Power rankings entering the 2024 MLB postseason

The MLB postseason begins on Tuesday, with eight teams set to face off in the best-of-three wild-card Series.

No team proved to be head and shoulders above its peers during the regular season, which should set up a thrilling postseason. With that in mind, here’s how each team stands entering the playoffs. 

1. Philadelphia Phillies (95-67)

With a lineup featuring Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner that ranks fourth in OPS (.750), as well as a formidable rotation (3.81 ERA, eighth-best in baseball), the Phillies have the most complete roster entering October. After making back-to-back deep postseason runs, it’ll be interesting to see if Philadelphia’s experience can help the team finally get over the hump and capture its first World Series title since 2008. 

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)

Even though Los Angeles racked up the most wins in baseball (98), its injury-riddled rotation is a glaring weak spot, and it also doesn’t help that star first baseman Freddie Freeman is dealing with an ankle injury. Nonetheless, the Dodgers should still be a force, given that they posted the second-best record in the majors since the All-Star break (42-23) and have arguably the greatest player of all time in DH Shohei Ohtani. 

3. San Diego Padres (93-69)

The Padres have been firing on all cylinders since posting a .500 record through the first 100 games of the season, and they’ve added significant reinforcements in outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and RHP Yu Darvish over the last month. Considering San Diego’s offense started to slump in recent weeks, averaging 3.69 runs per game since Sept. 15 (20th in MLB), it may need its pitching staff to carry the team through the wild-card round. 

4. New York Yankees (94-68)

The Yankees endured a rollercoaster first half but recaptured their early season mojo after acquiring infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the trade deadline. It’ll be fascinating to see how whether outfielder Aaron Judge can exorcise his postseason demons, especially since he’ll have Juan Soto protecting him in the batting order. 

5. Cleveland Guardians (92-69)

If Cleveland’s starting rotation can improve on the lackluster 4.40 ERA it posted during the regular season (23rd in the majors), good luck to the other American League playoff teams. Not only do the Guardians have a deep lineup — headlined by All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez — but they also boast what is by far MLB’s most dominant bullpen (2.57 ERA).

6. Milwaukee Brewers (93-69)

The Brewers handled their business all season long en route to their second consecutive National League Central title with a new manager in Pat Murphy and a considerably different roster than last season’s. Aside from RHP Freddy Peralta, the rotation is concerning, though Milwaukee has a speedy, small-ball lineup that will cause plenty of trouble on the base paths, as evidenced by their 217 stolen bases, the second-most in MLB. 

7. New York Mets (89-73)

OMG, what a season it’s been for the resilient Mets, who were 11 games under .500 when shortstop Francisco Lindor called a players-only meeting on May 29 and finished with an MLB-best 67-41 record from that point on. New York’s rotation might not seem particularly intimidating on paper, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly, considering Mets starting pitchers combined to post a 3.14 ERA in September, the third-best mark in the majors. 

8. Houston Astros (88-73)

The Astros bounced back from a sluggish start to the season to look more like the team that has made seven consecutive trips to the American League Championship Series. However, Houston desperately needs slugger Yordan Alvarez to return from his sprained knee if it has any hopes of advancing past the red-hot Tigers. 

9. Baltimore Orioles (91-71)

Although it still has a core talented enough to make some noise in the playoffs, Baltimore struggled mightily in the second half of the season and only won two series against playoff teams since July. If the Orioles ultimately fall short this postseason, GM Mike Elias will surely regret his decision not to go all in at the trade deadline despite having the prospect capital to do so. 

10. Atlanta Braves (89-73)

Despite being decimated by injuries, including season-enders to stars Ronald Acuna Jr., Spencer Strider and Austin Riley, the Braves limped into the postseason — their seventh straight playoff berth. While Atlanta is undermanned, it has played up to its competition, posting a 51-40 record against teams with a winning record (second-best in MLB), providing some optimism heading into a wild-card clash with San Diego. 

11. Detroit Tigers (86-76)

There’s arguably no team entering October with more momentum than Detroit, which had a 0.2% chance of clinching a playoff berth on Aug. 5, according to FanGraphs. The offense is still a question mark, as the Tigers don’t have any players with 150 hits, 75 RBI, 25 homers or 25 stolen bases, but the team has a pitching staff capable of shouldering the load. 

12. Kansas City Royals (86-76)

Kansas City’s offseason spending spree paid off, with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Co. snapping an eight-year playoff drought just one season after losing 106 games. Even so, the team’s 11-14 record in September, coupled with its lack of postseason experience, raises doubts about whether it can make a deep run this October.