September is here. The playoff picture is far from clear. The smell of fall is in the air. Pumpkin beer — and dare I say pumpkin spice lattes — are right around the corner. October baseball is what the season is all about, especially when the 2027 season is under threat thanks to a bogus lockout. The Rays, Yankees and Red Sox are the best teams in the American League. The Dodgers, Brewers, Braves and Cubs are dominating the National League. All is right with the world, somehow.
And this is where we come in. Ranking all 30 teams at the start of September is an impossible task. Sure, we could go by record alone, but that would ignore strength of schedule, analytics and the obvious eye test. With a month left to go in the regular season, we shouldn't ignore the metrics, but learn from them.
30. Los Angeles Angels
Another week, another lengthy losing streak for a team that is in a race to the bottom against the A’s. At this point, it feels like only a matter of time before Reid Detmers leaves town, too, at which point Los Angeles will truly be starting over. Can we airlift Mike Trout out of here yet?
–Chris Landers, FanSided.com editor
29. Colorado Rockies
It was at least a very competitive sweep at the hands of the Braves, which came on the heels of taking two of three from a game Nationals squad. All of that counts as progress for a very young Rockies team still years away from true contention, with young players like Cole Carrigg, TJ Rumfield, Zac Veen and Kyle Karros gaining valuable experience. The rotation remains much further away, but at least there are some young position players in place, and we might see top prospect Charlie Condon at some point before the season ends.
–CL
28. Athletics
The Athletics look completely unrecognizable with Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker headlining an absurdly long list of players on the Injured List. A silver lining is that those injuries have opened the door for Henry Bolte and Lawrence Butler to play regularly, and both of those outfielders have taken advantage of their chances by swinging hot bats in August. Watching Butler, in particular, put together a strong month after struggling so mightily is encouraging for the future.
–Zach Rotman, FanSided.com staff writer
27. San Francisco Giants
Yunior Marte delivering 4.2 solid innings in an MLB debut dedicated to his late brother was a feel-good moment in a Giants season that's been short on them so far. San Francisco salvaged a four-game split against the D-backs after taking two of three against the Reds, and it'll be interesting to see which of this team's intriguing young arms — including Marte — can flash over the season's final few weeks.
–CL
26. New York Mets
The Mets lost back-to-back series for the first time in over a month, but the good vibes remain intact. Carson Benge and Nolan McLean continue to add onto their Rookie of the Year campaigns, Francisco Lindor made a game-saving play in the field and Juan Soto made a surprisingly early return from the IL. There isn’t much to play for, but it’s been encouraging seeing this team hang tough against a slew of division leaders.
–ZR
25. Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are not a very good baseball team. Detroit is 2-9 in their last 11 games and lost to Tarik Skubal in his return to the Motor City. The Tigers went from a team with the highest run differential of any AL Wild Card contender to, well, this. The Guardians are a better overall team, while the Mariners and Rangers are clearly better set up in the AL Wild Card standings. Detroit is a mess without Skubal, period.
-Mark Powell, FanSided.com
24. Kansas City Royals
I tried to avoid moving the Royals above the Tigers as long as I could, but Kansas City is 12-2 in their last 14 games. For the first time in awhile, they look like a real MLB team. That is the good news. The bad news is the Royals have a lot of work to do this offseason, and there's a lockout in the way. KC's rotation isn't what it used to be, and Seth Lugo has an ERA over 4.30. Hard pass.
-MP
23. Minnesota Twins
The Twins could've traded Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan at the MLB trade deadline. They opted against it, which we should all appreciate. Too many companies — and I'm not sticking to sports here — are far too eager to send their best assets packing in hopes of saving some money. Trading Buxton in particular would've accomplished just that, as he is over 30. Rather, the Twins chose to chase an AL Wild Card spot. If they don't get it, at least their fans should be appreciative.
-MP
22. Washington Nationals
It’s hard to fathom that the Nationals rank second in the Majors in runs scored yet, even after winning their weekend series against the Marlins, are eight games under .500 and all but out of postseason contention. This season should absolutely be viewed as a step forward given how well their lineup has performed (and the only reason they aren’t still leading in runs scored is because James Wood has been on the IL for a while), but with the state of the pitching staff being what it is, the Nats have a long way to go before they can be competitive. With that being said, Jackson Kent just turned in his best start as a big-leaguer, and Cade Cavalli might be the most underrated pitcher in the game right now. At least Nationals fans have that.
–ZR
21. Cincinnati Reds
The Reds have been the least consistent team in the NL Central all season long. Therefore, they are the worst. I wish I had a better model for success, but the NL Central has been the best division in baseball in 2026. So, the Reds remain the NL Wild Card chase. They also just placed Eugenio Suarez and TJ Freidl on waivers. You do the math. It doesn't add up. The Reds have given up on their season, period.
