Matt Johnson
What is the best team in MLB? All 30 Major League Baseball teams have now played at least 80 games, putting us at the halfway point of the 2026 MLB season. As July approaches and the MLB trade deadline gets closer, we have a clear view on the best MLB teams right now and those that will have to play catch-up this summer.
Let’s dive into our latest MLB power rankings. All MLB stats used are reflective of data entering play on Friday, June 26.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (Previously: 1)
June has been very good to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Entering play on Friday, the club had the third-most wins in baseball (14) this month, and that’s with the pitching staff struggling to the tune of a 4.28 ERA. What’s impressive is that a reclamation project like Eric Lauer (2.54 ERA and 0.92 WHIP) has worked out so well and the Dodgers have the ammunition to acquire anyone they want at the MLB trade deadline. Best of all for Los Angeles, it could really start stacking up more wins as it faces the likes of the Padres, A’s, and Rockies in the next few weeks.
2. Milwaukee Brewers (2)
Brandon Woodruff rejoined the Milwaukee Brewers this week, and he immediately delivered a gem. Milwaukee’s pitching has been dominant this season, ranking second league-wide in ERA (3.38), WHIP (1.18), and batting average allowed (.220). What’s flying under the radar is that the Brewers lineup is also tearing the cover off the baseball, putting up the second-best OPS (.828) this month. Even if Milwaukee’s lineup cools off, it has the pitching staff to cause issues for anyone in October.
3. Philadelphia Phillies (5)
After a slow start to the season, the Philadelphia Phillies have demonstrated to the front office why they need to be buyers at the MLB trade deadline. The Phillies lineup–.787 OPS–is producing more consistently this month, and that is complementing some solid work from the bullpen (3.90 ERA, 13th in MLB). That’s how you get the second-best team in baseball in June. There are still glaring holes with the starting rotation (No. 5 starter) and lineup (right-handed hitting), both of which need to be addressed if Philadelphia is going to challenge the Brewers and Dodgers.
4. New York Yankees (4)
The New York Yankees front office must do something about the defense. After committing four errors in Thursday’s loss at Fenway Park, the club ranks 24th in Total Defensive Runs Saved (-4), and it would be so much worse if not for Cody Bellinger’s work in left field. We certainly think the Yankees bullpen could be improved, but they have the third-lowest ERA this month, and both Ryan Weathers and Carlos Lagrange will eventually be helping in the late innings. If Brian Cashman can do a little to upgrade the lineup and far more to improve New York’s fielding, it will prove costly come October.
5. Atlanta Braves (3)
The Atlanta Braves can’t wait to flip the calendar to July. Entering MLB games today, the Braves were tied for the second-fewest wins in MLB (eight) this month. They are sharing company with the likes of the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds. All of the injuries to Atlanta’s pitching staff have obviously taken a toll by the midway point of the season, explaining why the club is now being brought up in Tarik Skubal trade rumors. Atlanta is fortunately still sitting atop the NL East, but after posting a 3-12 record from June 9-24, something needs to be done in the next few weeks.
6. Chicago Cubs (14)
It’s absurd what Pete Crow-Armstrong is doing this month. When play began on Friday, the All-Star center fielder held a 1.322 OPS in June with a .409 batting average, 10 home runs, 19 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. Pair that with his phenomenal defense in center field and you have a 2.8 FanGraphs‘ Wins Above Replacement that is nearly twice as good as the second-best player this month (Dillon Dingler, 1.8). PCA is spear-heading the Chicago Cubs‘ turnaround and if the team can just go out and find a way to acquire a front-line starter along with an innings-eater, we’ll feel a lot more confident in Chicago being a World Series contender.
7. San Diego Padres (12)
The San Diego Padres are starting to find their way back to being a viable playoff contender. Fernando Tatis Jr. (.854 OPS in June) has a pair of home runs with 10 RBI this month, with Manny Machado (4 home runs) and Jackson Merrill (3 home runs) both showing ample power. The team itself still has a -5 run differential near the halfway point of the regular season, but it did just get a monumental sweep over Atlanta at Petco Park. We’re still a bit skeptical of the lasting power, and upcoming sets against the Dodgers could drop San Diego much closer to .500, but at least the Padres are righting the ship a bit.
8. Cleveland Guardians (7)
The Cleveland Guardians are just trying to stay afloat right now. That’s difficult to do under the circumstances. Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, and Jose Ramirez are all on the injured list. With those three absences, the Guardians lineup has the third-worst OPS in baseball (.640) this month, resulting in an ugly 8-12 record. Cleveland is just fortunate that so many other teams have hit a rough patch in the early summer and that gives the club breathing room, which matters because Cleveland’s rotation is a treat to watch.
