Latest MLB Playoff Standings 2025, Projected Bracket Picture and Races to Watch

Only a handful of the division leaders in Major League Baseball can feel safe about their advantages going into the second week of September.

Three of the six division leaders after Sunday's action hold edges of three games or fewer.

Both wild-card races are tight as well with multiple teams within five games of the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners in the final wild-card spots.

Some clarity should come to a handful of races in the next week since a good amount of playoff contenders play each other, including a monster series between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees that begins on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

American League

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Division Leaders

1. Toronto (82-61)
2. Detroit (82-62)
3. Houston (78-66)

Wild Card Race

1. New York Yankees (80-63)
2. Boston (79-65)
3. Seattle (75-68)
4. Texas (74-70)
5. Kansas City (73-70)
6. Cleveland (72-70)
7. Tampa Bay (71-72)

Every race in the AL is worth watching with the exception of the AL Central, where the Detroit Tigers own an 8.5-game advantage over the Kansas City Royals.

The Toronto Blue Jays hold a two-game edge on the New York Yankees in the AL East and the Houston Astros are up just 2.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.

New York and Seattle are trying to catch up to the division leads, while also attempting to fend off the chasers in the AL wild-card race.

The Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays are all within four games of the Mariners for the final AL wild-card position.

Kansas City and Cleveland's midweek series has the potential to eliminate one of those teams from the wild-card conversation.

But all eyes this week will be on four of the top teams in the AL. Detroit is at Yankee Stadium, while Houston heads up to Toronto for midweek series.

Both of those series could be previews of matchups we see in October.

National League

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Division Leaders

1. Milwaukee (89-55)
2. Philadelphia (83-60)
3. Los Angeles (79-64)

Wild-Card Race

1. Chicago Cubs (81-62)
2. San Diego (78-65)
3. New York Mets (76-67)
4. Cincinnati (72-71)
5. San Francisco (72-71)
6. Arizona (72-72)
7. St. Louis (72-72)

All of the chasing teams in the NL wild-card race are fans of the Philadelphia Phillies this week.

The New York Mets are their four-game lead in the NL wild-card race head to Citizens Bank Park for a four-game set.

New York then returns home to play the Texas Rangers, who are in the thick of the AL playoff hunt.

Any one of the four teams beneath the Mets needs them to go on another losing run to put more pressure on the race for the final wild-card spot.

Rooting for the Phillies might be necessary for a few teams since the Cincinnati Reds are in San Diego to face the Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks face off with the San Francisco Giants.

San Diego needs to keep producing wins in order to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

The Dodgers have three at home with the Colorado Rockies to start the week, so the Padres might have to sweep the Reds to have a chance to claim the NL West lead by the end of next week.