With the dog days of August rapidly approaching, it is time to check in on the MLB divisional races and see where teams are at after nearly five months of grinding to this point.
As has been true for the majority of the campaign, most division leaders could have been predicted prior to the start of the season, with a few exceptions. The Baltimore Orioles are one of those exceptions, for sure, as they have made incredible strides with their young core this year. They will need to continue to fight for the next 30 days-plus as the Tampa Bay Rays continue to nip at their heels.
Similarly, the Twins have led the Central for some time now, but the Guardians always seem to be in the thick of the playoff race toward the end of the regular season. A big question will be in the Minnesota starting pitcher core can continue to provide enough production to lead the team into the postseason.
The tightest American League race may actually be the battle of Texas, where the Rangers currently lead the Astros by 3.5 games, though it feels closer than that. There is no doubt that the reigning champs will make another push to take the division lead between now and the end of the month, and the Rangers will need to continue winning games to fend them off. These two teams will certainly have a crucial three-game bout with one another to close out the regular season during the first week of September.
The National League is currently offering a more solidified picture in terms of division leaders, though there is still time for teams to make that final season push. The Braves have looked like the best team across baseball over the past four months, and they have to be considered the World Series favorites at this point. They currently lead the Marlins in the NL East by 12.5 games, and they hold the best record in the MLB at 77-42.
The Brewers have led the Central for the majority of the 2023 campaign, but both the Cubs and Reds have made the race a bit tighter of late. A couple of surprise teams pushing for back-end playoff spots, Chicago and/or Cincinnati, could just be gritty enough to do it.
Lastly, we have the Dodgers in first place in the NL West, as expected. There do not seem to be any real threats to their division title this season, and they should be right back at the top of the playoff seeding next month. It could turn out to be a fascinating race for the NL title between them and Atlanta (what an awesome revenge narrative that would be for Freddie Freeman).
On that note, let’s take a look at some player/team updates and depth chart movements across the past week-plus as well as what is upcoming.
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MLB Depth Chart Review: Hunter Greene, Pablo Reyes, Curtis Mead
Hunter Greene (SP – CIN)
Out with a hip injury since back in mid-June, Hunter Greene is set to make his MLB return this week, and he will be welcomed back with open arms to the Reds’ rotation. As mentioned earlier, Cincinnati currently sits just 3.5 games back of the NL Central lead, and they are fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot halfway through August.
Greene had a bit of an up-and-down three months to kick off the season, but he still managed an ERA below 4.00 and had a solid 100:31 K:BB ratio through 14 starts. He just had a Triple-A rehab start with Louisville on Tuesday, in which he allowed just one hit across 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine.
The 24-year-old could be the piece the Reds need to get over the hump, and Greene should not face many if any, limitations upon his return to the big leagues. He should be in a prime position to offer fantasy teams sufficient value, especially as the fantasy playoffs roll around.
Pablo Reyes (SS – BOS)
Quietly but efficiently, Pablo Reyes has apparently both taken and run away with the open infield position that was previously open in the Red Sox depth chart. A true utility man on the roster, Reyes looks to have been handpicked by manager Alex Cora ahead of both IF Christian Arroyo and Yu Chang.
To his credit, Reyes has answered with his best stretch of big-league ball, as he is currently slashing .375/.429/.563 through 10 August contests. That includes a walk-off grand slam against the Royals on August 7th and five multi-game hits across the month overall.
Reyes will never be a star MLB player, and he is unlikely to jump off the charts in terms of fantasy baseball scoring production. Nevertheless, his best ability seems to be his availability, and he has been starting on a regular basis for the Red Sox consistently. That, combined with his hot bat, could be enough to warrant some optional streaming for those in fairly deep leagues.
Curtis Mead (2B – TB)
The number three ranked prospect in the Tampa Bay organization, 22-year-old Curtis Mead, was called up to the bigs for his major league debut on August 4th. He has had a quiet start to his professional campaign since, securing just two hits in his first 16 at-bats prior to breaking out for a three-hit performance in his most recent showing.
Mead missed almost two months earlier this season with a fractured wrist but had dominated the minors all year long, both prior to and after making his return. Across a total of 191 minor-league at-bats, Mead batted .283 with a .809 OPS, three homers, and an impressive 32:28 K:BB ratio.
The young infielder has all of the tools necessary to be a full-time provider for the Rays. He should get ample opportunity to do so for the remainder of the season, especially with Wander Franco‘s prospects now in flux. Now is a good time to pick Mead up in fantasy with the belief that he can and will turn it on over the final month of the season.
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