How the new-look playoff picture is shaping up

It’s Memorial Day, which has traditionally been a good time in baseball to take stock of how teams are doing so far in the season. This year, there’s a new twist: A new postseason format that will feature a third Wild Card team in each league, as well as a first-round bye for the two division winners with the best records in each league.

With the introduction of another Wild Card spot and two first-round byes, the new playoff format brings exciting possibilities. Winning the division becomes even more vital now that there is a bye and home-field advantage at stake. And playing for the best record -- or at least the second-best record -- in the league is even more important, too, meaning even clubs with big division leads can't let up. And, of course, more clubs will be in the race later into the season, setting up the potential for a tremendous finish around the Majors.

While there’s still a long way to go, here’s a look at how the postseason picture would look through Sunday, with win-loss records and seeding in parentheses:

American League

AL East winner: Yankees (33-15, No. 1 seed) – First-round bye and berth in Division Series

AL Central winner: Twins (29-19, No. 3) – Host lowest-seeded Wild Card team in Wild Card Series

AL West winner: Astros (30-18, No. 2) – First-round bye and berth in Division Series

Wild Card teams: Rays (28-19, No. 4), Blue Jays (27-20, No. 5), Angels (27-22, No. 6)

On the outside looking in: White Sox (23-23), Rangers (22-24), Red Sox (23-25)

Wild Card Series (best of three)

Angels (6) at Twins (3)

Blue Jays (5) at Rays (4)

Division Series (best of five)

Blue Jays/Rays at Yankees

Angels/Twins at Astros

National League

NL East winner: Mets (32-17, No. 2) – First-round bye and berth in Division Series

NL Central winner: Brewers (30-18, No. 3) – Host lowest-seeded Wild Card team in Wild Card Series

NL West winner: Dodgers (33-14, No. 1) – First-round bye and berth in Division Series

Wild Card teams: Padres (30-17, No. 4), Cardinals (26-21, No. 5), Giants (25-21, No. 6)

On the outside looking in: Braves (23-25), D-backs (23-26)

Wild Card Series (best of three)

Giants at Brewers

Cardinals at Padres

Division Series (best of five)

Cardinals/Padres at Dodgers

Giants/Brewers at Mets