2026 MLB power rankings: Ranking all 30 teams entering the final month

Baseball is a marathon – not a sprint. That’s the old adage, and while there are just a few weeks left in the regular season, it feels like we blinked and the calendar flipped to September. 

We’re in the home stretch of 2026, and we have a much clearer picture of who is and isn’t going to contend for playoff spots over these final few weeks. Things have been a bit weird this year – especially in the American League – but that won’t stop us from putting together our final in-season power rankings of 2026. 

Power rankings for every MLB team heading into the home stretch

With SeatGeek serving as the Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, we keep a close eye on all 30 of MLB’s teams. With the calendar now in September, it’s time to rank all 30 teams as we enter the home stretch of the regular season. 

As always, these rankings are very subjective and include a number of factors, including overall record, rest-of-season projections, recent play, injuries and more. Numbers next to each team are their current record followed by where they ranked 1-30 in last month’s power rankings. 

1. Milwaukee Brewers – (86-54, 2)

It was tempting to put the Dodgers at No. 1 once again, but along with having the better record – and best record in baseball to date, the Brewers took three of four from them in Los Angeles last month shortly before taking two of three from Atlanta, the next team on this list. I still have reservations about Milwaukee’s ability to score runs in chunks in the postseason, but there’s no denying the Brewers have an elite pitching staff anchored by baseball’s best pitcher in Jacob Misiorowski, and they’ve found ways to pile on runs all season long. How that plays out in October remains to be seen, but for now, they look like the best team that baseball has to offer.

2. Atlanta Braves – (82-57, 4)

Atlanta has played really well after a poor month of June, and the Braves also swept the Dodgers late in August. The Braves have a top-five pitching staff and top-10 lineup, though there are legit questions about the rotation after Chris Sale and the lineup still awaiting breakout stretches from Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley. But overall, this is a strong and deep roster that doesn’t have many holes. Atlanta also has gotten tremendous work from Tyler Mahle after he was dealt there at the deadline, as the veteran right-hander has a sub-2 ERA over five starts. 

3. Los Angeles Dodgers – (82-56, 1)

You can make a case for the Dodgers being anywhere in the top five, including No. 1 overall. But L.A. is coming off its first sub-.500 month since last July, and while there are certainly a lot of big-name pieces in the mix, there are also questions for the two-time reigning champs. No. 1 is the bullpen, which is banged up and is a bit of a weak point. No. 2 is the health and stability of the rotation as, after Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the team’s best pitchers are either not pitching right now (Shohei Ohtani) or have barely pitched at all this year (Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow). There’s a lot to like offensively, though the state of the outfield is notable with Andy Pages hurt and both Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernandez having down years. This is still a great roster with a lot of playoff experience, though. Doubt them at your own risk. 

4. Tampa Bay Rays – (83-55, 3)

Another month is in the books and the Rays are still the best and most balanced team in the American League. Tampa Bay went 18-10 in August and is still doing basically everything well. The Rays have a great rotation, awesome bullpen and a very good top of their lineup along with some additional intriguing pieces. Their main trade additions have been on opposite ends of the spectrum as Freddy Peralta has an ERA over 5 with the Rays while Liam Hicks is OPSing over .900. There’s a lot to like here, though the lineup depth is maybe where I’d be the most concerned. 

5. Chicago Cubs – (78-61, 5)

The Cubs look like baseball’s best team that won’t win their division. The offense is extremely potent, with a likely MVP in Pete Crow-Armstrong coming off a monster month of August and prized offseason addition Alex Bregman finally getting hot. Clay Holmes has been a much-needed stabilizing presence in the rotation, but Kevin Gausman has struggled with his new club. The rotation is probably the biggest concern entering the home stretch, but the Cubs have a stellar lineup and a very good bullpen as well. Chicago won’t catch the Brewers, but they should make the postseason and be a tough out in October. 

6. Philadelphia Phillies – (79-60, 8)

The Phillies are coming off a ridiculous 21-7 month of August, and yet they still appear to be overlooked in the grand scheme of the National League. Few teams have the kind of top-end talent that Philly does. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper can change games with one swing, and both are proven playoff performers. You’ll also be hard pressed to find any NL team with a better rotation trio than the Phillies’ group of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo. Philly is hot right now, and it’s a team that is capable of both catching Atlanta in the East and making a deep postseason run. I think there’s a case that Philadelphia – not Milwaukee, Atlanta or Chicago – have the best makeup to prevent the Dodgers from reaching the World Series. 

