2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as Mets surge in NL wild-card race

Written by on September 7, 2024

2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as Mets surge in NL wild-card race

2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as Mets surge in NL wild-card race

September, the final month of MLB’s regular-season calendar, has arrived. That means baseball’s stretch drive is here, and MLB playoff races have started heating up. There are plenty of intriguing postseason races happening with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros among the teams trying to secure their spot in baseball’s postseason.

By way of reminder, MLB now grants 12 playoff berths — a total of six to the division winners and then three wild-card berths in each league. The top two division winners in each league as measured by overall record are rewarded with first-round byes, which means they won’t have to play in the best-of-three Wild Card Series that functions as that first round.

As for what hangs in the balance, there’s quite a bit of it. The Yankees and Baltimore Orioles remain locked in a tight struggle atop the American League East standings. Three teams — the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins — have designs on the AL Central title, though Cleveland has started to pull away in the division. The Dodgers, Phillies and Houston Astros all have fairly comfortable leads in their respective divisions, but they haven’t buried the competition yet. The only team that has essentially wrapped up its division title is the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, who have run away with the NL Central.

On the wild-card front, the surging New York Mets have tracked down the Atlanta Braves. The Mets entered the weekend in possession of the third and final NL wild-card spot thanks to a tiebreaker. On the AL side, the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners are trying to stay within shouting distance, but both clubs are hovering around .500.

Now let’s get you caught up on where all these races stand right now as the final weeks of the regular season loom before us. All division and postseason projections referenced in the standings come from SportsLine.

2024 MLB playoff picture

If the season ended today…
American League
Byes: No. 1 Orioles, No. 2 Guardians
Wild Card Series: No. 3 Astros vs. No. 6 Twins, No. 4 Yankees vs. No. 5 Royals

National League
Byes: No. 1 Phillies, No. 2 Dodgers
Wild Card Series: No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Mets, No. 4 Padres vs. No. 5 D-backs

American League standings

AL East W L GB Div Post
Baltimore 82 60 45.8% 100%
N.Y. Yankees 81 60 0.5 54.2% 100%
Boston 71 70 10.5 0.0% 7.4%
Tampa Bay 69 72 12.5 0.0% <1.0%
Toronto 67 75 15.0 0.0% <1.0%
AL Central W L GB Div Post
Cleveland 81 60 90.4% 99.9%
Kansas City 77 65 4.5 2.5% 83.2%
Minnesota 76 65 5.0 6.8% 94.5%
Detroit 71 71 10.5 0.0% 4.3%
Chi. White Sox – e 32 110 49.5 0.0% 0.0%
AL West W L GB Div Post
Houston 76 65 94.1% 96.3%
Seattle 72 70 4.5 5.9% 13.1%
Texas 68 74 8.5 0.0% <1.0%
Oakland 62 80 14.5 0.0% 0.0%
L.A. Angels 59 82 17.0 0.0% 0.0%

National League standings

NL East W L GB Div Post
Philadelphia 85 56 97.7% 100.0%
N.Y. Mets 77 64 8.0 1.7% 62.9%
Atlanta 77 64 8.0 0.0% 61.1%
Washington 62 78 22.5 0.0% 0.0%
Miami – e 52 89 33.0 0.0% 0.0%
NL Central W L GB Div Post
Milwaukee 81 60 99.8% 99.9%
Chi. Cubs 72 69 9.0 0.0% 2.1%
St. Louis 71 70 10.0 0.0% <1.0%
Cincinnati 68 74 13.5 0.0% 0.0%
Pittsburgh 66 74 14.5 0.0% 0.0%
NL West W L GB Div Post
L.A. Dodgers 84 57 91.4% 100%
San Diego 81 62 4.0 8.1% 96.1%
Arizona 79 63 5.5 0.0% 77.5%
San Francisco 69 73 15.5 0.0% 0.0%
Colorado – e 53 89 31.5 0.0% 0.0%

MLB wild-card standings

AL wild card W L WCGB
N.Y. Yankees 81 60 +5.0
Kansas City 77 65 +0.5
Minnesota 76 65
Seattle 72 70 4.5
Boston 71 70 5.0
Detroit 71 71 5.5
Tampa Bay 69 72 7.0
NL wild card W L WCGB
San Diego 81 62 +3.0
Arizona 79 63 +1.5
N.Y. Mets 77 64
Atlanta 77 64
Chi. Cubs 72 69 5.0
St. Louis 71 70 6.0
San Francisco 69 73 8.5

2024 World Series odds

(As of Sept. 6)

  • Dodgers: +325
  • Phillies: +500
  • Yankees: +600 
  • Orioles: +650
  • Astros: +650
  • Guardians: +1400
  • Padres: +1400
  • Brewers: +1600
  • Twins: +1600
  • Braves: +2000
  • Diamondbacks: +2500
  • Mets: +3000
  • Royals: +3500

The post 2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as Mets surge in NL wild-card race first appeared on OKC Sports Radio.


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