MLB playoff power rankings 2026: From the Astros to the Dodgers, which teams are ready to go on a World Series run?

To some degree, the start of the postseason represents a reset. But each team's case as a World Series contender is mostly rooted in their performance in the regular season, both over the entirety of the past six months and more recently as October approached. Better records earn more favorable paths to the Fall Classic in the form of first-round byes and home-field advantage. Then again, many superior seeds have faltered in recent years, offering reminders to expect the unexpected in October.

All that said, we've had 162 games to assess the quality of each club before the October tournament begins. The chase for a championship starts now. Here's how the 12 teams left stack up.

Houston's eight-year postseason streak was snapped last year, when they won 87 games and were left out on account of losing a tiebreaker to the Tigers. This season, the Astros went .500 — their worst record in a full season since 2014 — but still won the AL West and are headed back to the postseason.