The 2022 MLB Playoffs are upon us, and after the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the last National League wild card spot on Monday night, the full field is set.
Some wild card positional seedings were worked out on the final days of the season and we now have a clear picture of how the bracket will look when the postseason begins this weekend.
Here are the matchups:
American League Wild Card Series
Tampa Bay Rays (6) at Cleveland Guardians (3)
Seattle Mariners (5) at Toronto Blue Jays (4)
Houston Astros (1) and New York Yankees (2) have byes
National League Wild Card Series
Philadelphia Phillies (6) at St. Louis Cardinals (3)
San Diego Padres (5) at New York Mets (4)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1) and Atlanta Braves (2) have byes
American League Division Series
Mariners/Blue Jays at Astros
Rays/Guardians at Yankees
National League Division Series
Padres/Mets at Dodgers
Phillies/Cardinals at Braves
After the MLB Playoffs field became finalized on Monday night, oddsmakers released their list of odds to win the World Series. Unsurprisingly, it’s the Dodgers and Astros at the top of the list.
Check out the full odds below:
Yankees, Cardinals World Series Sleepers Heading Into Postseason
Looking at the odds, it's easy to see why the Dodgers are the front-runner. Los Angeles has flexed its financial prowess in order to build the clear top roster in MLB for the past three seasons. The Dodgers go into the postseason with a record of 111-51 and are the team to beat, but there's certainly some value in the other spots on the odds list.
Let's start with the Yankees, who were by far the most dominant team in baseball through the first half of the season. Although most of the buzz in the Bronx centered around Aaron Judge's chase for the record 62 home runs, there's plenty more reasons for optimism in New York.
Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino went seven no-hit innings against the Texas Rangers on Monday, proving that he's fully healthy and in prime form heading into the postseason. With Severino in the fold, the Yankees have an interesting top three rotation that includes Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. They have struggled finding the right formula with their bullpen, but if the Yankees can stay elite with their lineup and starting four, they're undoubtedly a team to watch out for this postseason.
Another team that is being slept on even more is the St. Louis Cardinals. They were able to secure the NL Central rather easily after the Milwaukee Brewers struggled down the stretch. This season has been fully centered around the retirement tours for Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. Perhaps the trio can ride off into the sunset with some hardware. The Cardinals may not have the strongest starting rotation, but their core of MVP front-runners Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado ranks right up there with anyone, and their bullpen anchored by closer Ryan Helsley is among the league's best.
Although the Cardinals and Yankees don't match up perfectly with a team like the Dodgers, we've seen plenty of magical postseason runs in years past (see the 2021 Braves), proving that anything is possible this time of year.
No matter what direction the MLB Playoffs end up going, it's bound to provide excitement and plenty of unexpected turns along the way.