The playoffs technically don't start for another week or so, but good luck telling that to teams for which every game already feels like October. With the standings in both the NL and AL as jumbled as they've been in recent memory, the stakes are already as high as can be — and whoever gets hot now could well ride that wave all the way to a World Series.
"Hot" could definitely describe both the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Guardians of late. The former has decided to just never lose again, not only grabbing hold of a Wild Card spot but now pushing for home-field in the first round if things break right. The latter, meanwhile, has once again snatched the AL Central while no one was looking. And they're not the only ones making serious moves in our latest MLB power rankings.
But who are we buying as serious title contenders, and who still has work to do? Read on to find out.
30. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have admittedly let go of the rope of late, well on their way to yet another 100-loss season. There are at least some promising young hitters in this organization, which represents something to build upon moving forward. Of course, the pitching staff remains a mess, and no one's been able to crack that nut yet in Colorado.
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
29. Los Angeles Angels
In Reid Detmers, Walbert Urena and Ryan Johnson, the Angels have at least some sort of foundation upon which to build for the future. Well, OK, maybe not Detmers, who will almost certainly be dealt this offseason. But still, L.A.’s pitching staff has been a real bright spot of late. The offense … well, that’s another question. Things are going to get worse before they get better under John Mozeliak. At least Arte Moreno is no longer around to meddle in it.
–CL
28. Athletics
The A’s are playing out the string of a lost season, although the contributions they’ve gotten from young bats like Henry Bolte, Max Muncy (not that one), Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof down the stretch have been notable. None of that will matter, though, until the team fixes its pitching staff. We know we sound like a broken record, but it really is that simple, and no potential answers have emerged in the second half.
–CL
27. San Francisco Giants
Rafael Devers' injury, which figures to cost him at least some of next season as well as the end of this one, is a fitting if unfortunate end to what's been a miserable season by the Bay. Devers had been one of the few bright spots on this Giants team down the stretch alongside Bryce Eldridge; now, it's unclear how San Francisco will rebuilt its offense for 2027 in addition to finding reinforcements for a pitching staff that simply hasn't been good enough.
–CL
26. Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals have been eliminated for quite some time now. If there is one clear goal for Kansas City this winter, it's to build a roster around Bobby Witt Jr. that is capable of making a postseason run. That is every team's goal, but the Royals are so far away from contention despite featuring such a prolific player, Witt Jr.'s career is closer to becoming Mike Trout's than Derek Jeter's.
-Mark Powell, FanSided.com MLB director
25. Minnesota Twins
At one point not all that long ago, the Twins had a realistic chance to make the playoffs as the third AL Wild Card spot. Then, the bottom fell out. Byron Buxton underwent successful hip surgery just last week that will keep him out until spring training, whenever that may be. The Twins once again experienced the roster flaw of building around an injured star.
-MP
24. New York Mets
This week couldn’t have been more awkward for the New York Mets when Pete Alonso hit his 300th home run in his return to Citi Field, much to the delight of many Mets fans in attendance, but once Alonso left town, the Mets began to play better, winning two games in a row against the Phillies. Those wins, headlined by more quality play from youngsters like Carson Benge, Zac Thornton and Christian Scott, show why Mets fans should be somewhat enthusiastic for what’s to come.
–Zach Rotman, FanSided.com staff writer
23. Cincinnati Reds
In the American League, the Reds likely wouldn't be the worst team in their division. But the NL Central has been a gauntlet all year long, and the Reds couldn't keep up. Despite breakthrough seasons from Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, Cincinnati still has a long way to go on the starting pitching front. Can they rely on Hunter Greene and Chase Burns moving forward?
-MP
22. Seattle Mariners
Going 3-3 against the Angels and Rockies this week just about sums up this season in Seattle. The good news is that youngsters like Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes have helped to key an offensive turnaround. The bad news is that the starting rotation hasn’t held up its end of the bargain of late, and there are still tons of long-term questions about this lineup — especially with Randy Arozarena set to hit free agency. Jerry DiPoto will need to find some answers this offseason after a year in which just about everything went wrong.
–CL
21. Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals deserved a better fate in 2026. Even with their offense falling off a bit of late, they’re still third in the majors in runs scored. The dynamic duo of CJ Abrams and James Wood is as good as any in the National League. Recently extended Cade Cavalli is a budding ace. Andrew Alvarez has thrown the ball incredibly well and looks like a future rotation stalwart. If it weren’t for a historically bad bullpen, we’d be talking about this team in Wild Card contention.
