2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as NL wild-card race gets even messier

Written by on September 9, 2024

2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as NL wild-card race gets even messier

2024 MLB playoff picture: Baseball standings, postseason projections as NL wild-card race gets even messier

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 enter the week tied with Atlanta for the third and final NL wild-card spot. At the top of the table are the Padres and Diamondbacks, but their positions are far from secure. On the AL side, the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners are trying to stay within shouting distance, but the 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 Yankees, No. 2 Guardians
Wild Card Series: No. 3 Astros vs. No. 6 Twins, No. 4 Orioles vs. No. 5 Royals

National League
Byes: No. 1 Dodgers, No. 2 Phillies
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
N.Y. Yankees 82 61 66.6% 99.9%
Baltimore 82 62 0.5 33.4% 99.8%
Boston 72 71 10.0 0.0% 4.9%
Tampa Bay 71 72 11.0 0.0% 1.3%
Toronto 68 76 14.5 0.0% <1.0%
AL Central W L GB Div Post
Cleveland 81 62 84.4% 99.9%
Kansas City 79 65 2.5 10.4% 92.8%
Minnesota 76 67 5.0 4.7% 86.6%
Detroit 73 71 8.5 0.0% 7.1%
Chi. White Sox – e 33 111 48.5 0.0% 0.0%
AL West W L GB Div Post
Houston 77 66 94.7% 96.4%
Seattle 73 71 4.5 5.3% 10.3%
Texas 70 74 7.5 0.0% <1.0%
Oakland 62 82 15.5 0.0% 0.0%
L.A. Angels 59 84 18.0 0.0% 0.0%

National League standings

NL East W L GB Div Post
Philadelphia 85 58 95.7% 99.9%
N.Y. Mets 78 65 7.0 3.1% 64.6%
Atlanta 78 65 7.0 0.0% 61.0%
Washington 64 79 21.0 0.0% 0.0%
Miami – e 54 89 31.0 0.0% 0.0%
NL Central W L GB Div Post
Milwaukee 82 61 99.9% 99.9%
Chi. Cubs 73 70 9.0 0.0% 1.9%
St. Louis 72 71 10.0 0.0% <1.0%
Cincinnati 69 75 13.5 0.0% 0.0%
Pittsburgh 67 76 15.0 0.0% 0.0%
NL West W L GB Div Post
L.A. Dodgers 86 57 98.1% 100%
San Diego 81 64 5.0 1.8% 91.4%
Arizona 80 64 6.5 0.0% 80.9%
San Francisco 71 73 15.5 0.0% <1.0%
Colorado – e 54 90 32.5 0.0% 0.0%

MLB wild-card standings

AL wild card W L WCGB
Baltimore 82 62 +5.5
Kansas City 79 65 +2.5
Minnesota 76 67
Detroit 73 71 3.5
Seattle 73 71 3.5
Boston 72 71 4.0
Tampa Bay 71 72 5.0
NL wild card W L WCGB
San Diego 81 64 +2.0
Arizona 80 64 +1.5
N.Y. Mets 78 65
Atlanta 78 65
Chi. Cubs 73 70 5.0
St. Louis 72 71 6.0
San Francisco 71 73 7.5

2024 World Series odds

(As of Sept. 9)

  • Dodgers: +340
  • Phillies: +475
  • Yankees: +600 
  • Orioles: +600
  • Astros: +700
  • Guardians: +1400
  • Brewers: +1400
  • Padres: +1500
  • Braves: +1800
  • Diamondbacks: +2000
  • Mets: +2200
  • Royals: +2200
  • Twins: +2200

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


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