Baseball fans are often stuck in a state of trying not to overreact and underreact at the same time. The timing of slumps and hot streaks matters more than it should: If a player starts the season with an extended oh-fer, it’s a story, but if his bat goes cold after the weather warms up, we might not even notice. Similarly, if a player steals four bases and hits five homers in his first 10 games, we may think he’s destined for a great season, but the same offensive outburst wouldn’t produce a pretty slash line after a few pedestrian months. How much time is enough to draw meaningful conclusions about a team or a player? Is it two weeks? A month? Generally, the 40-game mark—approximately a quarter of the way through the regular season—is a decent time to take stock, but more than one eventual World Series champion has slogged its way through the spring.
We’re still more than a week away from that 40-game milestone, but with one full month of baseball in the books, we have enough of a sample for some lukewarm observations. Let’s assess all 30 MLB teams in our May power rankings, our first refresh since the preseason.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (21-10)
Preseason rank: 1
It’ll take something drastic for me to move the Dodgers out of the top spot in these rankings, but their starting pitching is trying its best to tempt me. Shohei Ohtani still hasn’t thrown a pitch this season and may not for a few more months. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are on the injured list, and the Bobby Miller reclamation project hit a snag in mid-April, when he allowed six runs in three innings to the lowly Rockies. The Dodgers have an almost endless supply of pitching depth—Tony Gonsolin just returned, and Clayton Kershaw could be back this month—but they’re using almost all of it early on. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is off to a Cy Young–caliber start (1.06 ERA, 2.27 FIP), but Dave Roberts might have to start picking names out of a hat to fill in the rest of their rotation.
The constants are the Dodgers’ relentless offense and stellar bullpen, and thanks to those strengths, the defending champions keep the top spot.
2. New York Mets (21-11)
Preseason rank: 4
Remember when the Mets’ pitching was supposed to be their weak point? Through 33 games, New York has had the lowest ERA in baseball (even after park adjustments). They’ve generated a ton of swinges and misses (second-highest strikeout rate) and have allowed homers at the lowest rate in baseball. That’s always a winning formula. It’s true that the Mets’ schedule has been far easier than average, with 20 games against teams with below-.500 records, but their three-game home sweep of the Phillies in late April offers evidence that the run prevention is real.
The bullpen might not have the back-end dominance that peak Edwin Díaz provided, but it’s the deepest unit the Mets have had in a long time, even after this week’s potentially season-ending injury to A.J. Minter. The position players have held up their end, too: Juan Soto was scuffling (by his standards) before a two-homer game on Thursday, but a less heralded free agent (re)signing, Pete Alonso, has already roughly equaled his 2024 WAR.
3. Chicago Cubs (19-13)
Preseason rank: 13
The Cubs have played only one series against an NL Central opponent—and that three-game set against the Pirates this week, in which the Cubs took two games, was also their only matchup against a team that currently has a losing record. Chicago has run the NL West gauntlet and come out of it with a winning record: The Cubs won their season series with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks and split their six meetings with San Diego. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s breakout in center field makes Chicago one of the best defensive teams in the league up the middle, and Kyle Tucker is exactly the superstar the Cubs needed in the heart of a deep lineup that had previously lacked a standout slugger. They even tagged Paul Skenes with three homers in five innings on Thursday.
There’s one glaring hole for Chicago: The bullpen, which ranks 29th in strikeout rate and 23rd in ERA, will need major remodeling this summer. Otherwise, the Cubs clearly look like the best team in the NL Central. Playoff baseball is primed to make its return to Wrigley Field this October.
4. New York Yankees (18-13)
Preseason rank: 10
There aren’t enough superlatives to properly contextualize Aaron Judge’s offensive output. His Baseball Savant page has more red than Kramer’s apartment after Kenny Rogers Roasters opened across the street. Judge has reached base in more than half of his plate appearances, and his .761 slugging percentage is 112 points higher than any other qualified hitter’s.
Nothing Judge does at the plate should really surprise us anymore, but the Yankees have gotten unexpected boosts from two other batters: Both Ben Rice and Trent Grisham are slugging over .580. Soto’s departure left a gaping hole, but the Yankees have more than replaced his production in the aggregate. They’ve boasted baseball’s best offense thus far, and that’s helped them weather Devin Williams’s failures (9.00 ERA) as closer and some real depth issues in the starting rotation. Carlos Rodón and Max Fried have been the only reliable starters for the Yankees this year.
