The 2018 MLB regular season ends Sunday, Sept. 30, meaning the postseason is now only four weeks away. There are still plenty of postseason races that have to be decided between now and then.

With that in mind, here is an update on the current American League postseason picture. Here is the SportsLine Projection System and here is what the AL postseason field would look like if the season ended today (Click here for the NL League playoff picture):

Make sure to check out SportsLine's daily pick sheet for insight about every game.

AL East leader: Red Sox (95-44)

  • Games remaining: 23 (15 Home, 8 Away)
  • Remaining opponent's winning percentage: .529
  • SportsLine's playoff odds: 100 percent
  • SportsLine's World Series odds: 21.34 percent

The 8 1/2 game lead makes this one look like a bit of a formality. SportsLine now has the Red Sox with a 99.2 percent chance of winning the division. They do have to deal with the Yankees six more times, so they probably shouldn't lose all six. Still, it looks like most of September is going to be the Red Sox trying to hit October at as close to 100 percent injury-free as they can. 

AL Central leader: Indians (77-60)

  • Games remaining: 25 (11 Home, 14 Away)
  • Remaining opponent's winning percentage: .443
  • SportsLine's playoff odds: 100 percent
  • SportsLine's World Series odds: 11.47 percent

It's a 14-game lead with a magic number of 11. No reason to say more. 

AL West leader: Astros (85-53)

  • Games remaining: 24 (11 Home, 13 Away)
  • Remaining opponent's winning percentage: .465
  • SportsLine's playoff odds: 99.8 percent
  • SportsLine's World Series odds: 12.71 percent

The reigning champs only have a 2 1/2 game lead over the A's, but there are no more head-to-head games remaining between to the two teams and you can see above the remaining strength (lack thereof) of schedule for Houston. The path is clear for a second straight AL West title, but it's not totally over. SportsLine has them at an 89.2 percent chance of taking the West. 

AL wild card leader: Yankees (86-52)

  • Games remaining: 24 (9 Home, 15 Away)
  • Remaining opponent's winning percentage: .508
  • SportsLine's playoff odds: 99.8 percent
  • SportsLine's World Series odds: 8.26 percent

The Yankees are behind the Red Sox by 8 1/2 games but also a nine-game cushion on the Mariners. The Bronx Bombers seem pretty locked into a wild-card spot, but they definitely have something to play for and it's getting that wild card game at home, like last season. After Monday's head-to-head loss against the A's, the lead for the top spot is 3 1/2 games. Come Thursday, that lead will either be the same 3 1/2, be up to 5 1/2 and all the way down to 1 1/2. Definitely keep your eyes on Oakland these next two nights. 

AL wild card runner-up: A's (83-56)

  • Games remaining: 23 (11 Home, 12 Away)
  • Remaining opponent's winning percentage: .479
  • SportsLine's playoff odds: 94.9 percent
  • SportsLine's World Series odds: 2.02 percent

As noted, the A's can really push for home field advantage in the wild card, but the division is still in play as well (10.1 percent chance). The most likely outcome is ending up in the second wild-card spot, but they've been doing unlikely things all season. 

Teams on the outside looking in

Mariners (77-61): Seattle is 5 1/2 games behind the A's with three head-to-head games left and some other cupcakes on the schedule. Coming back from 5 1/2 at this point, however, is a very tall order, especially from a team with a losing record since the start of July. It's possible, but SportsLine pegs the Mariners' chances of making the playoffs at just 3.9 percent. 

Rays (74-63): Tampa Bay is clinging to an incredibly slight chance here (1.6 percent, per SportsLine). The Rays do have three games against the A's, but they are eight games back and need to jump over the Mariners. 

Teams eliminated

Just the Orioles and Royals so far are officially out, but that list will be adding the Tigers, White Sox, Rangers, Blue Jays and Twins soon with the Angels not far off.