-MP
20. Seattle Mariners
It felt as if the tides might’ve been turning for a Mariners team that just won back-to-back series against the Cubs and Phillies ... only for them to come to Toronto and get summarily swept in a weekend set at Rogers Centre. This is an unsurprising outcome for a Mariners team that has disappointed all season long, particularly on the road, as evidenced by their 27-41 record away from T-Mobile Park. It’s good to see Cal Raleigh start to look more like himself, but Julio Rodriguez hasn’t been hitting, Brendan Donovan is hurt again and Seattle’s rotation has not met its lofty expectations either. The Mariners are still alive in the AL West and WIld Card hunt, but they’re going to need to string wins together sooner rather than later.
–ZR
19. Texas Rangers
The Rangers were on a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Angels and earning an impressive 11-2 win against the White Sox, only for them to drop the next two games in Chicago and the first two in Milwaukee. The Rangers are now trailing in the AL West and Wild Card races, and continue to be a team that’s impossible to trust. When they hit, they can’t seem to pitch. When they pitch, they don’t hit. Corey Seager has started to turn it on, only for Brandon Nimmo and Jacob deGrom to struggle. That's not the sign of a good team.
-ZR
18. Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh stopped the bleeding a bit this week, winning series against the Padres and Cardinals after a miserable stretch in the middle of August. Unfortunately, said stretch has them still an afterthought in the race for the NL's final Wild Card spot. Can the Pirates still make a postseason push if the pitching keeps rolling like it has been? Of course; this remains a very talented roster on paper. But we're getting short on time for that talent to actually show up in games at the same time, and this bullpen remains a real weakness.
–CL
17. Toronto Blue Jays
Sure, playing the 2026 Mariners means grading on a curve a bit, but it was still a tremendously dominant weekend for Toronto’s pitching staff, which allowed just four runs across a three-game sweep. This team is still just a game out of the final playoff spot in the AL, and Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Jose Soriano are a trio that no team will want to face in October. With the offense starting to be at least pesky if not overpowering, don’t count the Jays out just yet.
–CL
16. Baltimore Orioles
Every time we try to count Baltimore out, they make fools of us. Of course, playing the A’s helps, but the Orioles also took two of three in St. Louis earlier in the week after once again beating up on the division-leading Rays. The starting pitching is beginning to come around, and if this team can get all of its biggest pieces pointed in the same direction at the same time for once, they still have enough talent to make a postseason push.
–CL
15. St. Louis Cardinals
It feels like a young and very much ahead of schedule Cardinals team has finally hit a wall, dropping home sets against Baltimore and Pittsburgh on the heels of that nightmare weekend in Philadelphia. The good news is the future is very bright in St. Louis still, and there are plenty of young players to monitor — Joshua Baez foremost among them — down the stretch. But the playoffs were probably always asking a bit much for this club.
–CL
14. Houston Astros
The Astros fired GM Dana Brown following a brutal homestand entering their series at Yankee Stadium, and the team responded, winning two of three against New York and reclaiming sole possession of first place in the AL West in the process. There are a ton of issues with this team, from its poor outfield play to its poor rotation beyond Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert, but it’s clear that the Astros are the team to beat in the AL West. As long as Brown, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez can stay healthy, it’s hard to envision them loosening their grip on the division, even with the roster holes.Â
–ZR
13. Miami Marlins
A season full of ups and downs continued for the Marlins this week. They began the week on a high after sweeping the Nationals, only to drop a winnable series against the Red Sox and get blown out in Washington thanks to an uncharacteristically rough Eury Perez outing. That blip aside, Perez and Miami’s rotation has been mostly effective, but bullpen woes and an inconsistent lineup continue to doom them. Perhaps Kyle Stowers’ return from the IL will ignite things offensively, but if Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards can’t get going, it’ll be tough sledding for a Miami team that’s falling out of the Wild Card race.
–ZR
12. Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians are a good baseball team. They do everything right. They also don't do anything excptionally well, which is where I come in. Cleveland is ranked outside the top-10 of our MLB Power Rankings for a damn good reason. They will likely not win the World Series, like many of the AL Central powers before them. The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins proved this all too well.
-MP
11. Arizona Diamondbacks
Going 2-2 in San Francisco is no doubt a disappointing result for a D-backs squad for which every single win is huge in the chase for the final NL Wild Card spot. Arizona is already operating behind the 8-ball a bit with a beleaguered pitching staff and Ketel Marte currently on the IL. If they're going to hang on over the final few weeks, they're going to need some unsung pitchers — and maybe Corbin Burnes — to step up, and Corbin Carroll to carry things at the plate.
