Kuzul

MLB teams can’t earn postseason berths without huge contributions from their veteran mainstays, but in October, managers also rely on their secret weapons to do some damage.

They tend to be younger players who have reached the majors within the past few years. Perhaps these under-the-radar individuals were dominant as prospects (or at least held in high regard), but they certainly aren’t perceived as stars at the highest level.

All my fellow Lil’ Kim fans may be under the impression that “what they don’t know won’t hurt ’em.”

Well in this scenario, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Like Francisco Rodriguez in 2002 and David Freese in 2011, the following five have the talent and the opportunities to blindside unsuspecting opponents and establish themselves as difference-makers in the 2013 playoffs.

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Despite a two-game losing streak, the Cleveland Indians find themselves just 1.5 games back of the fifth and final playoff spot in the American League. The Indians trail just three teams, those being the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers. The problem, though, is that the Indians will need to win games while relying on others to beat either New York, Tampa Bay or Texas.

However, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to assume that the Cleveland Indians make the postseason. In this case, we’ll assign them the second wild-card spot, as that is the most likely scenario in which they make the playoffs.

If the Indians take the fifth spot, and the rest of the standings hold the same, here’s how the American League playoff seeding would look:

1. Boston (East)
2. Oakland (West)
3. Detroit (Central)
4. Texas (WC)
5. Cleveland (WC)

This, being the most likely playoff scenario, would set up the Indians for an away game against the Rangers in a one-game playoff for the right to play Boston in the ALDS. The Indians would need to choose one starter to take on the Rangers, who would likely send Yu Darvish to the mound.

Runs are hard to come by against Darvish. The 27-year-old Cy Young Award candidate boasts a 12-8 record with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He also averages 11.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 3.67 K/BB and 6.2 H/9.

For that reason alone, the Indians need to be careful who they select as their starter in the Wild Card Round. Beyond who the Indians will see on the hill as an offense, though, whoever they start in that game will face one of the most daunting offenses in all of baseball.

Take a look at these key offensive categories and where the Rangers rank both in the AL and baseball as a whole.

In addition to the stout offense the Rangers front office has put together, the team plays in a very, very hitter-friendly ballpark. To this point, The Ballpark at Arlington has surrendered a whopping 2.01 HR/G, with an average distance of 401.1 feet—according to hittrackeronline.com.

In a perfect world, Justin Masterson would take the hill for this matchup. The Indians ace has an impressive 1.45 GB/FB ratio in 2013 with a mark of 1.31 over the course of his career, and while ground balls play well in any stadium, they play especially well in Arlington.

Unfortunately for the Indians, though, Masterson is a huge liability at this juncture. The 28-year-old was pulled from his last start on Sept. 2 with a strained oblique and has been on the mend ever since.

According to MLB.com, Masterson had no hiccups in a recent throwing session—he played catch from 90 feet—but he is not yet ready to pitch in a game. The playoffs are right around the corner, and with the wild-card play-in game taking place on Oct. 2, there’s very little time for Masterson to properly rehab his ailing oblique.

For this reason, the Indians need to start Ubaldo Jimenez in the one-game playoff.

This extends beyond the injury concerns surrounding Masterson, though. The playoffs are all about momentum, and at the moment there may not be a hotter pitcher in all of baseball than Jimenez.

In nine post-All-Star break starts, Jimenez owns a 1.94 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP while averaging 10.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 2.86 K/BB and 7.3 H/9.

The chart below displays Jimenez splits over the first and second half of the MLB season.

Don’t let anybody tell you that Jimenez has been lucky in the season’s second half. Something has clicked for the former All-Star and it’s shown in his play over the latter half of the year.

Jimenez’s incredible turnaround is due largely in part to his improved ability to limit walks and miss bats. This improvement can be traced directly to an increase in velocity across all of his pitches.

This final chart shows the difference in the average velocity of Jimenez’s seven pitches between June and September of 2013—according to Brooksbaseball.net.

Jimenez has seen a stark rise in fastball velocity; however, it’s the difference in the velocity of his splitter that has been the most important.

A well-placed 92 mph fastball—Sept. 2012 velocity—is still a good pitch. However, the difference between an 83 mph splitter and an 86 mph one is the difference between that pitch breaking from mid-thigh to the knees and mid-thigh to the shins.

Jimenez finally has the out pitch he’s been missing for the past two seasons with the Indians and it’s shown in the uptick in his strikeout rate from 21.7 percent in the first half up to 27 percent in the second.

