Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Dodgers have started the MLB season incredibly hot in pursuit of their third straight World Series, sparking discussions about a potential dynasty.
- Several teams, including the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros, are analyzing their rosters for improvements to challenge the Dodgers.
- Other teams like the Yankees, Blue Jays and Braves appear to have the pieces to challenge the Dodgers right now.
It’s incredibly early in the MLB season, but there is no surprise that the Los Angeles Dodgers are at the top of the standings across both leagues. They are the only team as of this writing with 11 wins. In fact, the entire American League seems to be a beacon of parity. The Chicago White Sox are the team furthest out of the top of the division, and they’re only three games out. The three teams at the top of the AL East all have eight wins and seven losses.
Looking at the teams right now, it would appear that the Dodgers are far and away the best team in the league. It doesn’t seem close for anyone right now, but we’re looking ahead at a 162-game season. At this point last year, the top teams in the standings included the Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres.
To find a team that could end the Dodgers dynasty, they need to do whatever they can to beat a team that won the World Series and then added Kyle Tucker. Sometimes, a Dream Team doesn’t work out, but we’ll see if any of these teams can muster enough offense and put together the right rotation to take down the giant. Speaking of which…
10. San Francisco Giants
Things have not started well this season for the San Francisco Giants, winning just six games of their first 16. They are already 5.5 games back in the NL West, as the Dodgers have been hot to start. Coming into Sunday, the Giants' pitching staff hasn’t lived up to the billing, especially the bullpen. The Giants took a huge chance hiring Tony Vitello. He's the first manager to go right from college to the major leagues. It will take him some time to get his bearings, but if he's great, we might see it by midseason.
Logan Webb has been rough to start the season. He has an ERA north of five to start the year. Robbie Ray and Landon Roupp have both been good to start, and that’s where the optimism lies. Webb should get his good stuff back, and that would give the Giants three good starters at the top of the rotation. The lineup still boasts Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, and Luis Arraez.
Is that enough to beat a stacked lineup with Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and others? Maybe not, but there’s also the rivalry factor here. It just means more to the Giants to beat the Dodgers. It always has meant more. These fanbases hate each other. Sometimes that hate can drive motivation. It’s very early, but if the Giants can turn things around, they have to push the Dodgers to their emotional brink if they have a shot. It has to come off as warfare during a series between the two. If that happens, talent sometimes doesn’t win out.
9. Houston Astros
The Houston Astros have had as bad a start as they could have, especially with the pitching staff. They have the worst ERA in Major League Baseball, giving up more than six runs per game. Six!!! They’ve given up more than one hit per inning, and they’ve added more than 80 walks. The pitching straight up stinks.
Cristian Javier has three starts and just nine innings pitched. He has an ERA over 12. There are only two quality starts on this roster, and quality starts aren’t exactly dominant. It’s just asking for a player to go six innings and allow three runs or fewer. The Astros have gotten that two times in 16 games.
The offense will be fine, so it’s not even worth mentioning. The pitching staff might not be fine, but we can’t see the Astros sitting on their hands. There are very interesting options out there, including Luis Gil in New York, who the Astros have had interest in during previous trade talks. As currently constructed, the Astros pitching staff can’t compete with the Dodgers, but we can’t see this being Houston’s pitching staff for much longer.
8. Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the most interesting offensive teams in the league to start the year. While some of their counting stats aren’t that impressive, the aggregate is turning into something more impressive. Despite hitting just .235 in the first 16 games, the Brewers have a .714 OPS. That’s good for sixth in the league.
Christian Yellich has been incredible to start the year. He has just one home run, but he’s hitting .314 with 10 RBIs. His clutch hitting in just 15 games has been crazy. William Contreras has four doubles and nine RBIs. Brice Turang has three home runs and over a 1.000 OPS. There are a few hitters on this team that are severely scary. The strangest part of all of this is Gary Sanchez, who has four home runs to kick off the season. We’ve been waiting for his breakout for what feels like a decade. Could this be it?
They need more from the pitching staff. It’s still early, and they’re playing around with the rotation, but Jacob Misiorowski having nine walks and just eight hits against is a bad sign that his control is not … in control. Because of the walks, he’s given up six runs off the bat. Aaron Ashby has the most wins on the team, and he’s a reliever. As we said, it’s early, but the Brewers need better pitching if they are going to beat the Dodgers.
7. Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies should be higher, but we’re slightly worried with the early results here. This should be one of the best rotations in the league, yet, they have a 4.18 ERA through 14 games. Going into Sunday, the Phillies had a .500 record. This was supposed to be a title contender as much as anyone who isn’t the Dodgers, and they are still stacked with talent.
That talent is why we’re betting on the Phillies. Trea Turner and Alec Bohn have negative WARs right now. It’s small, but the Phillies won’t win with those two being in the negative for wins above replacement. They are supposed to be much better than replacement players. Add in a great start from Bryce Harper (3 home runs, 5 doubles, 10 RBIs, and 29 total bases), and the Phillies should be better.
Turner will turn it around, and the pitching will come around. This team should jump into the next level of contender by the time we’re hitting mid-May. When we get to the All-Star Break, this should be a really good team. It’s early, and teams are getting back into the swing of things. The Phillies feel like one of those teams and should get back on track.
6. New York Mets
At the time of this writing, the New York Mets are preparing themselves for a tilt with the Dodgers. It’s a great chance to show that the Mets of last year are behind them. This has not been a good six months for Mets fans, and the start of the season is sending their fans to the exits by the seventh inning. It’s been bad to start.
There’s a trend here you’re probably noticing. We’re banking more on talent than current standings, especially with so many teams near the middle, but the Mets can find themselves out of this. Fans are frustrated with the offseason, especially losing fan favorite Pete Alonso for nothing, but there’s a foundation of greatness here. They can match the Dodgers star power on offense, despite their current stat lines.
