The 2024 MLB postseason field has been decided, and all that remains is glory. The Wild Card Series begins Tuesday afternoon with four best-of-three matchups. From there, those four winners advance to the League Division Series, where the top two teams from each league participate after first-round byes.
The winner of the best-of-five Division Series advances to the best-of-seven League Championship Series and, of course, the best-of-seven World Series. (You can see the complete playoff bracket and schedule here.)
A World Series winner will be determined by the end of November 2nd, and a parade will be scheduled. Here’s the playoff setup:
american league
1st round bye
1st place Yankees, 2nd place Guardians
wild card series
3rd place Astros vs 6th place Tigers
4th place Orioles vs. 5th place Royals
national league
1st round bye
1st place Dodgers, 2nd place Phillies
wild card series
3rd place Brewers vs. 6th place Mets
4th place Padres vs. 5th place Braves
CBS Sports MLB writers and editors present staff picks for the 2024 postseason. We make predictions for each round from the Wild Card Series to the World Series.
RJ Anderson bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
World Series pick: Astros over Dodgers
Explanation: When we played the World Series in the spring, I chose the Astros as the favorite to win the World Series. We had them play against the Braves. I think Houston is a reasonable choice to keep their end of the bargain, but I have concerns about Atlanta’s injury-ravaged roster. (It’s understandable that the Braves will have to work on their pitching staff right from the start.) Perhaps the most surprising choice to me is Kansas City over Baltimore. To be clear, the Orioles have been in a scuffle since the All-Star Game, but I think they still have the talent to seriously compete. Sometimes you just have to make a choice to make things interesting.
mike axisa bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
World Series pick: Padres over Yankees
Explanation: I picked the Phillies to win the World Series before the season, but I really like the team the Padres are going into the postseason. Four excellent starters (Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish, Michael King, Joe Musgrove), the deepest bullpen in the game, and a powerful batting lineup that boasts the lowest strikeout rate in baseball. (by a considerable margin) too). AL is even wider open. I’m going to the Yankees because they have Aaron Judge and Juan Soto and other teams don’t. There were more nights this year, so that was different for them. They had the two best hitters on the field, the other team didn’t, and that was it. I love the San Diego team and think the Yankees are the best bet to advance in a pretty open AL league. The Padres would get their revenge in a rematch of the 1998 World Series.
kate feldman braces
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
World Series pick: Mets over Yankees
Description: I’m not ashamed to admit that I reverse-fitted this to get to the Subway Series World Series, but I think we all deserve it. Every team in this bracket has weaknesses, to the point where it’s hard to even know if there’s a real contender for the championship. The Tigers and Dodgers have few starting pitchers. The Orioles and Royals have struggled in recent weeks. The Yankees’ offense relies almost entirely on Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, with the former forgetting how to hit home runs for much of September. The Mets are far from perfect, but the atmosphere is perfect. That’s enough for me.
dane perry bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
World Series pick: Phillies over Yankees
Commentary: I usually ride as a favorite. The exception was the Padres’ upset win over the Dodgers in the NLDS. I think the current Dodgers pitching situation is a mess, but I think San Diego has a well-constructed roster for a deep run. Otherwise, yes, I support the team that skipped the first round. Despite last year’s absurd story, being a bye team certainly gives them a huge advantage in the playoffs. That’s one of the reasons I’m predicting a Yankees-Phillies World Series. I like the Phillies’ front starters, balanced lineup, and solid relief situation. Of course, baseball is inherently unpredictable, so my confidence in these choices is low. Still, it says here that the Phils will beat the Yanks for the belt and title.
Steven Pianovich’s Brackets
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
World Series pick: Phillies over Orioles
Explanation: Predicting baseball is a fool’s errand, and seeing is believing.
Getty Images
matt snyder bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
World Series pick: Phillies over Yankees
Explanation: The Phillies were better than the Orioles in spring training, which is the main reason I’m sticking with them here. I want to go there as soon as March. I just couldn’t get hung up on the Orioles and the state of their pitching staff or how poorly they’ve played over the past 3+ months. The Phillies haven’t been very good in the last month either, but they have all the necessary elements: a strong, deep batting lineup, four starting pitchers who can throw like aces, and a solid power arm in the bullpen. As for the Yankees, they have the best record of any team in the AL going into the playoffs, but if the Astros get eliminated early, I don’t see anyone as a team that can beat them.
