In an MLB season in which far more has gone wrong than right for many of this year’s supposed contenders, consider this a palate cleanser as we near the halfway mark. 

There are only five teams in the American League with a winning record and only three with a positive run differential, a group that doesn’t include the defending AL champion Blue Jays. The Red Sox have the fewest wins in the AL, the Mariners are the only team in the AL West with a winning record (just one game over .500), and the Tigers and Royals — two teams many expected to be Central contenders — are already more than seven games back in their division. 

In the National League, the Mets’ disastrous start hasn’t gotten much better, as they still dwell in the East cellar. The Cubs, meanwhile, are seven games back in the NL Central. They would at least hold the final wild-card spot if the season ended today, which is much more than the Giants can say. 

But why don’t we look at the glass half full? There’s still a second half to be played, and in this week’s Power Rankings, we’ll provide one reason for optimism for all 30 teams (yes, even you, Boston). 

Mickey Moniak was slugging over .600 before hurting his ankle a month ago. He should be back soon, and the call for top prospect Charlie Condon — a power-hitting first baseman/outfielder who was the No. 3 pick of the 2024 draft — probably isn’t far off. 

Jo Adell is heating up, and if the Angels want to finally overhaul their farm system with an injection of talent, they have a real shot to do that at the deadline if they listen to offers on Adell and starters Reid Detmers and José Soriano. 

This year hasn’t gone anywhere close to plan in San Francisco, but young hitters Jung Hoo Lee, Casey Schmitt and Bryce Eldridge are providing optimism for the future. 

A 2023 first-round draft pick out of high school in Virginia, Bryce Eldridge is starting to hit his stride at age 21. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

It looks like Jac Caglianone, who has four homers in his past three games, is starting to put it all together. Last season as a rookie, he hit .157 in 210 at-bats.

As bad as it has been — and, boy, has it been bad — the Red Sox are only six games out of a wild-card spot. Payton Tolle and Connelly Early already look like long-term mainstays in the rotation, and Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet should be back to help in the second half. 

There’s some unluckiness involved with the Mets’ abysmal offense. Their expected batting average and slugging percentage both rank in the top six in MLB, and Juan Soto, Bo Bichette and Carson Benge are all heating up in June. 

Rookie infielder Kevin McGonigle is already a star, Dillon Dingler looks like one of the best catchers in the league, and ace Tarik Skubal is back. A sweep of the upstart White Sox last week was encouraging, but if the Tigers decide to be sellers, the returns for Skubal, Gleyber Torres and Casey Mize could be significant. 

After surgery in early May to remove loose bodies in his elbow, Tarik Skubal returned to the mound in mid-June for the Tigers. (Photo by Getty Images)

Just like that, the Twins are only 3.5 games back of the division lead and one game out of a wild-card spot. A healthy Byron Buxton is still one of the best players in baseball, and Royce Lewis is showing encouraging signs of a turnaround. That would be massive. 

Top starter Hunter Brown and closer Josh Hader are back, Yordan Alvarez is healthy and playing at an MVP level, and despite the dreadful start, the Astros are just three games out in the AL West. 

A series win this weekend over the back-to-back champion Dodgers was promising. Shane Baz has a sub-3.00 ERA over his past seven starts, Trevor Rogers has a 2.22 ERA in June, and Brandon Young is emerging as another effective piece in a rotation that needs these things to happen. 

Josh Jung looks like one of the best third basemen in the American League in a bounce-back season, and Wyatt Langford is on fire right now. Both are vital developments that need to continue. 

Nick Kurtz has nine home runs in June alone, the offense is finally waking up as a whole, and 2024 second-round pick Gage Jump already looks like a difference-maker in the rotation. 

After his recent power surge, Nick Kurtz leads all of MLB in RBIs. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene are both on rehab assignments, meaning their returns are drawing near. A rotation featuring Greene, Chase Burns and Andrew Abbott could allow Cincinnati to dream. 

Dylan Cease looks like one of the best starters in the American League, Louis Varland has emerged as one of the best relievers in the AL, George Springer has looked much better lately, and Shane Bieber and Addison Barger are getting close to a return. The Blue Jays just have to get Vlad going. 

