The MLB regular season just ended and it is now time to get ready for the playoffs and their pinnacle: the World Series. Next Tuesday, the Wild Card Series will begin and, in a matter of days, we will get to know the names of the post-season participants. On the 4th of October, the first round of the playoffs will begin, with the Wild Card winners that will face the teams with the best records, in the American League as well as in the National League.
In order to stay always up to date on odds and predictions for playoff games, it is possible to consult the MLB division outrights offered by industry experts on the page linked above. In professional baseball, analytics are quite important. Keep in mind to always check the experts’ advice on this matter.
Top franchises in the AL
There is some uncertainty in the American League, but the playoff clinching scenarios speak plainly. The Seattle Mariners need to win out against the Colorado Rockies, which is not impossible at all, to get in. It seems like a mere formality for a team that must look out only for the Houston Astros, the other franchise that could win the AL West. Once in the playoffs, Seattle will be on the same tier of the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians sit atop the AL East and are already eyeing the first seed. New York will probably need to win a wild card, maybe against the heated Boston Red Sox, projected by ESPN Analytics to play on the 4th of October.
The duel between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central crown is quite interesting. The team from Michigan is slightly favourite, but these are both teams with clear playoffs ambitions.
About the chance to play and win the World Series, the AL isn’t liked too much by baseball analysts: only the Yankees and Mariners are seen as possible winners, with odds around 12% each.
NL contenders
Let’s check out how teams are faring in the National League. For the second year in a row, the Milwaukee Brewers were the first franchise to clinch their playoff spot. Then, the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL East title, for the second consecutive year, and got their ticket for the October games. The Chicago Cubs played their last playoffs in 2018, but this year clinched their spot on the 17th of September, bringing joy to a victory-hungry Windy City.
The Californian Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of the last World Series, and their state rival San Diego Padres are in, with the Padres that will need to win out during the Wild Card games to gain access to the playoffs. The Cincinnati Reds have a difficult path to the playoffs because they could be the weakest side in the wild cards, but you never know.
The Dodgers are, once again, the favorites to win in the World Series, with a 19% chance that largely depends on the enormous talent they have at their disposal. The odds, however, are pretty good also for the Phillies (14%) and the Brewers (13%). NL teams are better built than their AL top rivals and this is the reason why analysts give them higher chances of playing and winning the Series.
There is more than a month of ball to be played, and we can’t forecast downfalls or heroics at this moment. That’s the beauty of sports: one can always expect the unexpected! In order to keep track of the playoffs and the most accurate odds, check our baseball page regularly.
