The MLB season is a marathon. Teams compete over a 162-game schedule, needing to rank among the top six squads in their respective leagues to make the playoffs. Wins are just as valuable in April, May, and June as they are in the latter part of the season, and franchises can’t afford to lose ground to the teams ahead of them.
Here’s what the playoff brackets would look like if the postseason started today.
National League
| No. 1 – Atlanta Braves | First-Round Bye |
| No. 2 – Pittsburgh Pirates | First-Round Bye |
| No. 3 – Arizona Diamondbacks | No. 6 – New York Mets |
| No. 4 – Milwaukee Brewers | No. 5 – Chicago Cubs |
I don’t think anyone looked into their crystal ball and saw the Pittsburgh Pirates leading the NL Central through the season’s first month. Let alone putting together the second-best record in the league. Yet here we are, with calendars about to flip to May and the Pirates 1.0 games up on the Milwaukee Brewers. More impressively, they’re tied with the Atlanta Braves for the best record, with both teams poised for a first-round bye come October.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are the other division leader, albeit third overall in the NL. Consequently, they would be forced to play their way into the NLDS, needing a win against the sixth-place New York Mets. That’s an unkind playoff series, as the D-Backs would be forced to take two of three against Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Kodai Senga, assuming all three are healthy and/or not suspended.
The other wild card matchup pits two divisional foes against each other, with the Brewers hosting the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have exceeded expectations this year thanks to their elite hitting. Chicago ranks third in the MLB in OPS, scoring the fifth-most runs and 11th-most dingers. That pits strength against strength as the Brewers’ pitching staff has combined for the fifth-best ERA.
It’s still early, but five other teams are within 2.5 games of a wild card spot, ensuring plenty of drama as the season unfolds.
American League
| No. 1 – Tampa Bay Rays | First-Round Bye |
| No. 2 – Texas Rangers | First-Round Bye |
| No. 3 – Minnesota Twins | No. 6 – Houston Astros |
| No. 4 – Baltimore Orioles | No. 5 – Toronto Blue Jays |
The Tampa Bay Rays remain the cream of the MLB crop, albeit with slightly less appeal than before. The AL East leaders have dropped only five decisions this year. However, they lost their only two series against playoff-caliber teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros. The Rays are heading into the thick of their schedule now, with eight of their next ten series coming against playoff teams. Their grip atop the AL is tenuous, particularly with the strength of clubs beneath them.
The Texas Rangers rank second in the AL, just 0.5 games up on the Astros. A three-game losing streak from the Rangers, paired with a 7-3 run from the defending World Series Champions, has made the AL West a coin flip early on.
As it stands now, the Astros sit in the sixth and final playoff berth, setting them up for a potential clash with the Minnesota Twins. The Twinkies have asserted themselves atop the Central Division, allowing the third-fewest runs in the AL. Still, we can’t discount their offense, tied for the ninth-most round-trippers, with four hitters accumulating at least ten RBI.
The other wild card series is a showdown between two AL East foes. The Baltimore Orioles have defied the odds, moving into second place in the ultra-competitive AL East. The Blue Jays have been equally formidable and are 0.5 games behind the O’s. There are no easy outs in this division, and these squads will continue to jostle for position until the end of the campaign.
Of course, plenty will be decided over the next five months, with teams like the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and Cleveland Guardians looking to move up the standings.
