What is the best team in baseball? August is just ending and that means the postseason race is coming down to September. With some of the best MLB teams battling for positioning, it’s time for our latest MLB power rankings to evaluate clubs across the league.
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As always, our MLB power rankings factor in injuries, week-long performance and how teams fared this month. We’ll provide an analysis of the worst MLB teams on Saturday.
MLB power rankings: Worst MLB teams
30. Chicago White Sox (30)
The Chicago White Sox are the worst team in MLB. Now, September is all about their shot at infamy. What’s slightly ironic about this team being historically bad is we could see fans show up to a few more games at the end of September for a chance to witness MLB history.
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29. Los Angeles Angels (27)
August really cemented the Los Angeles Angels’ status as one of the worst MLB teams,, with a prolonged slump that has slightly booster their draft lottery odds in 2025. That’s about all the positive we could find for the Halos.
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28. Miami Marlins (29)
Connor Norby (.979 OPS in August) has been everything the Miami Marlins hoped for and more thus far, which makes up for the underwhelming early returns from Kyle Stowers. What’s worth monitoring out of Miami is how Jake Burger finishes the year and what it will mean for his value this winter.
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27. Oakland Athletics (26)
JJ Bleday went on a tear in August, posting a .972 OPS with an outstanding 10.5 percent walk rate in over 100 plate appearances. The Oakland Athletics have also enjoyed witnessing Lawrence Butler (.837 OPS) continue his impressive campaign, providing some hope for the short-term future in Sacramento.
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26. Colorado Rockies (28)
Kris Bryant (.793 OPS in August) is finally producing a little for the Colorado Rockies, it’s just a few years too late. Every week that passes makes it more apparent Colorado should’ve been aggressive sellers at the MLB trade deadline, but this organization just seems to prefer treading water in the cellar.
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25. Pittsburgh Pirates (23)
The Pittsburgh Pirates went from conservative buyers at the trade deadline to one of the worst MLB teams in August. Pitching has been atrocious (5.87 ERA), suggesting there are even more holes on the Pirates roster that will need to be addressed this offseason if this team wants too take a leap forward in 2025.
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24. Cincinnati Reds (21)
It feels hard to believe that the Cincinnati Reds sat just a game below .500 in early June. Since June 9, the Reds own the fifth-worst record in baseball and the on-field product keeps getting worse. Even the hope of an 80-steal season from Elly De La Cruz has faded away.
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23. Washington Nationals (25)
Buy stock in the Washington Nationals while you still can. James Wood finished the month with a .990okus OOS and .400-plus OBP, while fellow top prospect Dylan Crews is off to a hot start since making his MLB debut. It’s completely overshadowed CJ Abrams’ prolonged slump, but the fan base should truly only be focused on the positives right now.
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22. Texas Rangers (24)
August perfectly captures the Texas Rangers this season. Corey Seager (1.013 OPS) keeps coming through at the plate, but the likes of Adolis Garcia, Wyatt Langford and Marcus Semien have been letdowns. Considering the contracts that are coming off the books this winter, it’ll be curious to see how the Rangers handle this offseason.
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21. Toronto Blue Jays (22)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. keeps producing at an MVP-caliber level, providing the Toronto Blue Jays with all the incentive in the world to sign him to a contract extension this offseason. What could be even more meaningful, at least for the long-term depth of the Blue Jays lineup, is the emergence of Will Wagner (.854 OPS in August).
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20. Tampa Bay Rays (17)
With the Tampa Bay Rays effectively out of the playoff hunt, the focus turns to the future. Junior Caminero hasn’t been phenomenal in his first taste of the majors (.313 OBP), but that .736 OPS is a promising sign for what’s to come down the line. The Rays also have to feel pretty good about the early returns from the Dylan Carlson trade (.727 OPS).
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19. St. Louis Cardinals (18)
Parting ways with Tommy Pham essentially serves as the white flag for the St. Louis Cardinals 2024 season. With the postseason hopes evaporating in August, it seems increasingly likely that September will be the last month of Oliver Marmol’s tenure as the Cardinals manager. As for his potential replacement, look no further than Skip Schumaker.
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18. San Francisco Giants (16)
The San Francisco Giants will finish the 2024 season around the .500 mark in the last three years under Farhan Zaidi. Brought in to make this team a perennial playoff contender, Zaidi’s moves have fallen well short o f that. Considering the 2025 season could be even bleaker, it’s fair to wonder if San Francisco will part ways with Zaidi this winter.
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17. Detroit Tigers (20)
The young Detroit Tigers have been feisty in August. The team is tied with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers for the fourth-most wins in the league this month (16), and Detroit’s hurlers (3.03 ERA) are shining. It’s nice to see Detroit show more fight and consistency, but we’ve also seen in the past this late-season success doesn’t always carry over into the next year.
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16. Seattle Mariners (19)
We’re not going to buy back stock in the Seattle Mariners. Winning consecutive series is a small step forward, but we also can’t ignore those victories came over the Rays and Giants. Not only that, nothing the Mariners lineup has shown in the last week-plus suggests it has turned things around. We just look at Seattle and see a wasted pitching staff that could’ve shined in October.
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15. Boston Red Sox (14)
The lone source of hope for the Boston Red Sox playoff odds right now is a slumping Minnesota Twins team. With that said, a Red Sox record of 12-14 in August doesn’t suggest this team belongs in the postseason. Boston’s pitching staff (5.10 ERA) is letting the Red Sox lineup down, but that feels like an outcome the fan base saw coming after an uneventful MLB trade deadline. Unfortunately, seasons like this feel like they are the norm for the Fenway Sports Group and it seems like owner John Henry is fine with the results.
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14. Chicago Cubs (15)
Don’t look now, but the Chicago Cubs have been one of the best MLB teams in August. The Cubs rotation (3.92 ERA) is coming through as of late, but there’s one group that deserves most of the credit for this turnaround. The Cubs lineup has the second-highest OPS in August (.803) and that is keeping Chicago’s fringe playoff hopes alive as we head into September.
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13. New York Mets (13)
After playing so well in June and July, thrusting themselves back into the playoff hunt, August hasn’t been as kind to the New York Mets. New York is getting by with adequate pitching (3.99 ERA in its last 225.1 innings), but the Mets lineup – 17th in OPS – is struggling with consistency this month. Fortunately for the Metropolitans, there are several winnable series (White Sox, Reds, Blue Jays) on the schedule.
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12. Minnesota Twins (11)
The Minnesota Twins had a 13-13 record in August entering play on Friday, but they are 7-10 in their last 17 games. Pitching (4.02 ERA) isn’t an overwhelming strength right now and the Twins lineup isn’t producing like it did earlier in the summer. Minnesota is still in a fairly comfortable spot to make the playoffs, but there’s very little from this team that suggests an October run is even remotely realistic.
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11. Houston Astros (9)
It’s been an up-and-down stretch for the Houston Astros. Since their eight-game winning streak ended, the club is playing .500 ball (7-7). That’s come with a split at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles followed by a series defeat against the Philadelphia Phillies. One ray of light for Houston, outfielder Kyle Tucker went through a workout on Thursday and should rejoin the Astros lineup in September.
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Best MLB teams right now
10. Atlanta Braves (12)
The Atlanta Braves deserve endless credit for continuing to fight in the face of devastating injuries.In the past two weeks, the Braves have taken out two of the best MLB teams – Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies – creating some space in the NL Wild Card hunt. We’re still a bit skeptical that this depleted roster can keep it all going through September, but we have some restored confidence in Atlanta following the recent turnaround.
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9. Cleveland Guardians (5)
It’s time to be concerned about the Cleveland Guardians and this is about more than dropping a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Cleveland enters the weekend with an 11-16 record in August, putting them in the same company as the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. Going back even further, the Guardians are 18-21 since the All-Star Break. There’s still more than enough time for a turnaround, but it sure seems like the bottom is starting to fall out for this club.
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8. Kansas City Royals (10)
The Kansas City Royals are the best team in the AL Central right now. After dropping the home series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Bobby Witt and Salvador Perez responded by going into Cleveland and taking out the Guardians. With a 15-11 record in August and the Guardians seemingly in a tailspin, Kansas City has a legitimate shot to win this division in September.
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7. Baltimore Orioles (4)
We were patient with the Philadelphia Phillies before a prolonged slump dropped them in our MLB power rankings. Now, the Baltimore Orioles are going through the same phase. While the Orioles record (41-39) over the last three months is above .500, this club is 19-20 since the All-Star Break and 12-14 in August. Pitching (4.63 ERA in August) is a massive letdown, but the Orioles lineup (.684 OPS, 23rd in MLB) was just as bad this month. We’re not writing the O’s off, but they need to show something soon.
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6. San Diego Padres (6)
We’ll start with the bad news. The San Diego Padres are coming off a series split against the slumping Cardinals and they also split a four-game set with the Mets. With that acknowledged, San Diego isn’t dropping in our MLB power rankings because Yu Darvish and Fernando Tatís Jr. are nearing returns. A club getting two of its players back after compiling the third-best record in the league over the last three months (45-31), warrants consideration among the best MLB teams right now.
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5. Arizona Diamondbacks (5)
Here’s how good the Arizona Diamondbacks have been this summer. Even after dropping this week’s series to the Mets, Arizona still has the best record in MLB (18-7) this month. In fact, the Diamondbacks have recorded the best record in baseball in July (17-8) and the third-most wins in June (16). With four more wins than the second-best team in the last three months, the D-Backs are proving to be a World Series threat.
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4. Milwaukee Brewers (7)
The Milwaukee Brewers deserve some respect in MLB power rankings right now. Not only does this club have one of the best records in baseball this season, it’s also really come through this month. The Brewers record stands at 16-9 in August, with phenomenal pitching (3.38 ERA) and some timely hits from Willy Adames leading the way. The Brewers roster doesn’t have many household names, but the results speak for themselves, this is one of the best MLB teams in 2024.
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3. New York Yankees (2)
The New York Yankees stumbled this week, dropping a series to the Nationals and the blame certainly falls on the Yankees lineup. While New York has the fourth-best OPS in August (.794), the run production hasn’t been quite as consistent in the last two weeks. It’s only a matter of time until Aaron Judge and Juan Soto go on a tear again, so there’s no real reason to panic. For now, the Yankees are the best team in the American League.
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2. Philadelphia Phillies (8)
The Philadelphia Phillies needed to turn things around and there’s no better way to do it than against some of the best MLB teams in 2024. Philadelphia went into Kauffman Stadium and decimated the Kansas City Royals and then went back home and took the series against a Houston Astros team that has been hot this summer. It’s not a complete turnaround, the Phillies are still just 14-12 in August, but it’s a much-needed rebound.
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1. Los Angeles Dodgers (1)
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in MLB. Even with Tyler Glasnow on the injured list, along with multiple other pitchers, Los Angeles keeps rolling along as of late. The club entered play on Friday tied for the second-best record (17-8) in July. Pitching (3.43 ERA, 5th in MLB), per FanGraphs, is certainly a bright spot and the Dodgers lineup (.442 slugging) is showcasing a lot of power. Plus, the Dodgers defense is improving.
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