–CL
10. San Diego Padres
It was an exasperating weekend for San Diego, one in which the team's usually iron-clad bullpen began springing leaks all over the place. Heck, even Mason Miller blew a save. Granted, the Rays do that to just about everybody, but it still stings for a Padres team that has shown signs of life of late but still doesn't have a ton of margin for error in its playoff push. Can Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado show up consistently down the stretch? What about rotation newcomers Casey Mize and Robbie Ray? These Padres are among the highest-variance teams in the Majors right now.
–CL
9. Boston Red Sox
It was a disappointing weekend for Boston, which welcomed Roman Anthony and Trevor Story back to the lineup only for the bats to go ice-cold en route to dropping the final two games of their pivotal four-game set in the Bronx. This is still a very dangerous team under Chad Tracy, but nagging questions remain about the offense – especially with Willson Contreras now slumping – and the bullpen bridge to Aroldis Chapman. And potentially going on the road to Yankee Stadium for a Wild Card Round matchup for the second year in a row won’t be fun.
–CL
8. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox faced two series against Wild Card hopefuls this week and took them both, including two of three on the road in Minnesota. That's a nice feather in the cap for a very young team, and it's been encouraging to see the offense start coming alive again in recent days. The rotation still leaves a lot to be desired with Davis Martin now on the IL, and Munetaka Murakami's slump is concerning, but if Miguel Vargas keeps hitting like an MVP candidate, anything is possible — especially in the weakened AL.
–CL
7. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies finally lost a couple of games this week, snapping their nine-game winning streak, but they immediately bounced back, salvaging their series finale in Seattle and stealing a game against the Angels on Friday night. There are concerns with this team, as the lineup is top-heavy, the bullpen feels an arm short and Zack Wheeler has really struggled of late, but there’s also a reason they’ve been among MLB’s best under Don Mattingly. They have true star power in their lineup and one of the league’s best closers — and if Andrew Painter has truly turned a corner, watch out.
–ZR
6. Chicago Cubs
It's been an up-and-down week on the North Side, starting with a couple of heartbreaking losses in Arizona and finishing with a rollicking slugfest of a series at Wrigley against the Reds. Through it all, though, Pete Crow-Armstrong has just kept on delivering, strengthening his case for NL MVP. Is that enough to overcome the many questions about this pitching staff? That remains to be seen. But if the Cubs can get even a little bit healthy for October, this offense can go a long way.
–CL
5. New York Yankees
Give Aaron Boone and Co. credit: It hasn’t been particularly pretty since Aaron Judge went down, especially on offense, but New York delivered with its back against the wall this weekend, taking three of four against the Red Sox to stretch their Wild Card lead to four games and clinch the season series. The division remains an uphill climb, but they should at the very least host their first playoff matchup – and with this pitching staff welcoming Judge back in potentially a week or two, who knows if the Yankees can still hit their ceiling?
–CL
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles bounced back from that dispiriting sweep in Atlanta by taking two of three against Detroit, although it was another tough performance for what is a rickety offense right now. Of course, you don't need to score many runs if you can put together a rotation featuring Shohei Ohtani, Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow in October. But there are a surprising number of weak spots in this lineup, and the outfield in particular is in dire need of a boost (top prospect Josue de Paula, perhaps?).
–CL
3. Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa once again pulled off a miracle the series finale against San Diego on Sunday, capping another very strong week for the odds-on favorite to capture the top seed in the AL. It’ll be a tough closing stretch, with matchups against the Astros, Braves and Red Sox coming up before an all-important trip to Yankee Stadium in the final week of the regular season. But Tampa’s particular brand of baseball, anchored by pitching, defense and base-running, is the most bankable thing on the Junior Circuit right now. How it looks in October is another question.
–CL
2. Atlanta Braves
The Braves needed to win their series against the Dodgers to have any realistic shot at catching L.A. for one of the two byes in the NL, and sure enough, Atlanta went above and beyond, sweeping their rivals in a three-game series. Chris Sale capped it off with a five-hit shutout. Their lineup has been maddeningly inconsistent, but their pitching, even beyond Sale, continues to exceed expectations. As long as that remains the case (and it’ll be tougher with Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep ruled out for the year), the Braves will be tough to beat in October.
–ZR
1. Milwaukee Brewers
Death, taxes and Milwaukee racking up regular-season wins. Despite a loss to the Rangers on Sunday, the Brewers have taken five series in a row behind a resurgent Jackson Chourio and the lights-out trio of Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison and Logan Henderson. Will this time be different for the Crew in October? There's no way to know until we get there; certainly the same red flags exist, namely a lack of power. But Chourio is the sort of player who can raise that ceiling in a major way, and no one will want to face this pitching in the playoffs.
–CL
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