MLB Power Rankings: Two World Series dark horses have fully put slow starts in the past

The MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint. No matter how many times you repeat that mantra to yourself, it can be almost impossible to internalize — especially when your favorite team, with World Series expectations, gets off to a rough start over the first month or two. But no matter how bad things get, there's always a game the next day, and almost always time to turn things around.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners know this all too well. Both were considered legitimate pennant contenders at the start of the season, but both spent much of April and May below .500. Now, though, they're rolling, looking more and more like the teams we thought we'd see. Just how real are these recent hot stretches, and how high can they climb in our latest MLB power rankings when so many teams around them seem to be floundering? Let's get to it.

30. Los Angeles Angels

Look, I’ll be honest: I’m running out of things to write about the Angels, a bad baseball team that continues to play badly. Even when Reid Detmers authors possibly his best start of the year, six shutout innings at Dodger Stadium, the offense can’t pick him up and it ends with a Freddie Freeman walk-off homer. Whether the Halos choose to hang on to Detmers or flip him at the deadline is one of the many interesting questions regarding the future of MLB’s most dysfunctional franchise.

-Chris Landers, FanSided.com

29. Colorado Rockies

Their record might not show it, but the Rockies are on the right path. Hunter Goodman continues to show that he’s one of the best catchers in the National League, TJ Rumfield continues to be a consistent presence in the middle of the order, and while he’s currently injured, Mickey Moniak’s contributions can’t be overlooked. It’ll be a while before the Rockies are competitive, but there are building blocks in place, and those were hard to find this time last year.

-Zach Rotman, FanSided.com

28. Kansas City Royals

Somehow, someway, the Kansas City Royals have managed to one-up the Detroit Tigers for the biggest disappointment in the AL Central. Not only are the Royals dead last in their division, but they entered the season with postseason aspirations and have failed miserably to build around a generational superstar in Bobby Witt Jr. I don't have anything good to say about KC here. Kris Bubic was linked to the Athletics, of all teams, on Sunday morning. It's not going to get better from here.

-Mark Powell, FanSided.com

27. San Francisco Giants

Too little too late? Perhaps, but the Giants are showing signs of life at long last. They split a series in Milwaukee and then won a game at Wrigley Field 18-3. A postseason berth is obviously incredibly unlikely, but the Giants are starting to see struggling veterans like Matt Chapman and Willy Adames produce while Casey Schmitt continues to emerge and Bryce Eldridge, with more consistent playing time, open some eyes. The season would still be a failure if the Giants miss the playoffs, but at least their position player core is showing that perhaps 2027 could be a better year.

-ZR

26. Detroit Tigers

These Tigers have some bite in them. Detroit started off June undefeated by sweeping the AL East-leading Rays. The schedule doesn't get any easier, as they're in a battle with the Seattle Mariners — those same M's who ended their 2025 season — before hosting the Twins and taking a road trip to Cleveland. If the Tigers can thrive in the darkest of times, perhaps they have a run in them after all. Doing so could keep Tarik Skubal in town beyond the trade deadline. The AL is just bad enough that the Tigers, of all teams, have an outside shot at a Wild Card spot.

-MP

25. Minnesota Twins

The Twins went on a nice little run. Remember that? Oh, those were the days, as the Twins emerged as a surprise Wild Card contender just last week! I tried my best to take them seriously, and just as the Twins do to all of their fans — fairweather or not — we were all let down. Minnesota has lost seven of their last 10 games. They are not a good baseball team, and as bad as the AL, a real look in the mirror should force them to sell hard at the deadline. It is a sellers' market, after all. Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton, you're up!

-MP

24. Boston Red Sox

Boston just keeps on hanging around, even if the offense seems to come and go like the weather. Even with Garrett Crochet not back any time soon, there’s enough pitching here – and the AL is weak enough – that you can talk yourself into this team making a run if they get even just some consistent run production. Do they have that in them? I’m skeptical given how little power there is in this lineup with Roman Anthony out, but hey, someone has to make the playoffs.

-CL

23. New York Mets

The Mets’ maddening run of inconsistency continued this week on the west coast. On one hand, Carson Benge took Logan Gilbert deep twice, Jared Young continues to be an unexpected sparkplug, and Christian Scott turned in yet another good outing. On the other hand, Jonah Tong pitched his way back to Triple-A with a clunker in Seattle, Juan Soto has started to cool off, and the Mets continue to struggle to score runs with any sort of consistency. New York continues to whiff on its chances to make up ground, and that’ll only push them closer to deadline sellers.

-ZR

22. Miami Marlins

For the first time in a while, the Marlins put together a strong week, sweeping the Nats on the road and surviving a Pete Fairbanks scare to win a game against the mighty Rays. Even with this strong week, though, more Fairbanks rockiness combined with Kyle Stowers still trying to find his swing make the Marlins a tricky team to fully buy into, especially with all of their pitching injuries.

-ZR

21. Houston Astros

Consecutive series losses to the Brewers and Pirates dampened what momentum Houston had begun to build, and the concerns about the pitching staff remain obvious. Hunter Brown could return as soon as this week, but is that enough to turn things around entirely? We know that the Astros are going to score runs at a healthy clip; it’s hard to see them really making noise unless Mike Burrows and Tatsuya Imai unlock their potential, though.

-CL

20. Athletics

We might look back at that devastating come-from-ahead loss at Wrigley Field as the straw that broke the camels back. There’s still a lot to be excited about with this core moving forward, but they just don’t have the horses in their pitching staff, with a bottom-six ERA since the start of May. That’s no way to live, even in this wide-open of a division, and it’s hard to see where the help is going to come from unless top prospect Gage Jump is ready to dominate right away.

-CL

19. Toronto Blue Jays

Just when it seems like the Jays might finally be about to get a bit healthier and start turning the corner, they fall flat against the Orioles and Braves … and lose Daulton Varsho to a wrist injury. It’s been that kind of season for Toronto thus far, which simply doesn’t have the offensive oomph to overcome how decimated their pitching staff has become. That will get even harder with Varsho out; Dylan Cease is back soon, but he, Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage are going to have to carry this team for a bit.

-CL

18. Cincinnati Reds

The Reds want to win-now on a small-market budget. That never works, just ask the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even Bob Nutting spent a little more than usual this winter, and it's made a big difference. Cincinnati is the only NL Central team below .500, which had to happen at some point. It'd be wise to not count out a Terry Francona-managed team, but the Reds are headed in the wrong direction fast.

-MP

17. Washington Nationals

Just when it looked like the Washington Nationals’ magical run was reaching its end by getting swept at home by the Marlins, the Nats wound up taking the first two games of their weekend series in Arizona by a combined score of 20-2. Somehow, the Nationals remain MLB’s leader in runs scored, and as long as that continues, they’ll remain in the hunt, even with their pitching being iffy at best.

-ZR

16. Texas Rangers

Just when we were about ready to bury the Rangers, here they come again, grinding out some close, tough wins – including an impressive series victory at Busch Stadium. There’s still the outline of a real contender here; the ceiling with a rotation that features Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and MacKenzie Gore is obvious, and with Corey Seager (and soon Wyatt Langford) returning, there’s no reason why this offense should be as bad as it’s been moving forward.

-CL

15. San Diego Padres

I’ve been sounding the Padres alarm bell for weeks, and now, it’s time to panic. This week brought more of the same from San Diego, as the pitching was mostly fine but the offense was nowhere to be found. Fernando Tatis Jr. is still stuck on one home run, Manny Machado is hitting under the Mendoza Line and Jackson Merrill is close to being in that same boat. To make matters worse, Ramon Laureano suffered what’s likely going to be a season-ending hip injury. San Diego showed some sense of urgency by ending the Nick Castellanos experiment, but it’s hard to see them going anywhere if their star position players continue to perform as poorly as they have.

-ZR

14. Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore back? The O’s are suddenly hitting the tar out of the ball, and while I still have questions about the viability of this pitching staff when the competition ratchets up, the AL Wild Card race is such that if they hit like this nothing else will matter. Assuming Samuel Basallo is okay after an injury scare, he, Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, Jackson Holliday and the resurgent Coby Mayo can score a ton of runs.

-CL

13. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs should be better than this. Pete Crow-Armstrong is the top-ranked player in the National League in fWAR. Their starting rotation counteracts all the good moves Jed Hoyer has made, though, and the Cubs president of baseball operations doesn't sound like he's willing to make a big splash anytime soon. Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan and Freddy Peralta won't save the day unless the Cubs starting pitching shows some fight. As Hoyer knows all too well, one ace doesn't make a rotation, and Chicago is a mess right now.

-MP

12. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are more than just a good story. In the wide-open American League, they are a legitimate threat to make the postseason. The only reason we're hesitant on ranking these White Sox higher is because they are so young and relatively unknown. Sure, Braden Montgomery is a star in the making, but Munetaka Murakami is injured in the interim and he made up for many of their offensive inefficiencies with his pure power. The White Sox are within striking distance of the Guardians for first in the Central, which is not a sentence I thought I'd be typing at this point last year. It's time to put some respect on their name.

-MP

11. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are more than just the Jordan Walker show, whether it be JJ Wetherholt or Alec Burleson. St. Louis also isn't a committed buyer at the trade deadline. Bob Nightengale reported the front office is expected to part with some expiring assets by early August, even if that means making the current MLB product worse. That is the Chaim Bloom way, after all. The man is always building for a better future, and I admire that trait. He'd be a great character on the Jetsons. The Cards are second in the NL Central, but well behind the Brewers. That feels like their sweet spot.

