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

Less than 20 days remain in Major League Baseball’s 2024 regular season, and the MLB playoff picture is taking shape. There are plenty of intriguing postseason races hanging in the balance right now, including a few that figure to come down to the wire. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians are among the teams trying to become the first to punch their tickets to the playoffs.

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 Yankees and Orioles are locked in baseball’s tightest division race as the two eye the AL East crown, and, potentially, the No. 1 seed in the American League. The Cleveland Guardians have started to pull away a bit in the AL Central, but the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins remain in wild-card position. In the AL West, the Astros are closing in on another division title (which would be their seventh in eight years).

In the National League, the Phillies and Dodgers are in a close contest for the No. 1 overall seed. The Brewers, meanwhile, have the most comfortable division lead in baseball as they’ve separated themselves from the pack in the NL Central. The NL wild-card could end up being the most compelling race in these final two and a half weeks. The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks have maintained control of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds for quite some time, but both the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are fighting for the No. 6 seed — and those NL East teams are not far behind their NL West counterparts. 

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 D-backs vs. No. 5 Padres

MLB magic numbers

(Entering Thursday, Sept. 12)

• Phillies to clinch a playoff spot: 7
• Yankees to clinch a playoff spot: 7
• Guardians to clinch a playoff spot: 7
• Brewers to clinch the NL Central: 8
• Dodgers to clinch a playoff spot: 8
• Orioles to clinch a playoff spot: 9

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 Orioles currently hold the tiebreaker against the Yankees
• The Yankees have clinched the tiebreaker against the Guardians
• The Guardians have clinched the tiebreaker against the Orioles
• The Phillies have clinched the tiebreaker against the Dodgers
• 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

MLB wild-card standings

2024 World Series odds

• Dodgers: +300
• Phillies: +480
• Yankees: +525
• Astros: +700
• Orioles: +850
• Padres: +900
• Guardians: +1200
• Diamondbacks: +1800
• Royals: +2000
• Brewers: +2000
• Mets: +2200
• Braves: +2500
• Twins: +2500