We’re now in the stretch run, as the 2024 MLB season enters September and teams make their final bids for the postseason. In fact, some of the league’s top clubs are already on their way to winning a playoff berth as soon as next week.
The Astros and Cubs demonstrate how far a team can go if it shifts into high gear to finish the season. Houston has been hot since the All-Star break, helping it to a comfortable lead over Seattle and all but ensuring another division title despite the team’s less-than-stellar start in 2024. Meanwhile, Chicago has re-entered the wild-card race after winning nine of ten games in a row to end August. The Cubs would need to maintain this momentum to make that a reality, but they are in a much better position than they were a few weeks ago.
Division titles and wild-card spots are up for grabs, so don’t expect clubs to calm down anytime soon — especially in a year without a clear No. 1 club, as evidenced by the continuous changes to our top five this week.
Our expert panel has ranked every team based on what we’ve seen thus far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB specialists David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez, and Jorge Castillo to provide observations for all 30 teams.
Kansas City Royals
Assume the Royals’ season followed the pattern of a typical coyote versus roadrunner pursuit. Imagine the determined coyote gradually gaining ground on the roadrunner until he has it cornered against the rocky mountainside of a mountain terrace. When the coyote realises he has won his chase, the terrace gives way, and the coyote plunges into a free fall, spiralling into what appears to be a bottomless hole.
The Royals took months to catch the Guardians in the division, but once they did, Kansas City’s season changed dramatically. Nothing went right for the Royals during their seven-game losing streak, which ended with a win on Wednesday. The one saving grace of the skid: the Red Sox’s comparable fall behind them in the standings means the Royals still have a wild-card lead. Maintaining that buffer will eventually require winning a few games.— Doolittle
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