Just two weeks remain in the 2016 MLB regular season, and while a handful of teams appear to be locks for the postseason, there are still a number of playoff spots up for grabs.
The Chicago Cubs became the first team to officially clinch a playoff berth on Thursday, while the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers are also in comfortable spots atop their respective divisions.
That leaves the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals duking it out for the two wild-card spots, and it's shaping up to be quite the battle with those three teams separated by two games in the standings.
On the AL side, the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers are sitting pretty, but the AL East is still a dog fight with the Boston Red Sox currently holding a three-game lead.
The Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and Houston Astros are all within four games of each other in the push for a wild-card spot, with the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees fading out of the picture but not technically eliminated just yet.
Meanwhile, non-contenders are taking a long look at some of their young talent while simultaneously trying to play the role of spoiler.
At any rate, there was a good deal of shuffling in this week's rankings (like always) as we head down the home stretch.
One thing remains true: These rankings are a fluid process as teams move up or down based on where they ranked the previous week. If a club keeps winning, it will keep climbing—it's as simple as that.
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