What's at stake over the final week of MLB season?

As the 2024 MLB season enters the home stretch, there's still plenty to be decided on both a team and individual level. Here's what to watch for over the final week.

Playoff odds courtesy FanGraphs.

AL wild card

The American League is giving us nothing short of mayhem. Kansas City suddenly finds itself tied with Detroit and a half-game up on the Twins after losing seven straight and eight of 10. The Tigers' incredible September, combined with Minnesota's continued slide, has now bumped the Twins out.

Meanwhile, the Mariners are still two games back, while the Rays and Red Sox are still alive, though they all need plenty of help to get in. Even the Orioles could keep sliding and really shake everything up if they're not careful. Detroit gets the easiest schedule here, but the Tigers also must stay hot and win out due to the tiebreaker disadvantage.

The winner of this week's Mets-Braves series gets the inside track on the last NL playoff spot going into the final weekend, the head-to-head tiebreaker, and bragging rights in one of baseball's most intense rivalries. It's going to be madness in The Battery this week.

Meanwhile, the D-Backs and Padres are still trying to stay afloat. San Diego's not sweating as much, sitting one win away from clinching its playoff spot. Arizona, however, is now tied with the Mets after blowing a franchise-record 8-0 lead at Milwaukee on Sunday. Tiebreakers put the Mets in the best position for the moment - but that can change in a hurry.

NL West

While the Dodgers' magic number is at four, they've left the door open just enough for San Diego, and maybe Arizona, to cause some chaos in the division.

A Padres sweep in Los Angeles this week would truly turn everything upside down into the final weekend thanks to the tiebreaker situation. But the Friars need that sweep just to have a shot, because while San Diego finishes the season in Arizona, the Dodgers get to play their last three games against the lowly Rockies. That Padres-Diamondbacks weekend series could have implications on the division, wild-card seeding, and even both teams' playoff lives.

Best records, home field

The Phillies (92-64) and Dodgers are still slugging it out for the NL's best record, and the Padres could still work themselves into this mix with a good showing against L.A. Even the Brewers, at 89 wins, aren't dead yet and could theoretically get one of the two byes instead of having to host a wild-card series.

In the AL, the 92-win Yankees and 90-win Guardians are still battling for the Junior Circuit's top seed and No. 1 overall. The latter means home-field advantage throughout the playoffs - including a potential Game 7 of the World Series.

AL MVP

This race is certainly looking like a lock for Aaron Judge, but Bobby Witt Jr. is making this closer than some might think. Witt's denying Judge a Triple Crown thanks to his AL-high .334 average that's 11 points better than the Yankees captain. He's also posting his second 30-30 season, leading the AL in hits and runs, and is the only player besides Judge above the 10-fWAR mark. One more strong week to help the Royals reach the playoffs could turn this into a surprisingly difficult choice for AL MVP voters.

Ohtani, Judge chase history

We know Shohei Ohtani is going to win MVP, so let's see just how far he can go. A Triple Crown is highly unlikely as he's 17 points back of NL batting leader Luis Arraez, but Ohtani going 55-55 or - dare we say it - 60-60 isn't out of the question. Judge, meanwhile, is pursuing his second 60-homer season in three years, is two RBIs away from 140, and is flirting with slugging .700 - a number last reached by Barry Bonds in 2004. He's also got an outside shot at the Triple Crown. No matter what team you root for, sit back and enjoy watching these generational superstars chase history.

Pitching Triple Crowns

Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal are running away with this year's Cy Young honors and closing in on their respective league's pitching Triple Crown (wins, ERA, and strikeouts). While this feat is far more common than its hitting counterpart, seeing pitching Triple Crowns won in both leagues during the same season has happened only four times and just once (2011) since World War II. Both Sale and Skubal will have at least one more start to clinch this historic feat.