Late final month, I used this house to speak about a couple of storylines to regulate for the second half of the 2024 Main League Baseball season. One of many important issues I mentioned was the Wild Card race for each leagues and the way it was nonetheless large open — particularly within the Nationwide League, the place the whole Postseason image included 12 of the 15 groups.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then and when you might argue that that quantity has gone down from 12 to 10 since each the Cubs and the Reds didn’t precisely come out of the gates swinging within the second half, issues have tightened up significantly in any other case. A lot of the pleasure has come from the highest of the NL Wild Card race getting very attention-grabbing hastily.
If you happen to had instructed most Atlanta Braves followers throughout Spring Coaching that their crew would have been drawn right into a dogfight for the Wild Card, they in all probability would’ve responded with “You imply the division, proper?” Certainly, whereas the Braves had been a stable choose to win the NL East as soon as once more this season, it will’ve been cheap to imagine that the Phillies might have given Atlanta a severe run for his or her cash when it got here to the divisional crown. Whereas the Phillies have certainly slowed down from the livid tempo that they had been on to start out the season, they’re nonetheless fairly massive favorites at this level to finish Atlanta’s run of divisional dominance and win their first divisional crown since 2011.
Nonetheless, the Braves now have greater issues to fret about moreover merely making a run to retain the divisional crown. Atlanta is now in a battle to easily make the Postseason. The hole between themselves and the NL Wild Card pack has shrunken to the purpose the place they’ve gone from having a cushty lead and an 84 % shot at clinching a Wild Card spot (in keeping with FanGraphs) on July 11 to all of the sudden having their possibilities go down practically 20 factors to 67 %. They enter Monday only one share level forward of the San Diego Padres for the primary Wild Card spot and solely half a sport forward of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final. They’re simply 1.5 video games forward of the New York Mets who’re at the moment on the surface wanting in.
In reality, the Mets even handed the Braves within the standings at one level after the break earlier than falling behind practically as shortly. Nonetheless, it’s turn into clear that the Braves are doubtless going to have a significant battle on their palms to carry onto the highest Wild Card spot and can also be in a battle to easily make the Postseason. So, what occurred? How has this race gone from being practically a positive factor in Atlanta’s favor to all of the sudden being a free-for-all the place even the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals are only one good stretch of baseball away from having a severe shot, themselves?
For the Braves, it is come down to 2 main points: Accidents and an absence of constant offensive manufacturing. For all of the damage luck that the Braves have had in current seasons, they’ve had none of it right here in 2024. For reference’s sake, this is Atlanta’s lineup from Opening Day:
Now, this is how the Braves regarded 4 months later:
For sure, it will’ve been miraculous for any crew to take care of their lofty expectations with that a lot lineup turnover in any given season. As such, it is fairly simple to know why and the way an offense that was among the best to ever do it (within the common season, not less than) final season has all of the sudden turn into a gaggle that’s hitting .239/.303/.406 with simply 97 wRC+. The Braves are extraordinarily lucky that their pitching has been nice this season as a result of the offense has been middling at finest and is the one actual factor conserving them from falling utterly into the pack as a substitute of nonetheless being on the head in the interim. Atlanta’s been hovering round 9-10 video games over .500 since Could. Being 20-9 seems nice in Could! Nonetheless, being 60-51, six video games behind within the division and in a cage battle for a Wild Card spot is not nice for a crew that had the expectations that Atlanta had!
Atlanta’s continued sputtering has coincided with the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks waking up. In reality, with each San Diego and Arizona going 8-2 over their final 10 video games, they have not simply absolutely established themselves within the Wild Card dialog however they’ve additionally made issues slightly attention-grabbing the NL West race because the Los Angeles Dodgers have began slowing down, themselves. Whereas each the Padres and D-Backs are nonetheless very a lot outsiders for the division, they’ve completely performed themselves into rivalry.
A.J. Preller’s deadline dealings had been extraordinarily dangerous, as San Diego’s head baseball honcho determined to primarily empty the farm out with a purpose to enhance their bullpen. They’re 100% all in at this level and so they’re taking part in prefer it as effectively. The Padres are the most popular crew in baseball for the reason that break (11-3), they’ve received 5 straight collection and seem like firing on all cylinders proper now. Supervisor Mike Shildt is pushing all the appropriate buttons and he’s been doing a really stable job of using the improved bullpen with a purpose to shorten the video games.
With a bullpen already filled with fearsome arms like Robert Suarez and Jeremiah Estrada and the additions of July NL Reliever of the Month Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, and Bryan Hoeing, this isn’t a crew that you just wish to fall behind in opposition to after six innings. With their high-powered offense (sporting the Sixth-best crew wRC+ in baseball), they’re additionally a crew that no person would wish to see in October if they will proceed this tempo and lock down a Postseason berth.
The identical goes for the Diamondbacks, who’ve lastly hit their stride after spending most of this season struggling — it is nearly as in the event that they’re the defending Nationwide League Champions, proper? Arizona has overcome damage problems with their very own and have been slowly-but-surely clawing their method again into the playoff dialog. Arizona’s offense is simply as high-powered as San Diego’s (they’ve the Seventh-best crew wRC+ in MLB and are only one level behind San Diego in that regard) and it positive helps when you might have Corbin Carroll showing to get up as guys like NL MVP candidate Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Joc Pederson have been mashing all season. You recognize issues are going effectively whenever you’re in a position to begin a sport like this:
In the meantime on the surface wanting in on the Wild Card spots, the New York Mets are nonetheless hanging round. They’ve positively slowed down since the brief-but-magical run with Grimace however they’re only one.5 video games out of a Wild Card spot, to allow them to’t be counted out by any means. The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t precisely the image of consistency however they’re hanging proper on in there at a sport over .500 and we’re seeing proper now whether or not or not they’re going to be severe contenders after having simply seen the Diamondbacks and are set to start out taking part in the Padres on Tuesday. The St. Louis Cardinals are hoping that getting not less than a part of the ol’ band again collectively can revive a few of that previous satan magic that all of us keep in mind and even the San Francisco Giants nonetheless have slightly little bit of life left after Blake Snell’s no-hitter over the weekend.
There’s nonetheless loads left to play for for almost all of groups within the Nationwide League. The NL Wild Card race figures to be notably fascinating — we figured it will be as such as soon as baseball returned from the break and to this point this race has lived as much as the billing. Any sizzling streak or stoop from any of those aforementioned groups might have a huge effect on the Postseason race and it is clear that issues are nonetheless very a lot up within the air as we get into the enterprise finish of this season.