MLB Playoffs 2023: Updated Playoff Picture and World Series Predictions
The Major League Baseball postseason field may not be decided until the final day of the regular season.
Five total spots, three in American League and two in the National League, have yet to be filled going into Saturday's games.
The wild-card races in each league have multiple permutations that could still play out, and results from six different matchups will help clarify the playoff picture in the next 48 hours.
The squads who survive the wild-card race face quick turnarounds to play in the wild-card round, which begins on Tuesday.
The intense nature of the final regular-season games and the wild-card round could drain some of the playoff qualifiers. That could benefit the two division winners in each league with World Series aspirations and leave the teams with the best records standing in the latter stages of the postseason.
American League
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Division Leaders
Baltimore (100-60)
Texas (89-71)
Minnesota (86-74)
Wild-Card Race
Tampa Bay (97-63)
Toronto (89-71)
Houston (88-72)
Seattle (87-73)
Three AL West teams and Toronto are still fighting for the final playoff berths in the AL.
The Mariners beat the Rangers inside T-Mobile Park on Friday to move the three AL West contenders within two games of each other.
Houston defeated Zac Gallen and Arizona to keep its slender lead over Seattle.
Toronto's bats came alive against the Rays on Friday, and that could keep it ahead of Houston and Seattle for two more days.
The Blue Jays have the easiest matchup on paper because the Rays are locked into the postseason and are saving their top arms for the wild-card round, where they could face the Blue Jays.
Toronto must keep winning because it would be on the wrong end of a four-way tie with three AL West teams. The Blue Jays are also eliminated if the Astros win the division and they finish on the same record as the Mariners and Rangers.
Seattle is in the most desperate situation entering Saturday. It needs two wins over Texas to draw level with at least the Rangers on record.
Houston's final two games against Arizona will be hotly contested since the Diamondbacks have not clinched a wild-card spot in the NL yet.
The number of clinched AL playoff spots can grow on Saturday. Toronto is in with a win over Tampa Bay.
The AL West situation seems destined to go down to the final day of the regular season. The only way in which the division title can be secured on Saturday is if Texas beats Seattle and Houston loses to Arizona.
National League
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Division Leaders
Atlanta (103-57)
Los Angeles Dodgers (99-61)
Milwaukee (91-69)
Wild-Card Race
Philadelphia (89-70)
Arizona (84-76)
Miami (83-76)
Chicago Cubs (82-78)
Cincinnati (82-78)
The four teams still in the mix for the final two NL wild-card positions are separated by two games in the standings going into Saturday.
Arizona has the best record of the quarter, but it also faces the toughest matchup of the group against Houston.
The Diamondbacks need one win to qualify for the postseason. They will send Merrill Kelly to the mound to face Justin Verlander on Saturday in an attempt to clinch before the final day of the regular season.
The Marlins were Friday's biggest winner, as they moved 1.5 games ahead of the Cubs thanks to a come-from-behind win in Pittsburgh.
Miami needs a victory on Saturday or losses from the Cubs and Reds to secure a playoff berth. The Marlins need to be locked into a playoff position in the next two days to avoid going back to New York on Monday to finish a suspended game against the Mets.
The Cubs' disastrous final week continued with a loss in Milwaukee. They need to win their next two games against the Brewers and receive some help from the Astros and Pirates to clinch a playoff berth.
The Reds stayed alive with a 19-run shellacking of the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, but like the Cubs, they need to win out and receive some help from Houston and Pittsburgh.
Whichever team emerges as the No. 5 seed will face the Philadelphia Phillies, while the No. 6 seed takes on the Brewers in the wild-card round.
World Series Predictions
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Atlanta vs. Baltimore
The top seeds in each league are well suited to make runs to the Fall Classic.
Atlanta and Baltimore both hold home-field advantage in their respective leagues. Neither team lost more than 31 games in their home ballpark in 2023.
Atlanta has hit the most home runs of any team and possesses the NL MVP favorite in Ronald Acuna Jr.
The NL East champion's ability to wear down opposing pitching staffs will be vital during the NLDS against a potentially fatigued opponent and in the NLCS.
Acuna might be the most motivated player to win the postseason. He was injured during Atlanta's 2021 World Series run and did not play well in the 2022 NLDS loss to Philadelphia.
Baltimore is making its first foray into the postseason with its current group of players.
All of the other AL contenders are dealing with key injuries or pitching flaws. Houston may be Baltimore's biggest threat just because of its experience, but there is no guarantee the Astros even make it out of the wild-card round.
A clash between the two best teams in baseball would be a fantastic sight in the World Series. It would mark the second time in four years in which the No. 1 seeds in each league face off in the World Series.
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