When it comes to the playoff chase, nobody is overlooking the importance of established stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge or Tarik Skubal. Those players have the weight of their teams’ fortunes squarely on their shoulders, and everyone knows it.
But in reality, it doesn’t take huge names to make a huge impact. The stretch run, which features some tight races, could very well hinge on players who were not widely expected to be significant factors, at least not up until recently.
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With that in mind, six writers (three from MLB.com and three from Yahoo Sports) got together and picked one player apiece whom they see as underrated candidates to be impact players down the stretch. Here are their selections.
All statistics updated through Tuesday.
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Cristian Javier, SP, Astros
The fact that the Astros are still neck-and-neck with the Mariners in the AL West race is pretty remarkable considering how many key players have been injured this season. The list of players on the injured list for the Astros includes, but is not limited to: Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, Josh Hader, Ronel Blanco, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia. Fortunately, the Astros saw some good injury fortune with the return of Javier on Monday.
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Sidelined since May 21, 2024, after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Javier allowed two runs in five innings against the Red Sox on Monday — which came on a two-run home run from Alex Bregman — while striking out five batters. Notably, Javier’s fastball sat at 93.4 mph, a mark he hasn’t been at since his dominant 2022 season, when he had a 2.54 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings and helped pitch a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Phillies.
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We know that Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown are a heck of a 1-2 punch at the top of the Astros’ rotation. But there are serious questions about who would slot in as a Game 3 starter for Houston, should the club secure a postseason berth. Perhaps just as important right now, the Astros need another quality starter to help fend off the Mariners and clinch yet another division title. —Brent Maguire, MLB.com
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, Brewers
After a failed run with the White Sox, Vaughn has become one of the best hitters in baseball since he got to Milwaukee, a key part of the Brewers’ recent success. Milwaukee, which is an incredible 39-11 since trading for Vaughn, will be without Jackson Chourio for the next few weeks as he recovers from a hamstring injury. As a result, the Brewers will need their new first baseman and his increased production even more down the stretch as the team looks to tie a bow on the NL Central title and make a run at baseball’s No. 1 seed in the postseason. —Russell Dorsey, Yahoo Sports
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Ramón Laureano, OF, Padres
It’s easy to overlook Laureano on a Padres team loaded with star power, including newly acquired flamethrower Mason Miller. The 31-year-old outfielder didn’t even get top billing in the deal with the Orioles that brought him to San Diego — that went to 2025 All-Star Ryan O’Hearn.
But if Laureano can sustain his performance, he’ll go down as one of the biggest positional upgrades any team made at the trade deadline, considering the black hole that was the Padres’ left-field situation before he arrived. Through the end of July, only four teams got less production from their left fielders than the Padres (74 wRC+). In August? San Diego ranks fourth with a 159 wRC+ in left — including a 149 wRC+ from Laureano over 44 PAs at the position. —Thomas Harrigan, MLB.com
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Kristian Campbell, 1B/2B, Red Sox
First base has been a hot topic for the Red Sox for a while now. Triston Casas’ season-ending ACL injury in early May sparked a series of shocking events, including Rafael Devers’ refusal to play first base and subsequent trade to the Giants in an early-season blockbuster. Since Devers was dealt, Boston has been relying primarily on a platoon of Abraham Toro and Romy González at first base. That combo performed admirably at first, but Toro in particular — the larger side of the platoon as the switch-hitter who starts against right-handers — has struggled immensely recently, with a .481 OPS since July 8.
Enter — or, perhaps more accurately, reenter — Kristian Campbell.
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Campbell began the season as one of baseball’s top prospects, and the eight-year, $60 million extension he signed in April was indicative of Boston’s confidence that he could be a key contributor in the short and long term. A terrific April at the plate suggested Campbell was indeed ready to make an impact, but then he went ice-cold for a lengthy stretch, necessitating a reset in Triple-A, where he has been since mid-June. Campbell continued to scuffle initially but has been heating up over the past month, hitting .370/.465/.575 in his past 20 games with Worcester. More importantly, he has been playing first base after appearing mostly at second in the spring, hinting that he could resurface as an option there for the big-league club. Whether he’s a first baseman long-term doesn’t really matter; right now, if Campbell can play first, he can fill a need for the Red Sox down the stretch. If he can make an impact the rest of the way, it’d be a cool redemption story after his demotion, especially if he can provide the kind of spark Boston needs to return to October. —Jordan Shusterman, Yahoo Sports
Cade Horton, SP, Cubs
The Cubs have been working overtime to hold their rotation together all year. Other teams have more high-profile pitchers on the injured list, but the Cubs are the ones still leading with ace Matthew Boyd, which one has to assume wasn’t part of their original plan. Even as they get Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon back, we can’t minimize the role Horton could play in the final weeks of the regular season.
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Horton didn’t get off to a great start, but as he’s figured out how to limit hard contact — now that it’s clear he won’t be averaging over a strikeout per inning at the MLB level in 2025 — he’s really starting to come into his own. The 23-year-old came into his Wednesday night start against the Blue Jays with a 1.05 ERA since July 1 and a scoreless streak he’d run up to 23 1/3 innings. That scoreless streak hit 29 innings before he gave up a run in a 4-1 Chicago victory. At this point, the Cubs really can’t burden themselves with what the Brewers are doing outside of their final five head-to-head games — there’s basically no recourse for a miraculous hot streak. All they can do is to get themselves back in fighting form, playing their best baseball, and a good way to do that is to get your rotation back into a steady rhythm. Horton’s certainly doing his part. —Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, MLB.com
Trent Grisham, OF, Yankees
October baseball is no longer a given for the 2025 Yankees, who, thanks to a late summer tumble, sit just one game up on the Cleveland Guardians for the final AL wild-card spot. That stark reality is most certainly not Grisham’s fault. Disregarded in the minds of most as little more than a bench outfielder, the mustachioed lefty is enjoying a phenomenal season ahead of his first foray into free agency this winter.
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Call it good fortune, call it clutch, call it whatever you want, but one of the most notable features of Grisham’s 2025 has been the timeliness of his long balls. Grisham has 25 homers, 20 of which have either tied the game or put the Yankees in front. By Win Probability Added — a WAR-like metric that also measures the timing of a player’s contributions — Grisham has been the 13th-best hitter in the sport. Whenever the Bombers have needed a boost with a blast, Grisham has been there. I see no reason to expect that trend to stop now. —Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports
