MLB Playoff Picture 2025 and Predictions for Final Postseason Bracket
What was once a 162-game marathon has now been reduced to a three-game weekend.
The end of the 2025 MLB season is almost here, and the playoff picture is really starting to take shape. The Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned NL West champs on Thursday, meaning only two division titles are still up for grabs (the AL East and AL Central). L.A.'s triumph also cemented a juicy Wild Card matchup between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres.
There's still plenty of jostling to be done, first to set the postseason field and then to thin it to the point that someone secures takes home a World Series title. After laying out the league standings through games played on Thursday, Sept. 25, we'll break out the crystal ball and predict how the playoffs will go down in each league.
Updated Clinching Scenarios
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Updated clinching scenarios entering Friday's action can be found below, courtesy of MLB.com.
- Boston Red Sox clinch a playoff spot with a win or Houston Astros loss
- Cleveland Guardians clinch a playoff spot with a win and Houston Astros loss
- Detroit Tigers clinch a playoff spot with a win and Houston Astros loss
- Milwaukee Brewers clinch National League's No. 1 seed with a win or Philadelphia Phillies loss
- New York Mets clinch playoff spot with three wins in final series vs. Miami Marlins
Current MLB Standings
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American League
East
z-Toronto Blue Jays: 91-68
z-New York Yankees: 91-68
Boston Red Sox: 87-72
e-Tampa Bay Rays: 77-82
e-Baltimore Orioles: 75-84
Central
Cleveland Guardians: 86-73
Detroit Tigers: 86-73
e-Kansas City Royals: 80-79
e-Minnesota Twins: 69-90
e-Chicago White Sox: 58-101
West
x-Seattle Mariners: 90-69
Houston Astros: 85-74
e-Texas Rangers: 80-79
e-Athletics: 75-84
e-Los Angeles Angels: 71-88
National League
East
x-Philadelphia Phillies: 94-65
New York Mets: 82-77
e-Miami Marlins: 77-82
e-Atlanta Braves: 75-84
e-Washington Nationals: 65-94
Central
x-Milwaukee Brewers: 96-63
y-Chicago Cubs: 89-70
Cincinnati Reds: 81-78
e-St. Louis Cardinals: 78-81
e-Pittsburgh Pirates: 69-90
West
x-Los Angeles Dodgers: 90-69
y-San Diego Padres: 87-72
Arizona Diamondbacks: 80-79
e-San Francisco Giants 78-81
e-Colorado Rockies: 43-116
*x-: clinched vision; y-: clinched wild card; z-: clinched playoff berth; e-: eliminated
AL Playoff Predictions
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If we're correct for thinking current playoff spots will hold, the AL portion of the bracket will open with a couple of division rivalries. The Guardians and Tigers would tussle on one side, while the Yankees and Red Sox would fight on the other.
Given how fast and far Detroit has fallen of late, Cleveland feels like it has to be the pick. In the other matchup, Boston is feisty, but it's probably a year away from becoming a true contender. New York's bullpen has to pitch better, but it has the personnel to do so.
The AL East theme would continue in the ALDS with the Yankees and Blue Jays going head-to-head, while the Mariners would host the Guardians in the other matchup.
Toronto is an awesome team, but Bo Bichette's knee injury is a worry, and closer Jeff Hoffman has been erratic. New York could mash its way through this series, but it might not have to if its bullpen ever looks as good on the field as it does on paper. In the other series, the Guardians may have gassed themselves with their miraculous comeback in the AL Central, but the Mariners are the better, more complete team. Seattle advances.
That would set up a Yankees-Mariners fight with a World Series spot on the line. New York would be a popular pick (and for good reason), but something in Seattle feels magical (and we don't just mean the MVP-caliber effort from Cal Raleigh). The Mariners have bats, reliable bullpen options and a great home-field advantage, plus a rotation that can be dominant. Seattle, your first ever World Series journey is starting soon.
NL Playoff Predictions
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Assuming the Mets can hold onto that final wild card spot—they're a game up on the Reds and two on the Diamondbacks—the NL's opening round could be overloaded with stars and juggernauts. It'd be New York and L.A. on one side of the bracket and Chicago-San Diego on the other.
The bats should be alive and well in the Mets-Dodgers collision, as the former's rotation and the latter's bullpen are both vulnerable. We're guessing the defending champs from L.A. get it done. Our crystal ball likes the Padres in the other clash with their late-game hurlers proving the difference.
The Padres-Brewers clash would be billed as the appetizer to the entree of the Phillies-Dodgers. That wouldn't be entirely fair, as San Diego and Milwaukee are really good, but it also makes sense given the markets and star power at play.
The Brewers will have more doubters than your typical No. 1 seed—and we'll add to that list. Milwaukee doesn't have a superstar to carry its offense, and injuries to key pitchers will be too much to overcome. San Diego's offensive stars and back-end hurlers will push the Padres through.
Philly-L.A. feels like a coin flip, but we're liking the Phillies—over the Dodgers first and then the Padres. Philadelphia has power in its lineup and filth in its pitching staff (even without Zack Wheeler), plus an urgency to capitalize on this run with free agency awaiting Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suárez, J.T. Realmuto, and Harrison Bader. It's now-or-never time for the Phillies, and they'll rise to the occasion.
