The Blueprint for Every MLB Playoff-Hopeful in Final Month of 2025 Season
As the final month of the season approaches, we have a pretty good idea of who the 12 teams in the playoffs would be.
If the season ended today, the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers would be the division winners, while the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and New York Mets would reach the postseason as wild-card winners.
However, the Kansas City Royals are still pushing for the final wild-card spot in the NL, and a slew of other divisions are still for grabs. With four weeks left in the regular season, here's a look at the blueprint for every MLB playoff-hopeful in the final month.
Toronto Blue Jays
1 of 13
Blueprint: Win AL East, secure No. 1 seed in AL
Both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are within five games of the Blue Jays in the AL East, so first and foremost, winning their division has to be Toronto's top focus.
Assuming they are able to do that, John Schneider's club—thanks to a 34-18 record between June and July—has about as good of a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AL playoffs as anyone. The top seed comes with home-field advantage throughout the postseason, meaning the AL playoffs would run through the 6. At the very least, the Blue Jays would like to get the second seed in the junior circuit, which would assure a first-round bye.
Former World Series MVP George Springer has a .930 OPS in his age-35 season, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was an All-Star for the fifth consecutive season. Still, the guy with the most to gain in Toronto's lineup down the stretch is Bo Bichette, who can become a free agent this offseason. After a disastrous 2024, Bichette has returned to being a hits machine, as he leads baseball with 171 knocks.
A strong finish from closer Jeff Hoffman also would be a welcome development. While Hoffman has 29 saves in the first season of a three-year, $33 million deal, he's blown seven attempts and has a 4.69 ERA. It's going to be hard to get the No. 1 seed and make a deep playoff run without Hoffman locking things down more consistently.
Detroit Tigers
2 of 13
Blueprint: Win AL Central, get No. 1 seed in AL playoffs
While the Blue Jays would like to get the top seed in the AL postseason, the Tigers are currently the biggest obstacle to them doing so, despite going 11-14 in July.
It's all starts at the top for the Tigers, as ace Tarik Skubal is in poll position to win the AL Cy Young Award for the second season in a row, which would make him the first pitcher to do that since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.
Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball by just about any metric, but the rest of A.J. Hinch's rotation needs to be better. Casey Mize has a 6.19 ERA in seven starts since making an All-Star appearance. Jack Flaherty's 3.89 FIP suggests he's been a bit unlucky, but the 4.87 ERA he's posted this year has been disappointing.
Kyle Finnegan has been an excellent addition to the bullpen, as he's yet to allow an earned run since being acquired from the Washington Nationals. If the starting rotation after Skubal gets back on track, the Tigers will be able to hand leads off to a bullpen with a strong one-two punch in Finnegan and Will Vest.
Lineup wise, the Tigers need two of their All-Stars to heat up again. Gleyber Torres made his third career All-Star Game appearance after posting a .812 first-half OPS, but he has a .667 OPS since then. Meanwhile, Javier Báez's resurgence was one of the great stories of the first half, but since an improbable All-Star nod, he's hitting .229 with an unsightly .548 OPS.
Detroit will have an advantage opening any series with Skubal on the mound, but other parts of their roster make you wonder if they peaked too early.
Houston Astros
3 of 13
Blueprint: Hold off Mariners, get healthy
A trade back to the Astros has rejuvenated Carlos Correa, who is hitting .320 since being dealt by the Minnesota Twins and shifting to third base. Houston needs to keep Correa and their veterans healthy, while getting others back from injury.
Yordan Alvarez has returned from right hand inflammation that's made this a lost season for him, but needs to get back to being the MVP-level hitter he is at his best.
The Astros have a tremendous one-two punch in their starting rotation with Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, but they need a third postseason starter to emerge. Perhaps that will be Cristian Javier, who has a 3.38 ERA in his first four starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. Luis García is another arm returning from Tommy John surgery that could make a major impact down the stretch if he proves to be healthy.
In the bullpen, the best-case scenario for the Astros—who appeared to have the top bullpen in the AL a month ago—would be for Josh Hader to return from a shoulder sprain. Considering he was shut down for three weeks with the injury in mid-August, that seems to be an uphill battle. Houston might just have to roll with Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert, Bryan King and the recently-added Craig Kimbrel for the rest of 2025.
Holding off the Mariners and winning the AL West is the top priority for the Astros. Managing to play well enough in September to get one of the two first-round byes would be gravy.
.jpg?w=256)
Boston Red Sox
4 of 13
Blueprint: Catch Blue Jays and win AL East
If it just comes down to who the most talented team on paper is, the Red Sox will win the AL East. In fact, they'll win the AL East and get the No. 1 seed in the AL playoffs.
- Should the aforementioned Skubal slip up, Garrett Crochet is waiting for his chance to steal the AL Cy Young Award, as he has an MLB-best 214 strikeouts in his first season in Boston.
- Aroldis Chapman is having arguably the most dominant season of a career that might be destined for Cooperstown. The 37-year-old has a minuscule 1.04 ERA and 26 saves this year.
