If the Season Ended Today 2018 AL Division Series

Of the teams that would be guaranteed to face each other in one of the American League Division Serieses if the season ended today (but also at the All-Star Break, when this feature is based) one has a fairly insurmountable lead in their division, while the other got off to a tremendous start, but has since seen their competition surge forward. In fact, the former team (the Indians) doesn't even have a better record than the THIRD PLACE team in the division of the latter team (the Astros). But that bit of trivia doesn't mean that one team would steamroll the other were they to match up in a best of five series. Let's check out the roster of:

If it sounds crazy that Houston may have gotten even better than the season where they became the defending World Champions, just remember that we're living in a crazy world. The 'Stros sent six (6!) players to the All-Star game this year, which is a total only matched by (spoiler alert) their projected opponents in this ALDS. Of those six, the only fan-elected starter was diminutive second baseman Jose Altuve, who actually just went on the disabled list for the first time in his career last week. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander was deemed unavailable due to scheduling concerns, and last year's Game 7 hero Charlie Morton was only brought in as a replacement for Aroldis Chapman, and ended up with the first of two blown saves on the night. 2017 World Series MVP George Springer and the AL's lone Home Run Derby participant Alex Bregman both made it via the player ballot, and each player drove in a run during the proceedings. Offseason acquisition Gerrit Cole was the main reason for this team's year-over-year improvements, but his own manager, A.J. Hinch, chose not to utilize him in the All-Star Game.

I n terms of non All-Star acquisitions, Hector Rondon had taken over as the team's closer due to the struggles (and subsequent demotion) of Ken Giles (518 fantasy points in the majors this year, 15.2 points per game). But Rondon will likely be ousted from that role this coming Sunday, when the newest member of the Astros, Roberto Osuna (404 / 26.9), is eligible to come off the Restricted List. The former Blue Jays closer is serving a 75-game domestic violence suspension - a crime for which he is still facing criminal charges and possibly jail time - yet unlike players who have been caught using performance enhancing drugs, Osuna WILL be eligible for the postseason (a gross moral oversight on MLB's part, at least from the perspective of this Philosophy major with a concentration in Ethics). In a less controversial bullpen move, General Manager Jeff Luhnow also just recently acquired high spin rate specialist Ryan Pressly (391 / 8.1) from the Twins. If there's a way to imagine the above-presented lineup getting EVEN BETTER, it's looking forward to the DL activations of shortstop Carlos Correa (977 / 13.4) - whose position is currently being filled by Marwin Gonzalez - and catcher Brian McCann (302 / 6.0) - although the latter's absence was made easier to stomach with the trade that brought in former Gold Glove winner Martin Maldonado (493 / 6.7) from the Angels. Oh, and also consider that the four-man playoff-style rotation I listed above doesn't even include former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel (899 / 45.0).

As I mentioned above, Cleveland, like Houston, had six All-Star representatives this year, and also like Houston, just one was a fan-elected starter: MLB offensive fantasy point leader Jose Ramirez. In yet another similarity to the defending champs, ace Corey Kluber was unavailable, but the Indians had one more replacement player than the Astros did: emergent co-ace Trevor Bauer stepped in for Verlander (ironically enough) and backstop Yan Gomes took the roster spot (but not the starting lineup spot) of injured fan-elected catcher Wilson Ramos (929 / 11.9). Player Ballot honorees Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley saw action as late inning replacements, but a sacrifice fly by the latter was the only notable production from the pair.

As is apparent from the ragtag pair of relievers listed behind closer Cody Allen, the bullpen has been a source of weakness all year for Cleveland, owing in no small part to the injury (and ineffectiveness when healthy) of lefty relief ace Andrew Miller (114 / 6.7). Could it be that two postseasons in a row of blatant overuse is finally catching up to him? Either way GM Chris Antonetti went and picked up another lights-out lefty arm for skipper Terry Francona to abuse in the form of Brad Hand (1,190 / 29.0), plus first-year rookie Adam Cimber (463 / 11.0) from the Padres shortly after the break. Miller isn't the only significant injury to befall the Tribe, as both projected right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall (255 / 8.8) and center fielder Bradley Zimmer (220 / 6.5) have both gone down long term, testing the integrity of the team's bench bats (also including Greg Allen, 227 / 5.0) and minor league depth (i.e. Melky Cabrera, 123 / 7.2). Does anyone else see a trade of Adam Jones (878 / 9.5) as a natural fit?


Only one more post to follow: the top-seeded teams in both leagues!