The field is set for the MLB postseason, and here is how all 30 clubs stand at the end of the regular season.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (97-65) | Last week: 1
Milwaukee earned homefield advantage through the World Series if they get there, so they are deserving of the top spot heading into October. Don’t overlook their ability to win away from home with the best road record (45-36) in baseball this year.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (96-66) | Last week: 2
Whether the Phillies can win it all will come down to if the offense is hot or cold when it matters most—so they need to hope a few days off with a bye won’t hurt them. Citizens Bank Park is the best homefield advantage the MLB, and Philly will take on the winner of the Reds-Dodgers series.
3. Toronto Blue Jays (94-68) | Last week: 3
The AL feels more wide open than ever, but Toronto is another squad that will be difficult to beat at home with the second-best record in baseball (54-27). The AL East section of the bracket—with the Jays taking on the winner of the Wild Card series between the Red Sox and Yankees—should be awesome.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69) | Last week: 4
Cincinnati will be a feisty opponent with nothing to lose this week, but the Dodgers probably feel good about their chances after going 5-1 against them in the regular season. After starting pitching was a question mark for much of the year, LA is now healthy with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Tyler Glasgow giving them four great options.
5. New York Yankees (94-68) | Last week: 6 (+1)
They couldn’t come all the way back to take the AL East with Toronto owning the tiebreaker, but the Yankees are the hottest team in baseball with a 9-1 record over their past 10 games. Plenty of attention will be on Aaron Judge in October with a career batting average of .205 in 58 postseason games.
6. Chicago Cubs (92-70) | Last week: 5 (-1)
Chicago gets to host San Diego in the Wild Card matchup, and the lineup coming alive over the past week (7.2 runs per game) is a terrific sign for them. Overall, the series is as close as it gets based on the regular season with a 3-3 split and exactly 25 runs for both the Cubs and Padres.
7. Seattle Mariners (90-72) | Last week: 7
Seattle was swept by the Dodgers over the weekend, but the AL West was already locked up by last Wednesday—and they now have a bye to reset. Cal Raleigh hit two bombs in the clinching win to give him 60 on the year in what has been a historic season for him.
8. San Diego Padres (90-72) | Last week: 8
The Padres have momentum on their side with an 8-1 record over their past nine games—and the stretch included a series win over the first-place Brewers to begin last week. Nick Pivetta has had some bumpy starts recently, but he’ll carry a 2.87 season ERA into Game 1 tomorrow afternoon.
9. Boston Red Sox (89-73) | Last week: 9
The MLB couldn’t have scripted their matchups any better with the Red Sox taking on the Yankees this week, and Boston’s resiliency should hold up in New York. We’ll see if facing Max Fried twice recently (August 22 and September 13) can give the Red Sox an advantage in Game 1.
10. Cleveland Guardians (88-74) | Last week: 10 (+2)
Detroit’s collapse fortunately didn’t lead to them missing the postseason entirely, but it did cost them the AL Central and homefield advantage this week against Cleveland. That said, the Guardians went 2-4 at Progressive Field versus the Tigers this season, and Tarik Skubal will take the mound against them tomorrow.
11. Detroit Tigers (87-75) | Last week: 10 (-1)
12. Cincinnati Reds (83-79) | Last week: 13 (+1)
13. Houston Astros (87-75) | Last week: 11 (-2)
14. New York Mets (83-79) | Last week: 14
15. Kansas City Royals (82-80) | Last week: 20 (+5)
16. Texas Rangers (81-81) | Last week: 16
17. San Francisco Giants (81-81) | Last week: 17
18. Miami Marlins (79-83) | Last week: 18
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (80-82) | Last week: 15 (-4)
20. St. Louis Cardinals (78-84) | Last week: 19 (-1)
21. Atlanta Braves (76-86) | Last week: 22 (+1)
22. Tampa Bay Rays (77-85) | Last week: 21 (-1)
23. Oakland Athletics (76-86) | Last week: 24 (+1)
24. Baltimore Orioles (75-87) | Last week: 23 (-1)
25. Pittsburgh Pirates (71-91) | Last week: 26 (+1)
26. Los Angeles Angels (72-90) | Last week: 25 (-1)
27. Minnesota Twins (70-92) | Last week: 27
28. Washington Nationals (66-96) | Last week: 28
29. Chicago White Sox (60-102) | Last week: 29
30. Colorado Rockies (43-119) | Last week: 30