With the beginning of October comes one of the most exhilarating and suspenseful times in the sports world: the MLB playoffs. As the smell of buttered popcorn fills the air of baseball stadiums we’ll be taking a look at the ten teams fighting for the chance to hold up the Commissioner’s Trophy.

American League

1. Cleveland Indians (102-60)

As they finished off the regular season with the best record in the AL, the Indians are hoping to make a return to the World Series. 2017 was the year of the Tribe, and their impressive winning streak that doesn’t seem to be ending soon.

2. Houston Astros (101-60)

Leading the relatively young Astros are AL MVP candidate Jose Altuve, 2016 Rookie of the Year winner Carlos Correa, and a stacked pitching rotation that includes Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander. Many throughout the baseball world are saying that this might be the year for the Astros.

3. Boston Red Sox (93-69)

The Sox are another relatively young team entering October. Leading the team is Chris Sale and the young superstar Mookie Betts. The Sox are primarily led by their stacked pitching rotation and have often fallen victim to hitting slumps.

4. New York Yankees (91-71)

The Bronx Bombers are living in what many are considering the year of the rookie. Power hitters Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez lead them in the hunt for a deep playoff run as they fight for the AL Wildcard.

5. Minnesota Twins (85-77)

The Twins have been slept on for a greater part of this season but through a great end of the year push led by veteran Joe Mauer and the young Miguel Sano they were able to take the final AL Wild Card position.

National League

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (104-58)

The Dodgers dominated the regular season. The team was led by their ace Clayton Kershaw and the youngsters Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager. This is certainly a powerhouse for which all teams have to keep an eye out.

2. Washington Nationals (97-65)

Led by the young phenom Bryce Harper and the nearly untouchable arm of Max Scherzer, the Nats are the team that many hope to see battle the Dodgers for dominance in the NL.

3. Chicago Cubs (92-70)

The Cubbies are coming off the greatest season of their existence hoping to follow it up with another World Series appearance, however late in the season they’ve found themselves in a slump and sub-par bullpen.

4. Arizona DiamondBacks (93-69)

The D-Backs squeaked into the playoffs on a huge end of the year push led by Jake Lamb, AJ Pollock, and MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt. As they found a spot in the Wildcard, their fight is nowhere near done.

5. Colorado Rockies (87-75)

Led by an all rookie pitching rotation, the Rockies are a team no one thought would end up in the standing they are in now. This young team has proved their doubters wrong, but due to their age this team has little to no experience in the postseason.