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Assuming the 2020 MLB season happens, it will likely involve a truncated regular season and possibly feature remade divisions that mix the American League and National League to create more geographic alignment.

Add the temporary and possibly permanent implementation of a universal designated hitter rule, and the lines between the AL and NL are blurring.

Still, it's worth asking: As things stand now, which of the two leagues is superior?

To answer that question, we analyzed three categories:

• Overall depth: Which league has more clubs with at least a decent chance of contending?
• Championship hopefuls: How many AL and NL teams have legitimate title odds?
• Star power: Based on stats, popularity and marketability, which league boasts the most top-tier players?

This involves ample subjectivity, obviously, and the final call was tough. But here's our take on the current states of the Junior and Senior Circuits.

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According to FanGraphs' 2020 preseason projections, the following teams have a better-than-15-percent chance of making the playoffs:

American League

Houston Astros (92.4 percent)

New York Yankees (87.7 percent)

Minnesota Twins (68.9 percent)

Tampa Bay Rays (68.6 percent)

Oakland Athletics (47.0 percent)

Cleveland Indians (43.6 percent)

Boston Red Sox (35.3 percent)

Chicago White Sox (29.0 percent)

Los Angeles Angels (18.4 percent)

National League

Los Angeles Dodgers (97.4 percent)

Washington Nationals (66.8 percent)

Atlanta Braves (58.6 percent)

Chicago Cubs (52.9 percent)

New York Mets (42.6 percent)

San Diego Padres (41.4 percent)

Cincinnati Reds (35.4 percent)

Milwaukee Brewers (32.5 percent)

St. Louis Cardinals (28.2 percent)

Philadelphia Phillies (19.0 percent)

Arizona Diamondbacks (16.3 percent)

That's 11 NL teams and nine AL teams with a realistic shot at the postseason. Obviously, the possibility of reconfigured leagues changes the calculus.

But assuming the divisions are traditionally constructed, the NL East and NL Central are easily the deepest and most wide-open in baseball. And the National League, overall, has more clubs that will be trying to win as opposed to rebuilding.

Advantage: NL

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Based on FanGraphs' preseason projections, the following clubs have a better-than-5-percent shot at hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy:

American League

Houston Astros (19.1 percent)

New York Yankees (14.6 percent)

Minnesota Twins (7.5 percent)

Tampa Bay Rays (6.7 percent)

National League

Los Angeles Dodgers (20.5 percent)

In the NL, the Nationals come in at 4.9 percent and the Braves at 4.1 percent. No other team is higher than the Chicago Cubs at 3.0 percent.

In the AL, meanwhile, the A's check in at 3.2 percent and the Indians at 3.1 percent. Clearly, while the NL is deeper, more American League clubs have true title aspirations.

Advantage: AL

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Here are the top players by jersey sales as of September 2019, per MLB.com:

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
2. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
3. Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs
5. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
6. Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
7. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox *
8. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
9. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
10. Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
11. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
12. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
14. Pete Alonso, New York Mets
15. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
16. Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
17. Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
18. Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
19. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
20. George Springer, Houston Astros

With Betts jumping from the AL to the NL after the Red Sox traded him to the Dodgers, that's seven National League players in the top 10 and 14 of 20 in all.

As for performance, here are the top 20 players by WAR in 2019, per FanGraphs:

1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (8.6)
2. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros (8.5)
3. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers (7.8)
4. Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers (7.8)
5. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets (7.6)
6. Marcus Semien, Oakland Athletics (7.6)
7. Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros (7.3)
8. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks (7.1)
9. Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals (7.0) *
10. Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox (6.8)
11. Lance Lynn, Texas Rangers (6.7)
12. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (6.6) *
13. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals (6.6)
14. George Springer, Houston Astros (6.5)
15. Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks/Houston Astros (6.4)
16. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros (6.3)
17. Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics (6.1)
18. Charlie Morton, Tampa Bay Rays (6.0)
19. T Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (5.9)
20. T Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox (5.9)
21. T Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals (5.9)

The script flips a bit on this one.

With Rendon going via trade from the Nationals to the Angels, the AL has six players in the top 10 and 13 in the top 20 even with Betts on the Dodgers, as Cole stayed in the American League by heading from Houston to New York.

These aren't the only metrics to measure star power, but it paints a pretty decent picture. As the results show, MLB's best, most popular players are spread fairly evenly between the two leagues.

Advantage: Even

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There have been times when the disparity between the AL and NL was undeniable and one league held a clear advantage.

Today, that's not the case.

The National League is deeper in terms of clubs with competitive hopes, but the American League boasts more teams with a true chance at winning it all.

The NL's top players might be slightly more popular with fans, but the AL has a slim edge when it comes to guys who stuff the stat sheet.

Trout is inarguably the best player on the planet and plays in the AL, but his low-key personality is outshined by others in the Senior Circuit such as Harper.

Both leagues also feature exciting, rising youngsters who should soon rocket up the WAR and jersey-sale lists.

Back and forth we go. We're tempted to take the easy route and call this a tie.

But there are no ties in baseball, so we'll lean toward the National League simply because the divisions are deeper and more playoff competition is fun to watch.

Feel free to disagree.

Verdict: NL