MLB Power Rankings: Move over, Dodgers. Tigers take No. 1 spot while Mets make strong push of their own
Welcome to June. We are officially in the middle-third of the marathon that is theMLB regular season. This week's power rankings aim to answer a basic question: How am I feeling about these teams now compared to how I felt on Opening Day with the whole season still in front of us? Past experience and projection systems may have informed the level of optimism or pessimism for clubs before the season, but now we have a healthy sample of data to help indicate the direction each team is heading. Using an ultra-scientific spectrum ranging from Much Better to Much Worse, here's how I'm feeling about all 30 teams entering Tuesday relative to the start of the season: Much better.It's not just that the Tigers have amassed the best record in baseball, though that obviously helps their case as the first team to dethrone the Dodgers in our power rankings this season. It's that Detroit's success has been thoroughly comprehensive. This team excels in nearly all phases of the game, and has compiled a gaudy record as a result. OK, fine, the Tigers rank 30th in stolen bases with just 21 swipes in 60 games. But beyond the running game, the Tigers are above average or better across the board: fifth in runs per game, eighth in wRC+, fourth in rotation ERA, third in bullpen ERA, and ninth in Statcast'sFielding Run Value. Last year's surprise run to the ALDS was merely an appetizer. This year's Tigers look like a legit threat to win it all. Better.WithSean ManaeaandFrankie Montasyet to throw a pitch this season, New York has compiled the league's lowest team ERA (2.86), a stunningly impressive display of run prevention considering the relatively unproven personnel involved. But even if the pitching regresses some, it would seem the offense still has another gear to reach to help mitigate any slippage on the mound. It took until the 59th game of the season forFrancisco Lindor,Juan SotoandPete Alonsoto homer in the same contest, a reminder that we still haven't seen this tremendous trio come close to its potential as a collective offensive juggernaut. Vibes are good in Queens. Slightly worse.Just because we just watched the Dodgers overcome an unprecedented amount of pitching injuries to win the World Series last season doesn't mean they are a lock to repeat the same feat, especially when the arm ailments have arrived even earlier this season compared to last. The juggernaut lineup remains staggeringly strong, though, and ensures the Dodgers will remain formidable regardless of their mystery box of availability on the mound. That said, it seems awfully unlikely this group will be challenging the 2001 Mariners' record for most wins in a season (116) as some speculated they could before the year. Better.NoJuan Soto, noGerrit Cole, noLuis Gil, noGiancarlo Stanton, no problem. The Yankees have carried on brilliantly amid a slew of injuries and with a new-look roster, and deserve significant credit for doing so. Yes, it most certainly helps to have baseball's third-highest payroll and the best hitter in the sport inAaron Judge, but the Yankees have also benefitted greatly from unexpected breakouts likeTrent Grisham, a homegrown hidden gem inBen Rice, and late-career renaissances likeLuke WeaverorRyan Yarbrough. The high-salary headliners (Max Fried,Carlos Rodón,Cody Bellinger,Paul Goldschmidt) are excelling too, of course, but the Yankees do a lot more well than just pay for good players, and this season exemplifies that. Better.The Cubs absolutely rake, ensuring a core competency to lean on in their quest to re-establish themselves as one of the premier franchises in the sport. But even more encouraging recently has beenthe vastly improved effectiveness of a bullpenthat was flat-out terrible early on. This has been a massive development, especially in relation to some of the injuries sustained to key members of the rotation, including season-ending surgery forJustin Steele. All signs point to Chicago claiming its first NL Central crown in a full-season since 2017, but there's a lot of baseball left to be played. About the same.The rotation has once again been excellent, and the main characters in the lineup have largely delivered, withKyle Schwarbersomehow leveling up even further in his age-32 season.José Alvarado's suspension has left the bullpen in a state of unease, but I'm not convinced that specific weakness is enough to derail this team's status as World Series contenders. Plus, I fully expect president of baseball operationsDave Dombrowskito add relief help via trade before the deadline. About the same.Valid concerns remain about this roster being too top-heavy to sustain over the course of a long season, and that the Padres' lack of depth will eventually come back to bite them. But with one of baseball's best bullpens and an enviable amount of elite talent in the lineup, San Diego still projects to have one of the highest ceilings of any ballclub in the sport. And let's be real: it's not like president of baseball operationsAJ Prelleris going to pass on exploring every possible avenue to improve the team before the trade deadline. Slightly better.The Giants have performed like the NL's version of the Royals, albeit with a significantly larger payroll. Like Kansas City, San Francisco has constructed an excellent pitching staff — its 3.09 team ERA ranks second-best in MLB behind only the Mets — but its offense isstuck in the mudfar too often, raising questions about the club's viability as a serious contender. On the whole, the Giants' undeniable success on the mound has raised the floor for this team and has thus far proven to be a more reliable path to success than one of their divisional counterparts in the D-backs, whose offense is elite but who can't find nearly enough outs on