This week marked the halfway point of the season, even if we typically think of the All-Star break that way. Do you know who the top five teams were at the midway point of our Power Rankings last year? They were:
- Yankees
- Phillies
- Orioles
- Dodgers
- Guardians
The top team in the current rankings, for the fifth straight week, is the Tigers … a team that was 25th in the rankings at the midpoint last year but still ended up making the playoffs. You know who was one spot above them at No. 24? The eventual NLCS entrant, the Mets.
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. Tigers (previously: 1)
So how many All-Stars do you think the Tigers are going to have? They have three players among the All-Star finalists -- Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene and Javier Báez -- and real candidates in Zach McKinstry, Spencer Torkelson, Casey Mize, Will Vest and, obviously, Tarik Skubal. And as you can tell from the vote totals: It has been a long, long time since Tigers fans were this excited to cast ballots for their Tigers.
2. Dodgers (previously: 2)
The Dodgers, who many thought might have the best record of all time this season, got off to a “slow” start, but they’re now playing like the team we all thought they’d be. They’re 15-5 in their last 20 and have won six straight series. They’re getting contributions from everyone: Their stars (you may have noticed what Shohei Ohtani has been up to lately), but also players like Justin Wrobleski, who has become a bulk reliever of much renown. He has thrown at least four innings in every one of his appearances this year, none better than Sunday’s, when he threw six scoreless in relief. He actually has wins in his last three games.
3. Cubs (previously: 3)
For all the talk of the MVP candidacies of Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong (who, it should be said, has slowed down a bit of late), the one Cub leading a major statistical category is Seiya Suzuki, who leads the NL in RBIs with 69. The most recent Cub to lead the NL in RBIs was Javier Báez, in 2018.
4. Astros (previously: 5)
If you would have told the Astros they’d be without Yordan Alvarez, not to mention most of their starting rotation, throughout the entire month of June, they would have thought they would be buried. Instead, they were magical in June, going 19-7 for the month, the best record in baseball during that time. It helps that they keep winning Framber Valdez starts; they’ve now won his last 10.
5. Phillies (previously: 4)
Four Phillies have had 10-start spans with ERAs under 1.20 since the mound was lowered in 1968. Cliff Lee (2011), Roy Oswalt (2010), Steve Carlton (1972) and … Ranger Suárez, who has been masterful for the last two months. He has a 1.19 ERA in his past 10 starts, with all of them going at least six innings. “This is close to, if not the best, I've felt pitching,” he said through an interpreter.
6. Yankees (previously: 7)
The Yankees held onto first place with their win on Sunday, keeping them atop the AL East for 77 straight days, every day since April 14. It will be a legitimate achievement if they’re still there when we do the next Power Rankings. They have four games against the Jays and three against the Mets coming up this week, while the Rays get three against the A’s and three against the Twins.
7. Rays (previously: 8)
The way they’ve been hitting, there has to be a Ray in the Home Run Derby, doesn’t there? If so, that guy has to be Jonathan Aranda, who is having an All-Star-caliber season and hit a 467-foot bomb against the Orioles on Saturday, the third-longest Rays homer tracked by Statcast. “I said when it landed, I hadn't seen many go that far,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Jonny got every bit of that one.”
8. Mets (previously: 5)
It’s players-only meeting time in Queens right now, with a big one coming after the Mets’ miserable 9-2 loss to the Pirates on Saturday. “This is not like a magic thing, this is not how it works,” said Francisco Lindor, who (predictably) led the meeting. “If that’s how it worked, we would have done it a while ago, but it’s just part of the adversity we are dealing with. It’s good to look each other in the eye and understand that we are going through it at the same time and understand this is a team sport.” It does not seem to have immediately helped: They had an even more miserable 12-1 loss to the Pirates on Sunday.
