MLB fans react to surprising playoff standings as big clubs start extremely slow: "No Yankees, No Phillies, No Padres, No Cardinals"

The MLB playoff outlook does not look like anyone would have expected. Mainstays like the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays are doing really well, but the rest of the picture is something not many would believe is real. Several teams are outperforming expectations while others are underperforming severely.

Currently, the playoff picture in the National League looks like this:

1. Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
6. New York Mets

In the American League, it looks like this:

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. Texas Rangers
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays
6. Houston Astros

There are a lot of unexpected surprises here. No one would have expected the Astros to be in sixth. The Pirates and Rangers being in the top two is a big surprise, too.

The Diamondbacks being a playoff team was not expected, nor was it for the Baltimore Orioles. Even more surprising, perhaps, are the teams not listed.

The Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and other contenders are on the outside looking in. MLB fans are pretty surprised with how things are right now.

It has only been a month, but these standings are admittedly pretty surprising. It's far too early to crown any of these teams or bury the ones missing out. Even the teams in last place are within 10 games of the first for the most part. Still, it's been an interesting start to the season.

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Are big MLB teams in danger of missing the playoffs?

The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres have two of the biggest payrolls in baseball and they're not in the playoffs picture as currently constructed. With both teams hovering around .500, it's been a surprising start to the year.

The Yankees may miss the MLB playoffs

Both teams should rebound. Whether or not their opponents cool off remains to be seen, but they can and will get better. For the Padres, their new full-strength lineup should carry them eventually.

For the Yankees, the unreal number of injuries they've sustained should level off and they should also return to prominence. It will be a much bigger challenge than these teams might have expected, though.