I just want to preface this that you can listen to my predictions early, on my podcast “Between The Chalk Lines”. There’s a lot of moaning and complaining about my poor Angels and guests who also have poor performing teams, most who will be in this article! Now that nearly half of all teams will make the playoffs in some way, shape or form, it gets harder and harder to predict who is OUT and who is IN this early into the season (not even at 40 games, yet). But I will try my best, and no, I will not be using Vegas odds or FanGraphs/Baseball-Reference percentages. At the end of this article will be my 2024 MLB Playoff Bracket going into May 7th.
American League
The AL is a tough nut to crack as the East is so close, the West is so wild, and the Central is so unpredictable. But it’s time for me to lay down some names as far as who are OUT. The LA Angels are OUT. The Chicago White Sox are OUT. The Jays are hanging on by a thread, but are close to being OUT. The AL East Division Champions will be the Orioles, Central Champions will be the Guardians and the West Champions will be the Rangers. Those three will be followed up by the Yankees, Twins, and finally the Seattle Mariners to round out the American League Playoff contenders.
National League
On the other hand, the NL doesn’t have quite as many teams to knock off as the AL did. The Marlins are clearly OUT. The Rockies are also OUT, and the Cardinals are hanging by a thread, but will most likely be OUT. To lead not just the National League, but all of MLB in Wins, the Fightin’ Phillies are IN as possible champs of the East, the Dodgers are IN as champions of the West, and the Brew Crew will slide in as champs of the Central division. The Braves, Cubs, and Padres will round out the National League side of things as far as the playoffs.
Playoffs
My bracket is shown below. Go ahead and tell me how crazy (or genius) I am on Twitter/X @BTCLines, Instagram @BetweenTheChalkLines where I’ll be posting this! Also give me a follow, like, or comment on YouTube, TikTok, or any of my podcast episodes!
