Depends if they don't win the division because they start sucking or because Cleveland or the White Sox get hot.
So I decided to take a look at 4S fastball spin rates each month (starting March/April 2021) since it has been a little over a year that MLB started checking pitchers for sticky stuff. 8 AL teams still do not have a month since June '21 in which their fastball spin was greater than the 1st two months of 2021 . These look like systemic problems. The Astros spin rates seem to be more dictated by who's pitching (Javier demoted to pen - spin rates drop, but Javier and Verlander in rotation - spin rates up).
This link is annoying, it MAY require one to subscribe to the Rangers newsletter in order to read. I included the relevant part https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/rangers/2022/07/31/rangers-tie-record-for-most-immaculate-innings-against-team-in-a-single-season/&h=AT03gr0JAkrKIfTclE6iaAYPiXI4R6VVB4LibgQbvhVcan3GpNU-3VTEbMbUuBaaoZwI_sodTvNeGcqdQuy7PtMPB0yncF0lKH5rha_ZjUrhZvevuF0G5bguVJgwRx2pgg ANAHEIM, Calif. – For the third time this season, the Rangers suffered the indignity of an immaculate inning at the hands of an opposing pitcher, striking out on nine pitches in the third inning against Angels starter Reid Detmers. . . . The inning on Sunday began with Ezequiel Duran striking out. The rookie was also involved in both immaculate innings on June 15, making him the first player in history to be a victim in three different immaculate innings, according to MLB.com. Kole Calhoun and Charlie Culberson also followed with strikeouts.
Astros:Mariners = Dodgers: Padres Both of those 2nd place teams are going to either deplete their farm system or spend every luxury tax dollar possible to try and unseat the king(s) of the division... and there is absolutely no guarantee that either the Astros or Dodgers are going away for the next 3-5 years. But in the end, this mentality is still good for baseball and fan bases... especially since either team could make noise in the randomness that is the MLB playoffs.
Padres have a great team so I'd be happy if I was one of their fans. I'd say the mentality Seattle is displaying has lead to the lack of parity in baseball. It might work, but it's more likely Dipodo will sell even more of their future for a decent team in the offseason and next trade deadline for little more than 0-2 Wild Card births. 3-4 years from now, the Mariners could be like the Astros and have 10-15 wins of club controlled players playing for other teams each season except without a World Series contending team and without the ring.
I don't think Brantley is coming back anytime soon. He recently said that he hasn't swung a bat since he went on the DL in June. Sounds like he is afraid to.
