Just six more weeks remain in the Major League Baseball regular season, and there's still so much to be decided.
The Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers seem to have their divisions well in hand, but any winning or losing streak among the rest of the playoff contenders could shake things up in a major way.
Of course, the wild-card races will be the focus of attention down the stretch, with the second and third spots in each league seemingly changing hands on a daily basis.
Here's where things stand in the American and National League playoff races as the new week gets underway.
Current MLB playoff picture
All records and stats are as of the start of play on Monday, Aug. 17.
Division leaders
- AL East: Tampa Bay Rays (74-49, +6 games)
- AL Central: Chicago White Sox (64-58, +4.5 games)
- AL West: Houston Astros (63-61, +2 games)
- NL East: Atlanta Braves (73-50, +7.5 games)
- NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers (76-48, +4 games)
- NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (74-50, +8 games)
Wild-card standings
Three teams in each league qualify for wild-card playoff spots. Here are the wild-card standings through games of Sunday, Aug. 16:
American League
- New York Yankees (68-55, +7.5 games)
- Boston Red Sox (66-57, +5.5 games)
- Texas Rangers (61-63, --)
- Baltimore Orioles (61-63, --)
- Toronto Blue Jays (61-64, -0.5 games)
- Detroit Tigers (60-63, -0.5 games)
- Minnesota Twins (60-64, -1 game)
- Cleveland Guardians (60-64, -1 game)
- Seattle Mariners (58-66, -3 games)
National League
- Chicago Cubs (72-52, +6 games)
- Philadelphia Phillies (66-58 --)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (66-58 --)
- San Diego Padres (66-58, --)
- Miami Marlins (63-61, -3 games)
- St. Louis Cardinals (62-61, -3.5 games)
- Cincinnati Reds (59-63, -6 games)
- Washington Nationals (60-65, -6.5 games)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (60-65, -6.5 games)
Postseason format
The division winners with the two best records in each league earn byes into the division series. Currently, the top seeds are the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox in the AL, and the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL.
The third division winner in each league will have home field advantage in their division series and will host the wild-card team with the worst record. Three teams in each league qualify for wild-card playoff berths.
Note: If two or more teams tie for a division title or a wild-card spot. Ties are broken by head-to-head record first, followed by intradivision record. Beyond that, things can get complicated.
The playoffs follow this format:
- Wild-card series: Best of 3
- Division series: Best of 5
- League championship series: Best of 7
- World Series: Best of 7
Key MLB postseason dates
The official 2026 MLB postseason schedule was released last week.
Sunday, Sept. 27: Final day of 2026 regular season
Tuesday, Sept. 29: Wild-card playoff round begins
Saturday, Oct. 3: AL/NL division series begin
Sunday, Oct. 11: NL championship series begins
Monday, Oct. 12: AL championship series begins
Friday, Oct. 23: World Series begins
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB playoff picture: Who's currently in and who's out?