It’s now September, so that means playoff races are heating up, and the number of teams contending for playoff spots is starting to get a lot smaller. That being said, there are many teams that are already looking at an early vacation in October. That’s not to say that these teams don’t have any players that did their part to try to will their team into contention. This article will talk about the best player from each team that has had their playoff hopes shut down.
With there being a month’s worth of games left, there are technically still a lot of teams that have not been “mathematically” eliminated, but who are very far back in the race (for example, the Cincinnati Reds have not technically been eliminated yet, though they are 59-78 and are last place in the NL Central). That being said, we will be listing teams who have odds of making the postseason of less than 0.1%, as per MLB.com. This lowers our options to the following teams: Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, LA Angels, Texas Rangers, NY Mets, Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and the San Diego Padres. Here is one member from each of these teams who is doing their part for their respective teams despite the team being out of contention.
Note: Stats taken from MLB.com unless otherwise noted and are current as of Sept 3, 2018
Toronto Blue Jays
Justin Smoak – .251/.357/.477, 112 H, 23 HR, 70 RBI, 60 R
In a disappointing season for the Blue Jays, Smoak has proved his breakout season last year was not a fluke. He is leading the Blue Jays in multiple major categories, including Hits, HR, Runs, RBI, and Walks (73).
Baltimore Orioles
Adam Jones – .286/.319/.431, 144 H, 14 HR, 55 RBI, 51 R
If Manny Machado had not been traded to the Dodgers, he would’ve been the easy choice for this team. That being said, the longtime Oriole has had a solid season despite his team being firmly in the cellar of the AL East (they are currently 22.5 games back of the 4th place Blue Jays). Excluding Machado, Jones leads the team in Hits, RBI, and Doubles (31).
Minnesota Twins
Eddie Rosario – .292/.329/.484, 154 H, 22 HR, 74 RBI, 83 R
To show how bad the AL Central has been as a whole this season, the Twins are currently in second place at 63-73 and 18 games out of the AL Wild Card. One bright spot has been Eddie Rosario, who has built on a solid 2017 season. He leads the Twins in Hits, HR, RBI, Runs, and Stolen Bases (8). Rosario is 7th in the AL in Hits, 10th in Runs, and is tied for 10th among all MLB outfielders in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to Fangraphs with 3.8.
Detroit Tigers
Nick Castellanos – .291/.345/.489, 155 H, 20 HR, 75 RBI, 75 R
The third place Tigers have had a couple bright spots, with defensive wiz Jose Iglesias coming in a close second here, but Castellanos has had a very solid offensive season. Castellanos leads the Tigers in most offensive categories, and is currently 6th in the AL in both hits and doubles (37).
Chicago White Sox
Jose Abreu – .272/.331/.491, 129 H, 22 HR, 78 RBI, 67 R
Abreu has had a solid year for the rebuilding White Sox. He was named the AL starting first baseman in the All-Star game this season, and has put up solid numbers once again. He will need to go on a hot streak this last month in order to keep his streak of four consecutive 100 RBI seasons alive, though.
Kansas City Royals
Whit Merrifield – .312/.377/.448, 162 H, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 69 R, 30 SB
Merrifield has done a wonderful job at the top of the order for the Royals. He is currently tied for the AL lead in stolen bases, and is third in the AL in hits. He has also played 5 different positions this season, mostly at second base and centre field. He is 19th among all MLB players in WAR (4.4) according to Fangraphs, while being ranking third amongst second basemen in WAR.
Los Angeles Angels
Mike Trout – .306/.456/.609, 123 H, 31 HR, 63 RBI, 88 R, 21 SB
Not a very surprising pick here. Trout has been a model of excellence for a middling Angels franchise. Trout leads all MLB players in OBP and On-Base-Plus-Slugging. He will most likely receive MVP consideration once again despite playing for a sub-.500 team.
Texas Rangers
Jose Leclerc – 2-3 W/L, 1.78 ERA, 52 G, 50.2 IP, 76 K, 8 SV, .131 BAA
Leclerc has had a breakout season for the Rangers, and would be a very valuable reliever for any team. He has the best ERA on the Rangers out of any pitcher that has more than 10 innings pitched, and is sporting a minuscule .131 Batting average against. He has struck out 76 batters compared to only giving up 22 Hits in his 50.2 innings of work.
NY Mets
Jacob Degrom – 8-8 W/L, 1.68 ERA, 27 GS, 182.0 IP, 224 K, .208 BAA
Degrom is in the thick of the NL Cy Young race despite playing for a bad Mets team. He leads the Majors in ERA and has only mustered a 8-8 record. He also leads all MLB pitchers in Fangraphs WAR as well with 7.3. One would assume that if he were on a better team, his win/loss record would be much more impressive.
Miami Marlins
J.T. Realmuto – .287/.346/.495, 120 H, 18 HR, 68 RBI, 64 R
Realmuto has been the most productive offensive player on a struggling Marlins team, all while playing the difficult position of catcher the majority of the time (he also has played 13 games at first base). He leads all MLB catchers in Fangraphs WAR with 4.2, and leads all MLB catchers in Hits, Runs, Doubles (27), and is second in RBI.
Cincinnati Reds
Eugenio Suarez – .293/.376/.558, 132 H, 31 HR, 100 RBI, 72 R
Homorable mention goes to Reds 2B Scooter Gennett, who is having an incredible season in his own right, but Suarez gets the nod here. He is currently tied for the NL lead in RBI, and is tied for third in home runs. He is also third amongst all NL third basemen in Fangraphs WAR with 4.4.
San Diego Padres
Kirby Yates – 4-3 W/L, 2.09 ERA, 53 G, 51.2 IP, 71 K, .191 BAA
There have not been many bright spots for the last place Padres, but Yates has been a reliable reliever for the Padres. He did not give up a run for the entire month of June (12 appearances).
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