The unofficial midway point of the season is here and gone, and now it’s time for us to start thinking about the march to the playoffs. There are 16 teams within five games of the playoffs, and the race should continue to be very tight down the stretch. There are several players that will mold their teams into being contenders, or pretenders. Here is a brief look at five players that will have a major role in determining whether or not their teams will be playing ball in October or not.
1. Dan Uggla, Braves
Uggla was the main offseason acquisition for a team that struggled offensively last year. Over the first three months of 2011, Uggla (along with teammate Jason Heyward) struggled offensively. In fact, Uggla wasn’t just bad, he was one of the worst players in baseball. Uggla showed the Braves a glimmer of hope in July thusfar, with an OPS of .901 so far this month after having problems breaking the .630 mark over the season’s first three months. If Uggla starts to hit like he has in the past, the Braves can make a run at the Phillies in the NL East. If he keeps struggling, the team will have to settle for the wild card.
2. Adam Dunn, White Sox
Dunn, like Uggla, was a big offseason acquisition for a team that needed a boost. It seemed like a match made in heaven, with the slugger moving to the American League where he could DH all season and not have to worry about playing defense. Things haven’t gone according to plan, as Dunn only has nine home runs and has already struck out 117 times in only 78 games. Possibly the worst part about this for Chicago is that Dunn is still under contract for three more seasons after this one. Dunn might be able to concentrate only on his hitting in the AL, but the tick up in the quality of pitchers is having an effect on him so far. The White Sox are still in the thick of the race in the AL Central despite slogging through the first half, and if Dunn is able to turn it around, the team could steal the division.
3. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
The surprising Pirates are a game out of first in the NL Central, and McCutchen is the sole reason why. He leads the team in all three slash stats, homers, runs, and is second in RBI. He’s been worth 5.1 WAR on the season, and the next highest player on the team, pitcher or hitter, is at 1.7. To say that McCutchen is carrying the Pirates is an understatement. He *is* the Pittsburgh Pirates right now. Aside from their center fielder, the team isn’t producing like a playoff team. If the Pirates are going to finish above .500 on the year and possibly make the playoffs, McCutchen needs to continue to play like an MVP candidate. If he doesn’t, the team is going to continue their series of losing seasons.
4. Pablo Sandoval, Giants
The Giants offense is pathetic without stud catcher Buster Posey. Sandoval has only played in 50 games, but when he’s healthy, he’s the team’s best hitter. The pitching staff is excellent, but the offense is an absolute mess. Sandoval needs to stay healthy for the Giants to have a chance to repeat. There’s a huge difference between a great pitching staff carrying a bad offense, but the Giants pitching staff isn’t as good as last year, and the offense is much worse. It’s a tall order for the team to continue to win games if Sandoval isn’t playing every day.
5. CC Sabathia, Yankees
There is no questioning that the Yankees have an amazing offense. Five of their nine offensive starters are above 2.5 WAR on the year, led by Curtis Granderson’s 4.7 mark. But their starting pitching is pretty bad outside of Sabathia. The rotation is currently made up of Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, and Ivan Nova. This rotation doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of many around the league. Sabathia has been amazing. Nova and Garcia don’t have the ability to strike anyone out, while Colon’s deal with the devil appears to be running out after a bad start on Thursday, and Burnett is the scourge of the city. Only Burnett and Sabathia have thrown over 100 innings for New York this season. Sabathia is carrying the rotation on his large back so far this season, and if he breaks down, the Yankees are going to be in a real tough situation. I have no doubt they’re going to swing a deal for a starting pitcher this month, but the question is “who?”
It’s going to be a great pennant race down the stretch. There are plenty of players who are going to make impacts on their teams, but I think these are the five most crucial right now. The Yankees and Braves seem destined to make the playoffs regardless, but I’m sure they’d rather get in as division champions than wild card winners, which is why I put a player from each team on the list. Here’s to the rest of the season, may it be a great one.