5. San Diego Padres (19-11)
Preseason rank: 11
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s .602 SLG would be his highest mark since 2021. His 15 percent strikeout rate would be the lowest of his career by 6.9 percentage points. Tatis has battled various injuries and incurred a PED suspension in the past three years, but San Diego’s best player has returned to his previous MVP-caliber form, which has significantly elevated the lineup. Tatis’s combination of speed, power, and outfield arm strength makes him as exciting as any player, and the Padres’ pitching—highlighted by MLB’s best bullpen ERA—is performing well above expectations, too.
Fernando Tatis Jr. by Year
The Padres have cooled off since their 7-0 start, but San Diego will remain in the mix of NL contenders if Tatis continues at this pace. Jackson Merrill, who’s expected to return on Monday from a hamstring strain, will be a welcome sight in a fairly top-heavy roster.
6. Detroit Tigers (20-12)
Preseason rank: 16
Is former no. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson finally breaking out? Torkelson hit 31 homers in 2023, but this has been the best all-around month he’s produced as a hitter. His barrel rate, hard-hit rate, walk rate, and pull rate on balls in the air would all be career highs. He’s developed into a proper patience-and-power slugger in the heart of the Detroit lineup, which has helped cover for Riley Greene’s slow start.
The Tigers are still well above average at run prevention. The big question entering 2025 was whether the lineup would generate leads for the pitchers to preserve. If Torkelson keeps slugging like this, Detroit will be the best team in the AL Central.
7. San Francisco Giants (19-13)
Preseason rank: 21
The Giants are set to test just how far an elite bullpen can carry an otherwise average team. Their record is tied for sixth-best in baseball despite a below-average offense and the 10th-worst starting pitching by ERA (albeit the sixth best by FIP). They’ve made this work by winning a lot of close games, aided by a bullpen that’s second in baseball, has a 2.52 ERA, and is fourth in win probability added.
That bullpen may be deep, but I’m skeptical about whether this will be sustainable for 162 games. Patrick Bailey is one of the best pitch framers and game callers behind the dish, but either the offense or the starting rotation needs to chip in much more for the Giants to compete at the top of a very deep National League.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (17-14)
Preseason rank: 3
Only four teams have a worse bullpen ERA than the Phillies. Philadelphia’s surprising inability to get outs after the sixth inning has been compounded by the team’s defensive issues. The Phillies still have a high floor thanks to their elite starting staff—bolstered by trade acquisition (and Phillies WAR leader) Jesús Luzardo, their rotation ranks first in K-BB percentage by a wide margin—but their deficiencies at the back of the bullpen have already cost them a few games. In a highly competitive NL East, every game counts.
The good news: It’s still almost always sunny for the Phillies in Philadelphia. The Phillies haven’t lost a series at Citizens Bank Park since last July.
9. Boston Red Sox (17-16)
Preseason rank: 7
Boston fans have longed for the front office to get more aggressive about improving the roster, and new additions Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet have given the people what they wanted. Bregman has the highest WAR of any Red Sox position player, and Crochet leads the pitching staff. The emergence of Wilyer Abreu and rookie Kristian Campbell—Boston’s second- and third-most valuable position players—has primed the revamped Red Sox for a strong run at the Yankees in the AL East race.
Boston’s biggest issue, which won’t be easy to address in the season, is at catcher, where the club has gotten little production on either side of the ball.
10. Atlanta Braves (14-16)
Preseason rank: 2
The Braves lost seven consecutive games to begin the season. Now they’ve won nine of 12. It’s been a season of streaks, and the cause of this inconsistency is clear. The preseason plan was to make up for lackluster pitching depth with a few frontline starters. Injuries to Spencer Strider (right after he returned from an elbow repair) and Reynaldo López, plus mediocre performances from Chris Sale, have scuttled that strategy, despite strong work by Spencer Schwellenbach. The whole roster seems much more fragile, with less margin for error, than it did when the season began.
What has worked? Atlanta’s lineup has finally started hitting with runners in scoring position. But the Braves’ ceiling probably depends on how Ronald Acuña Jr. plays when he returns from his second ACL tear. He’s expected back before June.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (17-14)
Preseason rank: 5
Even though Arizona’s rotation features two consistent aces in Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen, neither has been the Diamondbacks’ best pitcher. That title belongs to Brandon Pfaadt, who has kept traffic off the bases with a low walk rate and recorded a 2.78 ERA. The Snakes, who led the majors in runs scored last season, are still plating plenty and should continue to do so by virtue of their elite swing decisions and their speed on the basepaths. Corbin Carroll, who supplies a lot of the latter, has been an MVP-level performer, a major contrast to his deep slump in the first half of last season.
