Because baseball is weird, I would put money on one of those teams not making the playoffs. Every year there is a team that totally collapses in the second half. Mariners are currently 23 games over .500 with a run differential of +19... Since they opened up a huge lead over the field, and the rest of the AL is so uninspiring, they likely still make it. But my guess is that 2nd AL Wild Card will become a lot more interesting than it is right now. Some will of course say the AL is amazing and no way the NL has a shot this year. By my count the AL has 6 teams .500 and above. The NL has 10. The AL has 3 teams 30 wins and under. The NL, nobody below 34 or 35 - I don’t recall exactly. There is much more competition in the NL, much more grinding out wins. Which in the playoffs - is how you usually win. If anything the heightened parity and lack of bottom feeders will only help a team like the Brewers in the long run. Really is amazing looking at the full NL and AL standings this year ... I don’t recall this big a difference in leagues before!