1. The Kansas City Royals: Make that the AL Central champion Kansas City Royals. In 2014, they won the AL wild-card game, the Division Series and the ALCS -- all on their home field at Kauffman Stadium. On Thursday, they captured one prize that eluded them -- a division championship. For the first time in 30 years, the Royals were crowned division champions after their 10-4 victory over Seattle. Combined with Minnesota’s 6-3 loss to Cleveland, it made Kansas City not only the first American League team to claim a spot in the postseason, but also the first division winner of the season. And they did it with Johnny Cueto on the mound, earning his first victory since Aug. 15 -- a span of seven starts. While his performance is easily overshadowed by the Royals’ seven-run eruption over the final three innings and the ensuing postgame celebration, Cueto was still far from his best. He allowed the first hitter to reach base in four of the first six innings and escaped a particularly hairy fourth inning when the Mariners opened with three straight hits to take a 3-2 lead. To his credit, Cueto lasted seven innings before the Royals’ offense finally assumed control.

Before the season few expected the Royals to even repeat as a postseason team. In fact, only three of 88 ESPN prognosticators predicted an AL Central title for Kansas City. Now the Royals, rather than being a fun wild-card entry, will likely enter the postseason with the AL’s best record. Their offense is more potent, averaging nearly a half-run more than they did in 2014. But the pitching staff has taken a dip, with a 5.33 ERA in September and a bullpen that has gone from automatic to unpredictable. The Royals will have more opportunities for more celebrations at Kauffman Stadium this October, but how many times they sport goggles and uncork Champagne in the clubhouse will depend largely on how well Cueto performs.

When you're AL Central champs. 👍 pic.twitter.com/QuPci2XK0l

— Royals (@Royals) September 25, 2015

2. Chris Heisey, Los Angeles Dodgers: In the Dodgers' 6-3 win over Arizona, Clayton Kershaw needed a pick-me-up after his animated dugout spat with manager Don Mattingly over being pulled for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth. Obviously, Kershaw’s primary motivation was staying in the game, especially with a 3-0 deficit. But while he lost that battle, his passion seemed to rouse the quiet bats of his slumbering teammates. After Howie Kendrick’s two-run single cut the Diamondbacks’ lead to 3-2 and A.J. Ellis walked to load the bases with two outs, Heisey stepped to the plate. On a 1-1 pitch from reliever Andrew Chafin, Heisey drove a curveball just inside the left-field foul pole for a grand slam and a 6-3 Dodgers lead. It was his first home run of the season, one Heisey has spent largely as a regular on the transactions wire. Since being squeezed out of the Dodgers’ crowded outfield situation before Opening Day, Heisey has been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City five times, twice after being designated for assignment. He was released in August, signed a minor-league contract with Toronto, and played 17 games for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate (Buffalo) before being traded back to the Dodgers on Aug. 31. And beyond the constant shuffling, Heisey hasn’t fared particularly well at any stop. Before Thursday, Heisey had hit .163 in 29 intermittent games with the Dodgers. But he made the most of his spot start, and his timely slam not only reduced the Dodgers’ magic number for winning the NL West to three, but it also quickly changed Kershaw’s expression from seething to smiling.

3. The New York Yankees: On a night when they honored the late Yogi Berra during a 10-minute pregame ceremony at Yankee Stadium, they paid tribute to No. 8 with a game that would have made their Hall of Fame catcher proud. Carlos Beltran provided the offense with a three-run home run off Chris Sale and the Yankees held on for a 3-2 victory. They pulled within three games of Toronto in the AL East and reduced their magic number for making the postseason to six. More importantly, it was another encouraging outing from Michael Pineda, who struck out six and allowed eight hits and one run over six innings. If Pineda and CC Sabathia continue to pitch as well as they have lately … if Luis Severino continues to develop … if Masahiro Tanaka can recover from his ailing hamstring (yes, that’s a lot of “ifs”), it’s conceivable the Yankees could construct a postseason rotation that could carry them on a deeper-than-expected run into October.

This win's for you, Yogi. pic.twitter.com/4wFZkmg3SB

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 25, 2015

4. Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates: The Rockies are pleased to see the Pirates leave Denver after the Bucs completed a four-game sweep at Coors Field. The one player they’ll miss the least is Marte. His 4-for-5 game Thursday -- in addition to Pedro Alvarez's three-run homer -- helped the Pirates to a 5-4 victory, their sixth straight overall. Marte went 13-for-20 over the four-game series, tying Pie Traynor’s 87-year-old Pirates record for the most hits in a four-game series, and now has five consecutive multi-hit games. For anyone wondering who could serve as Andrew McCutchen’s offensive sidekick and help compensate for the season-ending injury to Jung Ho Kang, Marte appears more than ready to deliver. It’s a welcome sign for the Pirates, currently baseball’s hottest team, as they head into their final nine games -- the first six coming against the Cubs and the Cardinals.

5. Stephen Piscotty, St. Louis Cardinals: Remember when rookies routinely whiffed at exploding big league sliders and doubted whether they belonged? That seems like a fading memory because it’s certainly not life in 2015, the Year of the Rookie. Not with the likes of Piscotty, who went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and four RBIs to back the pitching of Michael Wacha in the Cardinals’ 7-3 victory over the Brewers. With his .313/.369/.500 line as evidence, Piscotty’s transition to MLB has come with a ready-made ability to hit major league pitching. The same could be said for Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham, who have experienced similar success. As the Cardinals continue to win and stay clear of the hard-charging Pirates in the NL Central, there’s little doubt they will find room to give the three rookies significant at-bats in October.