MLB Playoff Bracket if the Postseason Started Today
Grant White
Host · Writer
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 – Los Angeles Dodgers | First-Round Bye |
| No. 3 – Milwaukee Brewers | No. 6 – San Francisco Giants |
| No. 4 – Philadelphia Phillies | No. 5 – Chicago Cubs |
Not surprisingly, the most uncertain part of the National League bracket remains the bottom few teams. The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers remain the toast of the league, leading their respective divisions by at least 13.5 games. Atlanta controls its own destiny for the top seed, with a 4.0-game cushion over the Dodgers. However, these teams meet for a four-game set over the weekend, which could reset the pennant race down the stretch. That’s akin to the rest of the bracket, where there’s still lots to be determined.
At one point this season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion the Milwaukee Brewers would be the lone representatives from the NL Central. But extended winning streaks by the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds closed the gap on the Brew Crew. An 8-2 stretch by the Brewers has afforded them some breathing room atop the division but hasn’t absolved them from the pressure beneath them. If the playoffs started today, Milwaukee would host the San Francisco Giants for a wild card round matchup, with the Cubs featured in the other first-round series and the Reds missing out altogether. Only six games separate the division leaders from Cincinnati, so movement is inevitable before the end of the campaign.
Likewise, there’s much on the line in the NL West over the season’s final month. The Giants are clinging to the final postseason berth, a meager 0.5 games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both teams have lost sight of the San Diego Padres, who have fallen 7.5 games off the pace. Hidden behind the Reds and Miami Marlins, the Padres have seven games left against the Giants, which could drastically change the dynamic of the playoff race. Whichever team clinches the final spot faces the daunting task of getting past the Philadelphia Phillies, who are destined for the fourth seed.
American League
| No. 1 – Baltimore Orioles | First-Round Bye |
| No. 2 – Seattle Mariners | First-Round Bye |
| No. 3 – Minnesota Twins | No. 6 – Texas Rangers |
| No. 4 – Tampa Bay Rays | No. 5 – Houston Astros |
The same level of uncertainty we’re seeing in the bottom half of the NL seeding exists in the top half of the AL table. The Baltimore Orioles are clinging to the top seed in the American League, but the ground is shrinking beneath them. As of August 31, the Orioles have a marginal 1.5-game lead over the surging Tampa Bay Rays, who have re-captured their early-season glory. Likewise, the Seattle Mariners have seemingly come out of nowhere, taking the AL West lead with a month left in the season. Still, only 1.0 games separate the M’s from the third-place Texas Rangers, ensuring the intensity only climbs higher from here.
Where there’s much more certainty is the AL Central, where the Minnesota Twins have all but won the division by default. The Twinkies remain one of the most uninspired teams in the bigs, hovering around the .500 mark. But without a sincere challenger within the division, Minnesota is destined to host the sixth seed in the opening round of the playoffs. If the postseason started today, that would mean an unenviable matchup against the former second-seed, the Rangers. With three games remaining against the Houston Astros, seven against the Mariners, and four against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Rangers playoff spot is far from guaranteed.
The Rays and Astros have been tidally locked for the past few months, but they appear less likely to meet in the playoffs. Tampa Bay is making a push for the top spot. Similarly, the Astros could easily enter the postseason with a first-round bye. The Rays playoff destiny could come down to a four-game series against the Orioles in the middle of September. At the same time, Houston has a series remaining against the Rangers and Mariners. If the consolation for either team is a wild card berth, then baseball fans would be lucky to have this caliber of a matchup so early in the playoffs.
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