Power rankings: How the 12 postseason teams enter October

We are, at last, in the postseason field. One of the following 12 teams will plant a championship flag next March. But despite all 12 teams having opportunities, all 12 teams are not created equal. Some teams enter the playoffs thinking about the World Series or bust. Some teams are happy to be here … and of course, eager to see if they can make a run. So, in our first power rankings of the postseason, we look at The Stakes for each team: what's on the line, what matters, where they've been… and where they might go.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from rankings from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) section, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, give us all a shout. But feel free to yell at me if you don't like the words.

1. Phyllis (Prev: 2)
Season High: 1 | Season Low: 8
bet: The Phillies haven't won a World Series since 2008, but, more to the point, most of their veteran stars — Trea Turner, Jack Wheeler, JT Realmuto, Aaron Nola, Nick Castellanos and especially Bryce Harper — have never won one … and This entire season, and era of Phillies baseball, has been built around winning a World Series. That's the goal. That is the only goal.

2. Dodgers (Prev: 1)
Season High: 1 | Season Low: 6
bet: The Dodgers had all kinds of injury problems in their rotation, they lost Mookie Betts for a large part of the season and their lineup was top-heavy all year. They also have Shohei Ohtani (who's going to play a postseason game! FINALLY!), Freddie Freeman (assuming his ankle is fine) and Betts… and, yes, the best record in baseball (again.) regular season preseason. What matters is winning the World Series.

3. Yankees (Previous: 3)
Season High: 1 | Season Low: 7
bet: The Yankees came into the season after winning just 82 games in 2023, facing pressure they hadn't had in years. And they ended up winning the AL East, earning the No. 1 seed in the American League and getting an all-time season from Aaron Judge, as well as what could be a career year from Juan Soto. That's cool and all, but it's still a proud franchise that hasn't made a World Series since Jason Dominguez was 6 years old. That's the lowest home run yet for the Yankees this year.

4. Astros (Prev: 6)
Season High: 5 | Season Low: 26
bet: In June it looked like it might be the end of the Astros' dynasty; For a while there were even Alex Bergman trade rumors. Here they are again, though, winning the division and peaking at the right time. They are aiming for their eighth consecutive American League Championship Series appearance, a streak that is difficult to fathom.

5. Padres (Prev: 6)
Season high: 7 | Season Low: 21
bet: The vibes of 2024 couldn't possibly be more different than 2023, in every possible way. The Padres have felt sun-kissed this year like snakebites last year. Maybe this team can fulfill the lofty ambitions that last year's team — and many Padres teams of the past — couldn't.

6. Guardian (previously: 4)
Season high: 2 | Season Low: 21
bet: This team hasn't taken the shape of Cleveland teams of the past: it hits a little better, it hits a little worse. (At least until recently.) But the club has the highest seed, No. 2, in the playoffs since 2017. Who knows when parents will have a better opportunity?

7. Brewer (previously: 5)
Season high: 4 | Season Low: 19
bet: We are in the peak era of Milwaukee Brewers baseball. From 1970-2017, they reached the playoffs four times. Since then, they have finished in six of the last seven seasons. But they still don't have a World Series title. For that matter, they only have one World Series appearance, and that was in 1982. Bob Uecker deserves one. This whole fanbase does.

8. Orioles (previously: 8)
Season High: 1 | Season Low: 8
bet: The young lineup never gelled as expected, injuries decimated the rotation and the second half of the season rough. They still get their first postseason series at home and have an MVP candidate at shortstop (Gunner Henderson) and a real ace on the mound in Game 1 (Corbin Barnes). At the very least: This core needs to win its first postseason series.

9. Mets (previously: 9)
Season High: 9 | Season Low: 25
bet: Like the Padres, the Mets overcame a disastrous 2023 with a downright inspiring 2024. Unlike the Padres, expectations for the postseason are comfortably low, especially with a Monday doubleheader to play and a pre-wild card off-day negative. By making the postseason, the Mets did something special. This time it's all bonus.

10. Brave (previously: 12)
Season High: 1 | Season Low: 13
bet: Not many teams can overcome the loss of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider, let alone Austin Riley — and now maybe Chris Sale? — and still make the playoffs. You wouldn't think they could make any sort of World Series run this year. But you wouldn't have thought that in 2021, when they were ravaged by an injury that included Acuna. And as we all remember, they won it all year.

11. Tiger (Prev: 13)
Season High: 7 | Season Low: 24
bet: Hey, come on now: here they are! It's incredible! Who in the world has seen that coming? (They're not: They traded Jack Flaherty at the deadline.) Now that they're here, they have 2007 Rockies vibes, but even if they crash in Houston, the Tigers finally have some proof of concept: This team isn't going anywhere.

12. Royals (Prev: 11)
Season High: 6 | Season Low: 24
bet: They finally held out, especially on offense, where they had Bobby Witt Jr. and … plus eight other lineup spots. You're counting on everything going well in some ridiculous way, but remember: This is a franchise that's finally reaching the World Series. Three times they made the postseason.

Cast: Nathalie Alonso, Paul Casella, Anthony Castrovince, Mark Feinsand, Daniel Feldman, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Sweeney Murthy, Arturo Pardavila, Mike Petrillo, Manny Randhawa, Andrew Simon, David Venn.