7. New York Yankees – (79-60, 6)

The Yankees have done a good enough job in Aaron Judge’s absence to stay afloat in the AL Wild Card race, though some of that is due to lack of competition in the American League as a whole. Regardless, New York is well equipped to make a run thanks largely to its pitching staff, which should have this year’s Cy Young winner in Cam Schlittler. We’re all awaiting Judge’s return, and the Yankees could certainly use him as offense has, at times, been hard to come by with Judge on the shelf. If he’s back and close to 100%, there’s a strong case that New York is the team to beat in the American League. The Yankees have baseball’s best rotation and overall pitching staff, and that’s always pivotal in October. 

8. Boston Red Sox – (75-64, 7)

The Red Sox weren't able to replicate their incredible 21-4 month of July, but a 17-12 month of August is hardly something to scoff at. Boston’s pitching has been strong all year, and that remained the case in August. Sonny Gray is having an incredible season, while Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle and Co. are putting up a lot of zeroes as well. Things finally clicked for Boston offensively at the end of June, and the team hasn’t looked back. It will be interesting to see how Roman Anthony performs down the stretch, and while this overall lineup doesn’t have the strongest name recognition, it’s deep, dangerous and doesn’t give away many at-bats. That will all prove useful come October. 

9. San Diego Padres – (73-66, 11)

If not for the Red Sox, I think the Padres would be getting more attention for their in-season turnaround. It hasn’t been as drastic as Boston’s, but the Padres were at one point baseball’s worst hitting team. Hot stretches from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ty France in particular have really carried the lineup, and the team outscored their opponents by nearly 30 runs last month. The pitching staff is headlined by an awesome back-end group that includes Mason Miller, but the rotation has some notable new names in Casey Mize and Robbie Ray, the latter of whom has pitched well for his new club. I like the Padres’ outlook more than the next NL team on our list, and I expect them to get one of the final NL Wild Card spots when it’s all said and done.  

10. Chicago White Sox – (73-65, 9)

This season has broken my brain a bit because I’m not very high on the White Sox as a World Series contender, but they’re a clear top-10 team in the game, in my eyes. That’s what the American League in 2026 does to you, I guess. Chicago has been a great success story with its surprise rotation breakouts and great seasons from its top young bats. But it’s easy to overlook that the Sox are basically a .500 team outside of the month of May, when they went 18-10. They should win the Central, and if they don’t, they’ll likely secure a Wild Card spot. Either way, 2026 has been a massive success on the South Side. They’re in a win-win spot where they don’t need a deep playoff run to call 2026 a success, and if they get one, that’s just the cherry on top. 

11. Arizona Diamondbacks – (73-67, 10)

The Diamondbacks have also played well over the last two months, and they’ve been jockeying with the Padres for that third Wild Card spot for much of the summer. The Diamondbacks have a ton of intriguing pieces, namely Corbin Carroll and Eduardo Rodriguez, but there are some major questions to be answered, namely how Ketel Marte’s absence is handled internally moving forward and whether there’s enough juice in the pitching staff to get the squad into October. Arizona is a good team, but this is a year where the first team out of the NL will be wishing they were in the American League. 

12. Houston Astros – (70-69, 13)

The AL West is the Astros’ to lose, and I say that both because they’re atop the division and because they’re basically having it handed to them by Texas and Seattle. Houston looked left for dead early in the season, especially as the team just could not get outs on the mound. But an elite offense led by presumptive MVP Yordan Alvarez kept the team afloat and the pitching, while still not great, has improved. Now, Houston is not well equipped to make a deep run, even in a weak AL playoff picture, but it’s the clear best team in the AL West, and last I checked, someone has to win the division. 

13. Cleveland Guardians – (70-68, 12)

The Guardians are my pick to get the last AL Wild Card spot, and they’ve been pretty much a .500 club over the last two months. That’s been good enough to essentially hold that third spot for the last few weeks. Cleveland’s offense has shown a lot more life over the last month than it did over the first few months of the season, and the Guardians ranked in the top half of baseball in runs scored in August. Steven Kwan has caught fire and Jo Adell has provided some major thump, all while the pitching staff remains very good and very consistent. There’s a lot to like with this club, even if they’re hardly the most flashy squad in the mix for the Wild Card right now. Add in a proven skipper in Stephen Vogt and it’s easy to see why many, including myself, believe they’ll make the playoffs. 

14. Miami Marlins – (70-69, 14)

A 20-6 month of June made the baseball world take note of the Marlins, but a 12-game losing streak in July had Miami sell to a certain extent and slide down the standings. The Marlins are hardly out of it, but they’re banged up and traded Liam Hicks, their best run producing bat, to Tampa Bay. The Marlins are under .500 dating back to the start of July, and it’s an easy question to ask where they’d be if they could have picked up a few wins over that long losing streak. Breakout star pitcher Max Meyer being hurt doesn’t help Miami’s chances either. The Marlins look better equipped for 2027 than they did a few months ago, but they need a hot stretch starting just about now to contend for that final Wild Card. 

