2024 MLB playoff picture: Bracket, baseball standings, magic numbers, tiebreakers, postseason projections

Barely a week remains in Major League Baseball’s 2024 regular season, and the MLB playoff picture is coming into a clear focus, with five teams having clinched playoff berths this week. The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers were the first five teams to secure their playoff spots. 

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.

The Brewers and the Guardians are the first teams to clinch their division so far. While things could certainly change over the closing days of the season, none of baseball’s other four division races are all that tight. The other division leaders — the Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers and Houston Astros — all sit with leads of at least three games.

There figures to be plenty of wild-card drama, however. In the American League, the surging Detroit Tigers are right behind the Minnesota Twins in the standings. The Tigers have not played postseason baseball since 2014, matching the Los Angeles Angels for the longest drought in MLB. In the National League, the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks are locked in a tight battle for the No. 5 seed. Both the Mets and D-backs are in playoff position, and they’re trying to hold off the Atlanta Braves.

Now let’s get you caught up on where all these races stand right now as the final weeks of the regular season loom. 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 Phillies, No. 2 Dodgers
Wild Card Series: No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Mets, No. 4 Padres vs. No. 5 D-backs

Who’s clinched?

• The Brewers clinched the NL Central
• The Guardians clinched the AL Central
• The Yankees have clinched an AL playoff spot
• The Dodgers and Phillies have clinched NL playoff spots

MLB magic numbers

(Entering Saturday, Sept. 21)

• AL East: Yankees — 5
• AL West: Astros — 3
• AL playoff spots: Orioles — 3, Astros — 3, Royals — 7, Twins — 8
• NL East: Phillies — 1
• NL West: Dodgers — 5
• NL playoff spots: Padres — 2, Diamondbacks — 4, Mets — 5, Braves — 7

Notable tiebreakers

(Note: Two-team MLB tiebreakers are determined by head-to-head record. If teams have the same head-to-head record, intradivision record is used.)

• The Yankees have clinched the tiebreaker against the Guardians
• The Guardians have clinched the tiebreaker against the Orioles
• The Orioles currently hold the tiebreaker against the Yankees
• The Twins have clinched the tiebreaker against the Tigers and Royals
• The Phillies have clinched the tiebreaker against the Dodgers and the Brewers
• The Mets have clinched the tiebreaker against the D-backs and the Padres
• The D-backs currently hold the tiebreaker against the Padres
• The Mets currently hold the tiebreaker against the Braves

American League standings

National League standings

Clinched division – x
Clinched wild-card – y
Clinched playoff berth – z
Eliminated – e

MLB wild-card standings

2024 World Series odds

• Dodgers: +340
• Yankees: +450
• Phillies: +450
• Astros: +700
• Orioles: +1000
• Guardians: +1100
• Padres: +1200
• Brewers: +1500
• Diamondbacks: +2000
• Mets: +2200
• Royals: +2800
• Braves: +2800
• Twins: +2800
• Tigers: +6000