-MP

10. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks were able to split a series against the Dodgers thanks to some late-game Ketel Marte heroics, but the good vibes to come from that quickly vanished when it was revealed that Corbin Burnes suffered a setback in his recovery, and he’ll now be out until September at the earliest. The Diamondbacks’ pitching has exceeded expectations thus far, but with Zac Gallen still not looking like his old All-Star self and Merrill Kelly coming off a major clunker, I still don’t know if I trust this staff enough to get to October with Burnes’ availability being such a major question.

-ZR

9. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates bullpen remains a major issue, but they won a road series in Houston and are at the mercy of the Atlanta Braves, arguably the best team in baseball. This Pittsburgh team was bound to be tested, and that'll continue in a homestand featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers. If we're lucky, we'll get a Shohei Ohtani vs Paul Skenes matchup on Tuesday to put the NL Cy Young race in perspective. The Pirates have a top-5 lineup in baseball and a starting rotation to match. The rest can be bought at the deadline, assuming Ben Cherington and Bob Nutting are willing.

-MP

8. Seattle Mariners

Now these are the Mariners we thought we’d see all year long. The pitching remains dynamite, with a bullpen that’s rounding into form with each passing day. It’s been the offense that’s been the difference-maker during this run that’s rocketed them to the top of the AL West, with top prospect Colt Emerson providing a particular shot in the arm. This was always, on paper, one of the best teams in baseball. Now they’re finally playing like it, and that’s a scary thought for the other American League contenders.

-CL

7. Philadelphia Phillies

This week brought more of the same for a Philadelphia Phillies team that is having trouble scoring yet having little to no trouble winning games. Andrew Painter’s struggles are starting to get very troubling, and it’s still hard to envision the Phillies winning a World Series without adding a big bat or two into their lineup, but the trio of Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jhoan Duran make them tough to beat whenever those guys are able to pitch.

-ZR

6. New York Yankees

You can try to run from it, but the June Swoon will find you all the same. This time it came in the form of a rib fracture to Aaron Judge that will keep the two-time defending AL MVP out for at least a month (and almost certainly longer). The good news is that the Yankees still have one of the best rotations in baseball, and on paper at least there’s still enough talent here to score enough runs and keep their heads above water. This team hasn’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt, though, and getting beat up by the Guardians this week didn’t change that a bit.

-CL

5. Cleveland Guardians

Over the course of a week, the Guardians made us question their greatness and confirm it. Cleveland was swept by the Boston Red Sox and then took a series against the Yankees (back when Aaron Judge was healthy). Cleveland has a lot of intriguing pieces on a low price tag. Their lineup starts and ends, to some extent, with Jose Ramirez, who has the best OPS on the team. The rotation is legitimate, whether it be Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams or Parker Messick, who deserves far more attention. If any Guardians team can finally slay their AL East demons in the playoffs, it is this one.

-MP

4. Tampa Bay Rays

We’ve been sounding the alarm for weeks now about the Rays – and particularly their rotation – being due for some regression. Sure enough, that regression has arrived, courtesy of recent sweeps at the hands of both the Orioles and Tigers. Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan remain one heck of a duo, but Tampa is going to need Steven Matz, Nick Martinez and Griffin Jax to continue punching above their weight if they want to remain serious contenders in the AL moving forward. They just don’t have enough firepower otherwise.

-CL

3. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers and Braves are the greatest threats to the Dodgers in the National League. While Milwaukee failed their first test against Los Angeles earlier this season, they are starting to run away with a crowded NL Central. Add in the emergence of Jacob Misiorowski, who in any other year would be the runaway NL Cy Young favorites, and you can start to get a glimpse of the Brewers potential. Milwaukee's front office, led by Matt Arnold, is not short of miracles. Any pitcher they acquire — whether it be Kyle Harrison or Quinn Preister on the cheap — is destined to have All-Star potential. The lineup is just good enough, even though they don't thrive on the long ball. Sorry, what was the question again? Yes, the Brewers should be a World Series frontrunner.

-MP

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

This week brought some good and bad for the Dodgers. On one hand, Roki Sasaki continues to look like a pitcher who has turned a corner by delivering arguably the best start of his career against the Angels. On the other hand, the Dodgers blew two very winnable games in Arizona because of their incredibly shaky bullpen. They’ll get Edwin Diaz back, and that should help, but the Dodgers are going to need more reinforcements at the deadline. They can’t just rely on starters going 7-8 innings consistently like last postseason.

-ZR

1. Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves continue to do nothing but win, taking series against the Blue Jays and Pirates this week. Injuries have been piling up, with Michael Harris II the latest to suffer an ailment, but it hasn’t shown in the results at all, as Atlanta maintains the best record in baseball. Most people will pick the Dodgers to win the World Series, and understandably so, but the longer the Braves continue to play like this, especially while shorthanded, the harder it’ll be to pick against them.

-ZR

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