Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.
I am not one for glee clubs or the specific episode of “Community” about them. But every once in a while I need to remind myself of the line from Abed that resonates most from the entire run of that show:
“I guess I just like liking things.”
This week, we decided against doom spirals or existential angst or the inherent satisfaction of contrarianism. This week, we’re just looking on the bright side — specifically, the best thing to happen in 2026 for every team. Some teams have had several good things happen for them this year, and those teams are generally at the top of this list. For others near the bottom, this exercise followed more of a “beggars can’t be choosers” ethos. But whether it was the emergence of a rookie, a veteran revival or the owner up and selling the team, there was something to like for every organization.
Record: 93-57
Last Power Ranking: 1
Best thing to happen in 2026: Logan Henderson’s ascendance
There’s a strong argument that this fictional award should go to Jacob Misiorowski. He is the frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award, after all. But Henderson has put up a season that is more than worthy for us. The 24-year-old has posted a 2.34 ERA in 16 starts (88 1/3 innings). Paired with The Miz, Henderson gives Milwaukee a two-headed monster.
Over his last five starts, Henderson has a 1.41 ERA, with 30 strikeouts against just four walks. In that span, the Brewers went 4-1 as he faced the Dodgers, Braves and Cubs twice, never allowing more than two runs and reaching seven innings pitched in three of them. Not too bad for a fourth-round pick. — Johnny Flores Jr.
Record: 91-59
Last Power Ranking: 2
Best thing to happen in 2026: The trade deadline blockbuster for Tarik Skubal
Kyle Tucker hasn’t been great. Shohei Ohtani’s dealt with injuries. Blake Snell’s made seven starts. Edwin Díaz is struggling. And still, the Dodgers are in first place with the best World Series odds in baseball. When they needed mid-season reinforcements, they traded for the best pitcher in baseball. Are the Dodgers flawed? Sure. But are they about to roll out Snell, Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a playoff series? You bet. The best thing to happen to the Dodgers in 2026 is that they remained the Dodgers of 2024 and 2025. — Chad Jennings
Record: 90-59
Last Power Ranking: T-5
Best thing to happen in 2026: Junior Caminero is just getting better
Any contemplation that Caminero benefited from Steinbrenner Field’s cozier confines in 2025 has dissipated in 2026. The 23-year-old has hit 40 home runs while raising his on-base percentage by more than 50 points. Tampa Bay’s lineup can come across as top-heavy, relying too much on the front half for its production. But when that production is as good as it’s been, helmed by Caminero, you get the team with the best record in the American League and a pennant favorite. — Tim Britton
Record: 87-63
Last Power Ranking: T-5
Best thing to happen in 2026: Cam Schlittler is that guy
Look, watching Schlittler shut down the Red Sox in an elimination game last October in his 15th career big-league start was bound to heighten expectations for the right-hander in his sophomore season. Nobody had this coming: a monster season of 30-plus starts, an ERA under 2.00 and fewer questions about a Cy Young he can pretty much build a mantle for than if there will be an MVP to go with it. Is there anyone else in baseball you’d prefer to start an important October game right now? — Britton
Record: 88-63
Last Power Ranking: 3
Best thing to happen in 2026: Chris Sale is still Chris Sale
It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Atlanta will win the NL East, even if it lagged behind the Mets and Phillies in most preseason picks. But if you’d known back in the spring that the Braves would get next to nothing from Spencers Strider and Schwellenbach, that they’d need 14 different starters this season and that Martín Pérez would be the second-best of them — yeah, you’d be skeptical they’d claim the division. How have they done it? Sale has been Sale and then some at the top of the rotation. He’s gone at least six innings in 19 of his 26 starts, and he’s allowed more than three runs one time. Jacob Misiorowski is probably going to win the Cy Young, but Sale is the reason this sentence includes the word “probably.” — Britton
Chipper Jones on the Braves’ postseason outlook
Jayson Stark
Record: 84-67
Last Power Ranking: 4
Best thing to happen in 2026: Pete Crow-Armstrong
Where do we begin with the magic that has been PCA in 2026?
Is it the three-home-run game after Sammy Sosa told him he’d do it? Is it when he became MLB’s first 20-20 player well before the All-Star break? Is it going bar-for-bar with Shohei Ohtani at Wrigley Field in early August? Is it the Gold Glove defense, or the 96th percentile sprint speed that has him chasing MLB’s seventh-ever 40-40 season?
It’s all of it and so much more. The next face of MLB has stolen the show every step of the way, and, at 24 years old, there’s reason to believe he’s just getting started.
