The Guardians Are Still Hanging on to Playoff Hopes

Kyle Manzardo

After a shaky start to his career, Kyle Manzardo has been one of the main contributors for the Guardians down the stretch. Over his last 18 games, he’s hit five home runs, which is tied for the fourth most in all of baseball.

He has been the best hitter for a surging team in their last 20 games with a 161 wRC+, 50 points better than superstar José Ramírez over that stretch. As a matter of fact, he’s accumulated 0.6 fWAR during this time, which is nearly half his season’s total (1.4).

José Ramírez

No surprises here, but José Ramírez has been another one of the main contributors for the Guardians during this impressive stretch of baseball. While he hasn’t been the elite hitter we typically see, he’s still been 11 points better than the league-average hitter with a 111 wRC+.

With two home runs and 10 RBIs, he’s been able to keep this team afloat. If the Guardians want to go anywhere in 2025, they’ll need Ramírez’s superstar level of play and playoff experience to lead the team.

Parker Messick

The Guardians’ No. 14 ranked prospect, Parker Messick, has come up and been a jolt for this starting rotation. He’s been nails in his five starts this season, with a 1.84 ERA in 29.1 innings.

While he doesn’t strike out a ton of guys (6.75 K/9), he limits free passes well (1.23 BB/9) and has done a good job in terms of keeping the ball on the ground with a 50% ground-ball rate. He’s emerged as a piece that could throw meaningful innings for Cleveland if they happen to get into the dance.

Joey Cantillo

Joey Cantillo has been another arm that has led the charge during this impressive stretch of games for the Guardians. The southpaw has thrown to a minuscule 0.95 ERA and 2.89 FIP in his last three starts.

Similar to Manzardo, Cantillo has accumulated nearly half (0.5 fWAR) of his total fWAR for 2025 (1.2 fWAR) during the club’s last 20 games. For a team whose pitching has led the charge, Cantillo will have to keep it going for this Guardians team to make some noise in the wild-card race.

Gavin Williams

Gavin Williams has continued his strong 2025 campaign through the last few weeks and looks to finish the breakout year on a strong note. He’s given up a home run in each of his last three starts, but outside of those swings, has been nails.

He’s averaging just under seven innings per start during this stretch and has a 1.80 ERA in 20.0 innings thrown. For a guy who will make some big starts for the Guardians down the line — and in the playoffs if they make it — throwing well to close the season will be important.

A Fight to the Finish

Now, if the Guardians keep up this level of play, the last series of the season could be very interesting. While they do end the year at home, it is against the team that’s right on their tail in the standings: the Texas Rangers.

However, the Rangers have slowed down as of late, losing three in a row, but they are 6-4 in their last 10 and have been playing pretty good baseball overall despite all the injuries.

They’re only a game back of Cleveland in the AL standings and manager Bruce Bochy is no stranger to a playoff push. If the Red Sox or Astros stumble throughout these last two weeks, this series could have huge playoff implications.

The winner might just be the one who snags the last wild-card spot, while the loser goes home and gets a head start on the offseason.

However, the Guardians need to keep playing well in order for this to even be a conversation. Their mashers need to keep mashing while pitchers need to keep shutting down opposing lineups. If Cleveland keeps riding this wave, the final week won’t just be a fight for survival, but it might just be their ticket to October.

Stats were taken prior to play on September 17.