(This story was updated to change or add a photo or video.)
With no more than seven games separating the top five teams in each league, Major League Baseball’s playoff field remains an exercise in fluidity as the regular season winds down.
While a handful of division leaders have comfortable leads – or counting down increasingly granular magic numbers to clinch – the wild-card spots and overall seedings are very much up for grabs.
Here’s how the American and National league playoff fields stack up if the postseason began today:
(Updated through games played Sept. 17)
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
American League
Top seeds
No. 1 New York Yankees (88-63) – bye to AL Division Series, vs. Royals-Orioles winner
No. 2 Cleveland Guardians (87-65) – bye to AL Division Series, vs. Twins-Astros winner
AL wild card series
No. 6 Minnesota Twins (80-71) at No. 3 Houston Astros (82-69)
No. 5 Kansas City Royals (82-70) at No. 4 Baltimore Orioles (84-67)
National League
Top seeds
No. 1 Philadelphia Phillies (91-60), bye to NL Division Series vs. Padres-Mets winner
No. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers (89-62), bye to NL Division Series, vs. Diamondbacks-Brewers winner
NL wild card series
No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks (83-68) at No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers (87-64)
No. 5 New York Mets (83-68) at No. 4 San Diego Padres (86-66)
Mets hold tiebreaker vs. Diamondbacks
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