15. Baltimore Orioles – (69-70, 21)

I’ve largely written off the Orioles for most of the season, but there’s no denying they’ve played some inspired baseball of late, winning 30 games between July and August and ending the month having won eight of their last 10 games. There’s some high-end talent here offensively with Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson, and the rotation is pretty rock solid, albeit not the scariest. Most years this team wouldn’t be sniffing a playoff spot at this point in time, but this isn’t most years. Sometimes the team that gets hottest at the right time can get in and make noise, and at least for right now, Baltimore is one of the hottest teams in the game. 

16. Toronto Blue Jays – (68-71, 24)

A strong month of August that included a late sweep of the Mariners helped the Blue Jays reestablish themselves as a Wild Card contender. We’re still waiting for more from the offense, namely Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but there are some pieces there to like while Dylan Cease has been one of baseball’s best starting pitchers this year. As is the case with the Orioles, this isn’t a team you’d really look at and say “yeah, this is a playoff contender” in most years, but there’s enough top-end talent here that can make things interesting, particularly if Guerrero catches fire. But overall, the lineup has been one of baseball’s worst in 2026, and his struggles are a major reason why. 

17. Texas Rangers – (69-70, 18)

The Rangers have the talent and ability to win the AL West, but they haven’t shown enough this year to make that kind of case. June was a good month, but outside of that, Texas has been basically a fringe .500 team all year long. The lineup has been a hair better than last year, but not by much, and a pitching staff that was first in ERA last year is in the bottom 10 in that department this year. You can make a case for the Rangers winning the West, but that’s due largely to how poor the division is. The Astros are doing basically everything better than Texas right now, and it’s hard to see the Rangers winning the division or securing the third Wild Card, even if they’re well in the hunt for both. 

18. St. Louis Cardinals – (69-70, 20)

It’s been nice to see the Cardinals take a step toward contention after a few down years, but they’re still in the bottom half of baseball in runs scored and runs allowed on the mound. The good is that Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Alec Burleson, Michael McGreevy and Riley O’Brien are good young building blocks moving forward. But there needs to be either more additions or more internal growth both on the mound and at the plate to take that next step, especially in a crowded NL Central. But still, this is a Cardinals team that appeared destined for a clear last-place finish, and there’s a clear path instead to finishing at or over .500. That’s a big deal. 

19. Pittsburgh Pirates – (68-71, 15)

It’s very surprising to me that the Pirates aren’t contending for the Wild Card. They have a positive run differential while boasting a top-five offense, even with key players banged up. But Paul Skenes has regressed as his velocity has dipped, and the pitching staff overall is a fringe bottom-10 group this season. It seems impossible to think that a Pirates team with a top-five offense will miss the playoffs, but the pitching has been too inconsistent this year to take advantage of the run support. This is a team that has underperformed relative to the numbers they’ve put up as a whole. 

20. Washington Nationals – (67-74, 22)

While some teams have struggled for offense, the Nationals have plenty of that. It’s the pitching that’s been Washington’s undoing, and trading All-Star Foster Griffin to Cleveland sure didn’t help things there, though it was a move that made a lot of sense considering he’s a pending free agent. The Nationals have a lot of promise moving forward given the offense’s prowess, headlined by CJ Abrams and James Wood, but they simply allowed too many runs this year and don’t have many long-term answers on that front, especially in a tough NL East. 

21. Minnesota Twins – (67-72, 17)

I haven’t taken the Twins too seriously this year, and right after I was starting to come around after a 17-9 July showing, they went 10-17. Minnesota’s problem of late has been on the pitching front as Joe Ryan being banged up has really set the team up to struggle. The offense has also been fairly average of late, and Byron Buxton being back on the IL doesn’t help things either. The Twins were in a decent spot to make some noise just a few weeks ago, but things aren’t looking too bright in the Twin Cities. 

22. Seattle Mariners – (65-74, 19)

It looked like the Mariners were moving in the right direction with recent series wins over Houston, Philadelphia and the Cubs, but a three-game sweep at the hands of the Jays in Toronto may have been the nail in the coffin for Seattle. The team’s pitching staff appears to be out of gas with a few starters laboring of late, and a team that’s been anchored by strong pitching for years gave up the second-most runs in baseball in August. Cal Raleigh finally has turned things around at the plate, but it appears to be too late for it to matter. The Mariners’ two saving graces are being in a weak American League playoff picture and having one of the easiest remaining strength of schedules in the game, but there doesn’t appear to be enough time left for an M’s team that should have some tough decisions to make this offseason. 

