The AL Wild Card Hunt is Heating Up!
A Blog by Greg
As it currently stands, the three Wild Card teams in the American League are the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Seattle Mariners. The remaining teams still fighting for one of those coveted Wild Card spots are the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and Cleveland Guardians.
The Royals and Guardians, barring an unprecedented winning streak, have virtually no chance of taking over the Detroit Tigers for the lead in the AL Central, given they are 8.5 and 10.5 games behind, respectively. The Rangers are in a similar boat, as they are currently 6.5 games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros. Despite this, these three teams all have a legitimate chance at playing postseason baseball.
Texas Rangers (4.5 GB)
Starting with the 3rd place squad in the AL West, the Rangers are led by their elite one-two punch of veteran starting pitchers. Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom have both been performing at a Cy Young level in 2025 and will be a dangerous sight for opposing teams in the postseason. The one issue is the Rangers need to qualify for the postseason first! The former 2023 World Series champions missed the playoffs last season and are struggling to stay above .500 in 2025. Texas’ biggest weakness thus far has been their underperforming offense. They currently rank 25th in the MLB in AVG (.236), 24th in WRC+ (93), and 23rd in OFF (-36.5). Star shortstop Corey Seager and 2nd-year standout Wyatt Langford have performed well in 2025, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the lineup. The Rangers will need either the rest of their hitters to wake up or some well-timed hitting streaks to earn a Wild Card spot this season.
Cleveland Guardians (5.0 GB)
The first of the two AL Central teams in the 2025 Wild Card hunt, the Cleveland Guardians, are suffering a similar fate as the aforementioned Texas Rangers: offensive woes leading to a subpar overall record. The Guardians only have two hitters currently on their roster with an OPS+ above 100 (Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo). Unfortunately for Cleveland, the pitching hasn’t been much better. Putting aside the fact that multiple pitchers on the roster are being investigated for betting against themselves, the rotation has been mediocre. Outside of Gavin Williams, who has been very effective this season, the starting rotation has been average at best. The bullpen overcame some early-season woes, particularly star closer Emanuel Clase, but it is not nearly strong enough to carry this flawed squad. Ultimately, the Guardians will likely not make the postseason in 2025, and that’s alright. This team is positioned to be a major threat in the coming years with a multitude of solid young players to surround their star, Jose Ramirez.
Kansas City Royals (3.0 GB)
Our second team from the AL Central, and the team closest to earning a Wild Card spot by record, is the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are easily the best of the bunch and have the best shot at overtaking one of the current Wild Card teams. Bobby Witt has been incredible this season, and the surrounding cast of Maikel Garcia, Salvador Perez, and Vinnie Pasquantino (who has been on an absolute tear as of late if you happened to miss it) have aided in making this lineup dangerous. The Royals, however, are not a perfect team. They have a very weak outfield offensively, and the loss of Cole Ragans could prove to be detrimental if he is not in full form for the end-of-season postseason push. The Royals, like the Guardians, are still a very young team, and while making another solid run in the postseason would be nice for the Kansas City faithful, 2025 is not the end-all be-all. I believe the Royals will ultimately fall short of making the postseason this year; however, I don’t think that will become a trend in the coming seasons.
Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more articles coming soon!