MLB Power Rankings Week 25: Evaluating all 30 teams as Mets, Padres, Tigers rise

The Chicago White Sox are one of the worst teams in MLB history. Alarmingly, Jerry Reinsdorf might be an even worse baseball owner than his team is at winning games. Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli detailed in The Athletic all the glaring problems in Chicago and it’s evident there’s no bigger anchor dragging this organization down than Reinsdorf. Unfortunately, fans are stuck with him and that gives this franchise a bleak outlook for years to come.

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After an electric start to his Miami Marlins career – .329/.372/.671 with 1.043 OPS – in his first 18 games, Connor Norby is now slashing .182/.282/.212 with a .494 OPS in his last 9 games. There have been minimal positives for the Miami Marlins this season. At the very least, Norby finishing the season strong could provide something to build upon in 2025.

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As Mike Trout ends another season on the injured list while Shohei Ohtani makes MLB history with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s worth revisiting this club’s recent history. Over a year ago, Los Angeles Angels owner Artre Moreno turned down several multi-billion dollar offers for the franchise and held onto the team. Moreno’s decision to not sell the team is one of the reasons why Ohtani left. Now, Ohtani is dominating for one of the best MLB teams while Trout’s body is unfortunately deteriorating further and the franchise is stuck with one of the worst owners in baseball.

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The 2024 season hasn’t been especially kind to the Colorado Rockies, but September is providing a few bright spots. Hunter Goodman, age 24, entered play on Friday with a .959 OPS in September and Sam Hilliard (1.167 OPS) has been even better at the plate. Still, what’s concerning for Colorado long-term is how poorly they’ve seemed to develop talent in recent years. It also doesn’t help that since the team’s refusal to trade Ryan McMahon at the July 31 trade deadline, he’s slashed a .577 OPS in 39 games from Aug. 1 to Sept. 17.

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For the worst MLB teams, the final month of the season is about finding little bright spots that provide optimism for the future. For the Washington Nationals, it’s C.J. Abrams – .289/.313/489 with a .801 OPS – coming alive this month after his bat went ice-cold during the summer. Rookie Dylan Crews is struggling, but that’s reasonable given his age and inexperience. Moving forward, the source of excitement for Washington is a young Nationals lineup featuring Abrams, Crews and James Wood.

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While team ownership and the front office might not be all that interested in providing Oakland’s baseball fans with great memories to end this run, Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker are doing everything in their power to put on a show for fans. In September, Butler and Rooker each have a .300-plus batting average with strikeout rates under 25 percent and an .880-plus OPS. As always, it’s the fan-favorites delivering for those who continue to support a franchise that gave up on this city years ago and never looked back.

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It seems wild to think that in July, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in the playoff picture and even operating as very conservative buyers at the MLB trade deadline. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it posted the fourth-worst record in baseball (17-28) after July 31. There’s no doubt the front of the Pirates rotation is outstanding, but so much surrounding talent in the bullpen, lineup and bench is needed. Unfortunately, those financial commitments seem highly unlikely to come.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is easily the Toronto Blue Jays’ best player, but there’s another player who is making a name for himself. Spencer Horwitz, age 26, entered play on Friday leading the Blue Jays lineup in batting average (.333), OBP (.411) and slugging (.625) with a double-digit walk rate and sub-20 percent strikeout rate just like Vlad Jr. It’s certainly not going to be replicated over the full 2025 season, but these are always nice stories to enjoy at the end of a long season.

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Everything needed to go right for the Texas Rangers for the team to survive the number of injuries its rotation had coming into 2024. Instead, the reigning World Series champions will finish the season with one of the 10 worst lineups in MLB and its pitching staff, even when guys returned, wasn’t much better. It’s a massive drop-off for a reigning champ and one that will likely cause some big changes this offseason, including to payroll. With that said, flags fly forever.

