MLB Playoff Picture 2024: Wild Card Standings and Bracket Review Entering Last Week

None of the six wild-card spots for the Major League Baseball postseason have been clinched with the final week of the regular season about to start.

The Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres enter Monday in the most comfortable positions in the American and National Leagues to confirm their status as a wild-card team.

The races for the other spots in each league could go in any direction over the next seven days.

Three AL Central teams, the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, are at the forefront of the AL wild-card race.

The Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets are the only other wild-card contenders in the NL alongside San Diego. Atlanta and New York start a three-game series on Tuesday that could alter the direction of the race before the weekend.

Updated Playoff Bracket Projection

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OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 22: New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) runs the bases after hitting a home run during an MLB game between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics on September 22, 2024, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CA. (Photo by Trinity Machan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

American League

(1) New York Yankees - first-round bye

(2) Cleveland - first-round bye

No. 6 Kansas City vs. No. 3 Houston

No. 5 Detroit vs. No. 4 Baltimore

National League

(1) Los Angeles Dodgers - first-round bye

(2) Philadelphia - first-round bye

No. 6 New York Mets vs. No. 3 Milwaukee

No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 4 San Diego

AL Wild Card Race

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BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 22: Spencer Torkelson #20 of the Detroit Tigers rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the second inning during the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday, September 22, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

1. Baltimore (86-70)

2. Detroit (82-74)

3. Kansas City (82-74)

4. Minnesota 1 game behind

5. Seattle 2 GB

6. Boston 4 GB

7. Tampa Bay 4 GB

Detroit's September surge has been the most surprising thing to happen in all of baseball.

The Tigers used another tremendous week to vault into second place in the AL wild-card race behind the Orioles, who they beat two of three times this past weekend in Maryland.

A.J. Hinch's team has the easiest remaining schedule among the wild-card contenders. It hosts the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox.

Kansas City has an easy start to its week against the Washington Nationals, but its three-game closing set in Atlanta could carry significance for both teams.

Baltimore visits the New York Yankees to start the week and then heads to Minnesota for a series that should mean more to the Twins.

The Orioles only need to have a .500 week to confirm a playoff position. They may just need a 2-4 record this week to clinch depending on results elsewhere.

Minnesota hosts the Miami Marlins to start the week, so it should be able to at least keep pace with the Tigers and Royals.

The Seattle Mariners are only two games back of the final wild-card spot, but it starts the week with three games in Houston against an Astros team that still hasn't clinched the AL West title.

Seattle finishes with three home contests against the Oakland Athletics, so there is a path to a wild-card spot, but it likely needs help from Baltimore and Atlanta over the weekend.

The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays each need miracles to even be alive by the weekend. The Rays will likely be eliminated by the time they leave Detroit on Thursday.

Boston must sweep the Toronto Blue Jays for its final home series against the Rays to potentially carry any meaning, but it needs a few teams in front of it to lose midweek series to be alive come Friday.

NL Wild Card Race

Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Jurickson Profar #10 of the San Diego Padres jogs around the bases after htting a home run in the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Petco Park on September 22, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

1. San Diego (90-66)

2. New York Mets (87-69)

3. Arizona (87-69)

4. Atlanta 2 GB

Three series will play major roles in determining which teams qualify for the three NL wild-card spots.

New York and Atlanta's three-game set at Truist Park is the most important mid-week matchup because of where both teams lie in the standings.

The Mets own a two-game cushion on the Braves, and if they win two games in Georgia this week, the Braves probably do not have a path to the postseason.

If Atlanta wins two or three games, though, the wild-card finish will be tense. The Braves close at home against Kansas City, the Mets visit Milwaukee and the San Diego Padres play the Arizona Diamondbacks.

San Diego has to worry about the Los Angeles Dodgers first this week. The Padres are still alive in the NL West race and that will be their primary focus since they have a three-game lead on Arizona.

The DBacks begin a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants on Monday. They should win multiple games at home to gain ground on either Atlanta or New York before San Diego comes to town.

The Padres-DBacks series could be a preview of the wild-card round if the Mets fall back into third during their time in Atlanta.