For the first time since we started these rankings way back in March … we have actual playoff teams. Our No. 1 team, the Brewers — our No. 1 team since Aug. 4, in fact — have locked in their postseason spot, and thanks to an afternoon win by the Dodgers, the Phillies are in as well. More are coming. We are in the nit and the grit now: Weâ€re getting to the point when the only 12 that count are the playoff 12.
These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.
1. Brewers (previously: 1)
Seriously, congratulations to the Brewers for clinching their playoff spot this week. This team obviously has higher aspirations than just making the postseason, but it should be said that itâ€s something this fanbase is never going to take fully for granted. The Brewers have now made the playoffs seven of the last eight years, but before that stretch, they had made it four times in their entire history, going all the way back to their year as the Seattle Pilots in 1969.
2. Phillies (previously: 2)
Is Kyle Schwarber going to make it to Ryan Howardâ€s franchise record of 58 homers, set back in 2006? Itâ€s going to be tough: Heâ€s going to have to basically average one every other game. The good news? We know he can hit four in a game if he has to.
3. Blue Jays (previously: 3)
The Blue Jays do love their drama. They lead the Majors with 45 comeback victories this year, and they have nine walk-off wins, second-most in the Majors. Thatâ€s the sort of skill that might just come in handy come October.
4. Dodgers (previously: 7)
With his next homer, Shohei Ohtani will become the first player with consecutive 50-homer seasons since Alex Rodriguez did in 2001-02. Thatâ€s kind of surprising, right? It feels like someone else would have done that. Ohtani better hurry: Aaron Judge is three homers away from doing the same thing.
5. Cubs (previously: 4)
As the Cubs seem locked into the No. 4 seed in the National League, it would behoove them to get Pete Crow-Armstrong at least back to some semblance of who he was. His second-half OPS, .605, is a whopping 240 points below what it was in the first half.
6. Tigers (previously: 5)
The Tigers are battling for home-field advantage in the American League, but the real news this week is that Tarik Skubal looks like heâ€s going to be OK after leaving his last start with side tightness. “Itâ€s all good news. So, obviously, thatâ€s great for us, and great for him, and now weâ€ll work towards his work week,†said manager A.J. Hinch. “Weâ€ll get together with him on Monday. Heâ€ll do his normal close-throwing workout that he does, and then weâ€ll move forward.†Skubalâ€s about to become the first AL pitcher to win consecutive Cy Young Awards since Pedro Martinez in 1999-2000, and there is no real postseason path for the Tigers if heâ€s not healthy.
7. Yankees (previously: 6)
Remember when the Yankees were thought of as buttoned-up, stoic and a little distant and removed? Jazz Chisholm Jr. is trying to put an end to that. “Weâ€re the best team in the league,†Chisholm Jr. said this week. “Any team that thinks theyâ€re better than us, they should know that when we step on the field, weâ€re coming with relentlessness. Weâ€re coming to step on necks. Weâ€re not here to play around.†Love it!
8. Mariners (previously: 12)
It is very stressful to be a Mariners fan right now, and for good reason: Theyâ€ve won nine in a row, and it … hasnâ€t given them much breathing room at all. Theyâ€re still locked in a taut race with the Astros in the AL West, and both the Rangers and Guardians have been nearly as hot as the Mariners in their race to catch them down in the Wild Card race. After all those years in the playoff wilderness, Mariners fans will happily take it … but itâ€ll be a heartbreaker if they fall short.
9. Astros (previously: 10)
The Astros are hanging on by their fingernails right now, which is why any little spark is appreciated. They got a big spark from rookie Zach Cole, who made his MLB debut this weekend … and promptly homered on the first pitch of his first at-bat. “I blacked out,†Cole said. “I donâ€t remember it much.â€
10. Padres (previously: 8)
This week, I wrote about players with Hall of Fame aspirations but who are seeking their first World Series title. Bryce Harper topped that list, but all told, no one might become more of a franchise icon if his team won the World Series than Manny Machado in San Diego. He represents, in many ways, the pivot this franchise has made to what may be the best era in its history. He might just be the one they remember.
