Sixteen of baseball’s 30 franchises will qualify for the 2020 postseason, which means every team within sniffing distance of the .500 mark will have at least a puncher’s chance of reaching October as we head into the final few weeks of September.
It’s a convoluted setup. If you want the full setup, this is your happy place. Here, we’re going to update the playoff seeds on a daily basis, so here’s the very basic seeding structure.
The first three seeds (1-3) in each league will go to division winners, ordered by record. The second trio of seeds (4-6) goes to the second-place finishers in each division, ordered by record. The final two seeds (7-8) go to the two wild-card teams.
Got it?
MORE: Explaining MLB's expanded playoff format
MLB standings 2020
American League playoff bracket
Standings updated after games on Sept. 26
- Rays (E1), 39-20 (.661) (clinched seed)
- Twins (C1), 36-23 (.610)
- A's (W1), 35-24 (.593)
- White Sox (C2), 35-24 (.593)
- Yankees (E2), 33-26 (.559)
- Astros (W2), 29-30 (.492) (clinched seed)
- Indians (WC1), 34-25 (.579)
- Blue Jays (WC2), 32-27 (.542)
American League wild-card standings
- WC1: Indians, 34-25 (.579)
- WC2: Blue Jays, 32-27 (.542)
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- Mariners, 27-32 (.458) (ELIMINATED)
- Angels, 26-33 (.441) (ELIMINATED)
- Royals, 25-34 (.424) (ELIMINATED)
- Orioles, 24-35 (.407) (ELIMINATED)
- Tigers, 23-34 (.404) (ELIMINATED)
- Red Sox, 23-36 (.390) (ELIMINATED)
- Rangers, 21-38 (.356) (ELIMINATED)
American League current Wild-Card Series matchups
- No. 1 Rays vs. No. 8 Blue Jays
- No. 2 Twins vs. No. 7 Indians
- No. 3 A's vs. No. 6 Astros
- No. 4 White Sox vs. No. 5 Yankees
National League playoff bracket
Standings updated after games on Sept. 26
- Dodgers (W1), 42-17 (.712) (clinched seed)
- Braves (E1), 35-24 (.593) (clinched seed)
- Cubs (C1), 33-26 (.559) (clinched seed)
- Padres (W2), 36-23 (.610) (clinched seed)
- Cardinals (C2), 29-28 (.509)
- Marlins (E2), 30-29 (.508)
- Reds (WC2), 30-29 (.508)
- Brewers (WC1), 29-30 (.492)
National League wild-card standings
- WC1: Reds, 30-29 (.508)
- WC2: Brewers, 29-30 (.492)
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- Giants, 29-30 (.492), back of second WC via tiebreaker
- Phillies, 28-31 (.491) 1 game back
- Mets, 26-33 (.441) (ELIMINATED)
- Rockies, 26-33 (.441) (ELIMINATED)
- Nationals, 25-34 (.424) (ELIMINATED)
- Diamondbacks, 24-35 (.407) (ELIMINATED)
- Pirates, 189-40 (.322) (ELIMINATED)
National League Wild-Card Series matchups
- No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 8 Brewers
- No. 2 Braves vs. No. 7 Reds
- No. 3 Cubs vs. No. 6 Marlins
- No. 4 Padres vs. No. 5 Cardinals
MLB magic numbers for 2020
What is a magic number? It’s the combination of games a team needs to win and/or its closest competitor needs to lose to clinch a playoff spot. The smaller the number, the better. Because of the complicated nature of the 2020 playoff field, there are separate magic numbers to clinch a division and to clinch a wild-card spot. Info comes from @MLBMagNum on Twitter.
Updated through games of Sept. 26
AL East
Rays, CLINCHED division
Yankees, x/CLINCHED
Blue Jays, x/CLINCHED
Orioles, x/x
Red Sox, x/x
AL Central
Twins, 1/CLINCHED
White Sox, 2/CLINCHED
Indians, x/CLINCHED
Tigers, x/x
Royals, x/x
AL West
A’s, CLINCHED division
Astros, x/CLINCHED
Angels, x/x
Mariners, x/x
Rangers, x/x
NL East
Braves, CLINCHED division
Marlins, x/CLINCHED
Phillies, x/2
Mets, x/x
Nationals, x/x
NL Central
Cubs, CLINCHED division
Cardinals, x/1
Reds, x/CLINCHED
Brewers, x/1
Pirates, x/x
NL West
Dodgers, CLINCHED division
Padres, x/CLINCHED
Giants, x/2
Rockies, x/x
Diamondbacks, x/x