The Rangers are a patient team at the plate. As a team, they’ve struck out in just 17.1 percent of their plate appearances while walking at a 7.6 percent clip.

The Indians will need a pitcher on the mound capable of matching Darvish‘s strikeout potential while also being able to limit the amount of opposing baserunners.

Over his last nine starts, Jimenez has been as good as anybody. He’s gotten his strikeout rate up to an impressive 27 percent, while his walk and hit percentages have dipped to 9.0 and 19.3 percent, respectively.

To put how good he’s been in perspective over the second half, Darvish‘s percentages are as follows: 33.7 strikeout percentage, 9.8 walk percentage and 16.7 hit percentage.

Jimenez is the closest thing the Indians have to an ace right now, and they should utilize it in this one-game, winner-take-all scenario.

Stats come courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com—unless otherwise noted—and are current through play on Sept. 12, 2013.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Cleveland Indians are in prime position to make the postseason for the first time since 2007. With just 19 games left in the regular season, the Tribe find themselves 1.5 games back of the fifth and final playoff spot.

In addition to that final playoff spot being within reach, the Indians have an outside chance at grabbing the top wild-card spot if they can make up the five-game difference separating them and the Texas Rangers. The AL playoff picture is a crowded one, featuring nine teams within four games of some sort of playoff spot.

For the Indians, the most likely scenario involves them snagging one of the wild-card spots, pitting them in a one-game playoff with one of six teams—the Red Sox and Tigers will likely win their respective divisions.

In this article I’ll break down the matchups between the Indians and each of their eight possible playoff opponents. For the Wild Card Rounds, we’ll look at how the teams compare in a one-game, winner-take all scenario, while in the division and championship round matchups, we’ll look at how they’ll hold up over a five-game series.

We’ll begin with the division leaders and an analysis of how the teams compare, followed by the Wild Card Round analysis.

Up first are the AL West-leading Oakland A’s.

All stats come courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and are current through play on Sept. 9, 2013.

For this article, we’ll use Justin Masterson as the proposed Game 1 starter in all postseason matchups. His recent oblique injury has given way to some doubt as to whether or not he will be available in October. However, as it stands, he’s expected back in time (per Cleveland.com).

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The Tampa Bay Rays are currently sitting in the second Wild Card spot in the American League. If they are able to advance to the postseason, they will have a rough road to the World Series.

The Rays’ winning formula of great starting pitching and defense has been challenged this year due to injuries to the rotation. The team hopes those worries are behind them for 2013 with a full stable of arms finally available.

The additions of Delmon Young and David DeJesus are efforts that the team is making to boost their struggling offense.

Of course, if they are unable to qualify for the postseason, the rest won’t matter. According to Baseball Prospectus the Rays currently have a 65.3 percent probability of making the 2013 playoffs.

Here is a look at how the Rays match up against their eight potential postseason opponents.

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Even the commissioner of baseball and the powers that be in MLB have nightmares.

While some of us wake up in a cold sweat at 3 a.m. because we dreamt that we were falling or being chased by monsters, their nightmares involve a short list of contenders making the playoffs.

There a number of reasons why a team would end up on that list, from a lack of local fan support and the size of their market to being without a genuine superstar that even the most casual of baseball fans is familiar with.

Not every division has a nightmare scenario that can play out this season, as some divisional races involve only teams that MLB would love to see in the postseason, but those are few-and-far between. That said, those teams that would cause sleepless nights as division champions would do the same as wild-card teams, so for our purposes, we’ll only look at each individual division.

The only prerequisite for a team to be considered for the nightmare scenario is that they must still be mathematically alive to make the playoffs—that’s it. 

So which potential playoff scenarios are keeping the most powerful people in the game up at night?

Take a look…if you dare.

*Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference and current through games of September 9.

*All attendance figures courtesy of ESPN’s Attendance Report.

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At 77-66, the Baltimore Orioles are 1.5 games back from a Wild Card spot. If they can make up that ground in the final 19 games of the season and make it to the postseason, it would be their second straight playoff birth after 14 years of disappointment.

Although the O’s aren’t officially eliminated in the battle for the AL East, they are currently nine games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox. So in all likelihood, if the O’s are going to make the playoffs they will have to do it through the Wild Card route.

While that’s not an awful thing—and they will be used to to the pressure, as they went that route last season—it means the Orioles might be required to play in the one-game playoff.

