The MLB season is underway, and we’re through the first 25% of the season, which gives us a better understanding of which teams are great and which teams are trending in the wrong direction.
We ranked these teams at the start of May, and there have been a lot of changes from that point in the season to now, as some teams have caught fire while others have slowed down.
This list aims to not only rank the best teams in the league, rewarding teams who have played well in 2025, but also try and keep an eye on future results.
If this were just a ranking of the best records in baseball thus far, you could find your answer by simply checking the standings, but this list takes into account roster performance and luck as well.
10. Seattle Mariners (Previous Rank: 9)
The Seattle Mariners fell on this list by a spot, but I don’t view this as a reflection of worse play. Their offense has remained excellent, boasting a strong 115 wRC+, but it has undergone an expected regression from their extremely hot start. What does scare me is the pitching staff; they don’t have a full five-man rotation following the injury to Bryce Miller, and I’m not sure their bullpen will hold up if these injuries continue to pile up. I have serious questions about their roster and pitching health, but this is a better team than last year, and they just need some arms to step up.
9. San Francisco Giants (Previous Rank: 8)
The San Francisco Giants hit the skids for a bit after their hot start, but they swept the Athletics to get back on track and sit just a game out of first place in the National League West. Similar to the Mariners, they fall on this list simply due to questions I have about their roster and how they can hold up over the course of a full season. Their rotation has good arms, but their backend has question marks, and the offense isn’t particularly great either. San Francisco is sixth in ERA- and 18th in wRC+, and a backend top 10 spot is perfect for a team that’s great at run prevention and mediocre at scoring.
8. St. Louis Cardinals (Not Ranked)
Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn, Ivan Herrera, and Victor Scott are forming an incredible young core in St. Louis at critical positions. They have a middle infield, they have a catcher, and they have a centerfielder with the upside for all four to be plus defenders and hitters at their positions. Matthew Liberatore looks like a frontline starting pitcher, and Ryan Helsley has continued to be a superstar-caliber closer for the Cardinals. They’re a great offense and an above-average pitching staff, and if this holds up, they will rocket up these rankings even further.
7. San Diego Padres (Previous Rank: 3)
The San Diego Padres are a difficult team to evaluate, and that’s because of their poor defense and lack of home run power. They can get on-base, make contact, and pitch really well, but historically speaking teams that don’t hit home runs and cannot make up for it with outrageous run prevention don’t do well in the postseason. San Diego has fixable issues, but I don’t feel comfortable grouping them in the upper-echelon because I don’t think their team composition translates in big games. Their season is FAR from over, but they have a big flaw that isn’t a product of bad luck.
6. Chicago Cubs (Previous Rank: 4)
The Chicago Cubs took a brutal blow when they lost Justin Steele in the rotation, and they suffered another blow when Shota Imanaga hit the IL with a hamstring strain. This offense is dynamic; no one runs the bases better than they do, but their pitching staff is so incredibly banged up and flawed that I can’t rank them much higher on this list. Every Cubs fan will tell you that their bullpen is a disaster, and I couldn’t agree more. If you want to go on a playoff run, you need more arms than Chicago currently has, and they haven’t displayed an ability to find arms out of thin air like other top teams.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (Previous Rank: 7)
Kyle Schwarber is launching bombs, Trea Turner is showing some signs of life, Alec Bohm is turning around a disastrous start, and Jordan Romano has gone from a punching bag to money in big spots. The Phillies are alive and back in first place, sporting a dominant rotation and an offense that can still bang with the best of them. If this team can figure out the bullpen, they can be truly dangerous, but the loss of Jose Alvarado kept me from ranking them as the top team in the NL East; that group is too flawed at the moment.
4. New York Mets (Previous Rank: 2)
The New York Mets have stumbled a bit over the last two weeks, but they have an extremely well-rounded roster, and that leaves me extremely unconcerned about them. They’re third in the league in xwOBA (.350) and are the unluckiest team in the game in terms of wOBA-xwOBA differential; their offense (which has been good) should be great soon, and the rotation remains utterly remarkable. Griffin Canning and David Peterson are pitching like frontline starters while Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes might be real aces. Give Juan Soto time, he’ll be red-hot sooner than later.
3. New York Yankees (Previous Rank: 5)
The New York Yankees have hit their stride in the last few weeks, shuffling their rotation and bullpen around as guys have gotten healthy to get on a roll. Clarke Schmidt and Jonathan Loaisiga are huge stabilizing forces on the pitching staff, while Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams have put ugly starts behind them to become real impact pieces. If the Yankees can keep their well-rounded roster humming, they could be even better than they were last year when they went to the World Series, and lead the entire league in WAR and Run Differential entering play today.
2. Detroit Tigers (Previous Rank: 6)
Javier Baez looks like an All-Star while playing excellent defense in centerfield, Tarik Skubal remains the best pitcher in baseball, arguably, their bullpen is still nails, and this offense just bangs. Detroit is having a whole lot of fun playing baseball right now, and while some rotation injuries have come around to give them some unexpected challenges, I think they’ll be just fine. The Tigers have an extremely balanced team that is top five in wRC+ and ERA while boasting the best overall record in the American League.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (Previous Rank: 1)
The Los Angeles Dodgers may not have a massive advantage in the standings over their division or the entire league, but I feel comfortable keeping them here until a team proves otherwise. They aren’t pitching well, but they score better than anyone else in the National League, anchored by the ridiculous performances from Shohei Ohtani. For the Dodgers, injuries in the pitching staff have been impossible to stomach, but nothing has happened that will knock someone out for the playoffs, and that’s why they’re still number one.