April results may not give Major League Baseball the big picture just yet, but it’s not too early to weed through which teams are contenders and which are pretenders.
Some teams have had great starts that will soon fade, while others have had forgettable Aprils and will look to get back on track come May. Eventually, there will be 10 playoff teams—six division winners and four wild-card teams.
Can we project those 10 teams now? No, but we can somewhat tell which will be in the playoff hunt down the stretch and which will focus on the 2014 season.
October is still a ways away, but here are the teams you should keep an eye on as baseball’s second month gets under way, as well as the others that won’t play for much down the stretch.
*All standings current as of 1 p.m. ET of Tuesday, April 30, 2013. All statistics obtained via FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. All contract information obtained via Cot’s Contracts. All injury information obtained via Baseball Prospectus.