Here’s a preview of all the teams that the Orioles could possibly play in that Wild Card Game, or perhaps even later in the playoffs.

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A month that began with the A’s scuffling and ultimately losing their lead in the American League West ended with a 5-1 flourish that enabled the team to record its ninth straight winning month at 14-13. And don’t be fooled, that record is indicative of how the A’s played in the month of August: up and down and all around. 

Even the nice finish was dulled a bit by the three-run lead lost in Detroit on the 29th as the A’s let a chance at a rare four-game sweep against the Tigers slip away. But as of this writing, the A’s have put themselves in prime position for another fantastic September finish by pulling back to within two games of the front-running Texas Rangers.

So like the month of July, the grades for the club will begin with the pitching staff. 

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With September only a week away, the playoff picture is starting to come into frame.

There’s still a long way to go—about 34 or 35 games for most teams—but that doesn’t mean we can’t start dreaming about picture-perfect World Series matchups.

With apologies to the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics (and even a few others in the wild-card hunt, like the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees), these matchups are going to focus on the six clubs leading their divisions through Friday’s games.

The fact that the American League East is currently a dead heat (win percentage-wise) between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays complicates things a bit, but the edge goes to the former club, which has led the division for all but 18 days this season.

The Rays are without-a-doubt contenders, but perhaps a Fall Classic between them and the Pittsburgh Pirates—two of Major League Baseball’s smallest-market clubs—would be more wishful thinking than realistic.

While we’re dreaming on that, here’s a rundown of three more likely World Series showdowns—and which team would win.

Boston Red Sox versus Los Angeles Dodgers

This would be quite the potential battle, wouldn’t it? There would be subplots galore, given where both teams were only a year ago when they swapped superstars in one of the most historic trades in baseball history. If these two clubs met in October, the winner would be deemed the “winner” of the trade.

Lineups

Catcher: Jarrod Saltalamacchia has his flaws on defense and against lefty pitchers, but he’s in the midst of his best all-around season, whereas A.J. Ellis is more of a serviceable starter who doesn’t hurt the Dodgers much.

Advantage: Red Sox

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez isn’t the elite hitter he used to be, which is part of the reason the Red Sox unloaded him last August, but he’s much better than Mike Napoli with both the glove and the bat.

Advantage: Dodgers

Second Base: Even with Dustin Pedroia slumping in the second half, Mark Ellis doesn’t quite compare, does he?

Advantage: Red Sox

Third Base: It’s kind of amazing to think that Juan Uribe would win a positional matchup, but he has had a surprisingly solid season, while Boston’s hot corner remains unsettled until Will Middlebrooks (or phenom Xander Bogaerts) stabilizes.

Advantage: Dodgers, barely. For now.

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez versus Stephen Drew? Please.

Advantage: Dodgers

Outfield: If Matt Kemp were healthy and productive—he’s been neither this season—this would pretty easily be in favor of L.A., thanks to Yasiel Puig’s breakout and Carl Crawford’s bounce back.

Boston’s outfield doesn’t have quite the same star power, but Jacoby Ellsbury is having a great year, while Shane Victorino and Daniel Nava have been quality bookends. 

Advantage: Push, with Kemp as the X factor.

Designated Hitter: Even if Kemp gets back and allows the Dodgers to use Andre Ethier at DH in games played at Dodger Stadium, David Ortiz is winning this head-to-head. No contest.

Advantage: Red Sox

Rotations

The Red Sox likely would line up Jon Lester, Jake Peavy and John Lackey (with Ryan Dempster as the next option) but the injured star, Clay Buchholz, could be the X factor for the Dodgers’ offense. 

Still, it would be hard for Boston’s starters, even with Buchholz back, to best the Dodgers quartet of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Ricky Nolasco.

Advantage: Dodgers, especially if Buchholz isn’t healthy.

Bullpens

It’s hard to say whether the Red Sox’ Koji Uehara or the Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen—neither of whom started 2013 as their club’s closer, by the way—has had the better season, but Jansen’s overpowering fastball might be more effective in the postseason than Uehara‘s splitter.

As for the rest of the relievers, both teams are stocked with arms you’ve probably never heard of, but the Dodgers have recently acquired Brian Wilson, a former World Series-winning closer, and Paco Rodriguez, an underrated weapon from the left side. The Sox, meanwhile, have Junichi Tazawa…and a bunch of injured relievers (Andrew Bailey, Joel Hanrahan, Andrew Miller, Matt Thornton).

