MLB division standings 2026 check-in: Breaking down every race

It’s been a wild start to the 2026 regular season. You could make a case that of the league’s six divisions, four of the leaders are surprising. Heck, even at this stage in the season we have a division where all five teams are over .500!

SeatGeek is the proud Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, and we’re keeping a very close eye on all 30 teams all across the league. With things kicking off a bit strange in 2026, we’re going to look through all six of MLB’s divisions and break down what’s going on. 

Breaking down each of MLB’s 2026 division races

From surprise leaders to loaded races, the standings already look a little different than expected. Here’s how each division is shaping up so far, and which teams look built to keep things rolling.

AL East

Leader: Tampa Bay Rays (28-14)

The Rays have long been a team that too many overlook, but after missing the postseason each of the last two years, few viewed Tampa Bay as a team to watch early in the season. The Rays, however, have been stellar, going 28-14 with elite contributions from the likes of Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda at the dish along with a breakout campaign from starter Nick Martinez and a great return for former All-Star ace Shane McLanahan after missing 2024 and 2025 due to injury. Suddenly, Tampa looks like a well-balanced group.

The Yankees are right behind at 27-17 and have actually been led by their pitching staff. Cam Schlittler looks like a legit Cy Young contender, and Will Warren is also off to a nice start. Max Fried has also been in early Cy Young talks, but he may be sidelined with an elbow injury. The good news on the pitching front is Gerrit Cole is due back soon while Carlos Rodon just returned. On the hitting side, Aaron Judge is doing Aaron Judge things as he looks like an MVP candidate once again, but Ben Rice has been off to arguably an even better start than Judge. Those two and Cody Bellinger have been excellent anchoring the lineup, but New York needs more from its other hitters.

The rest of the division is under .500 and doesn’t appear to be situated to make strong pushes any time soon. The Orioles have a great lineup but have struggled mightily on the mound. Toronto, after making the World Series last year, is off to a slow start and has a bottom-10 offense. And the Red Sox got off to such a poor start – especially offensively – that manager Alex Cora lost his job. Of these three, the Blue Jays feel like the team to watch. There’s just too much talent to be playing this poorly, even with some of the injuries the Jays have dealt with.

AL Central

Leader: Cleveland Guardians (24-21)

The Guardians just continue to overperform. Their pitching – headlined by rookie Parker Messick, Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo – is among the best in baseball even without any big names in the fold, and the lineup has done just enough to win even as superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez is off to a tough start at the plate. Things really clicked for Cleveland late last year, and the Guards appear to have carried that mojo over to the early stages of 2026.

The rest of the AL Central is hard to pin down right now. The Tigers were the early favorites to win the division, but they’re actually in last place and are 4.5 games behind Cleveland, and they’re without two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal for at least another month. The Twins had a nice start but have fallen back to earth as outside of Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan, there just isn’t a whole lot there with this lineup. 

The two teams with plenty of intrigue are the White Sox and Royals. The Sox are second at 22-21 and have one of the best stories of the year in rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami. Davis Martin and Sean Burke have also anchored a rotation that’s pitching way better than expected, especially with Opening Day starter Shane Smith in the minors. That Chicago is over .500 after being a bit of a punching bag in recent years is certainly welcome news for the South Siders. As for the Royals, they had a dreadful start but have shown more signs of life of late and are four games behind Cleveland. There’s a case to be made that with Skubal’s injury, the Royals have the most talented roster in the division.

AL West

Leader: Athletics (22-21)

This is definitely the most surprising division leader in the early stages of the year. The Athletics have done more than enough to keep winning and stay over .500 – albeit by a single game right now – while the presumed contenders in the Rangers and Mariners are fighting with the .500 mark and the Astros appear to have seen their contention window pass them by.

The A’s have a very intriguing young lineup, headlined by reigning Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, and they’ve been better on the mound than expected with Luis Severino, Aaron Civale, Jeffrey Springs and JT Ginn pitching very well out of the rotation. This is a strange team because the lineup hasn’t performed as well as it can while the pitching staff is overperforming.

The Rangers have again pitched very well while struggling to score runs. The Mariners are in a similar boat and, while they’ve played better of late, they’ll be without Cal Raleigh for some time now. The Astros are on the opposite end of the spectrum with a great lineup and the worst pitching staff in baseball. The Angels have also fallen after a decent start, largely because of their pitching outside of Jose Soriano. This division appears to be set for a lot of flip-flopping over the next few months.

NL East

Leader: Atlanta Braves (30-14)

The Braves finished under .500 last year after entering the season with World Series aspirations, and it looks like they’ve really shaken off that poor campaign. Atlanta is the first team in MLB to reach 30 wins, and the Braves rank first in runs scored and first in team ERA entering Friday. The Braves are super well balanced, with Chris Sale and Bryce Elder leading the rotation with Matt Olson looking like a legit MVP candidate with 14 home runs and 37 RBIs already. The big thing will be if one or both of Ronald Acuna Jr. or Austin Riley get hot at the plate, as the lineup has been plenty dangerous even with those two struggling out of the gates. 

