Depending on when you first heard of Alex Reyes, it might come as a surprise that the 22-year-old pitcher is in a playoff race with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Officially, the San Francisco Giants' mascot is Lou Seal—a beer-bellied, semi-aquatic marine mammal in an oversized T-shirt.

In reality, the team's mascot, spark plug and beating heart is Hunter Andrew Pence.

We've reached the point in MLB's regular season when all duds are no longer created equal. With September pennant races and furious battles for positioning in the wild-card races ongoing, every game takes on more importance than it did earlier in the season.

When the Detroit Tigers gave Jordan Zimmermann a $110 million contract over the winter, they could have imagined his spearheading a charge into the postseason when September came around.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Scott Kazmir was diagnosed with thoracic spine inflammation and could be out indefinitely as the regular season draws to a close. 

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Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock suffered a strained groin during Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants and will miss an extended period of time down the stretch.

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By the time the season's final month arrives, most MLB teams have little room for a September addition to push his way into a significant role.

However, there are always at least a few players among the wave of September call-ups who make a splash, whether it's a young player getting an extended look for a non-contender or a veteran serving as a needed upgrade on a playoff hopeful.

There was neither a red carpet nor a flourish of trumpets at Marlins Park on Friday night, but there might as well have been. For the mighty Clayton Kershaw had returned.     

... For three innings.

Flipping the calendar to September means a number of things: the end of summer, the start of a new school year and a seemingly uncontrollable outbreak of MLB pennant race fever.

It's also the month in which the biggest stars on teams in the midst of those races have a chance to truly earn their paychecks. Some will do just that, rising to the occasion and leading their teams to not only regular-season pennants but also (hopefully) postseason success.

On Thursday morning, it was announced that Tim Tebow, the polarizing quarterback who hasn’t touched a football in any way that matters since 2012, signed with the New York Mets to play minor league baseball.