The Cookie Monster crowned him in August; the BBWAA will do so at season’s end. It’s Pete’s world and we’re just living in it. — Flores
Record: 83-67
Last Power Ranking: 7
Best thing to happen in 2026: The rotation is set up well for the future
The Phillies were aggressive in building one of the league’s best rotations, and they’ve been aggressive in maintaining it. They’ve re-signed Aaron Nola and extended Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez (twice). With Wheeler at 36 and Nola clearly on the decline, the leap forward in 2026 by Luzardo and the late-season emergence of rookie Andrew Painter depict a rotation set to remain a strength deep into the future. It looks awfully good right now, too: Luzardo has joined Sánchez as an ace from the left side, and no team is set up better for a three-game wild-card series than one that can throw those two and Wheeler. — Britton
Record: 82-68
Last Power Ranking: 8
Best thing to happen in 2026: Payton Tolle is an ace
The Red Sox doubled down on pitching in the offseason, acquiring Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez to front their rotation — to excellent results. The emergence of Tolle behind them, though, is what portends best for Boston moving forward. The Sox have won 11 of Tolle’s last 12 starts, and his strikeout rate over the last two months has hopped above one-third of opposing hitters. A wild-card series showdown with the Yankees likely looms; it should feature some sparkling starting-pitching matchups. — Britton
Record: 82-68
Last Power Ranking: 10
Best thing to happen in 2026: Mason Miller remained the best reliever in baseball
Last summer, the Padres made a massive trade for a closer who had, really, only a year and a half of elite performance. Relievers are notoriously fickle, but the investment in Miller has yielded ongoing dominance. He is yet again the best reliever in baseball, and he’s headlined a deep bullpen that’s remained a Padres pillar. Michael King has been healthy, Ty France has been better than expected, and Fernando Tatis Jr. eventually started hitting home runs again, but the Padres’ bullpen is their greatest strength and Miller’s the best of the bunch. — Jennings
Record: 80-71
Last Power Ranking: 11
Best thing to happen in 2026: Eduardo Rodriguez pitched like an ace
The Diamondbacks have been good enough to stay in the hunt. Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo are legitimately good players — Ketel Marte is, too, despite some drama — and the Nolan Arenado pickup has been helpful. But the Diamondbacks’ rotation has been underwhelming outside of their surprising No. 1 starter Rodriguez. Mainstays Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are having career-worst seasons, but Rodriguez has a 2.62 ERA, and the Diamondbacks are 22-8 in his starts. — Jennings
Record: 76-75
Last Power Ranking: 12
Best thing to happen in 2026: The late surge
Dread it, run from it, destiny Guards Ball arrives all the same.
A week ago, the Guardians sat three games back of the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead. A week later, they are back in the mix with the division title still up for grabs. If not that, then a place among the AL’s three wild-card teams.
By now, we all know the story: the Guardians have the second-lowest slugging percentage and OPS in the big leagues. They don’t hit home runs and sometimes refuse to score runs. They pitch their tails off with relative unknowns. Yet here we are once again in the waning days of September, watching as Cleveland makes believers of us all. — Flores
Record: 77-73
Last Power Ranking: 9
Best thing to happen in 2026: Everything
Ignore the recent tailspin to recognize what has been one of the greatest turnarounds this century. After three consecutive 100-plus loss seasons, the White Sox are fully in the thick of it with a dozen or so games remaining.
In front of them is either an AL Central title, their first since 2021, or a wild-card spot, also their first postseason berth since 2021. This coming from a team that was projected, at best, 67 wins and another last-place finish during the preseason, per FanGraphs.
A club that ended the winter by shipping away the last remnant of its previous core (Luis Robert Jr.) has now found a new nucleus in Tristan Peters, Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas and Sam Antonacci. They are scrappy, they can slug, and, with the right additions, are here to stay. — Flores
Record: 75-76
Last Power Ranking: 15
Best thing to happen in 2026: Those free-agent signings have saved them
Given the league-average ERA he’d posted over the previous three years, Dylan Cease’s contract was eye-opening to some. Cease has opened more eyes with his on-field performance this season, putting everything together in the best campaign of his career — one that has kept Toronto in the laggard American League playoff race despite injuries to Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage and the trade of Kevin Gausman. On the other side of the ball, Kazuma Okamoto was not supposed to be the best performer in the Jays’ offensive machine. But as others have taken steps or even lunges back, Okamoto has been a steadying force. — Britton
Record: 75-75
Last Power Ranking: 13
Best thing to happen in 2026: The AL West was a disaster
The Astros have as many wins as losses. Their collective ERA is in the bottom third of major-league teams, and although Yordan Alvarez might be the best hitter in baseball, only two other Astros hitters have a better than 1.5 WAR on FanGraphs. Carlos Correa is hurt, