If you ventured over to FanGraphs' Playoff Odds page at the beginning of August last year, you would have seen that the playoff picture for Major League Baseball was quite clear. Nine teams sat with a 0.0% chance of making the playoffs, with three others at less than 1% and two more having less than a 5% chance at October baseball. Essentially half the teams were out of the running, with only a half-dozen more teams falling out of the races for a postseason slot over the final two months.
The short season in 2020 combined with expanded playoffs means every team still has a shot at the playoffs today, but 14 teams will fall out over the next two months. Below, I move the calendar forward and project when those 14 unfortunate teams will drop out of the playoff race.