the mound. About the same.After leaning heavily on its pitching staff in recent years to fuel its success and compensate for a lack of offensive firepower, Seattle has had a more balanced attack plan in 2025 — for better or worse. A rotation that had been impossibly healthy over the past two seasons has endured some significant absences in the early going, but a much-improved offense headlined by MVP candidateCal Raleighhas kept Seattle competitive, even amid unfamiliar instability on the mound. It's not quite the Mariners we've grown accustomed to watching, but this version may be good enough to claim the franchise's first division title since 2001. About the same.Milwaukee has taken something of a circuitous route back into the NL playoff picture after an inconsistent first month. Its recent hot stretch has served as a reminder of what the Brew Crew is capable of when things are clicking. A resurgentRhys Hoskinshas paced an offense that isn't getting quite as much out ofWilliam ContrerasandJackson Chourioas hoped, but the recipe for success here is still broadly similar to last year's NL Central champs: speed, defense and an amalgamation of effective arms. There's still a chance this team falls out of the mix and becomes an intriguing seller at the deadline, but I think they stay relevant in the NL wild-card conversation. Slightly worse.Cleveland is tied for the ninth-best record in baseball, but its -16 run differential ranks 22nd, suggesting its success has been a bit more smoke-and-mirrors than most of the other teams ranked in the top half of these rankings. Defending their AL Central crown will be a tall task with how well the Tigers are playing, but the Guardians still have the talent and winning infrastructure in place to compete for a playoff spot. Slightly worse.Catch the Astros on the right day, and they still look like a serious threat to claim another AL pennant. But the depth of impact players here is not what it used to be, making them far more vulnerable to fall short of their lofty annual goals. It's a credit to Houston it remains squarely in the AL West race with its best hitterYordan Alvarezbeing a virtual non-factor so far. His health and availability remains paramount as a fully operational Alvarez is a huge part of what makes this team so scary, and it's unclear when we are going to see that version of him again so Slightly better.Getting an extension done withVladimir Guerrero Jr.was a huge organizational victory, but three of Toronto's four biggest offseason additions (Anthony Santander,Andres Gimenez,Max Scherzer) have brought very little to the table this season, while the fourth (Jeff Hoffman) has also started to look more mortal lately after a nearly invincible first month. And yet, here the Jays are in second place, suggesting there could still be untapped potential with this roster around Guerrero andBo Bichettethat could propel a return to the postseason. Keep an eye on these guys. Slightly better… unless the plan is to be sellers at the trade deadline. With a deep lineup and better-than-expected rotation, St. Louis has played its way into some potentially difficult decisions next month. It still seems likely that the Cardinals will act more as sellers than buyers at the deadline, but it's also too soon to completely discount an unexpected run at a wild-card spot inJohn Mozeliak'sfinal year atop the franchise's baseball operations department before handing the keys toChaim Bloom. Slightly worse.Minnesota rebounded in impressive fashion from its troubling 7-15 start, but it's still unclear how seriously we should be taking the Twins as viable playoff contenders. While the pitching staff has rounded into a legitimate strength — the Twinsrank sixth in team ERA and first in pitching fWAR— the lineup has merely treaded water, withByron Buxtonthe only headlining hitter performing well whileCarlos CorreaandRoyce Lewishave floundered badly. The Twins are generally solid, but solid doesn't get you where it used to in the AL Central nowadays. About the same.SinceShane McClanahanwent down just before Opening Day, a Rays rotation that still seemed rickety on paper has been stunningly durable and quite effective. That unit, plus a vintage Tampa Bay bullpen consisting of anonymous yet dynamic hurlers, has formed a stellar pitching staff that has kept the Rays in the mix despite an inconsistent offense that is relying heavily on 21-year-oldJunior Camineroto become a superstar sooner rather than later. In an AL East that is far weaker than expected, the Rays look to have enough to hang around. About the same.We knew this team would be pitching-centric and offensively limited, and that has been exactly the case. Kansas City ranks second in team ERA and fourth in pitching fWAR, but 30th in home runs and 27th in wRC+. These extreme strengths and weaknesses have amounted to a decent record, albeit one that still lags behind in the newly ultra-competitive AL Central. The arrival of top prospectJac Caglianoneshould provide a sorely needed boost to the lineup, but expecting him to single-handedly transform the Royals' offense feels like a stretch. Worse.The fact that offseason additionsAlex BregmanandGarrett Crochethave both been exactly what Boston could have hoped for and the team is still below .500 is a damning indictment of how the rest of the roster has performed. Now with Bregman injured for a lengthy stretch, an already-complicated position player group will require even more mixing and matching from managerAlex Cora. There's still enough talent present for the Sox to make a run, but they have to find their stride soon. Slightly worse.A lineup that seemingly shines on paper has disappointed for the second straight year, but the rotation (thisJacob deGromfella seems pretty solid!) has been so good that Texas remains in striking distance of a playoff