11. Red Sox (previously: 9)
Another bummer among the several of late for the Red Sox: Liam Hendriks, who certainly knows of coming back from things, wonâ€t be able to return for Boston this year after forearm soreness. “It’s been a very frustrating year from my point of view, whether it be through the hip, whether it be through the arm, whether it be through anything,†Hendriks said.
12. Rangers (previously: 14)
Credit Rangers broadcaster (and former player, of course) David Murphy for the nickname for all the young players filling in for the injured Rangers stars, the ones who might just get them in the playoffs: The Little Rascals. If this were the ‘80s, there would be an amazing Little Rascals team poster with Cody Freeman, Michael Helman, Alejandro Osuna, and Dustin Harris.
13. Mets (previously: 11)
It has been a week of primal screams from Flushing, with just about everything going wrong at once, in every possible way. If Mets fans are looking for any sort of rainbows, there are those three games against the Marlins at the end of the year, though, it should be said, the Marlins have been a lot better over the last two months than the Mets. This week may end up being the Mets†last stand: These games against the Padres and Nationals are their final six games at home. That Pete Alonso walk-off Sunday hopefully reset some matters for them.
14. Giants (previously: 15)
Any comeback like the Giants have made, getting them all the way to the cusp of a Wild Card spot, requires great play and the team above them to implode, like the Mets have been doing. But someone has to take advantage, and thatâ€s exactly what the Giants have done. If the Giants can get in the playoffs, Patrick Baileyâ€s walk-off grand slam against the Dodgers on Friday will be an indelible moment. It made him the first player in MLB history to record a walk-off inside-the-park home run and a walk-off grand slam in the same season. “Both are definitely pretty cool,†Bailey said. “Iâ€m definitely not as tired this one as the inside-the-parker.â€
15. Guardians (previously: 18)
Itâ€s a shame the Mariners and the Rangers have been winning so many games, because if either of those teams hadnâ€t been so hot, the Guardians might be in a Wild Card spot right now. Theyâ€ve won four in a row and nine of 10, after all. The key to the Guardians†recent success has been their starting pitching: In their last eight games heading into Sunday, they were 6-0 with an ERA of 1.39.
16. Reds (previously: 19)
No one is worried about Elly De La Cruz, per se, but it should be said: It has been a long time since he homered. His most recent home run was July 31, and heâ€s barely over the Mendoza Line, at .206, since that last homer.
17. Diamondbacks (previously: 16)
Corbin Carroll scored his 100th run on Saturday, and thatâ€s the third time (in three full seasons, of course) that he has scored 100 runs in a year. That makes him the third Diamondback with at least three 100-run seasons: Paul Goldschmidt and Luis Gonzalez are the others. Carroll is also likely to lead the NL in triples for the third consecutive year.
18. Royals (previously: 13)
The Royals received some real credit for adding at the Deadline when they were one game out of the Wild Card a little more than a week ago. But theyâ€ve face-planted since then — having to face the Phillies and equally hot Guardians didnâ€t help — and are now already looking toward next season. Everyone on the team is struggling with the bat, even Bobby Witt Jr., who is 8-for-36 over his past 10 games.
19. Rays (previously: 17)
The Rays have been streaky all season, and, unfortunately for them, a losing streak came right when they were making one last push at the AL Wild Card. Right after winning seven in a row … theyâ€ve now lost seven of nine. Considering how the Guardians, Mariners and Rangers have been playing, thatâ€s a skid that will stop your playoff run right in its track.
20. Cardinals (previously: 20)
One of the primary objectives of this 2025 season for the rebuilding Cardinals was to figure out which young players will definitely be parts of the next contending Cardinals team. The jury is still out on several of those young players — Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Victor Scott II — but one who seems clear to be a Cardinal for years to come is shortstop Masyn Winn, who might be about to win his first Gold Glove. Heâ€ll have to let his season up to this point make the argument for him: Heâ€s having knee surgery soon and will miss the rest of the year. (Heâ€ll be back and fine for Opening Day 2026.)