–ZR
20. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have the best run differential in the AL Central and a pythagorean record of an AL playoff team. None of it matters. Scott Harris and the Tigers front office gave up on their team's postseason hopes at the trade deadline. Then, they proceeded to get fans' hopes up with a late August run, only to play like the team Harris assumed they'd become when it mattered most. The Tigers have some work to do, though the emergence of young stars in the lineup like Hao-Yu Lee and Kevin McGonigle, paired with Riley Greene's consistent play, give them some building blocks.
-MP
19. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are ahead of schedule, but not a postseason team. Make no mistake about it, St. Louis came crashing back down to earth in September, and has been eliminated from playoff contention. There are questions about the long-term future of Masyn Winn, especially with JJ Wetherholt as the de-facto shortstop of the future. But these are all good problems to have. Now, if only Bloom could find an ace burried in that farm system of his.
-MP
18. Baltimore Orioles
A series against league-best Milwaukee came at the worst possible time for the O’s, which now find themselves needing to hit an inside straight to snatch the final Wild Card spot. Pete Alonso’s heroics at Citi Field aside, Baltimore’s bats simply have not been good enough. Heck, no part of this team has; they’re hovering around .500 for a reason, after all, and there’s no reason to think they have the consistency required to get hot over the final week and overtake the White Sox, Blue Jays and Astros.
–CL
17. Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins tried to do what they could to stick around in the NL postseason hunt, even using Sandy Alcantara on one day of rest in a save opportunity, but they were eliminated following Friday’s loss in San Diego. As disappointing as that is, the Marlins could finish above .500 for just the third time since 2009. That’s a sign that things are heading in the right direction for Miami.
–ZR
16. Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays have lost three of four series now, and news that Dylan Cease will have his next start bumped due to shoulder fatigue makes it even less likely that Toronto can sneak its way into the playoffs. With Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber already on the IL, the rotation has begun leaking oil, and that’s not something this power-starved lineup is equipped to handle. The Jays still have a path to the final Wild Card spot, but it’s becoming an increasingly tenuous one, and it’s hard to see them making much noise even if they did get in.
–CL
15. Houston Astros
Getting swept at home by the Braves this weekend might well wind up costing the Astros a playoff spot. The closing schedule isn’t too tough, with trips to Seattle and Sacramento on tap. Still, if Houston doesn’t figure out where its high-powered offense went before it’s too late — and if Joe Espada can’t stop his bullpen from blowing late leads — Yordan Alvarez’s MVP season may well be for nought. As it stands, this looks like a team with fatal flaws that will spoil what could have been a deep run in a wide-open AL.
–CL
14. Chicago White Sox
Reality hit the White Sox real quick. Chicago has lingered around .500 for longer than they'd care to admit, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Central caught up to them. Munetaka Murakami has been dreadful since the trade deadline, and thus any contract extension talks have been put on hold. If the White Sox can hold on to a playoff spot, they'll be one of the best stories in October. If not, this season could all be for naught.
-MP
13. Texas Rangers
All of a sudden, the Rangers find themselves back in control of the AL West and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Of course, that says more about the West than it does about Texas; this is still a .500 team, one without a ton of depth on either side of the ball. The interesting thing, though, is that this lineup has finally started to show signs of life of late. Take care of business against the Twins and Mets this week, and no one’s going to want to face a team with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation plus an offense featuring Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung.
-CL
12. Pittsburgh Pirates
The narrative Pirates fans are spinning these days is the same web every National League non-playoff team will get caught in this week; if only we played in the American League! Yes, the disparity between leagues is easy to blame for the Pirates shortcomings, but the front office also fell short in acquiring bullpen arms last winter, which could've kept Pittsburgh from blowing an extraordinary number of leads in the season's first half. That'll haunt these Pirates forever.
-MP
11. Arizona Diamondbacks
It's not Arizona's fault that their primary competition for a Wild Card spot, San Diego, has become one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last few weeks. Either way, though, Arizona has simply run out of bullets, especially in a rotation that hasn't gotten the boost from Corbin Burnes' return that they were hoping for. Eduardo Rodriguez has turned back into a pumpkin, and there's just not enough depth to keep pace with what's become a beast of an NL playoff chase.