9. Tampa Bay Rays (8)
The Tampa Bay Rays were one of the best MLB teams in the first two months of the season. In June, Tampa Bay (9-13) is hanging around teams like the Red Sox, Mets, and San Francisco Giants. What’s gone wrong? Some remarkable fortune in one-run games has regressed back to normal. Regression to the mean has also come for the pitching staff (4.10 ERA in June) and the run production (.717 OPS, 23rd in MLB) has tailed off. Tampa Bay could be in deeper trouble in early July, when it closes out the first half of the season against the Yankees and Mariners before the All-Star Break.
10. Chicago White Sox (6)
The fall-off has come for the Chicago White Sox. Most of the damage came against the Dodgers and Yankees, so there’s no reason to be wildly concerned about Chicago losing to the best MLB teams in 2026. Chicago also got itself back on track a bit at the end of the week by taking down the Guardians. We have faith in the White Sox lineup’s ability to win series in these next few weeks against the Royals, Orioles, Guardians, and Red Sox. That should push them much further above .500. However, more pitching is necessary to sustain the success long-term.
11. St. Louis Cardinals (9)
After an unexpectedly hot start to the season, the St. Louis Cardinals have been on a roller-coaster ride in the summer that has produced an 11-10 record this month. Unsurprisingly, the young lineup is doing whatever it can to keep things competitive, but the Cardinals pitching staff (4.70 ERA this month) can’t keep up. We would advise against St. Louis being buyers in any way, shape, or form this summer. Just let the young guys play and gain experience and then make moves this offseason to improve long-term.
12. Toronto Blue Jays (13)
The Toronto Blue Jays are slowly getting back on track. It hasn’t been a pretty season for the reigning American League champions, and injuries are just as much a part of that as underperformances. What Toronto can feel good about is that it’s 10-11 in June despite a staff ERA of 4.79. As long as they can rebound from the series loss at home to the Astros by taking out Texas and New York, there’s still reason for optimism entering July.
13. Seattle Mariners (11)
We’ve tried to maintain faith in the Seattle Mariners, keeping them top-10 in our MLB power rankings before the dip to No. 11 last week. Things didn’t get any better, with Seattle losing a three-game set at home to the Red Sox and then going to Pittsburgh and dropping the three-game series at PNC Park. It might be time for the six-man pitching staff with all of that pitching depth in the minors to be used right now to bolster a lineup that entered MLB games today ranked 27th in batting average (.231) and slugging (.384) while placing 22nd in runs scored (331).
14. Miami Marlins (16)
Don’t look now but the Miami Marlins have been the best team in baseball this month, posting a 16-5 record. Max Meyer headlines a pitching staff that has been spectacular in June, compiling a 3.10 ERA across 186 innings pitched. What’s made Miami more well-rounded this summer is excellent hitting from Otto Lopez (.950 OPS), Heriberto Hernandez (.931 OPS), and Kyle Stowers (.541 SLG). Back over .500, we’re not ruling out a Wild Card spot for Miami.
15. Washington Nationals (10)
The Washington Nationals lineup has cooled off this month, posting a .247/.306/.431 triple-slash line while ranking 19th in OPS (.738). Washington’s pitching has never been good enough at any point throughout the year to carry the batting order through dry spells, explaining the 10-12 mark in June. It would be a great story if Washington’s front office attempts to buy pitching at the MLB trade deadline, but we wouldn’t get our hopes up.
16. Arizona Diamondbacks (15)
Unfortunately for Corbin Carroll and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the starting rotation is just too decimated by injuries. It didn’t cost them in a nice showing against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, but it will almost certainly prove costly in early July when they face the Brewers, Padres, and Dodgers ahead of the All-Star Break.
17. Houston Astros (21)
It’s not over for the Houston Astros, far from it. The pitching staff starts to get healthy and suddenly the lines (4.18 ERA in June) are adequate. That’s all this Astros lineup needed, competent pitching and a bullpen that could preserve late-inning leads. Houston has the fifth-most wins in MLB (13) in June and it might be time to start talking about the Astros operating as cautious buyers at the MLB trade deadline.
18. Sacramento Athletics (17)
What else is there to say about the Sacramento Athletics at this point? They spent the last week dropping sets against two of the worst MLB teams this season—the Angels and Giants—making it three consecutive sets dropped. If that’s how the A’s are going to fare versus bad competition, we see no reason to believe that Sacramento will be witnessing a ball club with a winning record at any point this summer.
19. Pittsburgh Pirates (18)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are just a single game above .500 in the last two months of the season. Pittsburgh’s rotation ranks 12th in ERA (3.95) during that span, but the bullpen (4.78 ERA, 23rd in MLB) is coughing up leads nearly every other night. We’ll acknowledge the Pirates lineup—.774 OPS in the last two months—is doing its part to keep the team’s playoff hopes alive, but the needs in the bullpen are dire.
