MLB Roundtable: Mariners or Astros in AL West? Yankees and Mets in Trouble?

Could we really see no playoff baseball in the Big Apple? 

That seemed improbable earlier this summer, but the Yankees and Mets are struggling to keep up in their respective wild-card races. Plenty of games left before the postseason starts on Sept. 30, but FOX Sports MLB reporters Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar check in on the biggest topics this week. 

1. Can the Mariners , with Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez , do enough to win the AL West? Or will the Astros nab the division for the fifth year in a row, and eighth time in nine years? 

Kavner: I think Seattle is the most dangerous and complete team in the American League, and I think they finally have the pieces to win their first division title since 2001. The Mariners look energized by their big deadline, going 9-2 in their first 11 games of August. The additions of Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez filled their most glaring needs, and while they’re still waiting for Suárez to get going, they finally have a deep lineup to pair with their electric pitching staff. Now, that doesn’t guarantee anything. The Astros have exceeded expectations this year, especially considering all the injuries they’ve weathered, and they should get a lot of those pieces back down the stretch. There are just a lot more question marks in Houston than there are in Seattle. 

Thosar: This has to be the Mariners’ year. They finally look like a complete team, but I’m curious to see how they perform the rest of this month with a tougher schedule on deck. Seattle is set to play the Mets, Phillies, and Padres in the next 12 days, with only one off day in that stretch. If the Mariners can get through that gauntlet with the same tenacity they’ve shown of late (winning 10 of their last 13 games),