The major questions surround run prevention. Gallen, Burnes, and Merrill Kelly all had disappointing Aprils, and the bullpen is shorthanded without the injured Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk. The Diamondbacks’ bats give them a high floor, but pitching—a strength of their NL West rivals—will set their ceiling.
12. Seattle Mariners (18-12)
Preseason rank: 12
Many questioned the Mariners’ lackluster offseason, which featured few additions to the lineup, but returning players Jorge Polanco and Dylan Moore, who are both over 30 years old, have had huge first months. Polanco’s 1.226 OPS ranks second in MLB among all hitters with at least 70 plate appearances.
Julio Rodríguez has been just OK offensively, yet the Mariners have the second-best offense in MLB by wRC+. Before the season, it would have been hard to imagine that both of those statements could be true. I’m not sure I believe that Seattle can keep producing like this without a Rodríguez resurgence, but he has overcome slow starts before.
Pitching was supposed to be the Mariners’ strong suit, but their vaunted rotation has been surprisingly so-so. For now, the M’s appear to have avoided a major injury to top starter Logan Gilbert, who left a game with forearm tightness and will miss some time with a Grade 1 flexor strain. We know this club can pitch, but with Gilbert and George Kirby on the injured list, the rotation’s depth is sure to be tested.
13. Texas Rangers (16-16)
Preseason rank: 6
The Rangers have been hovering right around .500, but their bats have held them back. The offense (which is 25th in wRC+) looks more like the 22nd-place 2024 version than the third-ranked 2023 group that powered them to a World Series title. As nice as it’s been to see Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle both back on the mound and pitching well, Texas needs to muster a more consistent offensive attack to be a true top-10 team. The Rangers sent first baseman Jake Burger to Triple-A on Thursday so that he could hit the reset button after a poor start to the season; maybe that, coupled with Corey Seager’s probable return this weekend, will help the rest of the Rangers reset, too.
14. Houston Astros (16-14)
Preseason rank: 9
Hunter Brown’s path to ace-level starter has been rocky, but he’s finally arrived. Since implementing a sinker midway through last year, he’s been one of the best pitchers on earth. Brown began this season with six consecutive quality starts, and his 1.22 ERA is backed up by a 1.82 FIP and a very low home run rate.
Nonetheless, it has to be hard for Astros fans to watch Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker crush baseballs for other contending teams. The Houston offense looks quite middling this season, both on paper and in practice.
15. Cincinnati Reds (17-15)
Preseason rank: 19
The Reds reeled off five consecutive victories late last month to move solidly above .500, but four of those wins came against the Marlins and Rockies. Credit to Cincinnati for taking care of business, but I’m not overreacting to this recent success. Austin Hays and Noelvi Marte had huge weeks, but the offense as a whole hasn’t performed up to expectations. Elly de La Cruz provides one of the most electric viewing experiences in the sport, but most members of the position-player core that surrounds him—including Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Spencer Steer, and Matt McLain—have struggled out of the gate.
As the Reds try to figure out their foundation on the offensive side, all eyes shift to Marte. He has a .967 OPS, a ton of bat speed, and a low strikeout rate.
16. Cleveland Guardians (18-13)
Preseason rank: 17
Cleveland finished last season with the best bullpen ERA (2.57) in MLB by more than a half run. Its relievers also led the majors in WAR and posted the highest win probability added on record. The question entering 2025 was whether it could sustain its elite late-inning work despite the heavy usage of its top arms deep into last October. So far, the answer has been no. The Guardians are 15th in bullpen ERA, and Emmanuel Clase has looked human.
One reason to be optimistic: After a sluggish start to the season, Tanner Bibee has shown considerably better stuff in his past two starts. The Guardians need him to be a frontline starter to re-create the elite run-suppression machine of last year and successfully defend their AL Central title.
17. Athletics (17-15)
Preseason rank: 24
The Athletics were my favorite good bad team entering the season, and they’ve perfectly lived up to my expectations. Closer Mason Miller has been almost unhittable, leading qualified relievers in FIP, but A’s pitchers have allowed the sixth-highest ERA in the first eight innings. Although preseason forecasts suggested that Sutter Health Park would play pretty neutral, it’s been an offensive fun house so far. The A’s can score on anyone: Tyler Soderstrom seems to homer every other day, combining with Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, and Shea Langeliers to form a fearsome top of the lineup. Rookies Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz couldn’t be more different in the box, but Wilson has produced, and Kurtz, a more recent arrival, has potential. The Athletics’ problem is that they have too many good hitters who play similar positions, which forces the team to get creative defensively to fit them all into the lineup.
