MLB Playoff Picture 2024: Tigers Clinch Postseason; Updated Bracket, Standings

Adam WellsSeptember 28, 2024

B/R

A late-season surge has catapulted the Detroit Tigers into the postseason for the first time in 10 years.

The Tigers clinched an AL wild-card berth after Friday’s win over the Chicago White Sox.

Detroit Tigers @tigersTHESE GRITTY TIGS ARE POSTSEASON BOUND! pic.twitter.com/hPvLuHFlnO

Detroit looked to be on track for another lost season as recently as July, prompting the front office to go into sell mode at the trade deadline. They dealt Jack Flaherty, Carson Kelly, Mark Canha and Andrew Chafin in a series of a moves.

Instead of going into the tank after that, the Tigers responded by winning 24 of their last 32 games since Aug. 23 to make their first appearance in the playoffs since 2014.

Here’s a look at the current playoff matchups and bracket if the season ended today as well as up-to-date standings.

Projected MLB Playoff Bracket

AL Wild Card Series: No. 3 Houston Astros vs. No. 6 Kansas City Royals; No. 4 Baltimore Orioles vs. No. 5 Detroit TigersNL Wild Card Series: No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers vs. No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks; No. 4 San Diego Padres vs. No. 5 New York MetsFirst-Round Byes: No. 1 New York Yankees and No. 2 Cleveland Guardians (American League); No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers and No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies (National League)MLB Standings

AL East

New York Yankees (93-66); clinched division and first-round byeBaltimore Orioles (88-71, 5 GB); clinched playoff berthBoston Red Sox (80-79, 13 GB) Tampa Bay Rays (78-81, 15 GB) Toronto Blue Jays (74-85, 19 GB)AL Central

Cleveland Guardians (92-67); clinched division and first-round byeDetroit Tigers (86-74, 6.5 GB; clinched playoff berth Kansas City Royals (85-75, 7.5 GB) Minnesota Twins (82-77, 10 GB) Chicago White Sox (39-121, 53.5 GB)AL West

Houston Astros (86-73); clinched divisionSeattle Mariners (82-77, 4 GB) Texas Rangers (75-84, 11 GB) Oakland Athletics (69-90, 17 GB) Los Angeles Angels (63-96, 23 GB)AL Wild Card

Baltimore Orioles (88-71); clinched wild cardDetroit Tigers (86-74); clinched wild cardKansas City Royals (85-74)Minnesota Twins (82-77, 3 GB)Seattle Mariners (82-77, 3 GB)NL East

Philadelphia Phillies (94-66); clinched division and first-round byeNew York Mets (87-70, 5.5 GB) Atlanta Braves (87-71, 6 GB) Washington Nationals (69-90, 25 GB) Miami Marlins (59-100, 35 GB)NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers (91-68); clinched division Chicago Cubs (82-78, 9.5 GB) St. Louis Cardinals (81-78, 10 GB) Cincinnati Reds (76-84, 15.5 GB) Pittsburgh Pirates (74-85, 17 GB)NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers (95-64); clinched division and first-round byeSan Diego Padres (91-68, 4 GB); clinched playoff berthArizona Diamondbacks (88-71, 4 GB) San Francisco Giants (79-80, 16 GB) Colorado Rockies (61-98, 34 GB)NL Wild Card

San Diego Padres (91-68, +3 Games); clinched wild cardNew York Mets (87-70) Arizona Diamondbacks (88-71)Atlanta Braves (86-71, 1 GB)The Tigers seemed like an afterthought in the AL yet again. They were nine games under .500 as recently as July 4 (39-48) and 9.5 games out of a wild-card spot after losing their fifth straight game on Aug. 2.

Since Aug. 3, however, the Tigers have been on an absolute heater. They have had five winning streaks of at least four games, with series wins over the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles (twice) and Kansas City Royals.

While it took awhile for most of the Tigers to get going, Tarik Skubal has been their constant all season. The 27-year-old, who was mentioned as a potential candidate to be dealt ahead of the trade deadline, is the AL Cy Young frontrunner with a 2.39 ERA and MLB-high 228 strikeouts in 192 innings over 31 starts.

The Tigers aren’t going to win games if they get into a slugfest. Even if you isolate their performance to the second half of the season, they rank 20th in runs scored and 24th in weighted on-base average since the All-Star break.

But having the best pitcher in the AL to start Game 1 of a wild-card series gives the Tigers a leg up on most of the teams they will face. Their opponent is still to be determined based on the results of this weekend’s games.

The Tigers will likely face either the Orioles or Houston Astros, but there is a slim chance they could move all the way up to the No. 4 seed and host Orioles or Kansas City Royals in the best-of-three series.