20. Texas Rangers (19)
We’ve lost hope once again in the Texas Rangers. On paper, it certainly seems like Texas should be a consistent winner that can challenge for the AL West crown. Instead, they go through these small stretches of success that are immediately followed-up by a longer tailspin down the MLB standings. Coming off a series loss to the Marlins and set to close out the month against the Blue Jays and Guardians, it feels like Texas will be even further below .500 when July arrives.
21. Minnesota Twins (22)
It sure seems like Byron Buxton is going to be a lifer with the Minnesota Twins. Both the All-Star outfielder and Twins’ ownership have made it clear to everyone that a trade isn’t on the table. What’s much more surprising is the fact that the Pohlad family, even with the team six games below .500, won’t give the green light to the front office to trade Joe Ryan. Until ownership signs off on a complete teardown, with the exception of Buxton, struggling to stay within a few games of the .500 line feels like the Twins’ forever purgatory.
22. Baltimore Orioles (20)
Any good feelings the Baltimore Orioles might’ve had after stunning the Dodgers in Los Angeles got wiped out immediately by the team dropping the series against the Angels to begin the week. It’s just par for the course with Baltimore both this season and what feels like the past year-plus with this roster. There are obvious trade candidates who will generate interest this summer, but it’s the lack of development from the former top prospects that concerns us long-term.
23. Cincinnati Reds (24)
The Cincinnati Reds have been one of the worst MLB teams this summer. Elly De La Cruz returned at the beginning of the week and Cincinnati was promptly swept at home by the Brewers, with the Reds lineup producing just a single run in the first two games of the series. It originally seemed two months ago like Cincinnati might actually have a shot at snagging a Wild Card spot, especially once the rotation got healthy. That’s now off the table.
24. Detroit Tigers (27)
There are no other options left on the table for the Detroit Tigers. Tarik Skubal was always going to depart in MLB free agency and you only keep him if he is headlining a playoff rotation. Baseball in October simply isn’t happening for a ball club that came into the weekend 13 games below the .500 line. Skubal is going to be moved, and with how many clubs are going to be after him, Detroit will get a haul that could set this team up to be a lot more competitive in 2027.
25. Boston Red Sox (29)
At least it’s being made clear where the Boston Red Sox will stand this summer. Aroldis Chapman is gone, Sonny Gray could be traded and it wouldn’t at all be a surprise if other parts of this Red Sox roster are gutted. Our issue is Boston’s ownership allowing Craig Breslow to remain the decision-maker when it comes to baseball operations when his track record doesn’t warrant that power. If he’s going to be fired anyways, let someone else flip these veterans for prospects because Breslow hasn’t earned that opportunity.
26. Kansas City Royals (26)
Well, at least the Kansas City Royals avoided a major injury to Bobby Witt Jr. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for front-line starter Cole Ragans, and we won’t be seeing him again until 2027. Kansas City really just needs Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo to get hot on the mound, because selling this summer is the front office’s only option. Unfortunately, even if the right moves are made, it sure feels like the Royals are multiple years away from surrounding Witt with the talent to compete for the playoffs.
27. Los Angeles Angels (28)
We can’t fathom the rationale of how the Los Angeles Angels intend to approach the MLB trade deadline. In short, they are going to keep everyone who has significant trade value and would net quality prospects to retool this farm system. The only way to understand it is recognizing that Arte Moreno is far too involved in this organization. The Angels have been one of the worst MLB teams for years and we’ve seen no signs that Los Angeles is going to turn things around at any point.
28. New York Mets (23)
The New York Mets finally made the managerial change that felt much-needed a few months ago. David Stearns gets his scapegoat, but the position the club is in now should leave the Mets front office with no choice but to operate as sellers at the MLB trade deadline. It’s a crushing way to deal with a disappointing season, but it’s the only viable path for Stearns and the Mets to viably salvage something out of 2026 and provide the fan base with some hope before the MLB lockout.
29. San Francisco Giants (25)
It’s time for the San Francisco Giants to blow things up. The Rafael Devers fiasco should culminate in a trade, but it’s evident there isn’t any interest in taking on that contract and the clashing with the coaching staff only makes things worse. What’s clear is that the entire organization seems to keep making bad decisions, from how it’s handled the fallout with the Pride hats to free-agent signings and everything in-between. A fire sale is necessary, even if it can only start with making a managerial change and then trading Matt Chapman, Robbie Ray, and Tyler Mahle.
30. Colorado Rockies (30)
Unfortunately for the Colorado Rockies, the worst team in baseball, things just keep getting worse. Elbow surgery will sideline Chase Dollander through a portion of the 2027 season, and trade candidate Jaden Hill (shoulder) is now sidelined. Consecutive series victories against the Red Sox and Pirates are nice, but this team will just find itself back in a freefall before long.