If we did MLB.TV rankings of the most interesting teams to watch, the A’s would make my top 10. A push for an above-.500 finish is certainly on the table.
18. Milwaukee Brewers (16-16)
Preseason rank: 14
Milwaukee could pull four guys out of the stands and have them start the next four games, and I’d still expect them to pitch to a 3.50 ERA. The Brewers have no starting pitching on paper behind Freddy Peralta, yet they’ve squeezed quality innings out of Chad Patrick, José Quintana, and Quinn Priester. Since that terrible, no good, very bad opening weekend in the Bronx at the height of torpedo-bat mania, Brewers starting pitchers have baseball’s fifth-best ERA (and comparatively poor peripherals).
Star hitters William Contreras and Jackson Chourio haven’t really clicked yet. Once they do, Milwaukee could make a push into the top half of the league. Until then, I’ll be wondering what my ERA could be after a few weeks in the Brewers’ pitching lab.
19. Tampa Bay Rays (14-17)
Preseason rank: 20
When he’s gone, when he’s gone, we’re sure going to miss him when he’s gone. That’s how I’ve felt watching most members of the Rays rotation pitch over the years. Tyler Glasnow used to lead Tampa Bay’s staff. Now, Shane Baz has taken that top spot (in the absence of the injured Shane McClanahan, at least). I have no idea how long we’ll get to enjoy Baz on the hill for the Rays before he gets hurt or departs, but when he’s out there, he’s a joy to watch. Baz has never thrown 80 innings in an MLB season, but he’s only 26, averages 97 on the fastball, and has a 3.63 FIP, with 37 strikeouts in 35 innings.
20. Kansas City Royals (17-15)
Preseason rank: 18
Only the Rockies have been worse than the Royals on offense in 2025. Kansas City has the major league’s lowest isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) and ranks in the bottom five in barrel rate, so it’s not like the Royals are hitting balls hard in the air and getting unlucky. Outside of Bobby Witt Jr., there also aren’t a ton of positives on the position-player side so far.
The warning signs were there last season, when this group struggled mightily to score away from Kauffman Stadium. The Royals’ starting pitchers have kept them above .500 for now, but that won’t last without offensive support.
21. Minnesota Twins (13-19)
Preseason rank: 15
It’s one thing when injury-prone guys like Royce Lewis or Byron Buxton miss time. It’s another when a top prospect like Luke Keaschall comes up, rakes right away, and then gets hit by a pitch and fractures his forearm. Matt Wallner and Willi Castro are also on the shelf. The bigger problem, perhaps, is that the Twins haven’t built in any roster redundancy: After spending less than every other team two offseasons ago, they essentially sat out last year’s trade deadline and then ranked 24th in spending this past winter. To make matters worse, the last player they did splurge on, Carlos Correa, has a .588 OPS. No number of nasty Joe Ryan sweepers can save the Twins unless they get healthy and aggressive.
22. Baltimore Orioles (12-18)
Preseason rank: 8
Even the biggest Orioles doubter couldn’t have foreseen the rotation being this bad. Baltimore’s starters have a 6.04 ERA, which ranks 28th. The O’s signed Kyle Gibson off the street, and he allowed home runs to four of the first five batters he faced in his debut. Grayson Rodriguez is on the 60-day injured list, Zach Eflin has a lat strain, and Kyle Bradish is still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The lone bright spot for the Baltimore rotation has been its Japanese veteran, the 35-year-old MLB rookie Tomoyuki Sugano. The righty has pitched to a 3.00 ERA, and while his underlying metrics are worrisome, his ability to eat innings is severely needed. As good and fun as the Baltimore offense can be, those homegrown bats can’t hit their way out of the deficits generated by a rotation this bad.
23. Toronto Blue Jays (15-16)
Preseason rank: 22
The Blue Jays made three significant offseason acquisitions. Let’s start with the good: Jeff Hoffman (who was set to sign with Baltimore before he failed a physical) has been a lockdown closer, which has helped overhaul what was the worst bullpen in baseball last year. Now for the bad: Outfielder Anthony Santander has a .571 OPS, and Max Scherzer made only one start before getting injured again. The Jays started the season well, but a 4-8 stretch against above-average American League teams (Mariners, Astros, Yankees, Red Sox) reinforced the belief that there’s a sizable gap between Toronto and the AL’s October-bound contingent.
24. St. Louis Cardinals (14-18)
Preseason rank: 23
The Cardinals have severely lacked homegrown, high-quality starting pitching in the 2020s. They may have finally developed a quality arm in 2025. Matthew Liberatore was largely ineffective across his first three MLB campaigns, and he was relegated to a bullpen role for large stretches of last season after struggling as a starter. But the 25-year-old has been their most reliable starter this year. Liberatore throws five pitches, and improved command has helped him put things together. Not only is Liberatore keeping the ball in the park, but he’s also cut his walk rate in each successive season. He’s one of four 25-or-younger players who are among the top 10 Cardinals by FanGraphs WAR, along with Victor Scott II, Masyn Winn, and Iván Herrera.
25. Washington Nationals (14-18)
Preseason rank: 26
The Juan Soto trade is aging pretty well for Washington. The prospect return accounts for the Nationals’ best starting pitcher (MacKenzie Gore), their best hitter (James Wood), and a quality everyday shortstop (CJ Abrams). The Nats’ pitching development still has a long way to go to produce a contender, but the lineup has some spunk this year. At 22, Wood already looks like the kind of player who will win an MVP award or two. Few players hit the ball harder, and he has nine homers, equaling his tally from his rookie year in about 200 fewer plate appearances. Imagine if he learns to consistently keep the ball off the ground.
26. Los Angeles Angels (12-18)
Preseason rank: 27
Sam Blum, The Athletic’s Angels beat writer, encapsulated the team’s offensive struggles pretty well with this post:
Since Kyren Paris’s Linsanity-style run to start the season subsided, the Angels haven’t hit much. On the season, they have the second-highest strikeout rate and the lowest walk rate in baseball, an extremely suboptimal combination. Mike Trout has hit into hard luck, but he’s batting .179 and has the highest strikeout rate of his career—and a bone bruise sent him to the IL on Thursday. It’s said not to be serious, but it’s Trout, so there’s no telling when he’ll return. In the past four-plus seasons, the Athletics declined, bottomed out, and rebuilt a competitive team. The Angels have the same number of playoff appearances over that span (zero), but they may not have even hit bottom yet.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-20)
Preseason rank: 25
The Pirates feature Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, and [gestures wildly at an empty pit] not much else. Skenes has largely lived up to preposterously high expectations and remains the oddsmakers’ favorite for the National League Cy Young award, even after a rough outing on Thursday. Cruz has belted eight homers, and every ball off his bat sounds like it could land in the Allegheny River. The rest of the Pirates have been disappointing, assuming anyone had real hopes for them to begin with. It’s awesome that Andrew McCutchen continues to produce at age 38, but any progress for Pittsburgh will have to come from young players because Bob Nutting has demonstrated that he won’t spend on established ones.
28. Miami Marlins (12-18)
Preseason rank: 28
Before a single pitch was thrown this season, the Sandy Alcantara trade deadline rumor mill got into gear. Unfortunately, Alcantara himself has not. The 29-year-old former Cy Young winner came back from Tommy John surgery and figured to be one of the most prized midseason trade acquisitions, but he hasn’t pitched anything like he did before his injury. His velocity is back to normal, but his overall stuff profile and command are nowhere close to effective.
Alcantara has had one quality start in six outings. The Dodgers tagged him for seven runs, and the Phillies managed six two starts prior. In each of those games, the righty failed to complete three innings. His ERA has ballooned to 8.31. Miami is not without its breakout candidates: Max Meyer and electric rookie Agustín Ramírez have shined for this Fish squad on the mound and behind the dish, respectively. But the Marlins need Sandy to get right, if only so they can convert him into prospects who could fuel their latest rebuild.
29. Chicago White Sox (8-23)
Preseason rank: 30
The White Sox are out of the basement! It’s not really because of anything they did—more on the Rockies in a moment—but not having baseball’s worst record, for now, is something to celebrate. (Sort of.) If you’re looking for a reason to be optimistic about their future, check out rookie catcher Edgar Quero. The 22-year-old has slashed .300/.417/.350 through his first 48 plate appearances in the big leagues, with more walks than strikeouts. The White Sox acquired him from the Angels in the 2023 Lucas Giolito trade, which is aging very well for Chicago. Speaking of potential trades: Luis Robert Jr. has 13 steals, the most in MLB, which makes it appear as though he’s trying to sprint out of the Windy City at the trade deadline. Hitting would help, too.
30. Colorado Rockies (5-25)
Preseason rank: 29
The Rockies were shaping up to be a bottom-three team in baseball before the season started. After injuries to Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar, their downside is bottomless. Other than Jordan Beck hitting five homers in three games over two days last week, there’s been very little to like.
