NL Standings: Who Has The Best Chance Of Making Playoffs?

The MLB All-Star break is upon us and several teams in the NL are fighting for a Wild Card spot.

The Atlanta Braves currently hold the top wild-card spot.

St. Louis holds the second wild-card spot, followed by the New York Mets holding the final wild-card spot.

Atlanta has a 4.0-game lead on the Mets.

However, six teams are 3.5 or fewer games back from the Mets and the Cardinals only have a 0.5-game lead on the Mets.

It is a tight race in the NL to grab one of the three wild-card positions.

Only the Nationals, Rockies, and Marlins are six or more games back from a wild-card spot.

The Marlins and Rockies are each 16.0 or more games back and can safely be eliminated from being in contention.

Washington is six games back but this seems like a tall task to overcome.

Below, we will discuss the teams that have the most realistic chance of making the playoffs out of a bunched NL.

Which Teams Have The Best Chance Of Making The Playoffs In A Bunched NL?

In the NL, only three teams can safely be eliminated from playoff contention.

The Marlins and Rockies are each 16.0 or more games back from a wild-card spot and can be eliminated from playoff contention.

Washington is six games back from a wild-card spot but it feels highly unlikely they can make a run and jump over six other teams currently outside the wild-card spot.

Currently, the division leaders are the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers.

The Braves, Cardinals, and Mets currently hold a very slim lead over other teams in the NL to occupy the three wild-card spots.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago Cubs are all 3.5 games or fewer back from a wild-card spot.

So which of the nine teams either in the wild card spot or just outside of it have the best chance of making the playoffs?

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves currently hold the top wild-card spot in the NL.

Despite losing Spencer Strider at the beginning of the year, their pitching has been superb.

As a team, they are first in the league in ERA, runs allowed, and home runs allowed

They are top 10 in the MLB in hits allowed, walks allowed, strikeouts, WHIP, and batting average against.

It has been their pitching that has put them in the top wild-card spot.

While they lost Ronald Acuna Jr (ACL) for the year back at the end of May, they still have a scary batting lineup.

However, their offense has been lacking and has been fairly average.

Matt Olson is having a down year, after having the best year he’s ever had last season.

He is hitting just .229 to go along with a .714 OPS and 13 home runs on the year.

Last season Olson had a .283 batting average, 54 home runs, and a .993 OPS.

Austin Riley is also having a down year.

He dealt with an injury that sidelined him for a couple of weeks and it took him some time to get back to his usual self.

Riley has been performing much better recently.

Marcell Ozuna has been the best offensive player for Atlanta this season.

He is hitting over .300, has 26 home runs, 77 RBIs, and a .980 OPS.

Michael Harris has been out since mid-June due to a grade two hamstring strain.

He should be back in early to mid-August.

Atlanta’s offense will have a big second half of the season following the All-Star break.

Their pitching has been one of the best in the league.

Atlanta will remain in a wild-card position and they will hold off a bunch of other teams fighting for a playoff spot.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona shocked everyone last year by making it to the World Series.

This year, they are 49-48 at the All-Star break and are one game out from a wild-card spot.

Their pitching has not been as good this year as last.

This starts with their ace, Zac Gallen.

Gallen had a 3.47 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while starting in 34 games last season.

This year, Gallen has a 3.87 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 15 starts.

Merrill Kelly has been out since April and he will not return till around mid-August.

Brandon Pfaadt has a 3.97 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.

Jordan Montgomery has been unable to stay healthy this season.

To say the least, their pitching is not the reason they are in contention for a playoff spot.

Their offense has been very good this year.

They are top 10 in the league in runs, hits, RBIs, walks, strikeouts, batting average, OBP, SLG, and OPS.

Christian Walker and Ketel Marte are both having very good seasons.

Arizona will make the playoffs because their offense is one of the best in the league and their starting pitchers will perform better and get healthier.

Chicago Cubs

Currently, the Chicago Cubs are 3.5 games back from a wild-card spot.

However, they have been hot lately, going 8-3 in their final 11 games before the All-Star break.

Their offense and pitching have both stepped it up lately.

They have allowed two or fewer runs in eight of their last 11 games.

In that 11-game span, they scored four or more runs in nine games.

Last season, they had a strong second half and hope to do so once again this year.

Their pitching has been sharp.

Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga each have an ERA under 3.00.

Steele has started in 14 games while Imanaga has started in 17 games.

Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon are also performing well this season.

Assad has a 3.27 ERA in 17 starts and Taillon has a 3.10 ERA in 16 starts.

The Cubs will continue to surge and move up the NL standings.