September is here, which means the baseball is about to get a bit more serious. That isn't to suggest games earlier in the year don't count, but series in September come with bigger expectations. Every win or loss can determine a Wild Card spot or change the postseason outlook. For teams in the AL Wild Card race like the Orioles, Guardians, Rangers, Blue Jays and beyond, one bad result could help three teams jump ahead in the standings, and vice versa.
Those are the stakes we're dealing with here. But before we go into full playoff mode, let's remember how we got here. The end-of-season report card will ultimately determine how well each team performed compared to expectations, but through early September, some would-be contenders have some work to do.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Grade: B
It hasn’t always been pretty — especially lately, with Ketel Marte once again making news for all the wrong reasons — but if you’d told the D-backs back in the spring that they’d be in a dogfight for the third and final Wild Card spot at the start of September without Corbin Burnes, I’m pretty sure they’d have taken that deal. It doesn’t look particularly compelling under the hood, and I’m not sure they have the pitching to hold off the Padres over the season’s final weeks, but it’s hard to complain about the way this team continues to make lemonade.
-Chris Landers, FanSided MLB editor
Athletics
Grade: D
There's no denying the A's have taken a significant step back this season. Through June, this team looked like a real postseason threat, hanging on by a thread in one of the worst divisions in baseball. The AL West is still quite winnable, but once the A's strength of schedule really tested their metal, they couldn't meet the moment. Injuries to Shea Langeliers and Jacob Wilson didn't help matters.
-Mark Powell, FanSided MLB director
Atlanta Braves
Grade: B+
It’s hard to complain too much about a team that’s nip and tuck with the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL bracket. And yet, something about this Braves squad just feels … hard to trust, whether that’s an offense that can blow hot and cold or a rotation that doesn’t really have anyone you trust to start a playoff game behind Chris Sale. Again: These are first-world problems. But Atlanta is smack in the middle of its World Series window, and I’m not sure this team can win three or four playoff series in a row.
-CL
Baltimore Orioles
Grade: C+
We don't know what to make of the Orioles. Sure, Baltimore's surprising resurgence has them competing for that third AL Wild Card spot, but they also traded Adley Rutschman at the deadline and don't have much starting pitching depth to speak of. There's still a lot of young talent to like, but surely even Mike Elias didn't see this coming when he sold at the beginning of August. That's just the state of the American League these days.
-MP
Boston Red Sox
Grade: B+
The Red Sox were on the other end of that Rutschman trade, and while he's struggled to stay healthy so far in Boston, he'll be another lineup threat come the postseason. The Red Sox are pretty much locked into that No. 2 AL Wild Card spot after losing a series to the Yankees over the weekend. That means heading to the Bronx to start the playoffs, as well. Still, considering where the Red Sox were to start the year — and the 32-5 stretch it took to dig them out of that hole — this season has been a success. A healthy Garrett Crochet could aid a September push.
-MP
Chicago Cubs
Grade: B-
Maybe this feels harsh, given that Chicago is still a virtual lock to reach October. Shouldn’t the bar be higher for this team at this point, though? At times they look like clear World Series contenders, if not the best in the NL. But the pitching has flatlined once again post-trade deadline, and not even the heroics of Pete Crow-Armstrong can make up for it. There’s still time to catch fire again, but right now it’s looking like we’re headed toward a potential road series in the Wild Card Round. Ouch.
-CL
Chicago White Sox
Grade: A-
The White Sox are playing with house money. At the beginning of the year, Chicago was expected to make some incremental improvements, but a down season for the AL Central could gift them a postseason spot. Munetaka Murakami has been everything the White Sox front office asked for and more. Will Venable is an AL Manager of the Year frontrunner, and the ChiSox have a strong farm system that could fuel a playoff run. There's a lot to like on the South Side, no matter how this season ends.
-MP
Cincinnati Reds
Grade: D
The Reds were supposed to take a step forward in 2026. Instead, the homegrown pitching staff has struggled to stay healthy for any extended period of time while the offense has been completely unable to put a lineup around Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart. It would feel like a failure even under normal circumstances, but the fact that it came after an offseason of inaction stings all the more. Hunter Greene going under the knife for his second Tommy John surgery just adds injury to insult.
-CL
Cleveland Guardians
Grade: C
The Guardians miraculous run to the playoffs last season may have been a fluke after all. The only real victim was the Detroit Tigers, who lost out on a division crown as a result. The Guardians active trade deadline hasn't put them in the driver's seat for the Central or the third AL Wild Card spot, though they have won eight of their last 10 games. Jose Ramirez is also having a down year in the middle of a Cleveland lineup that could use his typical production. Forgive me for having higher expectations for this team.
