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We’ve made it to the final week of the MLB regular season! While in past years there have been numerous teams mailing it in at this point with their seeds locked up for the postseason, that is certainly not the case in 2024.

The top seeds are still battling it out for positioning and Wild Card races have turned into absolute chaos with just a handful of games remaining to earn a spot.

This week, we’ll dive into the playoff picture and other stories around the league, but first we take a look at the standouts from this season. Our staff has published pieces this week featuring the best players from this season in a few different categories, so we’ll dive into the players that have defined the 2024 season.

Top Players of 2024

The 2024 season comes to close this weekend. Last week, we looked at the award races and who is set to take home the hardware this season. Now, we provide a different look at the top players throughout baseball.

Top 10 Hitters of 2024

There is little debate as to who the best hitter in baseball has been this season. Aaron Judge broke the AL home run record two years ago has had an even better overall year at the plate in 2024. Beyond Judge being unreal, Bobby Witt Jr. has cemented his status as a clear top-end MLB player while Shohei Ohtani is going to win yet another MVP, this time in the National League.

The most expensive free agent on the market this coming winter cracks our top 5 alongside another player having a career year in the same city. The back half of our top 10 from this season features some young stars that have taken huge steps forward and two perennially underrated star infielders.

Full Top 10 Hitters of 2024!

Top 10 Pitchers of 2024

Two left-handed stars in Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal have a legit shot to secure the Triple Crowns in their respective leagues as they’ve all but locked up the Cy Young Awards. A few more veteran aces are having career-best seasons while another right-hander is having one of the greatest rookie pitcher seasons ever.

Some young pitchers proved that they’re aces moving forward as well with huge 2024 seasons that vaulted them into our Top 10 list for this season.

Read our full Top 10 Starting Pitchers of 2024!

Top 10 Rookies of 2024

The best rookies in baseball this season all hail from the same league which has made this NL Rookie of the Year race incredibly competitive. Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill have been the clear top rookies in the league, while another Jackson has surged in the second half and proven himself as a clear star.

Believe it or not, our fourth-best rookie is also a National League player that has been exceptional in his first experience playing stateside. Then, the run of American League Rookie of the Year candidates begins followed by a couple impressive under-the-radar rookies who have been strong players.

Check out our full Top Rookies of 2024 Piece!

Just Baseball Trivia of the Week

Every week we’ll have a trivia question to test and expand the baseball knowledge of our subscribers! The answer to the weekly trivia question can be found at the bottom of the newsletter.

Who was the last primary starting pitcher (not including Shohei Ohtani) to win Rookie of the Year?

A) Jacob deGrom

B) Michael Soroka

C) Michael Fulmer

D) Trevor Rogers

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Playoff Picture Chaos

There’s no shortage of storylines in the final week of the season with so many things undetermined; from divisions to top seeds and especially Wild Card spots. Many teams may be eliminated already, but can still play a huge role in who makes it in.

Let’s take a look at where each race stands and the key factors that will determine who competes for a chance at the World Series in October.

AL Wild Card

1. Baltimore Orioles: 87-70

2. Detroit Tigers: 83-74

3. Kansas City Royals: 83-74

4. Minnesota Twins: 81-76 (2 GB)

5. Seattle Mariners: 81-77 (2.5 GB)

This has become a phenomenal race that is going down to the wire after appearing to be all but decided just a couple weeks ago. Four teams are in a tight race for likely just the final two American League playoff spots with storylines flowing within each team.

The Orioles, despite not meeting expectations this year, have a comfortable lead for top Wild Card spot and fourth seed in the American League. Barring a brutal last week, they should maintain that spot.

Detroit! The Tigers have gone on one of the most incredible playoff runs you’ll ever see as they had just a 0.2% chance to reach the postseason on August 11th and they’re now in a playoff spot as the standings sit today. Tarik Skubal’s potential Triple Crown season has led the way, but their entire roster has stepped up down the stretch.

While they have seriously faltered of late, the Royals still control their own destiny and have the pieces needed to secure a playoff spot after losing over 100 games last season. Their season has been remarkable but it will feel rather disappointing if they can’t make the postseason given where they were just a week or two ago.

They were in clear control of a Wild Card spot for much of the season, but the Twins have struggled mightily recently and are now on the outside looking in as they’ll need some help from others now to make it. Their struggles in September could cause them to miss out entirely after a strong early half of the season.

Seattle was once in control of their division, but now they’re fighting to stay alive in both the Wild Card race and the AL West which we’ll get to later. They’ve been playing well lately but it could be too little too late as three AL Central teams remain ahead of them for now.

NL Wild Card

1. San Diego Padres: 91-66

2. New York Mets: 87-70

3. Arizona Diamondbacks: 87-71

4. Atlanta Braves: 86-71 (0.5 GB)

If you told a baseball fan at the onset of the season that the Wild Card picture in the National League would look like this in late September, it’s fair to say they’d be shocked. The Braves being on the outside looking in right now is shocking, but they have dealt with a variety of injuries and underperformance.

As it stands now, the Padres are set to hold on to the top Wild Card with the other three competing for the final pair of spots. The possibilities in terms of matchups in the Wild Card round are fascinating with so many stories to track.

The Diamondbacks seemed like they had a spot locked up recently but now they’re in the thick of it with the two AL East teams trying to make it. We learned last year though that Arizona is capable of making waves if they can earn one of the Wild Card spots.

The rest of the teams in this race were projected playoff teams coming into the year, but the New York Mets have been one of the best teams in over the past four months after a slow start. They could be a dangerous underdog, but the their divisional rival has plenty of postseason experience.