Francisco Lindor isn’t going to hit near the Mendoza Line. Francisco Alvarez won’t lead the team in home runs for long. Bo Bichette will get his swing and fielding together. It’s just a rough start, but the Mets might need a rough start to wipe the pain away from so many rough finishes. They also only have eight games from Juan Soto, who has been by far their best player. When everything is clicking, which we expect to happen, the Mets can beat the Dodgers. Can they beat them this week? We’d be surprised but not shocked.
5. Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians have one thing above every other team on this list: they have a series win against the Dodgers this season. The Guardians are the only team in the league to beat the Dodgers in a series. They did it on pitching, allowing just seven runs over the three-game season. Gavin Williams pitched seven scoreless innings in the series finale, which ended up being a 4-1 win.
The Guardians are playing like this despite most of their lineup hitting inconsistently, at best. Jose Ramirez has some clutch hits, including a home run against the Dodgers, but he’s hitting .180 in 61 at-bats. Angel Martinez has been a nice surprise, hitting .310 to start.
Cleveland has been winning on pitching, and their “best” pitcher has been awful. That’s why we have hope this team could be a true contender. Tanner Bibbee has an ERA over 6.00, but Williams and Parker Messick have both been incredible. If Slade Cecconi can get his world right, the Guardians will have one of the best rotations in baseball. They have enough talent on offense to get by, and if the pitching sticks, the Guardians can truly win this fight.
4. San Diego Padres
We spoke earlier about the rivalry adding fuel to the fire between the Dodgers and Giants. There are decades of rivalry built in there, going all the way back to their days in New York. While the San Diego Padres don’t have the history, they definitely have the vitriol. Over the past two seasons, the team that came closest to taking out the Dodgers (prior to Game 7 of the World Series last season) was the Padres. They took the Dodgers to Game 5 of the Divisional Round in 2024.
The Padres took out the Dodgers in 2022, so this version of these two teams is waiting for a rubber match. The Padres have one of the better pitching staffs in the league, with a 3.51 team ERA. That’s good for seventh in the league so far this season. Randy Vazquez has been amazing through three starts. Michael King has been a good starter. Nick Pivetta has been unlucky, but he’ll turn that around, as well.
Their lineup has been all over the place. Fernando Tatis has zero home runs, but he leads the team in at-bats. Tatis and Machado both have fewer than 20 total bases. That’s not going to last long, so the bats will wake up. There is so much talent on this team, and the pitching staff can go toe to toe with the Dodgers.
3. Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are still one of the greatest threats to the Los Angeles Dodgers. We saw just last year how close they came, losing two extra-inning games in the World Series, including blowing Game 7 late. The Blue Jays did suffer some losses in the offseason, including Bo Bichette, but they added Dylan Cease to the top of the rotation.
Now, the start of the season could not have gone worse for the Blue Jays. They were swept by the Chicago White Sox and lost a series to the Colorado Rockies, two of the worst teams in recent history. The Blue Jays have stumbled out of the gate, and the offense is struggling more than other areas of the team. This is why were less inclined to be worried. If Cease and Gausman were getting shelled and there were clear signs of pitching regression, that’s more concerning than a World Series hitting hangover by the likes of George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Of course, the Blue Jays are getting serious benefit of the doubt with this ranking. They are only 6-9, and despite a dreadful start, they are just two games out in the win column. There might be a ton of parity in the AL East again, which could lead to a late-season surge that builds their momentum. The Blue Jays don’t want to let last year’s disappointment count for nothing. They’ve proven they can stand with the Dodgers. They just need to get to the Fall Classic again.
2. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves had a serious off year in 2025. Injuries ruined everything, and the Braves finished fourth in the NL East behind the Miami Marlins. How could we possibly be this confident in the Braves that they are the biggest threat to the Dodgers in the National League? Sometimes, the biggest ups come after the most serious downs.
The Braves have a fully healthy Ronald Acuna Jr. back, who is now more than a year removed from his torn ACL. The pitching staff was decimated, with no regular pitcher on the team pitching in 25 starts. However, looking at the roster, it’s hard to deny the Braves can go shot-for-shot with the Dodgers.
They have a stacked lineup, led by Acuna, Matt Olsen, and Austin Riley. Michael Thomas II had a down year in 2025, but he’s already shown to have 20-20 stuff that could grow into his first 30-30 season. The rotation boasts Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Strider (eventually), and new face Bryce Elder, who has a 1.02 ERA to start the season. The Braves actually have the best ERA to start the year, and that is how they are going to win it all; with pitching.
1. New York Yankees
We know New York Yankees fans don’t want to hear it right now, but they are still the most likely team to take down the Dodgers. Even with Aaron Boone still as manager and Brian Cashman still as GM, the Yankees are stacked to the point of contention. And it’s all about the pitching staff.
The Yankees have the best ERA in the American League to start the season, and they haven’t seen Gerrit Cole or Carlos Rodon pitch an inning yet. Both should be back in the May-June range, giving the Yankees two top-line starters during a stretch where we usually see a lull from them. At that point, their rotation would be Cole-Rodon-Max Fried-Cam Schlittler-Luis Gil. That’s the only one that can match the Dodgers star-studded rotation.
The hitting has been atrocious in the Bronx to start the year. The Yankees are 24th in OPS, and their lack of down-the-lineup mashers is the reason for the slump. Aaron Judge is also off to a slow start, coming off the narrative surrounding his World Baseball Classic performance, but Giancarlo Stanton looks good. Jazz Chisholm, not so much. This will all be worked out, and the Yankees will be contenders as usual.