We have just over a month to go in the season, and the postseason landscape is becoming clearer.
But that doesn’t mean anything is set in stone. There’s still time for things to change.
We will break down three underdog teams that could make some noise once the postseason arrives, assuming that these teams get there to begin with.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds have taken advantage of the Padres second-half slide, erasing a 7 ½ game deficit in the Wild Card race to surge ahead of them and take control of the second spot. Cincinnati was an early exit in last year’s expanded postseason, but look ready to make noise in 2021 should they reach October.
Breakout seasons from Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos, as well as a resurgent one from Joey Votto, have gotten them to this point. They won’t catch Milwaukee in the NL Central, but they’ll have the option of going with either Luis Castillo or Sonny Gray in the Wild Card game on October 6.
The Reds are deep and dangerous. They’re a team you can’t overlook as we inch closer and closer to October.
Atlanta Braves
Everyone thought they were done when Ronald Acuna Jr. tore his ACL and went down for the year. Think again.
Atlanta loaded up their outfield with Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, and Eddie Rosario. Since the deadline, they’ve been on an absolute tear. They recently just won nine consecutive games before losing two to the Yankees, and with that, they opened up a five-game lead in the NL East.
Freddie Freeman is still one of the best all around players in the league. Couple that with Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson, and others, and you have one of the best teams in baseball.
They were just a game short of the World Series last year, and they look like a serious threat heading into the final month of the season.
Boston Red Sox
Doesn’t it kind of feel like they faded into obscurity a little once the Yankees got hot?
Well, don’t trust that feeling. They’ve had a rough August, but are still in playoff position. If the postseason were to begin today, it would be them and the Yankees in the AL Wild Card game.
They’ve received a boon with the return of Chris Sale, and their lineup is still as deep as ever. When you’ve got Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and Kyle Schwarber in the same lineup, you’re pretty fortunate.
Not only that, but if Boston were to go on a run this October on the heels of a last-place finish, it’s worth noting that they’ve done it before. Think back to 2013, a year in which they were coming off a 93-loss season. They came out of nowhere to capture the AL East crown, knocked out a Tigers team that had two Cy Young winners in it, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, and took down a loaded Cardinals team that had won it all two years prior, beating Adam Wainwright twice and the then-rookie sensation Michael Wacha in the clinching game to bring home their third title since 2004.
It’s also important to recall Boston’s recent postseason success against the Yankees. Granted, these two teams haven’t played each other a lot in October in recent memory, but when they did, Boston got the last laugh, rallying from a 3-0 ALCS deficit to knock out the Bronx Bombers in ‘04, and manhandling them again in the 2018 ALDS.
Boston should not be counted out as they prepare for a stretch run, and they have the pieces to pull one off.
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