-MP
Colorado Rockies
Grade: C
No one expected the Rockies to be good this year, obviously. And in fairness, they’ve been more respectable than they were in 2025, with an improving farm system and several young position players flashing at the MLB level. That said … I’m still not sure what the foundation looks like for the next competitive era of baseball in Colorado, given the non-existent pitching staff and the odds they move Hunter Goodman over the winter.
-CL
Detroit Tigers
Grade: D-
I'm tough on the Tigers because they're close to my heart, but Detroit sold Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the trade deadline, then went on a run to secure the third and final AL Wild Card spot. In the 10 games after, they completely blew up their spot. Detroit is a postseason afterthought despite (at one point) holding one of the best run differentials in baseball. Back-to-back double-digit losses to the Twins this week should take care of that statistical oversight, however.
-MP
Houston Astros
Grade: B-
Houston is holding on for dear life. The Astros are at the tail end of a dynasty that probably should've ended years ago. Jim Crane fired general manager Dana Brown midseason for reasons we don't quite understand. Stars like Jeremy Peña and Hunter Brown could be on their way out sooner rather than later. Still, the Astros have Yordan Alvarez. The rest of the AL West does not have Yordan Alvarez. That's the difference in MLB's worst division.
-MP
Kansas City Royals
Grade: D-
The Royals have shown some signs of life lately, going 7-3 in their last 10 games and making up some ground at the bottom of the AL Central thanks to the poor play of the Tigers, mentioned in detail above. Still, Kansas City wasted a year of Bobby Witt Jr.'s prime, so there's not too much to be happy about. If ownership is truly invested in Witt's future, then expect a big offseason ahead.
-MP
Los Angeles Angels
Grade: C-
Perhaps I'm an optimist about the Angels, but the ownership change from Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke can only be good news for a fanbase that has long hoped to build a winner around Mike Trout. Even Trout himself welcomed Kroenke, technically the new richest owner in baseball, with open arms. So, what comes next? Trout is under contract for as long as he wants, essentially, and the John Mozeliak made some clever deadline deals to reassemble a young core around him. Whether those players develop depends on the front office Kroenke approves.
-MP
Los Angeles Dodgers
Grade: B
I promise I’m not doing this to be contrarian. But the Dodgers get graded on their own curve; winning two straight World Series titles and spending as much money as anybody will do that. And it’s hard to feel that confident about their odds of a three-peat, given the questions in the bullpen and the continued uncertainty surrounding the health of Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher. To be clear, I’d still probably pick them to win it all. But I feel just pretty good about that, hardly great, which is why they get a B here.
-CL
Miami Marlins
Grade: B-
This season has undoubtedly been a step forward for Miami, which has gotten the leap from Eury Perez and breakouts from bats like Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards. A contender shouldn’t be too far away in 2027 … and yet it’s hard to feel great about that given just how decimated the Marlins’ homegrown pitchers have been by injury, most notably Robby Snelling and Thomas White. If I trusted Miami to spend this winter, I might feel a bit rosier. But, well, you know.
-CL
Milwaukee Brewers
Grade: A-
I’m ready to get hurt again. No, the Brewers still don’t hit for much power, and yes, I have questions about the rotation behind Jacob Misiorowski (no matter how good Kyle Harrison and Logan Henderson have been). But one of these years, the dam has to break, right? If nothing else, you have to credit Milwaukee for once again sprinting to the best record in baseball on a shoestring budget, even if it might once again fail to translate to October. After all, isn’t fielding a great team the point?
-CL
Minnesota Twins
Grade: C+
Give the Twins some credit: Ownership decided to hold onto Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan, among others, at the MLB trade deadline. For once, the Twins invested in the major-league roster — albeit the bare minimum of not trading away star talent — in hopes of an AL Wild Card run. That hasn't quite come to fruition, as teams like the Guardians and Orioles have a slight edge for that third and final spot.
-MP
New York Mets
Grade: F
Sure, the Mets have found some silver linings with the return of Juan Soto and generally improved play of late. But how else am I supposed to grade the most expensive team in baseball, one year after they collapsed out of the playoffs and vowed that it wouldn’t happen again? It is, in fact, happening again, and there’s no clear path to title contention next year barring some serious work from David Stearns. This isn’t what fans signed up for, to put it mildly.
