The 2025 Mariners show MLB’s widest swing in wins when split into 14 ten-game blocks: five blocks with seven or more wins, three with three or fewer, and no six-win stretch. The late-season volatility has intensified, with home wins clashing with road losses, but Seattle remains in wild-card contention and within reach of the AL West. Long-run history (2021–2025) points to a durable core, making a quick collapse unlikely even as the season tightens in September.

Astros hold a four-game lead in the AL West as the final regular-season series vs. Seattle looms, a 6 p.m. Sept. 21 edition of Sunday Night Baseball that could mark ESPN’s MLB era’s end amid talks of new 2026 TV deals with NBC and Apple. The Houston–Seattle matchup in Daikin Park caps a pivotal stretch with playoff implications for both clubs, and wild-card seeding hanging in the balance.

For fantasy managers, late-season rotations and bullpen usage in this series could swing daily lineups and streaming decisions as Houston eyes home-field advantage and Seattle fights to secure a wild-card berth behind Texas.

Cal Raleigh is delivering one of the most explosive seasons by a catcher in MLB history, blasting 51 homers through 137 games and chalking up an impressive .375 HR per game pace. That pace has him atop fantasy chatter as a power source with obvious remaining playing time in Seattle’s lineup.

He sits sixth on a century-long pace list, tucked between Martinez’s 2017 clip (.378) and Stanton’s 2017 mark (.371). Even with a cooler second half (13 HR since the All-Star break), Raleigh remains the odds-on favorite to claim the MLB home run crown at -110 with 23 games left, underscoring the upside of extreme power in fantasy rosters.

September stakes rise as MLB teams sprint toward October. Aaron Judge leads the Yankees’ push in a season-defining stretch, with his return to the outfield reshaping October lineups and playoff outlooks. Cal Raleigh powers Seattle’s chase of the AL West while chasing history behind the plate. Shohei Ohtani sharpens his pitching arc for the Dodgers, a key to NL West and playoff depth. Ten players illuminate a month of decisive fantasy and betting moves.

Langeliers dominates August, earning MLB AL Player of the Month honors after posting a .284/.307/.661 line with 11 homers. His league-leading OPS for the month and reduced strikeouts highlight a breakout surge behind the plate for Oakland. A’s teammates Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom pace doubles leaders, while Langeliers’ power from the leadoff spot mirrors a historic three-HR game that cemented him as a rising franchise cornerstone.

At 27 and just entering his prime, Langeliers has quietly become one of the game’s most dynamic catcher threats. His continued development and the A’s push toward a potential playoff run position him as a high-upside fantasy asset and a catalyst for Oakland’s lineup for the stretch drive.