This week, we'll look at which team has the biggest odds of making the playoffs right now and two months ago, the answer would have surprised you. The Cleveland Indians now have an 80 percent chance of making the playoffs with either a divisional championship or a wild card spot, according to Cool Standings. That's in part because the Indians have the biggest lead in any division at five games.
The next-highest odds are the St. Louis Cardinals at 68 percent, though they hold just a half game lead over the Reds for first in the NL Central. Texas, Philadelphia, Colorado, Atlanta and the New York Yankees all have about a 50 percent chance of making the playoffs now, though only the Rangers and Phillies currently lead their divisions.
The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays have just a 38 percent chance of making the playoffs, but if the Yankees keep playing this badly, that number could skyrocket. Colorado was jumped for the lead in the NL West by San Francisco. The defending World Series champs have just a 33 percent chance at the playoffs, due largely to their lack of offense. The Giants are projected to win just 84 games, which is eclipsed by the second-place Rockies who are scheduled to win 88.
Atlanta sits in third place in the NL East, but still owns a 56 percent chance of grabbing a playoff spot. The Braves, who are 2 1/2 games behind the Phillies, actually have a higher percent chance of winning the division than Philadelphia with its Big 4. The Boston Red Sox have also shot up in the standings lately and now hold a 23 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Only one team is ahead of the Astros in the race for the top pick in the 2012 draft and that's the Minnesota Twins, who are supposed to win just 58 games. Houston fell all the way back to 63 wins in the past week while Baltimore at 69 wins and Seattle at 70 wins round out the top 4.