With roughly six weeks left in the baseball season, playoff chases are heating up and every call, game and managerial decision of contending teams will be under intense pressure and scrutiny.

As the games seemingly get more important, some teams in the hunt are going to need players to step up while other are going to look at their leaders and simply hope they continue to do what they’ve done all season long.

Here’s a quick look at five American League players and trends to watch as the season winds down. (Note: This list is in no particular order and a National List will be compiled this weekend as well)

Hisashi Iwakuma:

The Mariners enter play Friday a half game out of the Wild Card, but according to Baseball Prospectus, Seattle has a 50.6 percent chance of making the postseason. Everyone knows Felix Hernandez is the ace of the staff and all indications suggest Hernandez will finish the season strong and pitch like the player everyone knows he is.

However, the AL Wild Card race is likely going to come down to the very end and if the Mariners need Hernandez to win a game in the final week of play, Iwakuma may be pitching in a single elimination Wild Card contest.

Iwakuma is 11-6 with a 2.72 ERA this season and is 6-2 with a 1.83 ERA over his past nine starts.

The 33-year old right hander may not get the recognition of King Felix, but if the Mariners are able to get into October, Iwakuma will have played a major role.

Garrett Richards:

With each passing day, it’s looking more and more likely the Angels will be in the postseason for the first time since 2009. Baseball Prospectus calculates the Angels as having a 98.9 percent chance of playing in October. However, the real question is whether they will win the AL West and play in a best-of-five series, or clinch a Wild Card berth and play in a win or go home game against the other Wild Card winner.

The Angels begin play Friday two games back in the AL West and five games up in the Wild Card.

A large part of the Angels success this season can be attributed to the breakout season of Garrett Richards, who is 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA this season. Although Richards has been great all season, he enters Friday’s start having thrown 159 2/3 innings – the most in his professional career, including the minors.

Richards threw 145 innings in 2013 and exceeded the 140 inning mark twice in the minors (2010 and 2011) but as the season wears on, his work load is something to look at.

The 26-year old has a 2.48 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break so he has not shown any signs of slowing down, but as the innings continue to mount – and the pressure associated with each inning rises – it will be important for the Angels to keep an eye on arguably the most important member of their rotation.

A’s Offense:

Odds are the Oakland Athletics are going to play in October for the third consecutive season, but if their offense doesn’t get going, their postseason may be brief – for the third consecutive season.

Pitching wins in October and Billy Beane has made sure the Athletics rotation will be formidable come the playoffs, but offense is still a big part of the game and right now the A’s don’t have a very good one, at least not consistently.

Since the A’s traded their power hitting left fielder, Yoenis Cespedes, to the Boston Red Sox, they have gone 7-7 and averaged just 3.8 runs per game. When Cespedes was on the Oakland roster, they had averaged five runs per game.

But, by no means is it time to panic for fans of the green and gold.

Jon Lester has been as advertised, going 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA since the trade and the A’s still have the best record in baseball.

There is time to get the offense rolling again, but if the A’s struggle to score for the rest of the season and exit the postseason in the first round again, many will blame the Cespedes trade.

Justin Verlander:

With David Price, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, the Tigers rotation is among the best in the game, but something just hasn’t been the same this year.

Recently, when you thought of the Tigers pitching staffs, the thought process always centered around Justin Verlander.

However, Verlander’s 2014 season has been atypical as he is 10-11 with a 4.76 ERA. The Tigers right-hander was recently diagnosed with inflammation in his right shoulder, although he is not expected to go on the Disabled List, instead it looks like the Tigers will just give him some rest and skip him once in the rotation.

Baseball Prospectus says there is a 65.9 percent chance the Tigers will make the playoffs – they are currently a half game back in the AL Central and a half game up in the AL Wild Card – but if they get there, how will they use Verlander?

The right-hander is 7-5 with a 3.28 ERA in 15 postseason starts, but will the Tigers treat him like the ace of their staff who has proven himself in October? Or, like a 31-year old with an ERA just a bit under 5.00?

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season develops for Verlander and looking ahead it is also worth watching what the Tigers do as they owe Verlander $28 million a season for the next fie years.

The Royals:

Could this be the year?

The Kansas City Royals have not been in the postseason since 1985, but have won nine of their last 20 games and find themselves with a half game lead in the AL Central.

Baseball Prospectus gives the Royals a 58.8 chance at making the playoffs and while it would be cool to see the Royals win the division because a one-game playoff could not only present a one-and-done scenario, but it may also present a situation where they play on the road and the folks of Kansas City do not get to experience a home playoff game.

However, with the playoff drought creeping up on 30 years, anyway the Royals manage to wiggle into the playoffs would be a great story.

Kansas City is 18-8 since the All-Star break and although they may lack some postseason experience, it’s going to be fun to watch this team try to close out the AL Central.