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 – Los Angeles Dodgers | First-Round Bye |
| No. 2 – Atlanta Braves | First-Round Bye |
| No. 3 – Milwaukee Brewers | No. 6 – New York Mets |
| No. 4 – Arizona Diamondbacks | No. 5 – Miami Marlins |
The jostling for the top spot in the National League and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs continues. For the third time in as many weeks, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves swapped positions in the standings. The Dodgers overtook Atlanta for the first seed by virtue of a 3-3 record over their past week. The Braves have stumbled slightly, going 2-4 and giving their NL West counterparts a 0.5-game advantage. If the past month is any indication, these teams will continue jockeying for positions through the summer months.
The NL East is well represented in the potential wild card matchups. The New York Mets have ascended the ranks, knocking the Pittsburgh Pirates off their postseason pedestal and asserting themselves in a playoff spot. New York went 4-2 since our last update to move two games above .500. That gives them a modest 0.5-game advantage over the Pirates as the calendar flips to June, setting up a potential clash with NL Central frontrunners, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Likewise, the Miami Marlins have sustained their early-season form, cementing themselves as a postseason contender. However, the Marlins’ metrics don’t point toward long-term success. Miami sits in the bottom half of the MLB in ERA and OPS, ranking 17th and 28th, respectively. The Arizona Diamondbacks could make short work of the Fish in the wild card round, as the upstart D-Backs have the seventh-best OPS and fifth-most runs in the majors. The Marlins” grip on a postseason berth is tenuous, and they would be out-matched by any team they face.
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 – New York Yankees |
There were no substantive changes in the American League standings over the past week, with all six squads maintaining their spot in the standings. Still, the Tampa Bay Rays have given themselves a little breathing room atop the AL East by going 5-3 over their previous eight contests. Although that was good enough to give them some space in the division, the Texas Rangers have closed the gap on the top spot in the AL. Texas is 6-2 across the same span to move within 3.5 games of the Rays.
Similarly, the New York Yankees have reversed course on a modest three-game losing streak, winning four of their last five. They are comfortably entrenched in the thick of the playoff race, occupying the second wild-card spot and sitting within striking distance of the team they are chasing, the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore has fallen off its seemingly untenable pace, dropping four of seven this week. The O’s still have some breathing room for now, but with the quality opponents chasing them, they can’t afford to continue losing games and maintaining their spot in the postseason landscape.
One of the teams trying to catch them is the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros. The ‘Stros got off to a tepid start, only recently taking over a playoff spot. The distance between them and the Rangers continues to grow, but they’ve made up ground in the wild card race. Unless Texas falters, the Astros’ best hope is claiming the fourth seed and hosting a playoff matchup in the opening round. Otherwise, they may be destined to take on the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Twins haven’t faced much resistance from within their division, which could be their downfall come October.