Advantage: Dodgers

Winner

The Dodgers. They have been the hottest team in baseball over the past half-century and then some and because their stars have been healthy (for the most part) and extremely productive. No team in baseball is scarier right now than Los Angeles, who could get even better (gasp) if Kemp can get himself right. 

Detroit Tigers versus Pittsburgh Pirates 

This possible showdown would be between one of the most veteran, postseason-experienced—not to mention, big-market—teams in baseball against a club whose payroll is about half the size and who hasn’t played October baseball since Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera were nine years old.

Lineups

Catcher: Neither backstop is much more than average in any facet, but Russell Martin is just a bit more reliable than Alex Avila.

Advantage: Pirates

First Base: Whether it’s Garrett Jones or Gaby Sanchez doesn’t really matter because Prince Fielder, even in a down year, is just way, way better.

Advantage: Tigers

Second Base: There’s not much separating solid-but-not-spectacular Omar Infante from underrated-and-overlooked Neil Walker, so let’s call it even.

Advantage: Push

Third Base: Pedro Alvarez can impact any game with one swing of the bat, but Miguel Cabrera can impact any game with many swings of the bat.

Advantage: Tigers

Shortstop: There’s not much going on at the middle infield spot for either club, and the opposing shortstops offer less than the second baseman, especially with Jhonny Peralta’s questionable return following the Biogenesis-related suspension. When in doubt, go defense, so Jose Iglesias gets the nod over the Jordy Mercer-Clint Barmes duo.

Advantage: Tigers, but by the slimmest of margins.

Outfield: Both sides have two very good all-around outfielders and one borderline black hole (at least compared to the other spots). The difference is that in addition to breakout left fielder Starling Marte, the Pirates also have an MVP-caliber difference-maker in center fielder Andrew McCutchen. That’s something even Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter can’t offset.

Advantage: Pirates

Designated Hitter: Presumably, the Pirates would use either Jones or Sanchez, but Victor Martinez, who has come on strong over the past two months after a very slow start, is a more dangerous extra hitter when games are at PNC Park.

Advantage: Tigers

Rotations

The Pirates’ biggest strength to this point has been its pitching, with A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano leading a staff that would follow up with first-half All-Star Jeff Locke and top-prospect-turned-impact rookie Gerrit Cole.

The top two have pitched well enough to match up with just about any other team’s duo for Games 1 and 2, but Locke has struggled of late and Cole could be overextended—he’s already approaching 150 total innings in his first pro year.

Detroit has five horses, each of whom is playoff-tested and pitching without any limitations. The biggest question for the Tigers might be whether Verlander deserves to get the nod ahead of Max Scherzer, who’s had an incredible year. Regardless, backing them up with Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister makes it tough for any team to beat Detroit.

Advantage: Tigers

Bullpens

As recently as a month ago, the closer battle would have been anything but, as Jason Grilli was owning the competition, while the Tigers were still hoping to find a ninth-inning answer. But with Grilli still sidelined with arm problems, Mark Melancon doesn’t give the Pirates quite the same edge over the Tigers’ Joaquin Benoit.

Assuming Grilli can make it back and return to form before season’s end—which looks like a possibility, according to Tom Singer of MLB.com—then the rest of Pittsburgh’s “Shark Tank” bullpen can fall into place with quality arms from both the right (Melancon) and left (Tony Watson, Justin Wilson) sides.

Detroit’s relief corps is much improved with Benoit and Jose Veras stabilizing the back end, and Drew Smyly emerging as an elite option among lefties, but the Pirates’ group has been special.

Advantage: Pirates

Winner

Detroit, which is a better all-around team, with more starting pitchers capable of dominating in a short series and with more offensive firepower, thanks to Cabrera and Fielder in the middle of a potent lineup that is leading the majors with 5.1 runs scored per game.

The fact that the Tigers have plenty of postseason experience after last year’s run to the World Series, could also give them an edge over a Pirates team that hasn’t made the playoffs—or had a winning season—since 1992.

Texas Rangers versus Atlanta Braves

This theoretical matchup would pit two of baseball’s most injury-riddled rosters against each other, as the Rangers have been dealing with life without Matt Harrison, Colby Lewis, Alexi Ogando and Lance Berkman (not to mention the suspended Nelson Cruz), while the Braves are currently sans Jason Heyward, Tim Hudson, Dan Uggla, Jonny Venters, Eric O’Flaherty and Brandon Beachy.