Atlanta is the only team over .500 in this division, though. Many expected the Mets and Phillies to be prime playoff contenders, but at least early on, that hasn’t been the case. The Mets are dreadful offensively and are actually last in the division at 18-25. Life without Pete Alonso has been rough for Carlos Mendoza’s club, and he may well be fighting for his job in the coming months. The Phillies did make a move, firing manager Rob Thomson in favor of Don Mattingly. That move has worked out well, as the Phils went from 9-19 under Thomson to 12-4 under Mattingly. At 21-23, it’s not where Philly thought it’d be, but it is in second in the division. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper have been great, as has Cristopher Sanchez. Additionally, Zack Wheeler is back and has looked like the ace we’re used to seeing. The Phillies will need more bats to step up, namely Trea Turner, Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm.

The Nationals have been a fun but erratic team early on, ranking second in runs scored but just 29th in team ERA. The duo of James Wood and CJ Abrams in particular have been excellent in leading Washington’s lineup, but the rotation and bullpen are why this team is under .500 at 21-23 and may not have the juice to contend late this year. As for Miami, a decent start has made way for a 20-24 record entering Friday. The Marlins are middle of the pack in runs scored and allowed, and it’s been nice to see Sandy Alcantara look better than he did last year, when he had an ERA north of 5. It’s clear Washington has an exciting young core of hitters, but the Marlins may have some tough decisions to make with players like Alcantara later this summer.

NL Central

Leader: Chicago Cubs (28-16)

Baseball’s best division so far is the NL Central, where all five teams are over .500 entering Friday. The best of the best thus far has been the Cubs, who have not one but two 10-game win streaks already this year. Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki have anchored the lineup as prized offseason addition Alex Bregman has struggled, and the pitching has been very good, especially Shota Imanaga. The team is without 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd after a freak knee injury, but they should get star southpaw Justin Steele back for the second half, making them very dangerous. 

Two teams are tied for second and are 2.5 games back of Chicago. One is Milwaukee, which won the division last year. The Brewers are 24-17 and are doing what we’re used to seeing – making a ton of contact, working walks, stealing bases and dominating on the mound. Jacob Misiorowski has been everything you’d hope for and then some in Year 2 with a 2.12 ERA and absurd 14.1 K/9 rate. He’s made the loss of Freddy Peralta nearly a non-factor. The other second-place team is a surprise in the Cardinals. St. Louis still has a pitching problem, as no one outside of Michael McGreevy (2.18 ERA) has impressed in the rotation. The Cards are 19th in team ERA but thanks to Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and rookie JJ Wetherholt, the lineup is 10th in runs scored. 

The Pirates have longed for more offense for years, and they have their wish this year. Oneil Cruz has been great, and offseason additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn have been huge for Pittsburgh. The Pirates are fourth in runs scored and are 24-20 overall. The pitching, headlined by Paul Skenes, is actually trailing behind the offense at eighth in team ERA. Skenes shook off a rough Opening Day outing and has allowed just seven runs over his last eight starts as he looks firmly poised to repeat as the Cy Young winner in the National League. 

The Reds are somehow in last place at 23-21, but that’s just how things have gone in the NL Central thus far. They started 20-11 but are just 3-10 in the month of May. Cincy has had no issues with homers, ranking third in homers, but the Reds are 13th in runs due in large part to an inconsistent lineup outside of Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz, who have combined for 20 home runs and 59 RBIs. Chase Burns has been an absolute force atop the rotation with a 1.87 ERA in nine starts, and Andrew Abbott has pitched better of late after a tough start to 2026. If a few more bats get going and Hunter Greene returns, the Reds are going to be awfully dangerous. For some context, Cincy would lead the AL West right now and also has a good enough record to be the second Wild Card in the American League. 

NL West

Leader: Los Angeles Dodgers (26-18)

It’s a tightly-contested race for the top of the NL West standings right now between two rivals in the Dodgers and Padres. After beating the Giants Thursday night, the Dodgers have a slim half-game lead over San Diego. 

The Dodgers have looked great as expected, and while he’s not doing otherworldly things at the plate like we’re used to seeing, Shohei Ohtani has been unbelievable on the mound with a sub-1 ERA and a legitimate Cy Young case in the early stages. The rotation is again banged up with Blake Snell just returning from the IL and Tyler Glasnow now sidelined, but top to bottom, it’s hard to find a team with more overall talent than the Dodgers. 

As for the Padres, it’s a bit odd to see them start this well considering their top hitters – Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. – have gotten off to dreadfully poor starts. The pitching, led by Michael King and Randy Vasquez, has done enough to keep things rolling, and the bullpen has been lights out, namely closer Mason Miller. Basically, if the Padres can get a lead into the late innings, they’re probably going to win.

The rest of the division all sits under .500, but it has been interesting. The Diamondbacks have cooled off after a hot start and have one of the better stories of the year in Ildemaro Vargas, who is hitting .331 with seven homers in a breakout season for the 34-year-old first baseman. Eduardo Rodriguez has also carried over his standout World Baseball Classic performance into the regular season. Colorado actually started out decently on the mound before struggling more of late, as that continues to be an issue for the Rockies, who sit in last place. The Giants were seen as a fringe playoff contender before the season began, but the offense has been among the worst in baseball all year long, with big bats like Rafael Devers and Willy Adames not doing much of anything at the plate. Logan Webb is now injured, too, further complicating things in the Bay Area.