23. Cincinnati Reds – (66-73, 23)

With the Reds, there are three things we really like: Chase Burns, Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz. The rest? It’s been tough. Cincinnati, like the rest of the NL Central, was over .500 for quite a while to start 2026. But outside of Burns, the pitching staff has really struggled, and even while getting 4+ WAR and a 20-20 season from Elly De La Cruz and 30+ home runs and 100+ RBIs from Stewart, the lineup has woefully underperformed, even while playing at a hitter-friendly park for half of the season. This is another team with a solid young core in place, but there are some guys that will really need to step up next year or risk having the team look elsewhere for their replacement. 

24. Detroit Tigers – (63-75, 16)

The Tigers played well coming out of the trade deadline and were climbing up the standings. But as I thought, the losses of key starters in Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize have been too much for Detroit to overcome, and the team ended August 11-16 and lost 13 of its last 16 to end the month. This is a team that, lineup wise, has a lot to like moving forward, but the pitching staff is now a bit of a question mark with Skubal and Mize gone. Detroit is slipping down the standings, and I don’t expect the Tigers to make any sort of push the rest of the way. 

25. Kansas City Royals – (62-77, 27)

The Royals finally put together a winning month in August, going 16-11 and having one of the best offenses in baseball. It’s been fun to see that given just how bad the Royals have been overall in 2026, with many of those struggles being centered around the team’s pitching staff. A young core of Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia and Jac Caglianone is a good starting point, but a rotation that has the experience Kansas City’s has must be better moving forward. Because of that, K.C. is in a bit of a weird spot as this year ends and we turn our attention towards 2027. 

26. New York Mets – (62-77, 25)

Like the Royals, August was a bright spot for a Mets team that has woefully disappointed in 2026. Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor will be the two most important pieces for this team moving forward, but if this year is any indication, the team has a lot of other young pieces to be happy about, namely Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, Zac Thornton and AJ Ewing. It’s hard to look at that as a consolation prize given how high expectations were for New York entering this season, but it’s at least a sign that things aren’t all bad for the Mets moving forward. If there’s anything worth monitoring over these final weeks, it’s the play of those youngsters. 

27. San Francisco Giants – (57-82, 26)

The Giants have struggled basically all year long and had a tough month of August as they limp to the finish line. San Francisco parted ways with a ton of notable names like Robbie Ray, Luis Arraez, Tyler Mahle and Patrick Bailey, and even with those moves, the team is still older and more veteran than you may expect. A team with this level of talent, like the Mets, had no reason to underperform to this extent. How the Giants approach the future will be very interesting, especially as one path forward is finding takers for stars like Logan Webb, Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman. 

28. Los Angeles Angels – (53-86, 30)

The Angels have a better set of building blocks than the next two teams on our list, with Mike Trout, Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena, but there’s still a long ways to go, even in a weak American League West. The Angels made some notable moves at the deadline, namely trading Jose Soriano, and the big question is how the team approaches the future. Manager Kurt Suzuki only signed a one-year deal, general manager Perry Minasian was fired and there’s reportedly going to be a new ownership group led by Rams and Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke. The Angels haven’t undergone a full-scale rebuild like they probably should have in recent years, but there are also enough solid pieces in the mix that make the team worth keeping an eye on moving forward. 

29. Colorado Rockies – (53-86, 29)

The Rockies have a top-10 offense and arguably baseball’s worst pitching staff. Unfortunately, that’s been the case for a long while, and outside of a strong stretch from now-injured youngster Chase Dollander, the Rockies don’t appear to have a starting pitcher capable of combatting Coors Field’s elements on a regular basis. There’s quite a bit to like offensively, namely Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfield and Mickey Moniak, but Colorado still doesn’t appear to be any closer to solving its Coors Field pitching problem. 

30. Athletics – (53-86, 28)

The Athletics were a fun story early this year, but the one caveat I always mentioned was their pitching. Well, the A’s have absolutely cratered out on the mound, and unless you’ve got the Murderers’ Row Yankees as your lineup, that ain’t gonna work. The A’s have good pieces to build around, at least offensively, but they need a pitching overhaul and fast. Pitching half your games at a hitter-friendly minor league park doesn’t help, but the team will eventually be playing half its games at high temps and high elevations in Las Vegas. The A’s core of bats is strong and promising, but like the Rockies, that won’t matter until the organization gets its pitching in check.