2024 MLB playoff picture: bracket, baseball standings, magic numbers, tiebreakers, postseason predictions

With less than 10 days left until Major League Baseball's 2024 regular season, MLB's playoff situation is becoming clearer as four teams secured a playoff spot this week. The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers are the first four teams to secure their playoff spots. The Philadelphia Phillies could be next, as they need just one win to secure their spot in the 12-team playoff field.

As a reminder, MLB now awards 12 playoff spots — six total to the division winners and then three wild-card spots in each league. The top two division winners in each league, based on overall record, receive a first-round bye, meaning they don't have to play in the best-of-three wild-card series that acts as the first round.

The Brewers are the only team to have clinched their division so far. While things could certainly change in the final days of the season, none of the other five division battles in baseball are as close. The other five division leaders – the Yankees, Guardians, Phillies, Dodgers and Houston Astros – all entered the weekend with leads of at least four games.

There will be plenty of wild-card drama, though. In the American League, the upstart Detroit Tigers caught up with the Minnesota Twins in the standings as they entered the weekend with equal records. The Tigers have not played postseason baseball since 2014, putting them in a tie with the Los Angeles Angels for the longest losing streak in MLB.

In the National League, the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks are fighting hard for fifth place. Both the Mets and the D-backs are in playoff position and are trying to keep the Atlanta Braves at a distance.

Now we want to bring you up to speed on all of these races as we enter the final weeks of the regular season. All divisional and postseason predictions mentioned in the standings come from SportsLine.

Picture of the 2024 MLB playoffs

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

Bundesliga
Byes: No. 1 Phillies, No. 2 Dodgers
Wild Card Series: No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 D-backs, No. 4 Padres vs. No. 5 Mets

Who won?

• The Brewers won the NL Central
• The Yankees and Guardians have secured the AL playoff spots
• The Dodgers have secured a spot in the NL playoffs

The magic numbers of the MLB

(Start date: Friday, 20 September)

• AL East: Washington – 6
• AL Central: Guardian — 3
• AL West: Astros — 5
• AL playoff spots: Orioles – 4, Astros – 5, Royals – 7, Twins – 9, Tigers – 9
• NL East: Philadelphia – 4
• NL West: Dodgers – 6
• NL playoff spots: Phillies – 1, Padres – 5, Mets – 7, D-backs – 7, Braves – 9

Notable tiebreakers

(Note: MLB tiebreakers between two teams are determined by head-to-head results. If the teams have the same head-to-head record, the result within the division is used.)

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

American League table

Table of the National League

Division won – x
Wildcard secured – y
Playoff spot secured – z
Eliminated – e

MLB Wildcard Rankings

Odds for the 2024 World Series

• Dodgers: +350
• Yankees: +460
• Phillies: +460
• Astros: +700
• Orioles: +1000
• Guardian: +1100
• Padres: +1200
• Brewer: +1600
• Mets: +1800
• Diamondback: +2400
• Royal: +2500
• Gemini: +2500
• Braves: +3300