MLB Playoff Picture 2022: Complete AL, NL Standings and Bracket Ahead of Final Series
The final week of the 2022 MLB regular season is officially upon us, and there are still a few unknowns heading into the playoffs.
The postseason will officially begin with the wild-card round on Friday, Oct. 7, but prior to that, a lot can change. While much of the playoff bracket is set, some teams still have the opportunity to change their destinies in their final regular-season series.
Here's a look at how the playoff bracket is shaping up ahead of the final week of the season, along with the latest standings and key matchups worth watching.
Current Playoff Bracket
American League
No. 1 seed: Houston Astros (104-55), first-round bye
No. 2 seed: New York Yankees (97-61), first-round bye
No. 3 seed: Cleveland Guardians (90-69) vs. No. 6 seed: Tampa Bay Rays (86-73)
No. 4 seed: Toronto Blue Jays (90-69) vs. No. 5 seed: Seattle Mariners (87-70)
National League
No. 1 seed: Los Angeles Dodgers (110-49), first-round bye
No. 2 seed: Atlanta Braves (99-59), first-round bye
No. 3 seed: St. Louis Cardinals (92-67) vs. No. 6 seed: Philadelphia Phillies (86-73)
No. 4 seed: New York Mets (98-60) vs. No. 5 seed: San Diego Padres (87-71)
Full Standings
AL East
AL Central
AL West
AL Wild Card
NL East
NL Central
NL West
NL Wild Card
The National League wild-card race is worth keeping an eye on as the season winds down.
The San Diego Chargers lead the Philadelphia Phillies by 1.5 games for the second spot, while the Phillies are just two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the final spot.
The Padres will host the San Francisco Giants this week, but the Phillies have a tough series away from home against the American League-leading Houston Astros. The Brewers will welcome the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks to town, which represents their best chance to overtake one of the two open spots. However, Milwaukee doesn't own the tiebreaker over San Diego or Philadelphia, so it will take one of them slipping up in their final series for the Brewers to get in.
The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are both hoping to avoid the top wild-card spot in the NL. The Braves are in the driver's seat for the tiebreaker heading into Sunday's series finale against the Mets. Whichever team wins the NL East will be awarded a first-round bye. Both teams have easy finishes to the regular season with Atlanta visiting the Miami Marlins and New York hosting the Washington Nationals.
There's much less drama in the American League. The Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays have all clinched their playoff berths. The Blue Jays lead the Mariners by two games for the top spot. Toronto will travel to face the Baltimore Orioles to end the year.
Seattle is two games ahead of Tampa Bay for the second wild-card spot. The Mariners will close out the season by hosting the Detroit Tigers, while the Rays will visit the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay appears to be heading in the wrong direction after losing six of its last eight games.
