The 2025 MLB season has less than two months before the regular season ends, and the postseason begins. While some division races are starting to get out of reach, it’s anyone’s game for the wild card. During the dog days of summer, there always seems to be either the Cinderella team or a sudden surge from a team that’ has no chance’s already out of the playoff hunt.
What makes August and September baseball special is the number of spoiler teams that can cause havoc in the league. Think about it: There’s a team that has four games left, leading the division by two. They go against an opponent that is already out, but on a hot streak. Imagine the chaos that happens if the division leader gets swept, and the second-place team wins three out of four. Imagine if they fell to the fifth seed and now have to play on the road in the wild-card round, pure postseason chaos
There are three teams right now that can completely reshape the bracket with a single series as the end of the season approaches.
As previously discussed, the Miami Marlins played some good baseball recently. The thing is that they’re not a spectacular team; they are consistent, they know what to do, and they know how much is enough to win. Between June 13 and August 2, the team had the second-best record in all of baseball, sitting at 30-14 during that time.
Unfortunately, the team’s hot streak cooled off significantly, going 4-10 in their last 14 games following the Marlins’ sweep of the New York Yankees. The pitching has taken a pretty ugly downturn, with Edward Cabrera being the only starter with an ERA under four. Their WHIP is ok, sitting at 1.27 for August, but the long ball is killing them, surrendering 25 home runs in 144 innings. The problem also extends to the bullpen, with seven home runs across all 10 pitchers.
Miami’s hitting has big-time bright spots, however. Rookie outfielder Jakob Marsee has been fantastic, slugging a .377/.468/1.241 slash line with four home runs. He also steals bases, swiping six alongside Xavier Edwards. At the same time, infielder Graham Pauley, putting up a .267/.405/1.005 line with three home runs. They easily offset some of the weaker players, including Otto Lopez and Dane Myers. At the same time, Agustin Ramierez and Kyle Stowers have slumped, both hitting under .700 OPS.
The rest of 2025 is not easy for the Marlins, playing against the Philadelphia Phillies twice, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Detroit Tigers. They are a young team that can be streaky at times. If their pitching corrects and their hitting not only continues but gets better, they are a spoiler team. The postseason is likely out of the question, but they’re not mathematically eliminated. Maybe that’s a reason to keep pushing and play hard?
If it weren’t for a horrific May, the Athletics could have been in serious contention for the postseason. While their performance hasn’t been spectacular, it’s entirely possible the team would have been right at .500 if the 7-21 record for May were 13-15 or 14-14. It’s a shame to know they could have also been better this season.
This team has serious firepower at the plate, including Rookie of the Year favorite Nick Kurtz and runner-up favorite Jacob Wilson. Complimented by speedy outfielder Lawrence Butler and veteran Brent Rooker, it’s the most exciting team for the franchise since 2002. Third Baseman Gio Urshela is the only player to hit under a .600 OPS the entire month of August.
Pitching will need to be a separate matter. Jacob Lopez is quickly emerging as the team’s ace, tossing 103 strikeouts in 84.2 innings while allowing only 30 walks. The loss of Mason Miller and JP Sears to San Diego now calls for a rebuild of the team’s staff. Any staff could give up 10 runs and still win with the lineup the A’s are quietly building.
It makes the Athletics a prime candidate to play spoiler for any postseason hopeful. They face the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and the Tigers, all locked in division or wild-card battles. It’s going to take a lot to put the team’s offense down, and they have the manpower to sweep a team on scoring alone.
The Texas Rangers have been the second-most disappointing team in the MLB, behind the Baltimore Orioles. Only Corey Seager has a season OPS over .800, while the team average is .679, easily one of the lowest in baseball. They do have some potential “pop” prospects in Cody Freeman and Abimelec Ortiz, but their postseason hopes died at the plate.
The Rangers’ pitching has been a completely different story. There has been a rebirth in Jacob deGrom, a serious Cy Young candidate in Nathan Eovaldi, and the resurgence of Jack Leiter and Patrick Corbin. Combine that with Shawn Armstrong stepping up in Tyler Mahle’s absence, and here appears Texas’ rotation. Arguably the best in the American League.
None of the teams locked in tight division races, except for the Astros, play the Rangers. Given that they’re only five and a half games out of the last wild-card spot, they may surge in the final stretch of the season. It only takes one or two teams slipping badly in September for Texas to occupy a slot. If that happens, someone on some team is getting fired.
The end of the MLB season is always a bittersweet thing. It marks the end of summer, the end of another long season, the beginning of fall. For that first half of the fall season, however, baseball is at its best. The last two months, however, are going to lead to both jubilation and heartbreak for many fans.
These teams do have their flaws, yes, but their positives are so strong that they not only outweigh the bad but also make them dangerous. Fans should absolutely be excited to see if any of the three make a serious run that completely warps our expectations of the postseason.
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