Ranking the MLB playoff races that will rule the final month - ESPN

Welcome to September, baseball fans. We're now entering the stretch drive, when the MLB playoff races are supposed to be at their most intense as teams shift into high gear. However, it's possible we already know the 12 teams that will be competing in October.

Four of the division leaders have fairly comfortable leads — up at least five games on their closest competitors. The once-crowded National League wild-card race — which, back on June 21, had nine teams separated by just two games for the final two spots — is down to three teams for one spot. However, there are still things to be settled, such as the battle for the American League East, which looked as if it might start to see some separation but is as tight as ever.

So, let's rank the playoff races that will rule the final month, including the one for the top seeds in each league.

Standings: New York Yankees 0.5 games up on Baltimore Orioles

These two have been going at it all season. The Yankees' biggest lead was 4.5 games on June 6; the Orioles led by 3 games on a couple of occasions, most recently on July 9. The two teams haven't been separated by more than 2 games since then, with the division lead exchanging hands five times in August. The Orioles still feel like the upstarts to me, even though they're the defending division champs after winning 101 games last season — 19 more than the Yankees. It's easy to forget how mediocre the Yankees were in 2023; still, the Orioles give off the vibe of a young, up-and-coming team, trying to knock off the mighty Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. In reality, though, they haven't been quite as good as last season.

Both teams have seen their rotations struggle after hot starts. Through June 21, the Yankees were second in the