The No. 1 seed in baseball has won the World Series five times over the last ten years, a 50% clip that screams “advantage” come Fall Classic time. As of August 26, the race for those coveted top spots is heating up across the leagues, and the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook are a wild ride, especially when you look at where our Emerald City Mariners stand in the American League picture.
The AL East is Just Different, Man
Talk about a brutal climb! The American League top seed race is basically a three-team brawl in the AL East. The Tampa Bay Rays are the favorites at -155, with the New York Yankees close behind at +240, and the Boston Red Sox rounding out the top contenders at +900. After that, the odds just fall off a cliff. Our own Mariners are sitting at a staggering +25000, right there with the Blue Jays, Rangers, Twins, Angels, Royals, Astros, Tigers, Guardians, Orioles, and Athletics. Even the Chicago White Sox, who are somehow leading the AL Central this year, only clock in at +15000 despite having racked up 162 wins over the *previous three seasons*. Wild, right?
This AL East is something else. The top three teams are separated by just a handful of games. Get this: there are eight teams in all of baseball with at least 73 wins as of August 26, and three of them are in the AL East. Nobody else in the American League even has 70 wins outside that division! Tampa Bay, New York, and Boston are all at 99% or above in playoff probability, and they still have seven total games left to play against each other. You gotta wonder what it’ll take for teams like our Mariners, with players like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, to break through that kind of divisional chokehold.
Dodgers and Brewers Battle for NL Supremacy
Over in the National League, the race for the top seed is a much clearer picture. As of August 26, only two teams in all of baseball have hit the 80-win mark: the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are the favorites to grab that number one spot at -185, but the Brewers aren’t far behind at +200, and they just handed L.A. a 3-1 series loss in Southern California. That’s a huge statement from Milwaukee.
The Dodgers, though, know how to get it done. They won the World Series last season as just the NL’s 3-seed, taking down the second-seeded Phillies and even the top-seeded Brewers on their way to the Fall Classic. They then beat the AL’s top seed, Toronto, in a thrilling seven game series. It also reminds you that the Dodgers and Yankees made it to the World Series back in 2024. This team knows what it takes, but the Brewers are clearly putting up a fight for that top spot.
With the season winding down and these races so tight, every single game matters. It’s going to be absolute must-watch baseball as teams claw for those precious top seeds and the advantage they bring. Grab your favorite beverage, Seattle, and buckle up!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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