Ranking MLB Wild-Card Contenders As Threats to Win the 2024 World Series

Since Major League Baseball switched to its current playoff format in 2022, three of the four teams who have reached the World Series have done so after getting into the postseason as wild-card representatives.

2022 Philadelphia Phillies: After sneaking into the playoffs as the sixth and final playoff team in the NL with 87 wins, the Phillies upset the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres to win the pennant, before falling to the Houston Astros in the World Series in six games.

2023 Arizona Diamondbacks: With 84 wins, the Diamondbacks were the final NL team to reach the postseason in 2023. All they would do is defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies en route to winning the second NL pennant in franchise history.

2023 Texas Rangers: Bruce Bochy’s squad narrowly lost out to the Houston Astros in the AL West, instead settling for the No. 2 wild-card spot in the Junior Circuit. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Astros and Diamondbacks to win the first World Series title in team history.

So, what wild-card team is next? With the assumption that the current division leaders—New York Yankees (AL East), Cleveland Guardians (AL Central), Astros (AL West), Phillies (NL East), Brewers (NL Central) and Dodgers (NL West)—will hold on, here’s a ranking of the nine teams still realistically in the wild-card race in terms of who is the biggest threat to win the World Series in 2024.