–CL
10. Cleveland Guardians
Here we go again with the Guardians. Cleveland is a legitimate threat in a weak American League. Much like last season, the Guards are taking advantage of a fellow contender floundering down the stretch. This is when Cleveland plays its best baseball, so it should be no surprise they've won five straight games heading into Monday's potential postseason preview against the Red Sox.
-MP
9. Boston Red Sox
Dropping consecutive series to the Rangers and Rays won’t do much to Boston’s postseason outlook — they’ve been more or less locked into a Wild Card series in the Bronx for a while now — but it still doesn’t inspire confidence in this team’s ability to make a run come October. This offense is once again mired in a power outage, and while getting Willson Contreras and others back from the IL figures to help, who knows when that might actually be. And there’s still just a real dearth of power here that even this pitching staff might not be able to make up for.
–CL
8. Philadelphia Phillies
I don’t know what to think of the Philadelphia Phillies. On one hand, a rotation led by Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, a healthy Jesus Luzardo, a rejuvenated Aaron Nola and a much-improved Andrew Painter should will them to wins. On the other hand, Luzardo is not healthy, the lineup is top-heavy and the bullpen, outside of Jhoan Duran, is an utter disaster. The Phillies are almost certainly going to make the playoffs, but their losses in New York this week ruined any last hope they had at a division title. And with how they’re playing right now, I don’t know if I’d pick them to get beyond the Wild Card Round.
–ZR
7. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs playoff parade was put on hold Sunday as Alex Bregman was struck in the face by a foul ball. Bregman was taken to the local hospital, and it's unclear how much time he will miss as of this writing. Chicago's postseason hopes may hang in the balance, as their one clear advantage over every other NL team is their lineup. The Cubs have scored the most runs in baseball this year.
-MP
6. San Diego Padres
Yes, the schedule has helped, particularly series against Miami, Colorado, Washington, San Francisco and Cincinnati. But no matter who they've played, the Padres look like a different team from the one we saw for much of the year, with their big bats finally mashing and their rotation coming into focus with Nick Pivetta now back in the fold. San Diego is now dead even with Chicago and Philly in the Wild Card race, and no one will want to face this lineup and this bullpen in a short series.
–CL
5. New York Yankees
Just when it seemed like New York was getting ready to make a move, with Aaron Judge finally back in the lineup after months on the shelf, the reigning AL MVP landed right back on the IL — this time with a calf strain that could well jeopardize his entire postseason. It’s been that sort of year for the Yankees, which have the pitching to keep believing in them as contenders but just haven’t been able to put it all together enough to take command of their own playoff destiny. And with a Judge-less offense and a penchant for mistake-filled baseball, winning three series in a row feels like a tough ask even in this AL.
–CL
4. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves punched their ticket to the playoffs this week, and thanks to the Phillies’ struggles, they’re on the cusp of winning the NL East — ensuring a top-three seed in the National League. Tyler Mahle pitched another gem, and Ronald Acuña Jr. is hitting his stride at the perfect time. There’re still some concerns with the team, like the No. 3 spot in their rotation and struggling stars like Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies, but getting to the playoffs is a big deal, and the Braves can take pride in checking that box.
–ZR
3. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays may well have sewn up the AL East this week, taking two of three from the Red Sox over the weekend to stretch their lead over the Yankees ahead of an all-important four-game set in the Bronx beginning on Tuesday. Even if New York were to sweep all four, though, Tampa would still have the inside track to the division and the No. 1 overall seed. This pitching staff continues to thrive beyond all expectation even with some recent injuries, and the hitting has done just enough. Whether that recipe will withstand the postseason is the only question now.
–CL
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
Don't look now, but L.A.'s lineup has begun to stir, with Kyle Tucker looking like the player the Dodgers thought they were paying for this offseason. They also got Edwin Diaz back this week, and he's suddenly looking like the star closer of old — potentially answering this team's biggest question entering October. We know the rotation will be there; if they have Tucker at the height of his powers and a one-two punch in Diaz and Tanner Scott at the end of games, the three-peat march might be back on.
–CL
1. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers set a franchise record with 98 wins on Sunday. They still have a full week to go to add to that mark, and appear likely to reach the 100-win plateau. That's a great accomplishment, but it won't mean squat if Milwaukee falls to the Los Angeles Dodgers — or any other NL team for that matter — on their way to that elusive NL pennant. The Brewers are the favorites, but the Dodgers are lingering right behind them.
-MP
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