Lineups

Catcher: Brian McCann and A.J. Pierzynski are two of the better offensive catchers in the game, but the former’s power edge gives him the slim win.

Advantage: Braves

First Base: For a minute there, it looked like Mitch Moreland was going to have that season some have been anticipating, but instead Freddie Freeman became one of baseball’s breakout first baseman of 2013.

Advantage: Braves

Second Base: Unless Uggla’s LASIK surgery can also close up the holes in his swing, this one goes to Ian Kinsler, who’s a better all-around player, even if he isn’t having a typically good year after dealing with injury to his right side that cost him a month midseason.

Advantage: Rangers

Third Base: As great (and fortunate, as his MLB-high BABIP indicates) as Chris Johnson has been in his best big league season, he’s no Adrian Beltre. And it’s not all that close, either.

Advantage: Rangers

Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons is statistically the most impactful defensive player in the league, and he has shown he is already a better hitter than the meek Elvis Andrus.

Advantage: Braves

Outfield: Ummm, this is a giant question mark on both sides. Atlanta is dealing with Heyward‘s fractured jaw, which could keep him out into the playoffs, and B.J. Upton’s inability to hit even .200, leaving only the streaky-as-all-heck Justin Upton.

Meanwhile, Texas has the emerging Leonys Martin, recently acquired Alex Rios and solid-at-best David Murphy, but is without Cruz, their second-best bat, for the rest of the regular season. What level he’ll be able to perform at after such a long suspension could be the tipping point here. For now, though, it’s too volatile to decide.

Advantage: Push

Designated Hitter: For games at Turner Field, Atlanta is the rare NL team that would actually be able to hang with its AL opponent in the DH department, thanks to Evan Gattis, who is a bigger threat than either Berkman, Murphy or Jurickson Profar.

Advantage: Braves

Rotations

The Rangers’ biggest advantage in this entire matchup would be the fact that Yu Darvish is the only true No. 1 shutdown ace on either rotation—and he could get the chance to own put his MLB strikeout-leading stuff up against one of baseball’s most whiff-tastic lineups around. Texas would also throw trade acquisition Matt Garza and lefty Derek Holland, but after that their staff gets thin quick, even if Ogando can make it back.

Atlanta, by comparison, has a deeper rotation—even without Hudson and Beachy—but Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Kris Medlen, Paul Maholm or Alex Wood cannot match up with Darvish. Frankly, figuring out which starters the Braves would choose after Minor and Teheran is tricky enough.

Advantage: Rangers, even if it’s just because of Darvish.

Bullpens

While many would argue that the electric Craig Kimbrel is baseball’s best closer—and he might be—he’s not dramatically better than the battle-tested Joe Nathan, so this is one instance where the Braves don’t possess a huge ninth-inning edge.

Of course, Nathan’s playoff track record (9 ER, 14 H in 9 IP) doesn’t exactly help Texas’ case much.

The rest of the pens are pretty evenly matched, as Atlanta can throw righty Jordan Walden and lefties Luis Avilan and Scott Downs. Because of the season-enders to Venters and O’Flaherty, though, the Rangers have a slightly deeper gang, including Tanner Scheppers, Joakim Soria and Jason Frasor from the right side, along with Robbie Ross and Neal Cotts from the left.

Advantage: Push

Winner

The Braves win out at the position breakdown and have the better closer, but their more recent injury issues are a real concern going forward. As would be their ability to actually make contact against Darvish. If Cruz, who has been a postseason monster in recent years, can regain his pre-suspension form, this matchup might all add up to that elusive first title in franchise history for the Rangers.

Who would win these potential World Series matchups? What other showdowns would you most like to see in October?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t have Carl Crawford available to help their playoff push this season, but his return in 2013 will help L.A. avoid missing the postseason for a fourth consecutive year. 

Crawford underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in July, shortly before being traded to the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster trade in August. The surgery reduced his 2012 campaign to a mere 31 games played, but he’s expected to be fully recovered by the beginning of June at the absolute latest.

Once Crawford returns, he’ll provide another offensive weapon toward the top of a Los Angeles lineup that’s loaded with All-Star-caliber players. He will give the Dodgers five hitters that have made at least two All-Star game appearances since 2009. 

