3 things the Guardians need to do to make a deep postseason run

Death, taxes, and the Guardians being in the middle of a postseason race.

There are very few certainties in sports, but one constant almost every season for the past decade is the Guardians playing for a chance at October.

In a bizarre and streaky August, perhaps emblematic of the dog days of summer, Cleveland finished the month 13-13. While they got swept by the lowly Mets and lost a series to the Royals, they also had a seven-game winning streak.

Nonetheless, neither the White Sox nor the rest of the American League pulled away, so the Guardians are going to enter play today 3 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the American League Central.

What then, will be the separator for the Guardians to stop the rotating door of teams vying for the final wild card spot, or maybe even take a third-straight division crown?

Here are three things the Guardians need to do to make that happen.

The Guardians are entering Septmeber in a good spot

Dominate the American League Central

For better or worse the Guardians are going to play against every team in the American League Central one more time in September for one final time. In fact, 13 of their 25 games in September take place against a division rival.

The Guardians are a pedestrian 20-19 against the division this season, and it 's not a stretch to suggest they need to win each of the remaining series against the Central to keep their Postseason hopes alive.

An interesting thought exercise: If the Guardians do the minimum to win each of those series (nine wins) and go .500 in the games outside of the division (six wins), it would give them an 84-78 record at the end of the season.

While no American League team has made the postseason with that bad of a record since 2017, this year's AL group is weaker than it has been in years prior. On the flip side, The NL had an 83-win team make the postseason in 2025 and two 84-win teams make it in 2023.

In essence, the Guardians need to “take care of business” against teams they are theoretically better than, and in the case of the White Sox, handle their only remaining obstacle for the division. 

If the Guardians take care of their divisional games, there's is a good chance everything else will fall into place.

Keep getting contributions from J-Ram and CDL

Although José Ramírez has had an underwhelming season, he's caught fire at exactly the right time for the Guardians.

Cleveland’s franchise cornerstone has finally re-emerged as their dominant middle-of-the-order presence over the past few weeks. In his last 15 games, he has a .293/.358/.448 slashline with 17 hits and 11 RBI.

Sure, his power is still down, but that's likely a product of his hamate bone bothering him. But he is driving in runs and back to being a hitter pitchers have to reckon with and circle on the lineup card.

Chase DeLauter on the other hand, has turned his rookie status on its head and absolutely raked through the dog days of summer.

Most first year guys see a dip in their numbers as the season drags on. The opposite has been true for DeLauter.

In his last 30 games, DeLauter is slashing .306/.397/.444 with more hits than games played and 17 walks, proving his ability to get on base any way possible. His confidence is radiating through his swing and it's showing in his results.

With Ramírez and DeLauter both hot down the stretch, the Guardians have more length in their lineup as Jo Adell, Nathaniel Lowe, Travis Bazzana and Steven Kwan among others fill in the other spots.

Get the most out of their rotation

Once again, the Guardians starting rotation has become one of their biggest strengths.

But will they be able to hold up?

All of Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Foster Griffin have pitched or are on pace to pitch more innings than at any point previously in their career.

Messick is the bonafide ace on the staff and has officially evolved to being a "pitcher" from a "thrower." His command is elite and it is never bad to have a legit southpaw on your staff to neutralize the league’s best left-handed hitters. 

Williams (3.98 ERA) and Bibee (3.88 ERA) have both had their ups and downs this season and are sporting an ERA+ slightly above league average.

While production will obviously important for both starters, they also need to eat innings. The margins will be razor thin in many of these games, and over-exposing the bullpen could come back to bite the team.

Griffin has struggled a bit with the Guardians (3.96 ERA), and he's also averaging only five innings a start. The Guardians may need to keep the bullpen fresh for his starts.

Fortunately for the Guardians, this year's postseason race is wide open, so they don't need to be perfect to make the postseason.

History suggests they will find a way in, especially since it'll take less than it did last season.

The White Sox are very young, and there's no reason to think there is not a scenario in which they could be chased down.

But even if the White Sox end up winning the division, the Wild Card race remains wide-open, plus the Guardians control their own fate.

Buckle up. It will be a fun last few weeks.

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