Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankees’ top American League opponents are up to through the Rivalry Roundup. The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with the season’s final month upon us, we’re going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Who’s surprising? Who’s underwhelming? Who’s simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.
(Note: Records, standings, and stats are up to date through games played on Sunday, August
31st.)
First Place: Los Angeles Dodgers (78-59)
Top Position Player: Shohei Ohtani (5.9 fWAR, plus 1.2 pitching WAR)
Top Pitcher: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4.0 fWAR)
Having been ahead by as many as nine games at earlier points this season, the Dodgers did fall into second place in the NL West at points in August, although they end the month up two games. That came about mostly by going 4-2 against the Padres, who were the team that briefly jumped them.
There’s no more games between the two rivals left this season, and the Dodgers won the season series 9-4, so if they hang on by a couple games, there’s your difference right there. Barring a late surge by Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong or someone else in the Senior Circuit, Ohtani’s the favorite to take home his second straight NL MVP and his fourth MVP overall in five years. He’s now back on the mound in addition to his DH work (on pace for another 50-homer season), and he’s almost fully built back up, going five innings on 87 pitches his last time out in Cincinnati.
Second Place: San Diego Padres (76-61, 2 GB)
Top Position Player: Fernando Tatis Jr. (5.2 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Nick Pivetta (3.5 fWAR)
Even though they did at one point hold a lead in the division, the Padres will probably look at August as a month of missed chances, due to their aforementioned losses to the Dodgers.
That being said, even though they don’t play LA again this year, September will have several chances for them to gain that ground back. They play seven more games against the Rockies, three against the White Sox. Even if they can’t reel the Dodgers back in, San Diego should have no issues getting into the postseason. They currently occupy the second NL Wild Card, seven games ahead of the Reds, who are currently the first team out.
Third Place: San Francisco Giants (68-69, 10 GB)
Top Position Player: Matt Chapman (3.3 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Logan Webb (4.4 fWAR)
Despite the below .500 record, the Giants are still somewhat in the playoff picture, although they need to play very well in September. As of the end of August, they sit five games back of the Mets for the final NL postseason spot. Their main issue this season has been, despite having some good hitters in the lineup, they’ve averaged just 4.25 runs per game, which is 22nd in MLB this year, and below the league average 4.46. In August, they were actually pretty good on that front, scoring 4.89 per game. Unfortunately, they went just .500 in the month as their pitching gave up 4.68 runs per game, missing out at a chance to gain any real ground, as they put up a 14-14 month in August despite Rafael Devers’ nine homers. The Mets and Reds, the two teams in front of them in the playoff race, have both slumped of late, so stranger things have happened regarding the Giants’ playoff chances, however it is an odd year.
Fourth Place: Arizona Diamondbacks (68-70, 10.5 GB)
Top Position Player: Corbin Carroll (5.6 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Merrill Kelly (2.3 fWAR, traded to Rangers at deadline, Ryne Nelson with 1.7 is current leader on roster)
The Diamondbacks’ position isn’t all that dissimilar to the Giants, as they sit just half a game behind San Francisco. The main difference is that Arizona actively sold off several pieces at the trade deadline. Kelly, Eugenio Suárez, Shelby Miller, and Josh Naylor were all positive contributors to the 2025 Diamondbacks who ended up dealt before the July 31st deadline.
Besides all that, Corbin Burnes is on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Again, stranger things have happened, but the Diamondbacks are in way more of a disadvantageous position in regards to sneaking into the postseason.
Last Place: Colorado Rockies (39-98, 39 GB)
Top Position Player: Hunter Goodman (2.6 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Kyle Freeland (1.5 fWAR)
Good news for the Rockies is that they’re just three wins away from surpassing last year’s White Sox for the modern era record for most losses in a season. The bad news is: everything else.
