Dutchies on play off course?

After the post about the Montgomery Biscuits being on play off course, I wondered if any of the Dutchies playing in US baseball is on play off course as well. I will only write about the teams in contention. A team like Roger Bernadina’s Albuquerque Isotopes is going nowhere this season, so it doesn’t really make sense to write about them in a play off related article.

Didi Gregorius seems to be on his way to the play offs with the Yankees. But the season still has a bit more than a month to go and the lead over Toronto is slim. Even in the wild card standings the Yankees would have had only a 4.5 game lead over Anaheim.

The Baltimore Orioles and Jonathan Schoop are five games back in the standings and in the wild card standings only half a game, so even they still have a chance.

How hopeless the situation for the Red Sox may look, they are only 11.5 games out of first place in the regular standings. In the wild card standings they are trailing Toronto by seven games. They are still not eliminated, so as long that is the case, there is a slim chance that Xander Bogaerts will make the play offs.

Matt den Dekker‘s Washington Nationals have fallen deep. They were the clear favorites after acquiring Max Scherzer, but look where they are now. Of course they still can make the play offs. They are only five games out of first place and trailing by 9.5 in the wild card standings. But even if the Nationals make the play offs, there is a close to zero chance that Matt den Dekker will make the play off roster.

If the Dodgers and Kenley Jansen will make the play offs, the question remains ‘how?” As an NL West champion or as a wild card team? True they are in first place, leading their arch rival the San Francisco Giants by 1.5 games, a lead that has been a lot bigger. If the Dodgers will be overtaken by San Francisco, it remains to be seen if they will make the wild card game. They are trailing Pittsburgh by 5.5 games.

The Norfolk Tides are leading the International League South Division by four runs over the Gwynnett Braves. Sharlon Schoop probably will make the play offs with the team as there are only 18 games left in the season. But with a four game lead and still eigtheen games to play, a lot can happen. And since the Braves have a winning streak of two and the Tides a losing streak of three, it ain’t engraved in stone yet.

The Omaha StormChasers are trailing the OKC Dodgers by six games. With eighteen games to play everything is still possible. Unfortunately Juan Carlos Sulbaran was hit hard last night as he gave up eight runs on ten hits in only 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out three as his ERA rose to 6.08. In last night’s game Juan Carlos gave up four homeruns. Both the StormChasers and the Dodgers are 7-3 in their last ten games.

Shawn Zarraga will very likely make the play offs with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. As told above, they are leading the Pacific Coast League American Northern Division by six games over Omaha.

Carlton Daal and his Daytona Tortugas are in close contention with the Clearwater Threashers. The Tortugas are leading the Florida State League North Division by a game over Clearwater. But with Clearwater having won the first half of the season already, Daytona will make the play offs without a doubt. When the winner of the first half also wins the second half, the team with the second best overall record advances to the play offs. Only the winner of both halfs will have home field advantage of four games instead of two or three. With seventeen games remaining the Tortugas are 12 games ahead of the team in third place, so it is very unlikely that the Tortugas wil squander the lead.

Christopher Garia and the High Desert Mavericks are leading the California League South Division by 3.5 games over the first half winner Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Even the team in fourth place, the Inland Empire 66ers, who are trailing by eight games, still can make the play offs. So nothing is sure yet but the Mavericks are on a roll with a 7-3 record in their last ten games.

The Potomac Nationals are 6.5 games out of first place. With seventeen games to go, they are ten games away from elimination. Sure the chance that Spencer Kieboom and his team will make the play offs of the Carolina League is slim, but it still is a chance.

John Polonius and his San Jose Giants are trailing the California League North Division leaders Visalia
Rawhide by two games. The Rawhide also won the first half of the season, so if the Giants want to make the play offs, the must clinch the divsion title since they trail by fourteen games in the overall standings.

The Lynchburg HillCats and Sicnarf Loopstok are leading the Carolina League Northern Division by three games over the Frederick Keys. So with sixteen games to go and the Keys fourteen games from elimination, everything is possible.

With fifteen games remaining and ten games away from elimination, there is a very slim chance that Danny Arribas and his West Virginia Black Bears will make the play offs. Right now they are trailing the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division leaders Williamsport Crosscutters by seven games.

The Peoria Chiefs and Darren Seferina are only three games out of first place in the Midwest League Western Division. The first half winners, the Quad Cities River Bandits, are one game behind them, so everything is possible.

The Hickory Crawdads have clinced the first half of the South Atlantic League Northern Divsion, so they Juremi Profar will head to the play offs for sure, where they will probably face the West Virginia Power.

Sherman Lacrus and his Spokane Indians are in last place of the Northwest League North Division but only 2.5 games out of first place. So with fifteen games still to play, the chance that the Indians will make the play offs is still very real.

The Ogden Raptors and Misja Harcksen are in second place of the Pioneer League South Divison, trailing nr. one, Idaho Falls Chuckars by three games. With eighteen games to be played, still everything is possible.