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After an electric first half of the season, Cincinnati Reds star Ell De La Cruz’s production really dropped off since July. The MLB leader in steals was once on pace for 80-plus swipes, with a strong likelihood of reaching 70 stolen bases. Unfortunately, he’s struck out in 41.1 percent of his plate appearances in the last two months and managed just a .234 batting average. All of that has limited him to just 3 steals since August 1.

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It turns out that relying on waiver-wire acquisitions and minor trades at the MLB trade deadline isn’t a viable path to contention. Then again, competing for the playoffs and a World Series title doesn’t seem to be the priority for Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group these days. Since the MLB trade deadline, the Red Sox have the fifth-worst record in baseball and this club has now missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year. While Red Sox Nation is stuck with the disappointment, the Fenway Sports Group gets to celebrate another year of revenue growth. Don’t worry, ticket prices at Fenway Park will still go up again next year.

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If San Francisco Giants legend Buster Posey had to step in to save the Matt Chapman contract negotiations, as Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported, it’s even harder to make the case for Farhan Zaidi to remain on board. San Francisco has a bottom-10 farm system, a rather expensive MLB payroll and it’s made the playoffs just once since Zaidi took over as president of baseball operations in 2018. NFL teams don’t give their general managers this long of a leash and it’s inexplicable why a multi-billion dollar Giants organization would allow it.

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The Tampa Bay Rays cleaned up at the MLB trade deadline this summer and they could be quite busy again during the winter. Yandy Diaz’s bat came alive in the second half of the season, slashing .315/.379/.476 with a .874 OPS since August 1. Having proven he can still hit at an All-Star level, there will be plenty of demand for Diaz and veteran slugger Brandon Lowe this winter. Trading both pushes back the Rays’ timeline for contention, but 2025 was already looking unrealistic for a turnaround.

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Even if the Minnesota Twins survive and make the playoffs at this point, a first-round sweep feels inevitable. Just a few months ago, Minnesota sat firmly in the top 10 of our MLB power rankings with a 53-40 record heading into their final set since the All-Star Break. Since July 12, Minnesota has the fifth-most losses (33) in baseball. It’s an utter collapse that falls on the entire organization and even for Minnesota sports teams, this is an all-time collapse.

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Paul Goldschmidt finally got locked in at the plate after July – .279/.335/.481 – but the timing worked out poorly for the St. Louis Cardinals. Masyn Winn (.246/.288/.413) cooled off, Alec Burleson (.641 OPS) was unproductive and Nolan Arenado could only provide above-average production. Combined with the pitching woes, St. Louis just had too many problems to contend.

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The Chicago Cubs were one of the 10 best MLB teams in the second half of the season, posting a record better than the Philadelphia Phillies and playing on pace with the New York Yankees since July 12. It was obviously far too late, reminiscent of last season, but Shota Imanaga’s breakout rookie season and the overall second-half success of this team provide some optimism for 2025.

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Luke Raley, Victor Robles and Justin Turner are keeping this club’s playoff hopes alive. The trio is really carrying the Seattle Mariners lineup in September, with all three hitters sporting a .400-plus OBP with a .900-plus OPS. There is a chance, though slim, at making the playoffs. If the Mariners fall short, the blame will obviously fall on ownership’s decision to slash payroll before the season.

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The Kansas City Royals are likely going to make the playoffs, albeit without much momentum to speak of. After being swept by the Detroit Tigers, the Royals’ schedule closes out against a young Washington Nationals team followed by a three-game set against a desperate Atlanta Braves club. Considering the Royals have played just about .500 ball since July, entering October on a whimper seems inevitable. However, that’s a far better outcome than we expected before the year.

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It’s just proven to be a bad year for the Atlanta Braves. The entire organization deserves credit for overcoming so many season-ending and long-term injuries to key players. Somehow, Atlanta kept itself in the playoff hunt. Unfortunately for the Braves, teams like the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks just never really cooled down this summer. As a result, the Braves will likely be watching the postseason from home.

