One Potential Under-the-Radar, Breakout MLB Postseason Star by Team (American League)

Last year we debuted this concept with some good results — namely, Tommy Edman (NLCS MVP) and Will Vest (one run allowed in six playoff appearances). With the postseason just a week away, let’s look at one possible under-the-radar postseason star on each team American League team still left in contention.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Braydon Fisher, RP

There is a fair amount of (justifiable) consternation about the Blue Jays bullpen, which is ranked 17th in the Majors with a 4.09 ERA. But Fisher is not one of the culprits. The righty was acquired for Cavan Biggio, who is now toiling in the Minors, from the Dodgers last June, and has delivered stellar results all year. Fisher has delivered a 2.63 ERA in 49 appearances spanning 48 innings, allowing just 30 hits and 16 walks while racking up 60 strikeouts. He has provided many clutch outs along the way, and given some of the struggles from closer Jeff Hoffman, don’t be surprised if Fisher finds himself in some late-inning situations in October.

SEATTLE MARINERS

Gabe Speier, RP

We are seeing the southpaw Speier morph into a dominant set-up man in front of our very eyes. With a high-90s fastball that plays against both lefties and righties, Speier has excelled of late, delivering 16 scoreless outings over his last 18 appearances. Throw away back-to-back rough games at the beginning of the month, and Speier has been nothing short of electric in the second half of the season. In 59 innings he has allowed just 40 hits and struck out 77 batters, and has earned the trust of manager Dan Wilson as a reliable bridge to closer Andres Muñoz.

DETROIT TIGERS

Dillon Dingler, C

Last year, perhaps the biggest hit of the postseason came from a truly unheralded player in Andy Ibañez. Dingler has been a consistent hitter all year for Detroit, with a .278 average and 13 HR in his first full season in the bigs. The Tigers rely a lot of left-handed hitters to supply their power, making contributions from Dingler all the more important. As the entire Tigers lineup endures a massive funk at the moment, Dingler was one of the lone bright spots in yesterday’s shutout loss with three hits, and is hitting .300 over his last 10 games.

NEW YORK YANKEES

Ben Rice, C/1B

Rice is starting to feel like less and less of a “breakout” candidate every day, especially after his 4-hit effort that culminated in a game-winning 10th-inning grand slam yesterday in Baltimore. Rice burst onto the scene last year before cooling off to the point of being demoted back to the minors, but 2025 has been a completely different story. With 24 home runs and .822 OPS, Rice has lengthened an already-potent Yankees lineup, and also helps balance out the right-handed bats of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Don’t be surprised to see Rice come up with a memorable moment this October.

RED SOX

Romy Gonzalez, IF

He’s far from a household name unless you’re a Red Sox fan, but Gonzalez has been arguably Boston’s most consistent hitter in 2025. A true table-setter, Gonzalez is hitting .308 with nine home runs and an .837 OPS in 92 games. His success has become even more important in the absence of Roman Anthony, and if the Red Sox are to keep up in potential shootout-type games, they need Gonzalez to keep getting on base consistently. Here’s thinking that he will do just that.

GUARDIANS

Gavin Williams, SP

Doesn’t it feel like this entire Guardians team outside of Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan could qualify as “under-the-radar?” No matter. Manager Stephen Vogt has his team playing perhaps the best baseball of anyone and on the verge of potentially overcoming what was once a 15.5-game deficit in the AL Central to Detroit. Williams has been a big part of that, with a 11-5 record and 3.06 ERA, including a near-no-hitter against the Mets on August 6. For a Cleveland pitching staff that two days ago became just the 11th team (and first since they did it in 2017) to allow 28 runs or fewer in an 18-game span, Williams has a chance to set the tone in October as a possible Game 1 starter.

ASTROS

Jake Meyers, CF

Meyers missed nearly two months with a calf injury and has still delivered the best season of his five-year career with a .297 average, 16 stolen bases, and Gold Glove-caliber defense. While I was tempted to put young Zach Cole on here (his three homers in nine games actually match Meyers’ season total), Meyers feels like he has a chance to make a bigger impact as much with his defense as his bat. Of course, the Astros’ offense has been wildly inconsistent for weeks now, and Meyers could be as likely as anyone to come up with a big October hit.