Looking Ahead to the 2022 MLB Playoffs and the World Series Championship

When looking at the MLB season as a whole thus far, there has been largely what was thought of to be the resulting “good teams” leading the way into the postseason from the predictions from the preseason.

However, this is not the case entirely. As the MLB playoffs come closer and closer, we have seen certain teams defy the odds given to them in the preseason predictions and ascend to a playoff spot.

Now, of course, there are still several games to go in the regular season, and then also the postseason in the process of crowning a World Series Champion, but that is still to come.

Here we are taking a look at the way the MLB stands at the moment, and where the teams stand that are in the running for a playoff spot, and then hopefully in the running for a the world series title.

Thus far, six teams have clinched a spot in the play-offs. As mentioned before, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the first team to do this, and were followed by the Houston Astros, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Guardians.

Many of these teams were expected to make it to this point, however, there are some exceptions. The Cleveland Guardians, according to Fangraphs preseason predictions, had a 7.4 percent chance of winning the AL Central (which they just did). This is not what was expected, but of course, anything can happen during the MLB season, and that is why all of these guys play the game. Anything can and is bound to happen.

As for the other teams, the Dodgers right now are look- ing like the clear frontrunners, as I had mentioned in my previous article. However, the Astros are doing quite well and could pose quite the challenge. But then, of course, all of these teams have the potential to do that.

Almost all these teams have won their respective divisions, with one major exception, the Yankees. The Yankees have been plagued with injuries for most of their season, and finally, many of their top guys are returning to the starting roster. The only issue for them is that they can not seem to be overly consistent.

The team will go on a several-game winning streak, only to then go on a subsequent losing streak. As of recently, they were able to sweep the Boston Red Sox who are now eliminated from playoff contention, but now the Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking to obtain a playoff spot as well.

So far, the Yankees have lost their first game via a walk-off in the ninth inning by Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hopefully this is not the beginning of a slide for the Yankees, as they only need one more win against the Blue Jays to finally clinch the Al East.

With my clear bias of the Yankees aside, all the other teams that have clinched a playoff spot thus far have their fair chances too of achieving the ultimate goal of any baseball team: a World Series title. Only time will tell which team can ascend to this ultimate goal.