Your Midseason American League Update

Reporting live from Wichita, Kansas — how about an across-baseball half-season update? I’ve got a couple of hours here before going to spend some time with family, so let’s give it a shot, eh? We’ll start with the American League today. The listed playoff chances are from our good friends over at FanGraphs.

American League East

Tampa Bay Rays (57-31, 99.2% make playoffs) — You probably have read something about Wander Franco getting snubbed for the All-Star Game; it occurs to me that without advanced statistics, we would not realize just how good a year Franco is having. Like if you looked only at his traditional numbers — .286 average, 10 homers, 27 steals, 43 RBIs, 47 runs — you would be saying: Yeah, this guy’s having a good year. But nobody would be talking about MVPs. But he leads the American League in bWAR because he’s been a defensive marvel at a key position in addition to those offensive numbers. He has also been benched for “not being the best teammate,” which isn’t the best five-word scouting report I’ve heard. The Rays have certainly cooled after their hot start, but they’re six games up in the division, which is a good place to be.

Baltimore Orioles (49-35, 50.8% make playoffs) — The Orioles have been excellent in close games so far this season, thanks, at least in part, to a crazy back-end of the bullpen with Yennier Cano (1.32 ERA in 41 innings, 0 homers allowed) and Félix Bautista (79 strikeouts in 38 innings — yikes!). Can the rotation hold up? The FanGraphs playoff percentage suggests it will be tough.