The 2025 MLB postseason is nearly upon us. The final pitch for the 2025 MLB regular season will be throw on Sunday, Sept. 28. At that point, the field of 12 playoff teams should be set with the Blue Jays clinching a playoff birth. There is no clear-cut best team in either league, so a whole lot of chaos, drama, and unpredictability are on tap for October. We couldn't ask for much more than that.
As always, 12 teams will make the MLB playoffs, with six teams from each league qualifying. Two teams from each league (the three division winners with the best records) will have first-round byes, while the four remaining teams in each league play in the Wild Card round. The Wild Card round is the shortest as the best-of-three, with the four series winners moving on to the Division Series. So, which teams are destined for the AL and NL pennants? This is where this guide kicks in.
The playoff format for MLB has remained the same for the fourth consecutive year. The three division winners and the there wild card teams with the best records in each league will qualify for the postseason. The two top division winners in each league will qualify for the Division Series by default.
The lowest division winner in the NL and AL will play the wild card team with the worst record. The two top wild card teams will also play each other. Instad of the the best of five, the Wild Card Round is a best-of-three.
Therefore, the No. 1 seed in each league will play the winner of the wild card team as the fourth seed No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup. The No. 2 seed and the second division winner will play the the third division winner vs. No. 6 matchup. The ALDS and NLDS are best-of-five series, in which the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4.
The Championship Series are all best-of-seven, in which the higher seed remaining hosts Games 1, 2, 6, and 7, while the lower seed hosts Games 3, 4, and 5. The World Series maintains the same format, which gives the team with the better regular-season record the home-field advantage for Games 1, 2, 6, and 7, providing baseball fans with something to follow for daily fantasy sports at the best betting sites.
The Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies of the NL East, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs as an NL wild card, and Toronto Blue Jays have clinched their division or wild-card spots through Sept. 21, while the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees are in a prime position to join the MLB playoff race.
The Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, and Cleveland Guardians are in the hunt for the final three spots in the AL, while the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and Arizona Diamondbacks are battling for the last NL Wild Card berth as they enter the final week of the regular season. This has been one of the most competitive NL playoff races for the wild card in recent memory.
With October almost here, look for Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies to continue to step it up. As a player made for October, the 2016 World Series winner has 21 career playoff home runs in 69 games. Philly has been right on the doorstep to win a ring since he arrived in 2022, and this could be the year that they win the 2025 NL pennant.
It seems like everywhere you turn, Ohtani is everywhere. With some touting him as the greatest player of this generation, as a slugger and a pitcher, Ohtani is aiming to win back-to-back World Series rings with the Dodgers, something that hasn't been done since 2000. Ohtani, on the verge of winning his fourth MVP, hit three homers last October. However, the Dodgers will have to do it as a wild card.
It's time for Vlad Guerrero Jr. to finally have his postseason moment. In six games over three career playoff appearances, the righty slugger has three hits and no home runs with his team going 0-6. Now that he's signed a massive contract, all the pressure is on. With the Blue Jays clinching the AL East, the Blue Jays are dreaming of the glory years in the early 90s, winning back-to-back World Series.
