MLB National League Playoff Picture if Season Ended Today

The National League has some talented teams looking to make noise in the postseason. Who holds playoff spots in the NL?

Here’s what the National League playoff picture would look like if the postseason started today.

The National League has been off to an interesting start in 2023. The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets were expected to be World Series contenders, but only the Braves have performed to that standard. The phrase “it’s early” only applies for so long, and the league’s better teams will start establishing themselves in this race while the pretenders naturally fall back. 

It certainly wasn’t expected entering the season, but after two months, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers share the NL West lead at 34-23. Arizona has played some really good baseball, especially in May. The D-Backs hot stretch has continued into June, where the co-leaders of the NL have won five straight games and boasts a 7-3 record over their last ten. The Dodgers have hit a middling stretch and are 5-5 over that same sample size, but they also have a better run differential, where they sit at +57, compared to Arizona’s +24. 

Despite dropping off from the top seed in the National League, the Atlanta Braves still hold a solid 33-23 record, good enough for the second seed in the NL. In saying that, there have been some struggles of late for the Braves, who’ve posted a less-than-stellar 4-6 record over their last ten games. 

Even though the Milwaukee Brewers have a bottom-three run differential in the National League, they still find themselves on top of the Central. Whoever comes out on top in the division will have their flaws. That much is for sure. 

The Mets entered the year as one of the favorites to win the National League, and they’re finally picking up their play to kick off June, which has seen them win three straight games, leading to them occupying the second wild card spot in the NL. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates round out the playoff teams in the National League, but they’ve still struggled over the last month and have put together just a 4-6 record over their previous ten.