MLB Playoff Standings 2016: Seattle Mariners Climbing, St. Louis Cardinals Falling

The 2016 MLB playoff standings are really starting to shape up in both leagues. The 2016 MLB Playoffs will showcase the 10 best teams, with the battles for the four Wild Card spots expected to be very intense. The updated MLB standings from Sunday, August 7, reveal several teams looking to move up (Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers), but also some teams that are struggling a lot (Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals).

Beginning with the Seattle Mariners (56-53), the team beat the Los Angeles Angels again on Saturday night (August 6), helping them move within four games of the second Wild Card slot in the American League. That Wild Card spot was controlled by the Boston Red Sox (60-49), a team that has struggled to find consistency lately. The Red Sox lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Saturday, keeping the team two games behind the Baltimore Orioles, and dropping them behind the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card standings.

The American League playoff standings have the Texas Rangers (64-47) leading the West, the Cleveland Indians (62-46) leading the Central, and the Baltimore Orioles (62-47) leading the East. The top two AL Wild Card teams are now the Toronto Blue Jays (63-48) and the Detroit Tigers (61-49). Chasing the Blue Jays and the Tigers are the Boston Red Sox (60-49), Houston Astros (57-53), and Seattle Mariners (56-53). Those eight teams are the only ones left with a realistic shot at making the postseason.

In the 2016 MLB playoff standings for the National League, there are nine teams that still remain in the race. The Chicago Cubs (68-41) lead the Central by 10 and a half games over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Washington Nationals (65-45) are seven games up on the Miami Marlins in the East, and the San Francisco Giants are two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the West. That leaves six other teams battling it out for the two important Wild Card spots.

In the National League Wild Card standings, the L.A. Dodgers (61-49) lead the way so far. They are three games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals (58-52) and Miami Marlins (58-52). Then comes the Pittsburgh Pirates (55-53), New York Mets (56-54), and Colorado Rockies (55-55). If the regular season came to an end on August 7, the Cardinals and Marlins would meet in an extra game to decide which team secures the second NL Wild Card spot.

The hottest team in baseball is currently the Chicago Cubs, as the team has won six straight games, including a 4-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on August 6. The Cubs have won nine of their last 10 games, increasing the lead in the NL Central. The hottest team in the American League is the Detroit Tigers, as the team has won nine of its last 10 games, racing up the Wild Card standings and moving into striking distance of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

The most intriguing race in the 2016 MLB playoff standings will come from the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles are just percentage points ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for first place, with the Boston Red Sox two games behind them both. The final eight weeks of the regular season are going to be really intense for the East, with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays likely to play the spoiler role along the way.

The National League West race could also get very exciting as the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are setting up for another late-season fight. Neither team has been playing well, allowing the Colorado Rockies to show up in the rearview mirror. Do the Rockies have enough talent to make it competitive down the stretch? With how well the offense is doing for the Rockies, any team wanting to move up the MLB playoff standings wants to avoid trips to Colorado.

[Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]