Ranking the top MLB Playoff Teams Ahead of the Division Series

It feels like the Detroit Tigers have some serious “team of destiny” vibes, but their roster isn’t very well-constructed for a deep postseason run. First and foremost, their rotation is not deep, which creates a heavy reliance on a bullpen that’s very good but also not the best group in the American League. Their offense has improved, as their active roster has a 102 wRC+, but the lack of depth and overall star power there holds them back.

This isn’t a death sentence in an American League that lacks a dominant team, but its hard to find data that would support the notion that Detriot should be ranked much higher on this list. They’re good, they made the postseason for a reason, but they are ahead of schedule and I expect for them to run out a much-improved roster in 2025 with serious aspirations to bring their city a World Series title. What they do have right now over everyone else is that Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in the tournament; AL or NL.

The Cleveland Guardians are still a quality team despite their ranking here. This team has future Hall of Famer Jose Ramirez spearheading an offense that is basically average, with supporting cast players like Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan, David Fry, and Jhonkensy Noel. They have more power than they’ve had in previous seasons, but their lack of a dominant offensive ability limits their ability to put up runs.

Their bullpen is by far the best in baseball, and while I believe that group can help them mask their rotation, that starting five is still in disarray. Tanner Bibee and Matthew Boyd have performed very well this season, but they have no above-average starters after those two, and it’s not like their top duo is the most dominant in this pool either. In a matchup with the Tigers, you could reasonably argue that Detroit would hold the biggest advantage of all; Tarik Skubal.

The Kansas City Royals have the best pitching staff among remaining American League teams, as they held the Baltimore Orioles to just one run in their two-game sweep in the AL Wild Card Series. Their rotation of Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha is by far the best three-man group any team could throw out in the AL, and their bullpen has transformed from a significant weakness to a legitimate strength of this team. After trading for Lucas Erceg, KC has created a pitching staff that can give any offense fits.

Where this team lacks is on the offensive side of the ball, as they have the second-worst wRC+ of any team in October, ahead of only the Detroit Tigers. They don’t have depth in their lineup, but they do defend well and it plays into their excellent run-prevention abilities. Led by Bobby Witt Jr. who has established himself as one of the best players in the sport, they could bring an end to the Yankees’ season if he’s red-hot for their biggest games yet.

Only the Dodgers and Yankees have an active roster with a higher team wRC+ than the Mets, who displayed excellent power-hitting down the stretch and made a dramatic Game 3 comeback against the Brewers to end their season. Francisco Lindor leads an offense with plenty of quality hitters, and they’re going to give any pitching staff a serious problem in a postseason environment. Home runs are a key part of this offense, but so is their ability to work walks as they finished 9th in the league in walk rate (8.6%).

Their pitching staff is largely viewed as a question mark, and there are good reasons to both doubt and believe in this group. Kodai Senga’s return adds another arm to this group with excellent stuff, while David Peterson and Tylor Megill have made huge starts down the stretch to help the Mets make the postseason. That being said, their bullpen has been leaky, and their offense has bailed out that group multiple times throughout the season such as against Atlanta and Milwaukee. Conclusion? This team has a very real chance to win it all.

The New York Yankees are universally considered the best team in the American League, and that’s an assessment I would agree with. They’re able to generate tons of runs thanks to their dynamic duo of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, and their surrounding bats have been able to do enough to create traffic or take the ball out of the yard. Losing Anthony Rizzo hurts them defensively, but Oswaldo Cabrera could fill in and provide a solid bat against RHP.

One of the areas where they’ve improved the most late in the season comes with a bullpen that made a big chance at the closer position and has taken off. Luke Weaver, Tommy Kahnle, Jake Cousins, Ian Hamilton, Clay Holmes, and Tim Hill are a fearsome group of bullpen arms, and it could get even better if they move Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt into the bullpen. The rotation is solid, but it’s firmly behind some of the other rotations on this list, which could hurt them in October.

Even after losing Joe Musgrove, the San Diego Padres have one of the best pitching staffs in the entire sport right now. The bullpen is full of demons with excellent pitches and great command of it, and the rotation is headlined by Michael King and Dylan Cease. Yu Darvish is a great number three starter, and the offense has enough thump to put up runs thanks to the efforts of Jackson Merrill and the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. as well.

The Padres have a great chance to win the World Series and in my opinion, would be the favorite over any American League team they play. Its roster is chock-full of excellent talent from top-to-bottom, and they simply dismantled the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the postseason. Their reward for such excellent play all year? A dance with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-five NLDS, where they face off for the second time in three years.

After a trip to the World Series in 2022 and a crushing Game 7 loss in the NLCS last year, the Philadelphia Phillies are hoping to finally win it all. With their first NL East title since 2011 in hand, they were able to watch the Wild Card mayhem play out from the comfort of their homes, as their stacked roster poses a threat to the entire league. Zack Wheeler leads a rotation featuring Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, and Ranger Suarez while their lineup has postseason monster Bryce Harper as its anchor.

The bullpen is full of flamethrowers who can strike batters out and hang onto leads late in games, and their lineup has enough star power around Harper to score tons of runs. After a summer lull, Philadelphia is hoping to host plenty of playoff games (and wins) this October, and they’re better positioned to do so than they’ve ever been in the last few years. You never know when you’ll have another chance to dominate the division and coast into a first-round bye in the NL East again.

Another year, another number-one seed for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won the division for a third straight time. The problem? They haven’t won a playoff series since 2021, but with their trio of Hall of Fame bats LA is hoping to make a deep push into October and bring home a World Series. Shohei Ohtani had the greatest season ever for a DH and is going to win his third MVP in four years in just his first year with the Dodgers, and their lineup has a plethora of quality players.

The bullpen is excellent as well, with Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, and Michael Kopech anchoring a group that can overpower any hitter in the league. You already knew this though; they can hit and close out games, but their rotation has some serious concerns. Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are brilliant starters who would be an ace on most teams in the playoff pool, but Landon Knack and Walker Buehler leave a lot to be desired.

If they don’t make it deep, it will be starting pitching which once again does them in come the postseason just as it did in 2023.