MLB standings by remaining strength of schedule: Cubs in perfect position

We're past the halfway point of the 2025 MLB season, and in just a few days all 30 teams will be taking a well-deserved break for All-Star weekend. That means it's a perfect time to take stock of where things stand: which teams are contenders, which teams are pretenders and which playoff races will go all the way down to the wire.

So let's do just that, not by looking back and what's already happened but by looking forward at what's to come. Divisional and Wild Card races in both the AL and NL are wide, wide open right now, and any edge, however small, could prove crucial. With margins that thin, the teams that have the easiest paths down the stretch might have a leg up. Which teams are those? We've broken things down division by division to determine just who has the easiest strength of schedules remaining around the league.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

AL East standings by remaining strength of schedule

Of course, with so many division games still in store, the division you're in will go a long way to determining just how tough your schedule is. So it makes sense that there's no a ton separating the AL East, given how crowded all five teams are at this point; four teams are within 6.5 games of each other, and even the Orioles have worked back toward respectability after a miserable start.

Even still, the Rays hold a slight edge here. Two series against the Chicago White Sox certainly help, as does a road matchup against the Washington Nationals and seven games against the Cleveland Guardians. With series with Baltimore, Chicago and Cincinnati on tap out of the All-Star break, that will be Tampa's time to make some hay. The Red Sox, meanwhile, will get their answer about buying or selling soon enough: Boston gets Tampa, the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the next three weeks.

AL Central standings by remaining strength of schedule

If you share a division with the White Sox, your schedule can only be so tough, and every other team not named Detroit sits multiple games below .500 right now as well. That's music to Detroit's ears, as they look to take care of not only the Central (that's been sewn up for a while now) but also the No. 1 overall seed in the AL. Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota don't have too arduous a path themselves, but again, none of those teams have shown that they have what it takes to get hot down the stretch.

AL West standings by remaining strength of schedule

As if the Astros needed more help. Houston has one of the easiest schedules in the league coming home: They'll see plenty of the A's, Angels and Rangers, plus series with the Nationals, Marlins and Orioles and Braves teams that sure seem like they'll be selling at the trade deadline.

Seattle doesn't have it quite so easy. After finishing up a series at Yankee Stadium, the Mariners will head to Detroit before a huge homestand against the Astros and Brewers immediately following the All-Star break. The road gets easier from there, but August features the Phillies, Mets and Padres before ending the season with huge clashes against Houston and the Dodgers.

NL East standings by remaining strength of schedule

Speaking of teams that should probably go ahead and sell: The road is only going to get tougher from here for Atlanta, who have lost eight of 10 and will get the Yankees and Giants immediately following the All-Star break.

The Phillies will have a difficult close to July (Padres, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers) but things will ease up considerably from there, with a trip to Cincinnati and two series against Washington in August plus a closing stretch of Miami and Minnesota. Take care of their head-to-head matchups with the Mets, and that could decide this division.

NL Central standings by remaining strength of schedule

This is arguably the starkest gap between the top two teams in any divisional race, and it would seem to spell trouble for Milwaukee (although based on how they've handled the Dodgers so far this week, maybe they're up for the challenge). The Brewers have a West Coast swing to L.A. and Seattle after the All-Star break, and their end to August is a bear as well: five games against the Cubs followed by the Giants, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Phillies. Compared to that, Chicago's run home seems like a cake walk.

NL West standings by remaining strength of schedule

The Rockies were already down bad enough, but with such a tough division this season, they also get saddled with the most difficult closing schedule in the entire league. The other four teams in the NL West have their numbers bogged down by Colorado's miserable 21-71 record, but don't be fooled: There are still plenty of potential pitfalls here.

The Giants, in particular, will welcome the Dodgers to close the first half before dates with the Blue Jays, Braves and Mets after the All-Star break. They also have 16 straight games against the Padres, Rays, Brewers and Cubs in August. Good luck catching L.A. like that.