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Ranking the Top 2015 MLB Pennant Race X-Factors with 1 Month to Go

Hunter Pence is the ultimate X-factor.

The dynamic right fielder is just the kind of game-changer who could vault the San Francisco Giants to yet another October run—that is, if his strained oblique allows him to fulfill that role.

Looking around the league, Pence is far from the only wild card who will have a dramatic impact on how the playoff chase shakes out. The idea here is to focus in on those players and storylines that will have a significant but unpredictable influence during the home stretch.

The nine X-factors that follow are ranked in order of the impact each one could potentially have in the postseason hunt. As it turns out, players like Pence, who are either on the verge or who have just returned from stints on the disabled list, dominated the rankings.

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