21. Orioles (previously: 21)
The Orioles have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason, most urgently ones involving their rotation and bullpen, but it will also be fascinating to see where they go with Tyler Oâ€Neill. The oft-injured slugger has actually been hurt even more than usual this year, returning over the weekend for only his 45th game, the lowest number he has played in a season in his career, and that includes the Covid season. Remember: Heâ€s signed for two more years after this one.
22. Aâ€s (previously: 22)
It really canâ€t be emphasized enough how amazing Nick Kurtz has been. Since May 19, Kurtz leads all of baseball in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. Not Aaron Judge. Not Shohei Ohtani. Not Kyle Schwarber. Nick Kurtz! I didnâ€t see any of those other guys hitting near-500-foot homers either.
23. Marlins (previously: 24)
Youâ€ve gotta love an old rookie. Twenty-eight-year-old Troy Johnston, who has played 636 Minor League games and had 2,741 plate appearances, made some history in his 33rd big league game by becoming the first Marlin whose first career multi-homer performance included a walk-off blast. “This is very cool to do it in the big leagues,†Johnston said. “Of course, [Iâ€ve] done it a couple times in the Minors, but to do it in the big leagues and to have the second home run be a walk-off is probably up there in my top five of best days I’ve had at the plate.â€
24. Angels (previously: 25)
Mike Trout homered this week to get to 399, just one away from becoming the third-ever player to hit his 400th homer in an Angels uniform. The other two? Dave Winfield and Vladimir Guerrero.
25. Braves (previously: 23)
The Braves will have their first losing season since 2017, and it is an open question whether manager Brian Snitker will be back next season. The World Series winner has openly discussed retirement; he has been in Atlanta so long he was the manager of that 2017 team as well. “Iâ€m thinking about a lot of things,†Snitker said. “I honestly donâ€t know where Iâ€m going to end up and what decision Iâ€m going to make. I still feel like thereâ€s some unfinished business.â€
26. Twins (previously: 26)
Kody Clemens was DFAâ€d by the Phillies back in April, but for all the issues the Twins have had this year, theyâ€ve got to be happy they picked him up. He has been one of the few consistent bats theyâ€ve had, and it culminated in a three-homer game on Saturday, which tied Kirby Puckettâ€s franchise record with 14 total bases. “You gotta be kidding me. What a night, kid,†his sorta-famous father posted afterwards.
27. Pirates (previously: 27)
Bubba Chandlerâ€s first start was a disaster — he gave up more runs than he got outs, which is not what youâ€re looking for — but itâ€s fair to say the second start went better. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning of a 5-1 Pirates win over the Nationals. Iâ€d call that turning it around. “Itâ€s hard to expect that — perfect through five innings — and Iâ€m sitting there thinking itâ€s going to be hard to take him out of the game,†manager Don Kelly said. “We see the competitor that he is and how he gets after it.
28. Nationals (previously: 28)
James Wood has been getting on base of late, with a .500 OBP over the past week, but heâ€s not hitting homers (just three in the past 50 games) and has a not-impossible chance to set the all-time record for strikeouts. Heâ€s at 204; the all-time record is 223 by Mark Reynolds. And weâ€ve got two weeks of games left.
29. White Sox (previously: 29)
Can the White Sox avoid losing 100 games in three consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history? They need to go at least 6-7 the rest of the way, and if that seems unreasonable, remember, theyâ€re 8-5 in September.
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
Since arriving in the Majors, rookie catcher Drew Romo has struggled with the Mackey Sasser-esque condition of being unable not to lob the ball back to the pitcher. “Me and the other catcher [in Albuquerque], Daniel Cope, were talking about the yips,†Romo said last month. “I was like, ‘Dude, right now Iâ€ve got the zips — the way Iâ€m throwing the ball back to the pitcher right now, my armâ€s getting sore.â€â€ He has been working on it, though, and when he was up and called into action this weekend, there were no issues. “Everybody in the field is looking at me. So thatâ€s why it was so frustrating, because it was hard to fix. Now itâ€s the best itâ€s been in years.â€
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Mark Feinsand, Daniel Feldman, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn.
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