The Cleveland Guardians are heading back to the playoffs for a third straight year. Whether they enter as the AL Central champion or as the third wild card is still to be determined.
A division title would make Cleveland’s path easier, as it would be the No. 2 seed and could avoid playing the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, the AL teams with the three best records, until the ALCS. As the wild card, the Guardians would have to play a best-of-3 opening-round series against the Chicago White Sox, who would have won the Central instead.
No matter how the matchups play out, there are two Guardians players who will be key to an October run: starting pitcher Foster Griffin and first baseman David Fry.
Griffin’s role as the likely No. 3 starter behind Gavin Williams and Parker Messick could determine the Guardians’ postseason fate. If Messick is called on to start Sunday in an attempt to win the division, and Cleveland winds up as the wild card instead, Griffin, a left-hander who was acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, could be the Game 2 starter, pitching at Chicago for a chance to advance to the ALDS or with the season on the line.
If the Guardians earn the bye into the second round, Griffin would be in line to start an always pivotal Game 3 of the best-of-7 ALDS. Depending on how Williams and Messick fare in the first two games, Griffin’s start will be critical, with an even more important assignment looming in Game 6 or 7, if necessary.
Meanwhile, Fry could prove to be a vital right-handed lineup option for manager Stephen Vogt. Since being recalled in mid-August after a demotion to the minors, Fry’s playing time in a platoon with lefty Nathaniel Lowe has gradually increased. With the White Sox potentially using at least two left-handed starting pitchers, Anthony Kay and Davis Martin, in either the wild-card series or ALDS, Fry’s at-bats could be game-changers.
There are many unsung players who have changed the course of an MLB postseason, and Griffin and Fry could be added to that list if they can help the Guardians make it to the World Series.
NEXT: Guardians Clinch Third Straight AL Central Title With Dominant Win
