The MLB Playoffs are just a couple of weeks away. The 2013 regular season is coming to an end and there are a couple of teams jammed in the race for the playoffs. Check out these predictions as the MLB playoffs near. Who will make it? Let's look at the favorites in each division and Wild Cards in both leagues.
National League
Division Winners: Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals...
N.L. Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates & Cincinnati Reds
Sleeper Team: Washington Nationals
This might be the easier of the two leagues as there are five clear-cut teams ready to make the playoffs. The N.L. Central is a hot mess, but you have to believe the Cardinals will find a way to get it done. The Pirates have not played consistent ball and the Reds, though they trail the Cardinals by only 2.5 games, seem to be too far behind. It sounds weird that a team 2.5 games behind is considered to be distant, but the Cardinals and Pirates have completely owned the Central.
The West is clearly the Dodgers and the Braves wish they could say the same. An eight-game lead has never looked so fragile in baseball. Though there are only 11 games left in the Braves' schedule, it seems like the worst has yet to come. The final week, might be the longest week of baseball in Atlanta as the Braves simply can't put up W's. The Nationals are right behind them. Consider them the sleeper team in the National League as they are getting hot at the right time. They are only 4.5 games behind in the Wild Card and there elimination number is seven.
American League
Division Winners: Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Oakland A's
Wild Card Winners: Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians
Sleeper Team: Baltimore Orioles
Okay, so the Wild Card is probably not the way many envisioned. The Texas Rangers are super talented, but there's something inexplicable going on with this franchise. They blew a division lead late last year and after dominating the A.L. West for over half the season and Yu Darvish getting praised for his first-half of 2013, the Rangers found a way to go sour. Nelson Cruz's absence has truly hurt the team and even though they picked up Alex Rios, the Rangers can't put runs on the board.
Trust the Rays' pitching staff to get them into the playoffs and trust that Terry Francona will get back at the baseball gods after he was fired by the Boston Red Sox after their monumental collapse in 2011. The Indians can smell the Rangers choking and they are sitting right behind them in the A.L. Wild Card. At just half a game from the final spot, the Indians are dangerous. Their batting lineup can tally up runs quickly and this should be their strength heading into the final week and a half of the season.
The Indians and Rangers should be weary of the Orioles. Like the Rangers, it seems that the Orioles have too much talent to not make the playoffs. If they can put it all together in the final week of the season, they can hurdle the Indians and though they sit two games behind in the Wild Card.