-CL
New York Yankees
Grade: B+
What the Yankees have done while their captain, Aaron Judge, is on the shelf is nothing short of impressive. Cam Schlittler and Co. shut the door on the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, widening their gap in the AL Wild Card race for now. Suddenly, the Yankees have a decisive edge to host that first playoff series, rather than travel to Fenway. Again, the Yankees final grade will be determined by how it often is, and that's whether they can win a pennant and/or World Series in a wide-open American League.
-MP
Philadelphia Phillies
Grade: B+
Somehow, some way, the Phillies keep finding new life. This team has looked cooked, too thin and too old, at multiple different points this season. And yet, here they are, threatening to make things interesting in the NL East behind a resurgent offense and an improving Andrew Painter. Those four starters, plus a lineup with Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Luis Arraez and this version of Bryson Stott, is worth taking very seriously. That’s a win considering how few resources Dave Dombrowski has had to work with, and how urgent the timeline is.
-CL
Pittsburgh Pirates
Grade: C-
If you told a Pirates fan back in spring training that they’d be hovering around .500 entering September, the reaction likely wouldn’t be too bad – it is a substantive improvement on where they’ve been recently, after all. But the path they’ve taken to get there has been maddening, with a high-ceiling offense that’s failed to stay healthy and an underwhelming pitching staff that’s let this team down far too often (particularly the bullpen). It feels like a big missed opportunity, even if the homegrown core remains awfully promising.
-CL
San Diego Padres
Grade: B-
San Diego has pulled their season out of the fire, and Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado are all showing signs of life. It was a bit of a disappointing close to August, though, and their postseason fate very much hangs in the balance entering the final month. That’s not what such a starry team signed up for this spring, and while those big names (and that bullpen) give them a puncher’s chance if they make it to October, the holes here are obvious. Relative to expectation and where they are in their competitive cycle, it’s hard to feel great.
-CL
San Francisco Giants
Grade: D-
When you enter the year with legitimate playoff aspirations and end it among the worst records in baseball, well, that’s a failure. The fact that San Francisco did so while amassing several albatross contracts that will be impossible to get off of moving forward is enough to call Buster Posey’s future into question, even though the Giants’ farm system is rapidly improving. The only thing that saves them from joining the Mets with an F is the path back feels a bit more viable in 2027.
-CL
Seattle Mariners
Grade: D
I will not be shy about my disappointment in the Seattle Mariners so far this season. The AL West is putrid and the third Wild Card spot is sitting on a silver pladder for them. Yet, Dan Wilson's team keeps finding ways to lose, despite the recent resurgence of star catcher Cal Raleigh, who had been in the midst of a career-worst season. If the Mariners don't make the postseason with THIS roster, they may go down as one of the biggest letdowns in franchise history.
-MP
St. Louis Cardinals
Grade: B
Cardinals fans are a bit frustrated at how the season appears to be petering out, but it’s worth zooming out and taking the long view here. There’s a very good lineup to build around here, and the pitching situation is steadily improving under Chaim Bloom. Exercise some patience, because this could be a very fun baseball team – one actually worth investing in at the deadline – as soon as next year. That’s a win given where St. Louis started, no matter how it ends up.
-CL
Tampa Bay Rays
Grade: A-
How the Rays operate with a limited budget and elite player development staff is inspiring. They are the Dodgers, but with a much more limited payroll, and in some ways operate even more smoothly. Junior Caminero is a monster who could become a household name in October. The Rays pitching staff is among the best in baseball as well and should match up with any team in the American League. They are favored to win the pennant for a reason.
-MP
Texas Rangers
Grade: C
I put the Rangers in the same bucket as the Mariners and Astros, except I expected less of them to start the season. Texas has a rotation I wouldn't want to face in a playoff series, featuring Jacob deGrom, Mackenzie Gore and (when healthy) Nathan Eovaldi. Again, they should be better than this! Like much of the American League, Texas hasn't emerged from their slumber.
-MP
Toronto Blue Jays
Grade: C-
The Blue Jays were mere strikes away from winning the World Series last year! And they added Dylan Cease, among the AL Cy Young favorites, in free agency. On paper, the Blue Jays should be competing with the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox to win the AL East. At worst they should be an AL Wild Card shoe-in. Instead, they're on the outside looking in at the MLB Playoff Picture. Losing Bo Bichette shouldn't hurt this much.
-MP
Washington Nationals
Grade: B+
Washington has fallen down the standings like a stone since soft-selling at the deadline, but it’s still this year is still an unqualified success considering how little was expected in Paul Toboni’s first year at the helm. Even more promising than the play on the field at the big-league level is the overall process; Toboni and Co. have overseen so many development gains that it’s hard not to feel like they know what they’re doing, and they’re a couple starters away from making real noise. What a turnaround.
-CL
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