With 46 Games Left, How Do the Indians Shape Up in Terms of the AL Playoff Picture?

We’re in the stretch run of the 2018 regular season in Major League Baseball, and the Indians are right in the thick of things with 46 games left before postseason starts.

Right now the Indians are projected (by CBS Sports) to have 95 wins, three games behind the Astros who they have at 98 wins.

The AL East Red Sox, who are dominating the competition thus far in 2018, are projected to end the regular season with 112 wins.

The AL Wild Card at this moment looks like this:

1. NY Yankees 74-44
2. Oakland A’s 71-48
3. Seattle 69-51 2.5 back
4. Tampa Bay 60-58 10.5 back
5. LA Angeles 60-60 11.5 back

So basically it’s down to the Yankees, A’s and Mariners for the Wild Card spot in the AL, but there’s an interesting scenario where the A’s could overtake the Astros for first in the AL West, as right now Oakland is just two games back of the Astros, and even the Mariners are just four games back.

It would be something if both the A’s and Mariners put the heat on the Astros enough to which Houston misses the playoffs all together, but as stated right now they are up top, and here’s the way the playoffs in the AL line up:

ALDS: #1 Boston (AL East Winner) vs Wild Card Winner (currently NY Yankees & Oakland A’s)
ALDS: #2 Houston (AL West Winner) vs #3 Indians (AL Central Winner)

If things stay as they are right now, the Indians would start on the road in Houston for games one and two for the postseason. It would be the first time in three seasons the Indians would start the postseason on the road. Last year they beat the Yankees in two straight at Progressive Field to start the ALDS, and two years ago beat Boston in two games at home to kickoff the ALDS.

Plenty can happen between now and the end of the regular season, let’s not forget that it was one year ago that the Indians went on a historic 22-game win streak that turned the standings in the AL upside down, as they overtook the Astros for the top spot in the AL for the #1 seed before losing to the Yankees in the ALDS.