The 12-team Major League Baseball playoff format is about to get underway for the first time in league history. With eight teams forced to play in the new best-of-three wild-card round, the four clubs that have an automatic ticket to the division series make up the top tier of 2022 World Series contenders.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the World Series favorites with +300 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. The Houston Astros aren't far behind, leading the American League at +380. The Atlanta Braves have +500 odds to repeat as World Series champions. The New York Yankees have +550 odds to win the title.

There's a significant gap between the Yankees and New York Mets, which have to play a wild-card series after blowing a 10.5-game lead atop the National League East. Coming off a 101-win regular season, the Mets lead all wild-card teams with +950 World Series odds.

The Toronto Blue Jays (+1600) have the best World Series odds of any AL wild-card team. The St. Louis Cardinals (+1700) and Tampa Bay Rays (+2000) are the only other teams with better than 20/1 championship odds.

The Cleveland Guardians (+3000), San Diego Padres (+3000), Philadelphia Phillies (+3000) and Seattle Mariners (+3000) are tied for the worst World Series odds. All four teams are underdogs in their respective wild-card series.

Here are predictions for the entire playoff bracket, from the wild-card round to the World Series.

Wild-Card Round

The Mets have a decided advantage over the Padres because of their ability to start Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom in one weekend. The Phillies' bullpen could be its undoing against the Cardinals.

The Rays have the best chance of any lower-seeded team to win a wild-card series. The Blue Jays will host a Mariners' team that played on a 105-win pace over the season's final 94 games.

Prediction: Mets, Cardinals, Rays, Mariners

Division Series

The Dodgers are the one team that can match the Mets' starting rotation in a short series. The Braves are playing so well right now that it's hard to see them being upset in the NLDS.

The Yankees beat the Rays 11 times in 19 tries during the regular season, and Tampa Bay probably doesn't have enough offense to pull off the upset. Seattle's run ends in Houston. Even during their second-half surge, the Mariners lost six of seven games against the Astros.

Prediction: Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Astros

League Championship Series

Houston has dominated New York in big games for seven years. The Astros beat the Yankees in the 2015 wild-card game before eliminating them in the 2017 and 2019 ALCS. Houston swept New York at home this summer on the way toward clinching home-field advantage in the AL playoffs.

This would be the third straight NLDS meeting between Los Angeles and Atlanta. None of the teams that faced off in 2020 and 2021 are as good as this year's Dodgers team.

Prediction: Dodgers, Astros

World Series

By all indications, 2022 is the Dodgers' year. Los Angeles has been the clear favorite since the offseason when they added Freddie Freeman to an already-loaded roster. Los Angeles won a franchise-record 111 games without breaking much of a sweat. The Dodgers have scored the most runs and given up the fewest runs in all of baseball.

Prediction: Dodgers

Apr 14, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; General view of pregame ceremonies before the Los Angeles Dodgers play against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; General view of pregame ceremonies before the Los Angeles Dodgers play against the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Reuters / Gary A. Vasquez