MLB Projected Playoff Teams and Seeding - Through 9/22/20

Last night, three more teams clinched playoff berths.  In the AL, the Indians clinched a playoff berth with their extra innings, come-from-behind win over the White Sox.  It's the Tribe's first playoff appearance since 2018, when they won the AL Central, but were swept by the Astros in the ALDS.  The Indians become the third AL Central team to clinch a playoff spot, along with my floundering White Sox and the surging Twins.

In the NL, the Braves both clinched a playoff berth and the NL East title for the third season in a row.  Last year, they lost in the NLDS to the Cardinals.  The Cubs also clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018, when they lost the 163rd game to the Brewers for the NL Central title and then lost the one-game Wild Card game to the Rockies.  Finally, the Dodgers clinched both the NL West and the top seed in the NL.  It's the eighth NL West title in a row for the Dodgers, and last year, they lost in NLDS to eventual World Series champs the Nationals.

As noted below, there was also a lot of movement in projected seeding in the NL, and the NL Central would have four teams in the playoffs if the season ended today.

Today, we could see several teams clinch playoff spots or division titles.

• The Rays' magic number to clinch the AL East title still is 1, so they can win the division today with either a win or a Yankees loss.
• The Astros' magic number to clinch second place in the AL West is 2, so they can get in today with a win over the Mariners and a loss by the Angels.
• The Blue Jays' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 2, so they can secure a berth today with a win over the Yankees and losses by the Tigers, Mariners, and Angels.

For a breakdown of the MLB playoff structure for this year and tiebreakers, click here.

Through the games played on September 22, here would be the playoff seeds if the season ended today.  For the magic numbers, I'm relying on the MLB Magic Numbers Twitter account.

Moved up:  
-Atlanta Braves (from #3 to #2 in the NL)
-Milwaukee Brewers (from out to #8 in the NL)
-St. Louis Cardinals (from #6 to #5 in the NL)

Moved down:  
-Chicago Cubs (from #2 to #3 in the NL)
-Miami Marlins (from #5 to #6 in the NL)
-Philadelphia Phillies (from #8 to out in the NL)

American League

1.  y-Tampa Bay Rays, 36-20 (.643) (1st in AL East)

--Magic Number (win division):  1

2.  x-Chicago White Sox, 34-21 (.618) (1st in AL Central)
--Magic Number (win division):  4
3.  z-Oakland Athletics, 33-21 (.611) (1st in AL West)
4.  x-Minnesota Twins, 34-22 (.607) (2nd in AL Central)

--Magic Number (win division):  6

5.  x-New York Yankees, 32-23 (.582) (2nd in AL East)
--Magic Number (win division):  9
6.  Houston Astros, 28-27 (.509) (2nd in AL West)

--Magic Number (playoff spot):  2

7.  x-Cleveland Indians, 31-24 (.564) (WC1 - 3rd in AL Central)
--Magic Number (win division):  8
8.  Toronto Blue Jays, 28-27 (.509) (WC2 - 3rd in AL East)
--Magic Number (playoff spot):  2

x - clinched playoff spot
y - clinched at least second place in division (i.e., a top six seed)
z - clinched division title
bold indicates team has clinched a specific seed

Teams eliminated from division title contention:  Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays

Teams eliminated from playoff contention:  Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers

National League

1.  z-Los Angeles Dodgers, 39-16 (.709) (1st in NL West)
2.  z-Atlanta Braves, 33-22 (.600) (1st in NL East)

3.  x-Chicago Cubs, 32-23 (.582) (1st in NL Central)

--Magic Number (win division):  4

4.  y-San Diego Padres, 34-21 (.618) (2nd in NL West)
5.  St. Louis Cardinals, 27-25 (.519) (2nd in NL Central)

--Magic Numbers (win division/clinch playoff spot):  11/7

6.  Miami Marlins, 28-27 (.509) (2nd in NL East)
--Magic Number (clinch playoff spot):  3

7.  Cincinnati Reds, 28-28 (.500) (WC1 - 3rd in NL Central) (holds tiebreaker over Brewers because of head-to-head record)

--Magic Number (clinch playoff spot):  6

8.  Milwaukee Brewers, 27-27 (.500) (WC2 - 4th in NL Central)
--Magic Numbers (win division/clinch playoff spot):  11/7

x - clinched playoff spot
y - clinched at least second place in division (i.e., a top six seed)
z - clinched division title
bold indicates team has clinched a specific seed

Teams eliminated from division title contention:  Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals

Teams eliminated from playoff contention:  Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates