MLB Power Rankings: Where every team stands as final month approaches

MLB teams are mostly split into three categories at this point in the season, as September approaches: those preparing for October, those trying to make a run at playoff contention and those whose focus has turned to next season. The clubs that are pretty safely in playoff positions are still battling for postseason positioning, with first-round byes at stake and a number of battles in the wild card and division races. The group of teams trying to play their way into a postseason berth is quite large for this late in the season, with the mediocrity in the American League making it so that as many as eight teams are still in the running for two playoff spots. That group is a bit smaller in the National League, with more teams belonging in the third category of looking ahead to 2027. So where does your favorite club stand with the final month of the regular season around the corner? Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Jorge Castillo, Buster Olney and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams. Week 21 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings 1. Milwaukee Brewers Record: 82-51 Previous ranking: 1 At age 30, Jake Bauers is having the best season of his career, leading the Brewers in home runs and RBIs. Bauers attributed his breakout to a shift in his mental approach to dealing with failure -- a really hard change for a lot of players -- and specifically recalled the turning point, which came after making an out in a game in Pittsburgh in 2025. Bauers has long been known as a player who can be hard on himself, but since that change, he said he's been able to move on from poor results to keep his focus on the next game, the next at-bat and move beyond his struggles, rather than let them fester. -- Olney 2. Los Angeles Dodgers Record: 80-53 Previous ranking: 2 The Dodgers' star-studded rotation is starting to become whole. Tyler Glasnow made his long-awaited debut on Tuesday, allowing three runs in five innings against the Braves, and Shohei Ohtani could be pitching in the rotation by the end of this week. Ohtani would probably start with just one inning, essentially rehabbing in a regular-season game because the extra roster spot allows him to, but getting back by this point also means he's on track to be fully stretched out by October. The two will join Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell, who has looked sharp since coming off the injured list. The playoffs are less than five weeks away, and the Dodgers' starters are right on time. -- Gonzalez 3. Chicago Cubs Record: 76-58 Previous ranking: 5 The Cubs set a franchise record by scoring their 30th unanswered run Tuesday night, topping a mark that stood since 1969. It began Sunday, when a 2-0 deficit to the Mariners turned into a 19-2 rout. On Monday, the Cubs followed by blanking the Diamondbacks 7-0. On Tuesday, they jumped to a 4-0 lead but later gave it up. The Cubs lost that night, but they're still 14-10 in August and 44-30 since the start of June, just 1½ games behind the division-rival Brewers for the best record in the majors in that stretch. No team has put up a higher OPS over these past three months. -- Gonzalez 4. Atlanta Braves Record: 78-55 Previous ranking: 3 Manager Walt Weiss spoke in spring training about how valuable he believed Mauricio Dubon would be to the team, but he probably never imagined just how significant a role Dubon would play by the end of the regular season. After trying a number of different players, from Jorge Mateo to the struggling Ha-Seong Kim to rookie Jim Jarvis, Weiss has seemingly settled on Dubon as his everyday shortstop, starting him five times at the spot in the past week, including in the first game of the series against the Dodgers on Tuesday. -- Olney 5. Tampa Bay Rays Record: 79-54 Previous ranking: 4 A recent ugly stretch by Tampa Bay allowed the Yankees to climb within three games in the AL East standings, but the Rays remain in pole position for their first division title in five years. The remaining schedule, however, is not forgiving. Of their nine remaining series, seven are against postseason contenders and an eighth is against a Mets team that has played vastly better over the past month. The Rays' four-game series at Yankee Stadium during the final week of the regular season looms large. -- Castillo 6. New York Yankees Record: 75-57 Previous ranking: 6 Aaron Judge continues inching toward a return from a stress fracture in his first right rib. The two-time defending AL MVP made significant progress Tuesday when he took batting practice in the cage for the first time during his rehab process. He's also been shagging balls in the outfield and participating in agility drills. The Yankees have not disclosed a target return date, but manager Aaron Boone said the training staff has a calendar for his progression. All signs point to Judge returning in September. -- Castillo 7. Philadelphia Phillies Record: 74-60 Previous ranking: 8 Brandon Marsh's blistering first half landed him his first All-Star Game spot. If MLB staged a second All-Star Game based on second-half performance, Marsh would be hard-pressed to repeat the honor. After hitting over .300 with monthly OPS totals over .800 during the season's opening months, Marsh plummeted to .140 with a .422 OPS in July. August has been better but only marginally, as he's at .247 with a .647 OPS. However, things have been trending up over the last half of the month -- .265 since Aug. 13 -- though Marsh still isn't producing the same power he did earlier this season. The Phillies have been surging, and given the well-documented struggles of their righty hitters, they could really use the first-half version of Marsh if they hope to catch Atlanta in the NL East race. -- Doolittle 8. Boston Red Sox Record: 73-60 Previous ranking: 7 Roman Anthony's long-awaited return to the Red Sox lineup appears imminent. The 22-year-old outfielder, on the injured list since early May with a partially torn tendon in his right ring finger, told reporters Tuesday that he could be activated Friday against the Yankees. Anthony played in four games on rehab assignment with Double-A Portland over the weekend before moving to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. If all goes well, he could give the Red Sox -- the best team in the majors since June 12 with a 46-21 record -- a huge boost for the stretch run. -- Castillo 9. San Diego Padres Record: 72-62 Previous ranking: 9 A veteran Padres player was asked recently what got this team on track. He shrugged. "Tatis is back," he said matter-of-factly. It probably is that simple. Fernando Tatis Jr. did not hit his first home run until May 30, but he's tied for the major league lead in homers since the All-Star break with 12. In August, he's OPS'ing 1.002. The Padres have followed with 16 wins in their past 24 games, surging just as their new ownership group takes over. Asked what finally got him right, Tatis told MLB.com: "Three months of struggling." The Padres will surely take it. -- Gonzalez 10. Arizona Diamondbacks Record: 71-63 Previous ranking: 11 The drama surrounding Ketel Marte's bizarre absence might finally be coming to an end. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo told reporters on Monday that his star second baseman is on track to be activated off the IL early next week, a declaration that came moments after Marte posted a video of himself working out at the team's complex to Instagram. Before that, Marte went AWOL on his teammates, mysteriously not showing up for last week's series in Boston and then being captured on social media at an Arizona casino. But Marte, his agent, Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen had what was described as a productive conversation last week, paving the way for Marte's return. It's hard to see the D-backs grabbing a wild-card spot without him. -- Gonzalez 11. Chicago White Sox Record: 70-63 Previous ranking: 10 Catcher Kyle Teel was dispatched to Triple-A Charlotte this week for what the club is hoping will be a short rehab assignment before a return to big-league action. Teel has played in just 18 games this season for the White Sox because of bad injury luck that stretches back to spring training. With Teel unavailable and fellow second-year catcher Edgar Quero struggling on both sides of the ball and winding up back in the minors, Will Venable has had to juggle playing time among six different backstops this season. As a group, Chicago catchers' .535 OPS is the worst in the majors, and defensively the White Sox have allowed the most wild pitches/passed balls in MLB. Not to put too much on Teel, but a strong finish from the team's projected starting catcher could have a similar impact to a splashy trade deadline acquisition. Not a bad addition for a club entering the stretch run with a division title on the line. -- Doolittle 12. Cleveland Guardians Record: 68-66 Previous ranking: 20 One thing about this year's AL playoff competition -- sometimes it's hard to justify calling it a race -- is that plenty can change in a short period. Last week, the Guardians had fallen a season-worst five games under .500 and, given the cluster of .500-ish teams in the chase, things appeared to be growing dire for them. But a spree of winning against a soft spot in the schedule got the Guardians back on the heels of the White Sox in the AL Central. Leading the charge has been deadline pickup Jo Adell, who has very much been the middle-of-the-order run producer the Guardians needed. Adell posted a solid .777 OPS while driving in 18 runs in 20 games for Cleveland. -- Doolittle 13. Miami Marlins Record: 68-66 Previous ranking: 15 The Marlins' pitching has been fairly consistent for most of the season, bullpen problems notwithstanding. The offense, however, has fluctuated wildly, leading to an unusual degree of streakiness in the won-lost columns. Since the beginning of July, Miami has had five winning streaks of at least three games but has also endured a 12-game losing streak and a couple of shorter skids. Perhaps the return of middle-of-the-order slugger Kyle Stowers from the IL this week will help the Marlins find some consistency. If so, despite all the ups and downs, they remain a good week away from being at the center of the NL wild-card race. -- Doolittle 14. Texas Rangers Record: 66-68 Previous ranking: 17 With a division title within their grasp, the Rangers are considering using Jack Leiter as a reliever when he comes off the IL. Texas manager Skip Schumaker floated the possibility after Leiter threw 59 pitches and allowed five runs (four earned) across three innings for Double-A Frisco last Thursday. Schumaker noted Leiter's velocity dipped in the second inning and that it was a "grindy" outing. Nothing is set in stone -- Schumaker said there's a "50-50" chance the former first-round pick returns as a reliever -- but Leither, who has been on the IL since late June after undergoing arthroscopic ankle surgery, will come out of the bullpen to pitch two innings Thursday. -- Castillo 15. Houston Astros Record: 66-67 Previous ranking: 12 The Astros were tied for first place in the AL West on Monday when owner Jim Crane fired general manager Dana Brown. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Crane said the club's dreadful homestand -- the Astros lost seven of nine games to the Mariners, Angels and Athletics -- did not factor into the decision. Rather, he said, it was "just time to move on" with the team failing to meet expectations with a sub-.500 record. Brown's contract expires after the season. As does manager Joe Espada's, though Crane has said he will remain at the helm through the end of the season. -- Castillo 16. St. Louis Cardinals Record: 66-68 Previous ranking: 13 The worst loss of what can only be described as an uplifting season probably occurred on Sunday, when the Cardinals held a four-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning against the Phillies and watched it evaporate, culminating in a walk-off home run by Kyle Schwarber. With that, the Cardinals were swept in Philadelphia and fell five games back of the final wild-card spot. Barring something close to a miracle run, their playoff chances are probably over. If so, the biggest culprit will be their bullpen, which possesses baseball's seventh-highest ERA. -- Gonzalez 17. Seattle Mariners Record: 64-70 Previous ranking: 22 Has Cal Raleigh turned a corner? The catcher has finally resembled his dominant 2025 self this week after cracking three home runs in three straight at-bats in Seattle's 9-2 win on Monday over the Phillies and hitting another in his first at-bat Tuesday. His slash line of .167/.284/.342 is still ghastly for an everyday player by any measure -- let alone for a player coming off a 60-home run season -- but the Mariners remain in playoff contention anyway. A hot-hitting Raleigh could fuel a second straight division title in a lousy AL West. -- Castillo 18. Toronto Blue Jays Record: 65-69 Previous ranking: 18 Cam Schlittler remains the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award, but Dylan Cease is on his heels. The Blue Jays right-hander has a 2.37 ERA with an AL-high 209 strikeouts after carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Schlittler has the edge in ERA and innings pitched, but a hiccup or two down the stretch could push Cease to the front of the line. -- Castillo 19. Baltimore Orioles Record: 65-68 Previous ranking: 16 Where would the Orioles be without Pete Alonso? The first baseman is putting together another signature year with 32 home runs and a .881 OPS, but the production around him has been lacking this season. Samuel Basallo's .740 OPS is second on the team among players with at least 300 plate appearances. Gunnar Henderson, an MVP candidate two years ago, has 20 home runs but an OPS that starts with a six. The hyped young core of position players hasn't produced, leaving the Orioles under .500 with a 15.9% chance of reaching the postseason. -- Castillo 20. Minnesota Twins Record: 64-70 Previous ranking: 19 The Twins' Kaelen Culpepper is off to such a promising start in his first MLB stint that Minnesota fans have to be wondering what might have been if he hadn't gone down with a glute injury in the minors and missed nearly a month. The Twins rank 25th in wins above average at the shortstop position (minus-0.6) and that's with Culpepper's excellent beginning. The 23-year-old hit .333 over his first 16 games with a three homers to demonstrate a capacity for slug that would be exciting for Minnesota at that position. It's way too early to read anything into Culpepper's defensive metrics, but he has shown up on the highlight reels a few times. -- Doolittle 21. Pittsburgh Pirates Record: 65-70 Previous ranking: 21 Remember when the Pirates got aggressive at the trade deadline, swinging deals for Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar to help a needy bullpen and chase their first playoff spot in 11 years? That was fun. Since then, though, they're 9-13. Their wild-card deficit has gone from 3½ games to 7½, with four teams to jump. Their starting rotation, which was supposed to be the strength of this team, has a 4.70 ERA in August. One positive: Paul Skenes delivered six scoreless innings in a win over the Padres on Tuesday, one of the best starts of his disappointing 2026 season. -- Gonzalez 22. Detroit Tigers Record: 62-71 Previous ranking: 14 The Tigers' seasonlong inability to win close games has contributed to a post-deadline malaise turning into what has all the earmarks of a full-blown collapse. After winning a close game on Aug. 11 -- a two-run victory over Cleveland -- Detroit dropped 10 of 12, including losing six straight, before beating the Rays on Tuesday. Five of the losses were by two runs or less. For the season, Detroit is an almost-unbelievable 18-42 in games decided by one or two runs. That's how you get to be nine games under .500 despite a plus-70 run differential. Only five teams have finished under .500 with a run differential that high, the last being Cleveland in 2006. The Tigers are on pace to finish with the worst winning percentage of the five. -- Doolittle 23. Washington Nationals Record: 62-73 Previous ranking: 23 No he Nationals' 2026 season has to be viewed as a step forward. Still, it's been a rough month. Following a win in Toronto on July 28 with the trade deadline looming, the Nationals were 55-53, one game back of the six seed in the NL playoff race. A five-game skid leading into the trade deadline turned into a freefall. Now, with the Mets heating up behind them, the Nats could be looking at their sixth last-place finish in the seven seasons since winning the 2019 World Series, with only a fourth-place finish breaking up the misery. -- Doolittle 24. Cincinnati Reds Record: 63-71 Previous ranking: 24 A disappointing season for Cincinnati could turn ugly. The Reds dropped two of three to lowly San Francisco to begin the week, and now they will begin a stretch of 25 consecutive games against teams currently in playoff position. Going into this stretch, the Reds have lost 13 of their past 21 games and have scored three runs or fewer in 12 of those losses. Since the All-Star break, they have the NL's second-lowest on-base percentage. Manager Terry Francona wants his hitters to be better at having a plan and sticking to it. "It's like we get in a mode where I think we're trying to hit everything," he said. -- Gonzalez 25. New York Mets Record: 60-73 Previous ranking: 25 Kodai Senga, closer? With Devin Williams on the IL and the bullpen overhauled at the trade deadline, the Mets have given the ninth inning to Senga, and he's done well. In seven outings in the role, he's allowed two runs across 6⅓ innings with four saves in four chances. It had previously been a lost season for Senga, who owned an 8.66 ERA after making his last start on July 31. He has since perhaps found a home in the bullpen with one year remaining on his contract. -- Castillo 26. Kansas City Royals Record: 59-75 Previous ranking: 26 The Royals' nine-game winning streak, snapped Wednesday in Toronto, coincided with the best stretch that first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has enjoyed all season. Coming off a 32-homer, 113-RBI career season in 2025, Pasquantino figured to again be a key part of the Royals' attack, but he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness for most of the season. During the Royals' sudden spree, however, he was the team's hottest hitter, batting .379 with four doubles, five walks and a pair of homers. He hasn't struck out since coming off the IL on Aug. 17. Thanks to the hot stretch, Pasquantino's OPS is up to .703, not great by his standards but creeping up on league average. The stretch run will be key for one of the Royals' clubhouse leaders, if only to create some positive momentum heading into the winter. -- Doolittle 27. San Francisco Giants Record: 54-79 Previous ranking: 27 After a brutal first full month, Rafael Devers has basically hit like, well, Rafael Devers. Since the start of May, the Giants' high-priced first baseman is slashing .259/.347/.549 with 27 home runs. Only 11 players have a higher weighted runs created plus than Devers in that stretch. And though it obviously won't make any difference in the Giants' fortunes in 2026, it's nonetheless a sample size greater than 100 games, the type that should prove Devers can thrive outside of Boston. And given the $211 million he's owed over the next seven years, the Giants surely need to know that. -- Gonzalez 28. Los Angeles Angels Record: 52-82 Previous ranking: 30 Will the Angels avoid making history? The team in Anaheim is the only franchise in MLB history never to lose 100 games in a season. That distinction is very much in jeopardy. At 52-82 through Wednesday, the Angels need to go at least 11-17 over their final 28 games to avoid reaching the century mark. As it stands, they're projected to finish 64-98, according to FanGraphs. That would be a minor consolation en route to their 11th straight sub-.500 record and 12th straight season without a playoff appearance. -- Castillo 29. Colorado Rockies Record: 52=81 Previous ranking: 28 Hunter Goodman returned Tuesday after missing 10 games with a shoulder strain and immediately made his presence felt, clobbering his 35th home run and throwing a runner out at second base to help his team snap a seven-game losing streak. The Rockies have played a better brand of baseball this year, but they're still barreling toward another last-place season. Goodman has emerged as a clear bright spot, though. The 26-year-old catcher made the All-Star team and currently ranks tied for fifth at his position in FanGraphs WAR. Several teams asked about him leading up to the trade deadline, but the Rockies' asking price was high. Understandably so. -- Gonzalez 30. Athletics Record: 53-81 Previous ranking: 29 The Athletics' list of players out for the season grew with two additions over the past week. First, All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz, who has been out since the beginning of August with a right thumb strain, was transferred to the 60-day IL on Friday to end his season. The team then placed Jacob Wilson on the 60-day IL with a shoulder injury to end his. It's been that kind of year for the last-place ballclub, which is also without All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers, slugger Brent Rooker, outfielder Tyler Soderstrom and reliever Mark Leiter Jr. for the remainder of the season as the A's barrel toward 100 losses. -- Castillo