Both NL East contenders have a shot to make it with Arizona faltering a bit, but Atlanta is still on the outside looking in right now due to an underperforming offense this year.

The Mets and Braves play two more games against each other this week which could make the difference, but this race is going down to the wire. One thing that’s certain is we have some excellent baseball on tap the next few days!

Divisional Clinching

A few more divisions were wrapped up this past week with the Phillies clinching the NL East for the first time since 2011 and the Guardians reclaiming the AL Central division. Meanwhile, the Brewers were the first to clinch their division.

With not many games left, three divisions were still not secured as of Tuesday morning which could potentially change the playoff picture in a huge way if anything shifts. The Yankees are close to securing their third AL East title in the past six seasons as they’re one more win away from clinching the division.

After a dominant start by Bryce Miller on Monday, the Mariners remained capable of dethroning Houston but the Astros officially clinched the AL West once again with a win against Seattle last night. This is their fourth straight divisional title and seventh in the last eight years now as they’re still the team to beat.

Despite Shohei Ohtani’s magical week and the abundance of talent on the roster, the closest division in baseball right now is the NL West. The San Diego Padres have been one of the top teams in the game for a couple of months now and are just three games back of the Dodgers with three games against LA this week. It’s not likely, but it’s possible…

Top Seeds

American League

1. New York Yankees: 92-65

2. Cleveland Guardians: 91-67

The American League Wild Card race will determine a lot of the playoff picture, but it all starts with the top two here. While New York and Cleveland have nearly both secured first round byes, either could end up with home field advantage for the entire AL side of the postseason.

Beyond just home field advantage, the first seed in the AL means likely avoiding Houston until the ALCS which both of these teams would rather do. The Astros, even in subpar year for their standards, still feel like the team to beat due to their continual success in the postseason.

New York faces Baltimore then Pittsburgh to end the year while Cleveland faces Cincinnati and then ends with a pivotal series hosting Houston.

National League

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: 93-64

2. Philadelphia Phillies: 93-65

3. Milwaukee Brewers: 90-67

While Milwaukee is still hanging around, this feels like a battle between the two favorites to win the World Series heading into October. The Dodgers and Phillies both have had chances to run away with the top seed at times this season but neither has done so yet.

As mentioned earlier, the Dodgers are still fighting for the division first and foremost while the Phillies have shifted their sights to the one seed. In reality though, the one seed may not be ideal for either team with the way that the likely four seed Padres have been playing recently.

The Dodgers face the Padres in a key divisional battle before finishing up in Colorado while the Phillies face the Cubs and then finish in Washington. Both teams should be able to finish strong and one game could be the difference in the top seed.

MLB Headlines

The clear story of the week happened in Miami when Shohei Ohtani became the inaugural member of the 50/50 club with a historic 6-6 game that included three home runs, two stolen bases, and 10 runs batted in. Our executive editor Aram Leighton was there for the historic feat as Ohtani further cemented his legacy and is set to win yet another MVP award in what has been the best season ever by a designated hitter.

This season has been rather unpredictable and as the playoff race shows, there has been more parody than expected. For the first time in a decade, no team will win 100 games during the regular season. The past three years, at least three teams have won at least 100 which makes this season one of the most fascinating in recent memory.

The NL Rookie of the Year race is going to go down as one of the best in recent memory regardless of the outcome. Jackson Merrill appeared to be pulling away as he has been a force all season while playing an excellent center field in his first season playing the position. However, Paul Skenes has been lights in his last three starts as he lowered his ERA to a 1.99 mark this past weekend and reemerged as the favorite.

It has been a rough year in Chicago for the White Sox and now they’re set to make history as the solidified worst MLB team ever. They tied the 1962 Mets for the most losses in MLB history at 120 on Monday and will break the record for the most losses in MLB history with their next loss. At this point, it seems like fans want them to break it.

The Call Up: Prospects Update

The MiLB playoffs are cruising by and we’ll have our first in-depth prospects centric newsletter coming soon, but for now let’s talk about the call up of the week. The top pitching prospect in MLB and Just Baseball’s 4th overall prospect Jackson Jobe got the call from the Tigers in the midst of their wild playoff chase.

The 22-year-old right-hander has the best fastball/slider pairing of any prospect in baseball and could prove to be absolute dominant in shorter outings at the big league level in the final week. He posted a 1.95 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 73.2 Double-A innings before being promoted to Triple-A just a couple weeks ago.

Aram and Jack discussed Jobe’s call up and what it may look like for him in Detroit on the latest episode of The Call Up. And check out our interview with Jobe from earlier this season below!

We recently put out two more team prospect rankings featuring two vastly improved farm systems in the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox.

The Phillies have one of the best pitching prospects in Andrew Painter in addition to a variety of high upside young hitters including Aidan Miller, Eduardo Tait, and more. Listen to our full analysis of their system!

The White Sox are the worst team in baseball by a mile but do have a much-improved core of prospects featuring the two best left-hander pitching prospects in Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith. Their system also features catcher Edgar Quero, who may debut this week, and shortstop Colson Montgomery. Listen to our breakdown here! 

Not Gambling Advice

Peter Appel is coming off a heater in Week Three of the NFL season! After a big slate of Sunday plays that included five wins, he hit on a Monday Night Football play too.

For NFL plays the rest of the season, subscribe to Just Gridiron Fans for plays and detailed analysis throughout the rest of the season!

Trivia Answer: C) Michael Fulmer

In 2016, Michael Fulmer of the Detroit Tigers won the American League Rookie of the Year after finishing the year with a 3.06 ERA and 132 strikeouts across 159 innings. The only other pitchers to win the award since then are Shohei Ohtani, who only pitched 11 games, and Devin Williams during the shortened 2020 season.

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