Rankings/List

The Kansas City Royals have waited quite a while for this—29 years, to be exact—but at long, long, looooong last, they're returning to the postseason.

When things get tight at the end of the MLB season, some players show up and guide their teams into the playoffs.

Last season, it was right-hander Michael Wacha, who joined the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation in early September and subsequently became one of the biggest stories of the postseason, as the rookie took home NLCS MVP honors and pitched his team into the World Series.

The Seattle Mariners had several prospects make their major league debuts in 2014, with a few of them going on to be important contributors on a contending ballclub.

The to-do list for the 2014-2015 Cincinnati Reds offseason seems to grow by the day as more and more rumors surrounding the dealing of Aroldis Chapman, Brandon Phillips and others circulate. And while a 72-84 record is bad enough to make the short to-do a whole laundry list of items, the truth is, there is still real talent on this 2014 product beyond the obvious talent. 

The Baltimore Orioles have secured their spot in the 2014 MLB playoffs as they clinched the AL East division crown last Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

While the Orioles have lost a few vital pieces, the club has embraced the "next man up" mentality. It's not a question whether someone may be a good replacement—he needs to be.

It will be several years until most of the 2014 draft picks are ready for the major leagues, but that doesn't mean we can’t get excited about the professional debuts of some of baseball’s brightest young players.

Thanks to an accelerated signing deadline in mid-July that was ushered in in 2012 as part of the new collective bargaining agreement—it used to be mid-August—draft picks are now encouraged to quickly begin their professional careers.

The Los Angeles Angels franchise has enjoyed plenty of success since being established back in 1961. While the Angels have a relatively short franchise history in comparison to some MLB teams, there has been no shortage of both team and player achievements. The Angels have seen multiple MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of Year Award winners, as well as a World Series Championship in their franchise’s history.

The Chicago Cubs entered the 2014 season with a very strong farm system and somehow ended the year with an even stronger one. Several key prospects have found their way to the major leagues this season, but a lot of top-level talent still remains in the farm system.

With the MLB playoffs fast approaching, it is time to take a glimpse into some ideal scenarios that set up well as part of the larger conversation.

To be sure, nothing has been finalized with relation to seeding and no one has clinched a playoff berth yet. As such, we are going to keep things simple by only referring to teams that qualify for the playoffs as of game time Monday.

An entire season of struggles can be easily forgotten if a player steps his game up down the stretch and helps his club reach the postseason.

With so much riding on the final month of the MLB season this year, and with so many teams still in contention both for their respective division titles and one of the four wild-card spots, finishing strong is all that matters for a number of teams.