The Dodgers’ lineup will be tough on opposing pitchers with Crawford hitting out of the two-hole. His ability to get on base and steal bases eliminates L.A.’s need for a traditional leadoff hitter, and his left-handed bat allows Los Angeles to alternate righties and lefties in the first seven spots of the lineup.

Depending on how the Dodgers sort out their crowded left side of the infield, second baseman Mark Ellis and shortstop Dee Gordon are the most likely candidates to bat leadoff for Los Angeles.

If he can make it back into the starting lineup by opening day, Crawford could eclipse his career high of 110 runs scored with Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier hitting behind him. 

Skeptics will point out that Crawford’s career has recently been marked by injuries and poor performance. There’s reason for Dodgers fans to believe, however, that his failure to produce in Boston was not the beginning of a career in decline.

Crawford only appeared in 161 games for the Red Sox over the past two seasons while battling a combination of hamstring, wrist and elbow injuries. But he began to show flashes of the player Boston thought it was getting when they signed him to a seven-year, $142 million contract in December of 2010 during his abbreviated 2012 campaign.

He hit .282 with three home runs, 23 runs scored, 19 runs batted in and five stolen bases in 117 regular-season at bats.

Crawford never seemed to be a good fit in the intense media environment in Boston. The Los Angeles market will prove to be a much more comfortable fit for the reserved outfielder, especially with player-friendly manager Don Mattingly on the bench.

Still Just 31, and with his health issues finally behind him, Crawford will prove to be more than just a high-risk salary dump included in the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Dodgers fans will be pleased to see the 2010 AL Gold Glove winner patrolling left field every day. He’ll combine with Kemp and Ethier to give Los Angeles MLB’s most complete outfield.

Crawford’s days of stealing 50-plus bases are likely permanently behind him and the Dodgers would be crazy to let him run free with the plethora of run producers hitting behind him. He still has enough speed to score from first base on doubles hit to the gaps, which is sure to be a common occurrence in cavernous Dodgers Stadium.

With Crawford, Ramirez and a healthy Kemp in Los Angeles for an entire season, the Dodgers will steal more than the 104 bases they swiped this season—the eighth-best total in the National League. That’s a much-needed advantage for an offense that finished second-to-last in the league in home runs with 116.   

While the home run total is sure to go up as well, the Dodgers will never be confused with the New York Yankees and their dependence on the long ball to score runs. Besides, the American League Championship Series exposed the folly in building an offense that cannot manufacture runs.

Dodgers fans shouldn’t expect Crawford to be the same player that he was during his best days with the Tampa Bay Rays. But a .290 batting average with 10 home runs, 65 runs batted in, 105 runs scored and 35 stolen bases is a reasonable expectation for his first season in Los Angeles. 

If Crawford comes anywhere close to those numbers while playing in 145 games or more, the Dodgers will be celebrating a NL West division title and their first postseason appearance since 2009.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s that time of year again in Major League Baseball.

Division leaders and Wild Card hopefuls dominate the headlines as fans across the nation begin to anticipate the excitement of October pennant chases. 

September is where legends cement their place, managers justify their contracts, role players previously shrouded in obscurity make their names known, MVPs and Cy Young winners bring home their hardware, headlines are stolen and franchise-crippling collapses are immortalized. 

The most exciting month of baseball’s regular season is where the pretenders and the contenders are finally separated as W’s, X’s, Y’s and Z’s begin to finalize the standings, granting a select few ball clubs the ever-so-elusive invitation to the sport’s most exclusive dance.

Lost in the hype, however, as disgruntled fans of hopeless teams begin to switch the channel over to football are their first glances at a brighter future. 

For those of us not lucky enough to construct our hopes around the boys in New York, Milwaukee, Texas, Arizona, Detroit or Philadelphia, September call-ups are all we’ve got left to give the tail end of the schedule some measure of relevance.

This is where the old Brooklyn Dodgers mantra of “wait till next year” becomes a battle cry, because unless your favored club is within a few games of a postseason berth, the future is your last resort.

Now, that’s not to say that next year’s prospects are looking too bright in every corner of Bud Selig’s empire.

In remote ball-playing wastelands, such as Houston, Texas and Baltimore, it’s going to take years of patience and good faith before the home team can even begin to see itself on the same page as the rest of its competition.

For these five clubs, however, grim outlooks need not be applied.

With the savvy dealing, creativity and patience of their front offices alongside the steady development of their promising talent on the farm, brighter days appear to be just on the horizon, merely awaiting a fresh 162 or two.

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