MLB standings by wins per average age of roster: Braves, Rays crush

Looking at which teams are using youth to their advantage, we find an interesting story in the details.

Proven MLB superstars, or youthful players with their ceilings yet to come? That’s the question for every MLB general manager, among other things (like how much to pay the guys!).

These days, MLB standings are mostly falling to form with less jockeying around as the season chugs along into June. So I thought it would be fun to take a look at things in terms of wins in relation to the age of the roster.

For this, I used the weighted age of team batters per Baseball Reference and the wins as of the morning of June 16th.

Let’s take a look!

MLB standings: Divisional standings ordered by wins per average age of roster

We’ll start with the American League and make our way to the National League.

First off, in the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles have significant youth yet still are winning plenty of games. This division falls exactly to form with how the division is ordered today.

American League East

1. Tampa Bay Rays: 1.86
2. Baltimore Orioles: 1.58
3. New York Yankees: 1.34
4. Toronto Blue Jays: 1.31
5. Boston Red Sox: 1.18

Another division that falls exactly to form in this metric is the AL Central. It also features one of just four teams in the league that falls below 1.0 in this metric.

American League Central

1. Minnesota Twins: 1.22
2. Cleveland Guardians: 1.19
3. Chicago White Sox: 1.08
4. Detroit Tigers: 1.02
5. Kansas City Royals: 0.67

And now a third division exactly to form, making the entire American League exactly true to form in this metric when looked through the lens of divisional standings. Something interesting revealed itself here that I wasn’t necessarily expecting: There’s an equilibrium of sorts with roster ages and how teams perform that leads to very little change when you look at how teams rank within their divisions this way.

Part of that has to do with the ages being weighted by at-bats.

American League West

1. Texas Rangers: 1.48
2. Houston Astros: 1.36
3. Los Angeles Angels: 1.35
4. Seattle Mariners: 1.19
5. Oakland Athletics: 0.68

Moving onto the National League, we have yet another team that falls exactly to form. Pretty boring look so far, folks.

National League East

1. Atlanta Braves: 1.54
2. Miami Marlins: 1.27
3. Philadelphia Phillies: 1.22
4. New York Mets: 1.08
5. Washington Nationals: 1.00

Finally, a division that mixes it up a little. And of course, it’s the miserable NL Central. The Reds come out on top here, with the Cardinals still falling in second. Pretty funny considering youth has been used as an excuse within the clubhouse for Oli Marmol’s struggles.

National League Central

1. Cincinnati Reds: 1.25
2. Milwaukee Brewers: 1.24
3. Pittsburgh Pirates: 1.2
4. Chicago Cubs: 1.08
5. St. Louis Cardinals: 0.97

And finally, yet another division which falls exactly to form.

National League West

1. Arizona Diamondbacks: 1.5
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: 1.27
3. San Francisco Giants: 1.24
4. San Diego Padres: 1.13
5. Colorado Rockies: 0.99

MLB standings: League standings ordered by wins per average age of roster

We see a little more movement in this metric when we go to the league standings, but still, not a lot of change. Especially in the American League, the top of the standings stays exactly the same, with the Rays and Orioles doing great work with relatively young rosters at 26.9 and 27.3 years old.

American League

1. Tampa Bay Rays: 1.86
2. Baltimore Orioles: 1.58
3. Texas Rangers: 1.48
4. Houston Astros: 1.36
5. Los Angeles Angels: 1.35 (+1)
6. New York Yankees: 1.34 (-1)
7. Toronto Blue Jays: 1.31
8. Minnesota Twins: 1.22
9. Cleveland Guardians: 1.19 (+2)
10. Seattle Mariners: 1.19 (+1)
11. Boston Red Sox: 1.18 (-2)
12. Chicago White Sox: 1.08
13. Detroit Tigers: 1.02
14. Oakland Athletics: 0.68
15. Kansas City Royals: 0.67

Moving onto the National League, there’s a lot more movement, although much of it is just by a spot up or down. The biggest takeaways are the Reds, who jump up four spots, and the Pirates, who drop by three.

National League

1. Atlanta Braves: 1.54
2. Arizona Diamondbacks: 1.50
3. Miami Marlins: 1.27 (+1)
4. Los Angeles Dodgers: 1.27 (-1)
5. Cincinnati Reds: 1.25 (+4)
6. San Francisco Giants: 1.24 (-1)
7. Milwaukee Brewers: 1.24 (+1)
8. Philadelphia Phillies: 1.22 (-1)
9. Pittsburgh Pirates: 1.20 (-3)
10. San Diego Padres: 1.13
11. Chicago Cubs: 1.08 (+1)
12. New York Mets: 1.08 (-1)
13. Washington Nationals: 1.00 (+1)
14. Colorado Rockies: 0.99 (-1)
15. St. Louis Cardinals: 0.97

Not much in the league is so closely equalized, but it seems as though wins relative to weighted average age is.