9. Brewers (previously: 10)
The Brewers finally slowed down a bit on Sunday with a frustrating 11-inning loss to the Rockies, but don’t let that take away from what a steamroller this team has been for the past month. Before that loss, they had won eight of nine, and 22 of their last 30, and they scored eight runs or more in four straight games from June 19-22. They also have two hitters now with double-digit hit streaks: Brice Turang with 13 and Christian Yelich with 12. Yelich has been an MVP again for the past month, putting up a .333/.396/.540 slash line in June.
10. Padres (previously: 11)
The ongoing, ever-testy battle between the Padres and the Dodgers gets a little bit more feisty with every game, particularly when Manny Machado finds himself in the middle of it. It’s the sort of rivalry you’d love to see progress all the way until October. But it should be said: Right now, the Padres need to make sure they get to October. With their rough loss to the Reds on Sunday, they’ve fallen out of the final NL Wild Card spot, a full game behind the Cardinals.
11. Cardinals (previously: 11)
The Cardinals were wildly hot-and-cold this week, but there was much more hot than cold. In their two losses, they failed to score in games started by two Cubs left-handers. But they won their other five games by a combined score of 37-15, including two shutouts and two wild comeback wins. They are a season-high nine games over .500.
12. Giants (previously: 9)
See, the point of trading for Rafael Devers was that it was supposed to help the offense. Devers is only hitting .217 since coming over from Boston, and the rest of the offense hasn’t stepped up to fill the void. They’ve lost 10 of their last 14 games, and during that stretch, they’re hitting .163 with runners in scoring position, the worst mark in baseball in that span. Devers himself is 0-for-6 with RISP during that stretch.
13. Blue Jays (previously: 13)
The blitzkrieg that has been the Tampa Bay Rays over the past month have obscured the fact that the Blue Jays are still very much in the thick of the AL East race. They’ll get an opportunity this week to make their own statement when they host the Yankees for four games, starting Monday. If they can somehow sweep that series … they’ll find themselves ahead of the Yankees.
14. Mariners (previously: 17)
We’ll see how the AL West shakes out the rest of this season, but here’s something the Mariners have going for them: They’ve dominated one of their main division rivals. With their win over the Rangers on Sunday, they’ve won seven of nine games against them this year.
15. Reds (previously: 16)
The Reds have gone 15-10 in June, getting them right back in the thick of the NL Wild Card race (and maybe the NL Central race), and none of those wins may have been more inspiring than their comeback series-clinching win over the Padres. They were down 2-1 heading into the ninth, but a 10-pitch at-bat culminated in Elly De La Cruz singling and later coming around to score the tying run. It then ended with a Will Benson walk-off single, securing the Reds’ sixth series win in their last seven tries. Don’t look now, but they’re four games over .500 and only 2 1/2 games out of the Wild Card.
16. Rangers (previously: 19)
The Rangers missed an opportunity on Sunday to get back to .500 for only the second time in the last month-plus, but a two-run homer from old friend Mitch Garver cost them the opportunity. There’s still plenty of time left in the season, but it should be said that, even after their recent uptick, they’re still sinking deeper into fourth place into the AL West.
17. Diamondbacks (previously: 14)
Heading into Sunday, the Diamondbacks had a 41-41 record, and it’s a record they came by honestly. They were 20-20 at home, 21-21 on the road and 5-5 in their previous 10. Then … they lost, getting swept by the Marlins and, considering how it sure looks like the injuries might have caught up with this team, you wonder if they may look back at all that .500 play later this year and get wistful for how nice it once was.
18. Red Sox (previously: 15)
The relief that came from the Red Sox finally ending their six-game losing streak was short lived, with a quiet 5-3 loss at home to the Blue Jays. Struggling again in the loss was Walker Buehler, who gave up four runs in four innings and now has a ghastly 6.45 ERA. There is a very real possibility that he is no longer in the rotation by the time you read this sentence.
19. Braves (previously: 20)
Sorry, Braves fans, but if your team is going to fight its way back into the Wild Card chase, you’re going to have to hold your nose and cheer for the Phillies. The Phillies’ next four series are against the Padres (twice), the Reds and the Giants … three of the key teams the Braves are chasing for that very Wild Card.