- Roman Anthony has been as good as advertised, as the former No. 1 overall prospect has an .879 OPS and six defensive runs saved over his first 67 MLB games.
- Alex Bregman and Trevor Story are both healthy and having their finest seasons in years.
Of course, the games aren't played on paper. But Alex Cora's club might still be the best bet to emerge as the AL East Champions, and potentially with a first-round bye.
New York Yankees
5 of 13
Blueprint: Aaron Judge returns to outfield, Yankees win AL East
The Yankees are within striking distance in the AL East, so their best-case scenario definitely includes them winning the division, even if their 25-27 record between June and July made them feel much more like a wild-card team.
Assuming the Yankees reach the postseason in some form, the most important thing for them is to have Aaron Judge—the AL MVP front-runner—healthy in October.
Ideally, Judge—who is dealing with a flexor strain in his right arm—will be able to return to right field before the season is over. With him entrenched at DH, Giancarlo Stanton has had to return to right field, where he already has minus-three defensive runs saved in less than 100 innings. But if Judge is stuck at DH, the Yankees will have to take their lumps in the field, because Stanton has a 1.009 OPS since making his season debut in mid-June.
A year after winning the AL pennant, the Yankees haven't felt like a true World Series contender. However, if Judge's situation gets sorted out, Devin Williams returns to form and a No. 3 starter emerges in the rotation, we may feel very differently about Aaron Boone's squad in a month.
Kansas City Royals
6 of 13
Blueprint: Sneak into the postseason
Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals don't have the same sneaky World Series contender energy they had a year ago, but they are still within striking distance of the final wild-card spot in the American League.
If the Royals are able to knock any of the Yankees, Red Sox or Seattle Mariners out of the postseason and claim a wild-card spot, they'll be an interesting team in the playoffs.
- They'll need to get Cole Ragans back from a rotator cuff strain, but a rotation with him, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha could keep Kansas City in playoff games.
- With Carlos Estévez, Lucas Erceg and Daniel Lynch IV, the Royals have a pretty strong back end of their bullpen.
- Jac Caglianone is on the injured list with a strained hamstring, but had struggled mightily in his first MLB action prior to that, hitting .147 in 150 at-bats. If he returns and can tap into the power that forced the Royals to call him up earlier this season, it would change the complexion of the lineup.
Admittedly, the Royals feel like a long-shot to get into the playoffs and make a run. But they are close enough that they still deserve a mention.
Seattle Mariners
7 of 13
Blueprint: Pass Astros, win AL West
Cal Raleigh is having a season for the ages, and with a lineup that also includes Eugenio Suárez, Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor, Seattle finally has enough offense to make a deep playoff run, should they get in.
In theory, with Bryan Woo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller, the Mariners also have one of the best, if not the best starting rotations in baseball.
However, both Kirby and Gilbert have spent time on the injured list this season, and haven't been their typical dominant selves. With a 3.75 ERA and 4.07 FIP, Castillo feels more like a Game 3 of 4 starter in the postseason. Luckily for the Mariners, Woo has pitched like an ace this year, posting a 2.56 ERA over his first 26 starts of the season.
If Kirby and/or Gilbert gets hot, not only will the Mariners probably pass the Astros to win the AL West, but they'll be a popular pick to win it all in October.
Philadelphia Phillies
8 of 13
Blueprint: Win NL East, get No. 2 seed in NL playoffs
The Phillies are unlikely to catch the Milwaukee Brewers for the top seed in the NL, but winning the NL East for the second year in a row and claiming the second first-round bye would represent a strong finish to the regular season.
Kyle Schwarber is having a career-year, and has a chance over the final month of the season to pass Ryan Howard's single-season franchise record of 58 home runs. He, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are a great trio, but the Phillies' lineup is significantly more impactful when J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Harrison Bader and Bryson Stott, among others, are also making contributions, which has happened inconsistently this year.
Losing Zack Wheeler for the season to thoracic outlet syndrome was a blow, but if Aaron Nola gets back to pitching like his typical self, those two, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo still make up a formidable rotation.
The best development for the Phillies is that the mid-season additions of Jhoan Duran and David Robertson have largely solidified a bullpen that was a disaster earlier in the season. José Alvarado won't be eligible to pitch in the postseason, but Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm will be key cogs for this bullpen as well.
With such a veteran team that's gotten close the last three years, anything short of a parade will be a disappointing ending for the Phillies.
Milwaukee Brewers
9 of 13
Blueprint: Set franchise wins record, clinch No. 1 seed in NL playoffs
The Brewers followed up a 17-win July by winning their first 14 games in August. Pat Murphy's squad will enter the final month of the season comfortably in control of both the NL Central and the top seed in the senior-circuit's postseason bracket.
A good way to make sure they win the NL Central for the fourth time in the last five years would be to set a new single-season franchise wins record. That's a realistic goal considering the Brewers' current record is 96 wins, which they produced in both 2011 and 2018.
What's amazing about the Brewers is that while they've been baseball's best team, they don't really have an NL MVP candidate. Christian Yelich is a former NL MVP, while Brice Turang, Freddy Peralta and William Contreras have all been All-Star type performers this season. But this really is a case where the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.
Beyond winning games and getting the No. 1 seed in the NL, the best development the Brewers could get in September would be to get All-Star closer Trevor MeGill back from his right flexor strain in time to take on a major workload in the postseason.
Los Angeles Dodgers
10 of 13
Blueprint: Get pitching healthy, claim No. 2 seed in NL playoffs
Though Mookie Betts hasn't had his typical season, a lineup with him, Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández is going to be among the most imposing come October.
The bigger question remains what the starting rotation is going to look like. A year ago, the Dodgers overcame a lack of dominant starting pitching to win the World Series. But that's not normal. It's also less likely to be replicated this year considering the uncertainty in the bullpen. Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates have struggled in their first years with the Dodgers, Evan Phillips is out for the season and both Michael Kopech and Alex Vesia are currently on the IL.
Will the starting rotation be up to the task? It's fair to wonder. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has had an excellent season, but behind him things get murky. Clayton Kershaw has pitched well in 17 starts this year, but the 37-year-old has struggled to stay on the mound in recent years. The aforementioned Ohtani has a 4.18 ERA over 11 starts, and isn't going to pitch very deep into games as he returns from his second major elbow surgery. Tyler Glasnow is also a major injury risk.
The best-case scenario for the Dodgers over the final month of the season would be to get some certainty in their starting rotation, and earn the second seed in the NL playoffs, which would give them a first-round bye for the fourth consecutive postseason.
New York Mets
11 of 13
Blueprint: Surpass Phillies, win NL East
Despite sweeping the Phillies at Citi Field this past week, the Mets still find themselves in a hole in the NL East. It's not an insurmountable one, but they may be more likely to be a wild-card team for the second straight year.
That's fine, as the Mets showed a season ago, if you get into the postseason and get hot, you can go on a deep run without being a division winner. If the recent success of Mark Vientos continues, New York certainly has a lineup capable of winning it all with Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo.
Where there's uncertainty with the Mets is in the starting rotation. David Peterson was an All-Star, but probably profiles more as a Game 2 or 3 starter than one you open a series with. Clay Holmes is in unchartered territory with the amount of innings he's thrown after being converted from a reliever. Kodai Senga has a 6.10 ERA since the All-Star Break. Sean Manaea hasn't found his stride in 2025 after a magical 2024. The Mets might need Nolan McLean and/or Jonah Tong to come of age early to have enough starting pitching to make a deep run.
A month ago, it did seem like the Mets could have a dominant bullpen heading into the playoffs, led by Edwin Díaz. But Ryan Helsley has a 9.31 ERA in 12 games since being acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals. Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto have both largely been successful additions, but the Mets are going to have to hope for more from Helsley, particularly if their starting pitching staff has questions.
Chicago Cubs
12 of 13
Blueprint: Have stars get hot again, win top wild-card spot
The Cubs almost certainly aren't going to catch the Brewers in the NL Central, but getting the top wild-card spot would assure they play their first round postseason series entirely at Wrigley Field.
From a bigger picture sense, the Cubs need their two biggest stars — Pete Crow Armstrong and Kyle Tucker — to return to the MVP-level production they put up in the first half.
Crow-Armstrong is having an all-time year in the field with 20 defensive runs saved and 19 outs above average. But after posting an .847 OPS in the first half, PCA has a .649 OPS since starting in the All-Star Game.
Tucker, meanwhile, has hit .214 with a .707 OPS since the All-Star Game, which is even more concerning for him considering he's playing through a hairline fracture in his right hand. (From a personal standpoint, it's hurt Tucker's numbers in a contract year.
If Crow-Armstrong and Tucker are able to get hot, the Cubs might return to the World Series conversation, where they appeared to firmly be at the All-Star Break.
San Diego Padres
13 of 13
Blueprint: Overtake the Dodgers to win NL West
The Padres are almost certainly going to be in the postseason, it's just a matter of whether it will be as a wild-card team or the NL West winners. Either way, a bullpen that includes Robert Suárez, Mason Miller, Jason Adam and Adrián Morejón is going to make them a tough out.
But, of course, you would always rather win your division, which could also come with the No. 2 seed in the NL and a first-round bye.
To win the division, the Padres need Fernando Tatis Jr.—who has just two home runs since the All-Star Break—to rediscover his power stroke to go with his excellent defense in right field. Manny Machado is having his typically strong offensive season, but the Padres need Tatis and Jackson Merrill (who currently is on the IL with a sprained ankle) to be at their best to make a deep run.
In the rotation, Nick Pivetta has had a career-year, but the Padres need some combination of Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes—along with the possible return of Michael King—to win the division and be a real threat to do damage in October.
.jpg?w=480)