A year ago, the Pirates ranked last in MLB in OPS and runs scored. This year, they rank fourth in both categories. 

The offense has yet to play to its capabilities, yet the D-backs are still over .500. Gabriel Moreno, Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte all have an OPS over .800 over the past two weeks, so maybe this is a turning point. 

They have the most dominant closer in the game in Mason Miller, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are showing signs of a turnaround, and Walker Buehler has a 1.71 ERA in four June starts. It’s hard to imagine Tatis being a league-average hitter all year. 

Though he still has only two home runs on the season, Fernando Tatis Jr. is batting .362 over the past 30 days. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Fish are flyin’. They’ve won 14 of their last 18 games, they have All-Star contenders at both middle infield spots, and now Kyle Stowers, an All-Star last year with 25 home runs, is finally getting going. If starter Eury Perez finds his way again after a stint on the injured list, maybe this team ends up becoming a buyer. 

For all of their weaknesses on the pitching side, their offense is legit. The Nationals have scored more runs than any other team in MLB.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is on fire, the rotation should get Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele back in the second half, and there are too many talented pieces for this offense to not be one of the best in baseball, right? … Right? 

For all that has gone wrong — Cal Raleigh has a .560 OPS, Andres Munoz and Luis Castillo both have ERAs over 5.00, Brendan Donovan hasn’t played in a month, the offense ranks 24th in OPS — the Mariners are still in first place. You have to imagine the best is ahead. 

It has been a rough June in Cleveland, and injuries to Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez haven’t made things easier. But Rookie of the Year contenders Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick might be capable of carrying the group until reinforcements are back. 

The reasons for optimism on the South Side are obvious and numerous. The rebuild is happening faster than anyone could’ve envisioned, and let’s remember the White Sox have done all this without Kyle Teel, their top catching prospect who hasn’t played yet this season due to hamstring and knee injuries. He doesn’t seem far off. The returns of Teel and slugger Munetaka Murakami should provide a second-half boost. 

The Cardinals’ rotation ranks 11th in ERA, which is far better than anyone could have imagined. If that group can hold up, an offense led by Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera and standout rookie JJ Wetherholt should continue to surpass expectations. The Cardinals have the third-highest expected batting average in MLB. 

Their starters rank second in the American League in ERA, and their offense continually puts the ball in play with the lowest whiff rate in MLB. Despite the lack of pop in the lineup, it’s a strategy that’s working. FanGraphs gives the Rays an 85.2% chance to make the playoffs. 

Over the past 30 days, Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo are a combined 11-2 with a 2.45 ERA. With that trio atop the rotation, and with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hitting the way they are now, the Phillies can dream of October redemption. 

No rush, Captain. The Yankees lost Aaron Judge at the end of May and still have a winning record in June. Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have picked up the offensive slack, and the rotation is arguably the best in baseball. This is clearly the best team in the American League.  

Questions linger about whether there’s enough offensive power to go on a deep October run, but Brice Turang has developed into a legitimate star, Jackson Chourio has an OPS hovering near .900, and no one will want to face the top pitching duo of Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison. Perhaps the way last year ended will motivate the Brewers to stray from convention, tap into their deep farm system at the deadline and land one of the best players on the market. 

The Braves have finally hit a roadblock in their bounce-back season, dropping seven of their past 10 games. The lack of depth in the rotation behind Chris Sale is starting to show, but they have a chance to patch that at the deadline. Their bullpen has been the best in baseball, they have multiple offensive All-Star hopefuls, and they haven’t even gotten the best version of Ronald Acuña Jr. yet. They need him healthy down the stretch.

Mookie Betts is batting .218, Kyle Tucker is a league-average hitter, Will Smith is having the worst offensive season of his career, Teoscar Hernández hasn’t played in a month, Blake Snell has made one start all year, Tyler Glasnow hasn’t pitched since early May, Edwin Díaz has been out since the middle of April … and the Dodgers still have more wins than any other team in baseball. Imagine what they’ll do when their best players are performing to their usual level. They feel inevitable.