20. Guardians (previously: 18)
The Guardians' offense has turned into total mush. They scored six runs in the fourth inning against Miles Mikolas and the Cardinals on Saturday – in a game they would end up losing – and have otherwise been held scoreless in their last 35 innings. Are we going to see top prospect outfielder Chase DeLauter soon? They’ve got to do something.
21. Angels (previously: 24)
The Angels just missed an opportunity Sunday to go over .500 for the first time after June 1 since August 5, 2023. But the vibes are good here right now, and the interim manager, Ray Montgomery, filling in for the now-out-for-the-season Ron Washington, is a big reason why. “He’s been here for a while now,” Mike Trout said. “He's got great relationships with the guys. We're not missing anything or skipping a beat or anything.”
22. Twins (previously: 22)
What in the world happened to the Twins’ arms in June? The team gave up 10 or more runs seven times in the month, easily the most in baseball. (Obviously.) Over their last 17 games, 13 of which they have lost, they have 6.47 ERA, the worst mark in the sport. Yuck.
23. Royals (previously: 21)
You don’t have to look far to see why the Royals have fallen to fourth in the AL Central and down the ladder of the AL Wild Card race: You just need to look at home. The Royals have now lost eight straight series at Kauffman Stadium, including a team-record 11 straight games at one point. They’ve lost 19 out of their past 23 at home. That poor guy in the Bigfoot costume is not having a good time.
24. Orioles (previously: 23)
There are still some wondering if the Orioles are going to sell at the Deadline, and while they recovered to win nine of 11 earlier this month, it should be noted that since then, they are 11-11. Their current record, even after their impressive series win over the Rays this weekend, is 36-47. Fangraphs projects the third AL Wild Card winner to have 84 wins this year. For the Orioles to reach 84 wins, they’re going to have to go 48-35 the rest of the way, a .578 winning percentage … basically a 94-win pace. Do you think the Orioles have a 94-win pace in them?
25. Marlins (previously: 28)
It has been a while since the Marlins had a week as excellent as the one they just had. Their seven-game win streak, in which they had more than 10 hits in the first six games, tied their longest since 2022. Fun fact about the Marlins: They’re first in wins in games they trailed entering the eighth inning with seven … and first in losses in games they were leading entering the eighth with seven.
26. A’s (previously: 26)
It seems like if you look away from the A’s for just a second, you’ll miss yet another fun young player making his mark in an unexpected way. Here’s this week’s: Since May 20, only the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh has a higher slugging percentage than Nick Kurtz (.713).
27. Nationals (previously: 25)
There may be no team more eager for July to get here than the Nationals, and that’s not just because of the July 4 celebrations in our nation’s capital. The Nationals were baseball’s worst team in baseball in June, going 7-19. The most frustrating part: They had a winning record, 15-12, in May.
28. Pirates (previously: 27)
The Pirates, like the rest of baseball, mourned the death of Dave Parker, who is set to be entered into the Hall of Fame this summer. There are so many great Parker stories in his official obit, including the remarkable fact that he made his debut with the Pirates the summer after Roberto Clemente tragically died. My personal favorite of the stories: Parker once wore a Star of David necklace. Why? “Well, I’m a David,” he told The Washington Post, “and I’m a star.”
29. White Sox (previously: 29)
Last season, their record-breaking 121-loss season, the White Sox only won nine series all year. With their win over the Giants and longtime tormentor Justin Verlander on Sunday, they secured their eighth already of 2025. Progress!
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
Want to know how much the little things matter in baseball? Brenton Doyle had great under-the-hood metrics with his at-bats this year, but they weren’t adding up to the production he and the Rockies were expecting. So, according to a piece by MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, they had him simply adjust the angle of his toes while batting. Rockies hitting coach Nic Wilson wanted him to work on his “pelvic rotation,” so Doyle switched his toe angle. The result? Instant improvement, with his first homer since May the very first day he made the adjustment. “Today was the first day of me doing it,” Doyle said. “I got instant feedback, not only hitting the homer but getting the feel of my swing.”
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Daniel Feldman, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn.