Padres' current playoff seeding sets up intriguing path through NL Central clubs

Alright, folks. We are one month away from the 2025 MLB playoffs, and the San Diego Padres are sitting at 76-61, which is two games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.

It's not a terrible spot for the Friars to be in, especially after navigating through several injuries up to this point. The team's record is also fifth-best in the National League, which is currently good enough for a postseason berth. We'll take it, that's for sure.

Now, if the season were to end today (before September 1 games), what would the Padres' postseason picture look like? To get to the NLCS, they would have to march through a pair of NL Central clubs, which may wind up favoring the Padres. San Diego would oppose the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round, followed by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS - two teams that San Diego has done well against in 2025.

Padres' success vs. Cubs & Brewers this season can translate into deep postseason run

The Padres would not have home field advantage in either series in this scenario, but that might not be an issue regardless. Against the Cubs this year, the Padres are 3-3. So, this would be a very interesting and evenly-matched series, although the Padres lost one of these games in extra innings this year. If we're splitting hairs, the Padres would have the slight advantage based on that. The Cubs and Padres have also both scored 25 runs and allowed 25 runs in these six games.

As for the Brewers, who have been surprisingly red-hot this season, they have not played as well against San Diego. The Padres are 2-1 against Milwaukee this year, including two shutouts. These clubs play each other again in a three-game set at Petco Park from September 22-24, which could be seen as an early peek into what we can expect in the NL playoffs.

Now, if this playoff picture were to remain - and the Padres get through the Cubs and the Brewers - they could potentially face the Phillies in the NLCS. Philadelphia knocked the Friars out of the postseason in the 2022 NLCS. It's all building up to this, which would be a terrific storyline for this tried and true Padres club.