spot. There are still a good amount of red flags on this roster worth being worried about, but the AL West is fairly forgiving. The Rangers are far from toast — they just have some work to do. Much worse.The Braves appeared to have more than enough talent to hold down the fort untilRonald Acuña Jr.andSpencer Striderreturned from injury, but their superstars instead rejoined a club well-behind the pace in the NL East and still searching for its identity. Acuña and Strider can still play a big role in propelling Atlanta back into the playoff race, but it projects to be a much more daunting mountain to climb than many would've expected at the start of the season. And those two can't do it on their own. Much worse.It's scary hours for the Snakes afterCorbin Burnesleft Sunday's start due to an elbow injury. Burnes, who signed a $210 million deal with Arizona this past offseason, has been a rare bright spot on an otherwise lackluster pitching staff, and a lengthy absence for him could doom this team's chances of staying relevant in the NL playoff race. Like last year, the D-backs' offense might be powerful enough to compensate for the club's issues on the mound, but it's getting late early in the desert. Worse.As one of just three teams this season that have not been swept in a series of three games or more, along with the Mets and Yankees, the Reds have generally avoided any lengthy skids that would completely torpedo their season. They have also failed to capture any semblance of momentum to enable a compelling climb up the standings. The rotation has generally been quite good, but without the step forward many were expecting from star shortstopElly De La Cruz.With too many other key bats underperforming, this offense is not good enough right now to warrant serious consideration as a playoff threat. Slightly better.A brutally bad bullpen and disappointing rookie campaign forDylan Crewsstand out as low points, but theJuan Sototrade continues to look better and better, providing Washington with multiple franchise cornerstones in place. ShortstopCJ Abramswas an All-Star last year and has continued to play like one;James Woodis already one of the National League's most fearsome sluggers; and leftyMacKenzie Goreleads all MLB pitchers in strikeouts. The depth is still sorely lacking on this roster, but the star power is undeniable. About the same.ShortstopZach Neto, catcherLogan O'Hoppeand first basemanNolan Schanuelhave continued to trend favorably as position players worth building around. That core trio alone is not nearly good enough to overcome one of baseball's worst bullpens and a rotation that has stayed remarkably healthy but has been largely ineffective as well. As was the case before the season, the Angels will be counted out until they prove otherwise — that is the reputation they have earned over the past decade. Much worse.The O's were supposed to be squarely in the AL East race, not sinking to the bottom of the standings due to a woefully ill-equipped pitching staff and firing their manager in early May. With several intriguing trade candidates on the roster (Ryan O'Hearn,Cedric Mullins,Zach Eflin), Baltimore could cash in considerably as sellers at next month's deadline. That was not the plan for this season in March. Worse.WhileOneil Cruztaking a meaningful step toward full-blown stardom has been a nice silver living, this offense remains maddeningly unqualified to support a solid pitching staff headlined by a generational mound talent inPaul Skenes. Add in season-ending elbow surgery forJared Jones, and it's difficult to identify many things that have gone right for Pittsburgh in 2025 beyond Cruz and Skenes' continued brilliance. The NL's longest playoff drought appears likely to extend another year. Worse.The A's have lost 21 of their past 24 games since their 20-16 start prompted some to speculate if they could remain relevant in the AL wild-card race in the franchise's first year playing in Sacramento. Those dreams have been emphatically dashed in recent weeks as the pitching has completely capitulated, and now it's just a bad team playing in a minor league ballpark. Yikes. About the same.Sandy Alcantara'ssevere struggles (8.47 ERA!) have been tough to watch and could cost Miami the chance to trade him for a massive prospect haul. It's not like Alcantara being bad has altered how this squad is viewed in the grand scheme of things. Some budding talent (Max Meyer,Kyle Stowers,Agustín Ramírez) has shown promising flashes of competence, but there's also been a whole bunch of non-competitive contests along the way. In other words, it's a young rebuilding team playing like a young rebuilding team. Ever so slightly better.A 5-21 record in April elicited some terrifying fears that the Sox could be heading for a historically bad campaign for a second straight season, but a much more respectable showing in May combined with the infallible fact that Chicago is no longer the worst team in baseball has eased those concerns somewhat. This team is still very bad, but there are enough good things happening (Miguel Vargas,Shane Smith) and hopefully more young talent on the way (Hagen Smith,Kyle Teel) that should ensure this season is more run-of-the-mill bad compared to being a league-wide laughingstock like last year. So much worse.The Rockies have lost all 19 series they have played this season and have been swept 10 times. They are scoring the fewest runs per game of any team and allowing the most runs per game of any team. Colorado is plummeting to rock(ie) bottom as a franchise, and are comfortably on pace to make everyone forget about how bad the 2024 White Sox were. Buckle up, it's not going to get much better from here.
MLB Power Rankings: Move over, Dodgers. Tigers take No. 1 spot while Mets make strong push of their own Welcome to June. We are officially i...
