The other three divisions — the AL Central, NL Central and AL East — appear to be in contention, but a closer look will reveal these, too, are most likely forgone conclusions.

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AL Central

The defending AL champion Cleveland Indians have a three-game lead over the Kansas City Royals, but the Indians should be able to pull away down the stretch.

According to FanGraphs, the Indians’ position players are expected to add 8.6 wins above replacement over the rest of the season, with another 7.8 fWAR coming from their pitchers — only the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to contribute more down the stretch. The Royals’ pitchers and hitters, by comparison, are expected to add 9.5 fWAR in value.

Not only do the Indians have the better team, they have an easier schedule. Cleveland’s remaining opponents have a combined .479 win percentage this season according to BaseRuns, which estimates how many runs a team would be expected to score (or allow) given their underlying offensive (or defensive) performance. The Royals play teams with a combined BaseRuns win percentage of .500.

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As a result, the Indians have a 92.3 percent chance of winning the division.

Team Expected wins in 2017 Win division Str of Sched (BaseRuns) SoS Rank Indians 91 92% .479 27 Royals 83 7% .500 15 Twins 79 1% .494 20 Tigers 76 0% .495 19 White Sox 60 0% .512 8

NL Central

The Chicago Cubs, winners of their first World Series in 108 years last season, have a 1.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates (both 3.5 games back) are not far behind.

Since the Cubs acquired starting pitcher Jose Quintana from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects, they are 16-7 with a plus-41 run differential, much more in line with the title-winning team from last season. Their roster players are expected to add 15.2 fWAR for the remainder of the season, second to the Dodgers and Indians, against the second-easiest schedule using the BaseRuns win percentage of remaining opponents (.473).

The Cardinals have the easiest schedule remaining (.469), but with 11.6 projected fWAR from now until the end of the season, the Cubs are once again in complete control of the division and project to have a six- to seven-game lead by the end of the regular season.

AL East

This division could truly be up for grabs. The Boston Red Sox have a three-game lead over the New York Yankees but it is the latter with the edge in scheduling — the Bronx Bombers face opponents with an average BaseRuns win percentage of .488, the lowest in the division. The Red Sox, meanwhile, face the toughest (.528).

That could help tilt the division back in New York’s favor despite the Red Sox having a 76.1 percent chance at winning the division, per FanGraphs. But no matter who wins the AL East, the consolation prize for the runner-up will likely be a wild-card spot.

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The Yankees have a league-high 56.1 percent chance at reaching the playoffs as a wild-card team, almost double the chances of the Rays (31.3 percent) and Royals (29.9 percent), the teams with the second and third-highest likelihood in the AL. The Mariners could sneak in, too, especially if they outperform their 81 expected wins this season. The Baltimore Orioles also have hope, but they are a long shot, at best.

Team Expected wins in 2017 AL wild-card chances Yankees 86 56% Rays 83 31% Royals 83 30% Mariners 81 21% Orioles 80 11%

The NL wild-card race has more clarity. The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks are 6 and 5.5 games ahead of the Brewers, respectively, in the wild-card race, giving them each a near-lock on the two wild-card spots. There is a small chance the Cardinals squeak away with the division title (7.7 percent) but their playoff hopes, including the wild-card slot, sit at 18.6 percent, a mere fraction of what the Rockies and Diamondbacks enjoy at this point of the season.

Team Expected wins in2017 Reach playoffs Diamondbacks 89 88% Rockies 89 87% Cardinals 83 19% Brewers 81 9% Pirates 79 4% Marlins 78 2%