Sun.)

A 14-9 record since the All-Star break has turned the Mariners into possibly the Kansas City Royals’ biggest threat going forward after a road split over the weekend.

Pitching will be the key for Seattle’s postseason chances. With Felix Hernandez going to the disabled list, James Paxton has scant help in the rotation.

A day off on Monday gives the Mariners a chance to reset after Sunday’s doubleheader. Then comes six games against West Division opponents in an effort to continue climbing the Wild Card standings.

Tampa Bay Rays

Overall record (through Sunday): 58-55

Last week: 4-3

This week: Off Monday; vs. Boston Red Sox (Tue.-Wed.); vs. Cleveland (Thu.-Sun.)

The Rays might have had the strangest week of all the AL teams.

After taking three of four from pennant-favorite Houston, Tampa Bay scored just two runs while dropping two out of three games against Milwaukee. Oh, the ups and downs of the baseball season.

This week sees the Rays host two division leaders for six games. It will be a monumental week for Tampa Bay.

So the question is which Rays team will show up this week?

AL second wild card spot

Kansas City Royals

Overall record (through Sunday): 57-53

Last week: 2-5

This week: Vs. St. Louis Cardinals (Mon.-Tue.); at St. Louis Cardinals (Wed.-Thu.); at Chicago White Sox (Fri.-Sun.)

This position was up for grabs when the Kansas City Royals took the field against the Mariners in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader.

More from Kings of Kauffman

• KC Royals Rumors: Is a monster move in the cards?
• KC Royals Free Agent Hunt: 3 Tampa Bay pitchers
• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: The $25 million man
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Expectations met
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Day 3 update

A win by Seattle would have bumped Tampa Bay into the final Wild Card place, but Jakob Junis and the Kansas City Royals’ bats showed up in a big way.

So if the season had ended Sunday (forget for a minute that not everybody has played the same number of games), the Kansas City Royals would have barely held onto a playoff spot.

This week features four games against the Cardinals before the weekend set against the White Sox. A 5-2 week would likely satisfy a fanbase that has grown increasingly pessimistic about the Kansas City Royals’ playoff aspirations.

The way the past week went—swept by Baltimore and split against Seattle—does not inspire confidence that this position will be in their possession even as soon as the next time we do this update.

AL first wild card spot

New York Yankees

Overall record (through Sunday): 59-51

Last week: 3-4

This week: Off Monday; at Toronto Blue Jays (Tue.-Thu.); vs. Boston Red Sox (Fri.-Sun.)

I started working on the format of this article on Monday, as in last Monday, and at that time the Yankees led the East Division (albeit by just a half-game) with Boston in this position.

Now the Bronx Bombers sit three games back of their rivals. That’s what happens when one team goes 3-4 and the other goes 6-0 in a given week.

The Yankees and Red Sox play each other 10 times over the remainder of the season. Seven of those games, including three this coming weekend, will take place in New York.

With newly acquired Sonny Gray and a boosted bullpen, the Yankees have more than enough talent to rise out of this spot by the time October rolls around.

If not, they will likely settle for hosting the Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium. Maybe against the Kansas City Royals. I’m sure George Brett would love that.

AL Central leader

Cleveland

Overall record (through Sunday): 59-50

Last week: 2-4

This week: Off Monday; vs. Colorado Rockies (Tue.-Wed.); at Tampa Bay Rays (Thu.-Sun.)

Cleveland is in the midst of one of its more difficult stretches of the season.

Last week featured two games (of a scheduled three) against Boston and four against New York. This week consists of a two-game set against Colorado and four games in Tampa Bay with a makeup game in Boston coming next Monday.

All told (assuming all those games get played), Cleveland will have likely played 13 straight games against teams with a winning record by the time it faces Minnesota on Aug. 15.

If the first half of this stretch is any indication, the Central Division is still completely up for grabs.

As most Kansas City Royals fans have probably noticed, the defending AL champions have basically matched their team tit-for-tat since the All-Star break.

When the second half started, Cleveland had a three-game lead. On July 31, Cleveland had a two-game lead. After Sunday, Cleveland had a 2.5-game lead.

One step forward and one step back (usually in sync) has been the pattern. A great 10- or 12-game stretch by either team could decide the Central Division.

AL East leader

Boston Red Sox

Overall record (through Sunday): 63-49

Last week: 6-0

This week: Off Monday; at Tampa Bay Rays (Tue.-Wed.); off Thursday; at New York Yankees (Fri.-Sun.)

The Red Sox had the only perfect week in the American League.

Four games against what is essentially the White Sox’s AAA team always helps (the Kansas City Royals are certainly hoping that’s the case this weekend), but this team has a lot to prove this coming week.

After a mostly quiet trade deadline, aside from adding Addison Reed, Boston will have to hold off New York to capture the East Division crown.

Three games against the Yankees will bring a close to an unusual week for the Red Sox. Two games in Tampa Bay sandwiched between days off on Monday and Thursday should give Boston plenty of rest for this weekend’s pivotal series.

Don’t expect another perfect week from the Red Sox. Barring a complete collapse, though, Boston will be back in this spot next Monday.

AL West leader

Houston Astros

Overall record (through Sunday): 71-40

Last week: 3-4

This week: Off Monday; at Chicago White Sox (Tue.-Thu.); at Texas Rangers (Fri.-Sun.)

The Astros have long been a playoff lock. That’s why it was surprising to many that they didn’t do more at the trade deadline.

Seen as the American League’s most likely World Series representative, Houston has a commanding 15-game lead over Seattle in the West Division.

It would take a collapse of epic proportions for the Astros to not win their division. Heck, it would be stunning if they didn’t land home-field advantage straight through to the World Series (and in the World Series, if the Dodgers aren’t in it).

Injuries have done their best to try to derail this outstanding team.

Ace Dallas Keuchel missed a large chunk of the season. Carlos Correa and George Springer are currently on the disabled list. Young third baseman Colin Moran even suffered one of the strangest injuries of the season when he fouled a ball into his face.

So far the Astros have been able to weather the storm. A .500 record (11-11) in the second half of the season should be boosted with the imminent return of Springer and, eventually, Correa.

Next: Why Kennedy Might Opt Out

When healthy, this team is the biggest threat to keeping the World Series trophy out of Chavez Ravine.