MLB’s 5 biggest questions for the stretch run before 2026 Playoffs

CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 18: José Ramírez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians watches a solo home run clear the right-field fence during the sixth inning against the Athletics for his 1,000th career RBI at Progressive Field on September 18, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. | Getty Images It’s been an incredibly bizarre season, and it’s not over yet. “Parity” has been the word across the majors in 2026, and one that won’t go away any time soon. The owners say they need to increase it in the next collective bargaining agreement, and they’re willing to lockout the players in order to improve “competitive balance.” It’s not clear if that’s possible, or even desirable, following a year of extreme sameness. On the one hand, broad competence has meant most teams have been reasonably competitive into September. Even fans whose playoff hopes were dashed weeks ago can still watch with an eye toward next year. On the other, the race for the middle means few (if any) teams have achieved true greatness, and we may even see a division winner with a sub-.500 record for the first time ever. The other word featured in think pieces this year has been “mediocrity.” It hasn’t just been a weird year at the team level. There’s also extreme turnover at the top of individual leaderboards. Aaron Judge spent most of the year on the injured list and will not win his third straight MVP. Shohei Ohtani battled injury much of the year and will not win his fourth straight MVP. In their place are a smattering of post-hype superstars, unlikely veterans, and scintillating rookies. The breadth and depth of talent suggests the league remains as strong as ever. With that in mind, here are a few storylines I’m following as we begin the final week of play. Will anybody make the playoffs with a sub-.500 record? The parity in the American League isn’t necessarily surprising. FanGraphs didn’t peg any team for greater than 90 wins in the preseason, and 12 teams had greater than 20% odds to make the playoffs. What is surprising is how bad the AL West wound up being — or rather, how bad the Mariners specifically wound up being. They were arguably the favorites in the AL in the preseason, and were supposed to clean house in a weak division. Instead, they were mediocre in the first half and have been simply terrible in the second, leaving the teams in Texas to slug it out in a race for .500. The Rangers begin the week at 78-78, while the Astros are a game back at 77-79. The Rangers have gotten here with a general mediocrity, not really standing out in any aspect of the game, good or bad. That said, they do look a bit better these days with Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager finally healthy at the the same time. The Astros instead create their mediocrity from a frustrating mix of stars and scrubs. They have an elite top of the order in Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Peña, and Isaac Paredes, and they have a great closer in Josh Hader. But there hasn’t been much success beyond them — they even fired general manager Dana Brown last month. The Astros hold the tie breaker over the Rangers, having taken the season series 9-4. They also have a slightly easier schedule ahead, playing the Mariners and A’s, while the Rangers play the Mets and Twins. Still, the Astros are in a miserable stretch, having lost 7 of 10 with “three slaps in the face” over the weekend against the Braves No team has ever made it to the postseason with a sub-.500 record in a full season. Both the Astros and Brewers earned Wild Card nods at 29-31 in 2020, though eight teams per league made the postseason that year. The 1981 Royals got to the playoffs at 50-53 in a strike-shortened season that was split into two halves. The worst team to ever make the playoffs in a full season was the 2005 Padres at 82-80. Who will outlast in the AL Central? The only other active race is the Guardians (81-75) and White Sox (80-76) for the AL Central. The Guardians, after falling way behind in the early summer, have suddenly pulled ahead. They’ve pitched well throughout the year and are now surging at the plate, making them a well-rounded and fairly dangerous team. They’re 12-7 in September and took two of three against the White Sox just last week. After sweeping the A’s over the weekend, they head to Boston and Kansas City to try to maintain their lead. The White Sox, on the other hand, are struggling to regain their footing after fumbling what was once a 5 1/2 game lead on the division. Their early success was largely built on the long ball, but their bats have run cold at the wrong time. They’re 8-11 in September after dropping the series in Cleveland, though did well to take three of four from the Tigers over the weekend. They, too, play the Royals this week, and finish the season at home against the Rockies. The White Sox hold the tie breaker with a 7-6 record against the Guardians in the regular season. Both teams figure to make the postseason, and each has playoff odds greater than 95%, according to FanGraphs. The winner will likely earn the second seed and a first round bye. The runner-up would instead play whoever wins the AL West. Will the Brewers reach 100 wins for the first time? Only the Brewers, Dodgers, and Rays have a chance to reach triple digits in the win column. The Dodgers, with their infinite payroll, are expected to do this every year, though haven’t since 2023. The Rays are never expected to do this, because they don’t spend like the Dodgers — another wrinkle in the looming arguments over parity. The Brewers, meanwhile, have simply never done it, as one of just six teams to have never reached 100 wins in their history. In fact, at 98 wins, this is already their best-ever season, topping their previous high mark of 97 wins from just last year. Perhaps more importantly, the Brewers are on the cusp of finishing with the best record in the majors for a second straight season. This is looking like the beginning of a true dynasty. I’m not even sure what’s left to say about the Brewers. They have one of the best lineups in baseball, led by Jake Bauers, Brice Turang, and Jackson Chourio. They have one of the best rotations in baseball, led by the league’s ace Jacob Misiorowski. Their high leverage bullpen is as deep and as clutch as they come. If greatness exists in the majors in 2026, it can be found in Milwaukee. Will Pete Crow-Armstrong get to 40-40 in his MVP season? There are plenty of reasons to watch Pete Crow-Armstrong the rest of the way. Will he lead the majors in home runs? He’s tied with Kyle Schwarber at 45. Will he set the all-time record for Fielding Run Value in a season? He’s at 27 FRV and one behind Nick Ahmed’s all-time mark of 28 from 2018. But Crow-Armstrong is also at 38 stolen bases, putting him just two short of the illustrious 40-40 club, a distinction only six others have ever reached. To be fair, 40-40 is not what it once was, as new rules have made it easier than ever to steal bases — 40 homers while leading the league in defense is far more impressive, in my opinion. Regardless, 40-40 remains a figure of immortality, an irrefutable tagline that conveys greatness even beyond the NL MVP. Who will take home the AL MVP? The AL MVP race remains neck and neck without Judge in the mix. Bobby Witt Jr. has been great all around and leads the AL in fWAR, though it’d feel weird to give him the nod in what’s technically been a down year by his standards. Yordan Alvarez, on the other hand, is having his best-ever season, though it’s rare for the award to go to a DH. Just as rare is for the the award to go to a pitcher, but maybe Cam Schlittler has done enough to earn the honors. He makes his final start Thursday against the Rays. There’s also Junior Caminero, who leads the AL in homers and stars for the league’s best team. Perhaps a scorching final week could earn him the nod.

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