Since baseball's playoff picture is extremely crowded and only two teams (the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians) appear to be safe bets for the playoffs, the SI.com staff identified the players, units or themes that could make the difference between making and missing the playoffs for the 12 teams remaining in the playoff hunt.
Houston Astros: Forrest Whitley
It’s really injuries, for the Astros, although that’s boring and obvious and true for every club. The last time their three best hitters – Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and George Springer (with apologies to Alex Bregman)—all appeared in the same lineup was June 25.