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The only way a team can completely collapse, potentially costing themselves a playoff spot, is if there’s another club applying massive pressure on them. That’s exactly what the Detroit Tigers did to the Minnesota Twins. Led by Cy Young candidate Tarik Skubal, Detroit seemingly chipped away at the Twins’ Wild Card lead every week since the start of August. The Tigers are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record since August 1 (28-16), an incredible run that deserves a playoff ticket.

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Injuries are an undeniable part of the story for the Baltimore Orioles. Heading into the weekend, Jordan Westburg (hand), Ramon Urias (ankle), Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) and Grayson Rodriguez (lat) are still out. This is also the same team that lost John Means and Tyler Wells in June. What’s also impossible to ignore is a 20-24 since August 1 from a team that will enter the playoffs frigid cold. A healthier roster could make a difference but hopes for an Orioles’ World Series run faded weeks ago.

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With the AL West all but locked up, the Houston Astros are just hoping to be healthy when the playoffs begin. Before that happens, though, this club will be tested at the end of the regular season by the Mariners and Cleveland Guardians. If Houston could come out on top of both series, the rest of baseball could have a problem with Houston when the postseason starts.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks should be able to keep their Wild Card spot, despite playing .500 ball in September. One of the best MLB teams from July through August, injuries might’ve played a part in Arizona’s dip this month. It also didn’t help that the Diamondbacks had to face the Dodgers, Brewers, Astros and Padres. Of course, that is also Arizona’s playoff competition and the team hasn’t passed the litmus test this month.

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Consistently one of the best MLB teams in 2024, the Milwaukee Brewers have picked one of the worst possible times to hit a cold spell. Milwaukee successfully clinched the NL Central and home-field advantage in the Divisional Round is on the table. Unfortunately, the Brewers are also 8-9 this month even with excellent pitching (3.60 ERA). If Milwaukee’s bats can’t come alive and cost them sets against the Diamondbacks and New York Mets, a first-round playoff knockout in October is absolutely on the table.

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After a turbulent August, the Cleveland Guardians have performed like one of the best MLB teams in September. It certainly helps to face the Chicago White Sox, but Cleveland also boasts series victories over the Royals and Twins this month. Those wins are going to be why the Guardians win the AL Central and head into October with some momentum.

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All that matters for the New York Mets now is Francisco Lindor (back) being healthy for the first playoff series. It might seem surprising to see the Mets this high in the MLB power rankings, but the results speak for themselves. New York tied for the most wins since June 1 (45) and they’ve consistently been one of the best MLB teams every month this summer. We wouldn’t bet on New York to reach the World Series, but this club has already defied expectations in 2024.

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With a playoff spot locked up, the New York Yankees just needed to see Juan Soto and Aaron Judge head into October with some momentum. However, neither Soto (.241/.405/.448) nor Judge (.250/.392/.417) is playing at that MVP-caliber level right now. There’s still enough time for a spark before October and with quality pitching (3.52 ERA in September), the Yankees could certainly win the American League.

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The San Diego Padres have more wins (21) than the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies or New York Yankees since the start of the summer. Not only that, the Padres welcomed back Fernando Tatis Jr within the last month. It seems wild to think this team that parted ways with Blake Snell and Juan Soto this offseason is now in position to contend for a World Series, but San Diego is easily one of the best teams in baseball.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have an outstanding case to be atop the MLB power rankings. After all, the Dodgers are tied for the best record in baseball since August 1 and with a healthy Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the Dodgers lineup is the most feared in baseball. However, pitching injuries are a massive concern and that lack of pitching depth could easily burn Los Angeles in October.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are the best team in MLB. However, there likely isn’t a lot of confidence in this team’s World Series chances at this moment. Philadelphia is bottom-10 in ERA this month and there have been some troubling signs all summer. If the Phillies can hold off the Dodgers for the No. 1 seed in the National League, that in itself would provide some momentum and confidence before the playoffs begin.

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