The 2022 MLB postseason schedule was published this week, on Monday.
The calendar, as a result of the lockout and delayed CBA negotiations, is a bit tight, with no off days after traveling on most occasions.
Players and teams will likely make the effort and try to overcome the lack of rest in several instances as long as they can contend for the World Series trophy.
The draws for the postseason aren’t set in stone yet: there is a month-and-a-half left to play in the regular season, and lots of races (most of them, to be fair) are undecided.
However, we can already see some of the projected matchups if the season ended today.
That’s always a fun exercise.
The league’s official site published the projected matchups on Twitter.
RT if your team is in. pic.twitter.com/fmYm9Oz6sx
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2022
Playoffs Matchups If The Season Ended Today
With the new format, 12 teams will make the postseason: six in each league.
The top two seeds will earn a first-round bye, meaning that they will start playing in the Division Series.
Those teams are, as things currently stand, the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Mets.
Then, in each league, the third seed will face the sixth seed and the fourth will go against the fifth.
At this moment, before Tuesday’s games, the Cleveland Guardians would face the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Tampa Bay Rays would square off against the Seattle Mariners in the American League.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves would go against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the St. Louis Cardinals would face the San Diego Padres.
It’s time to start dreaming of the MLB playoffs!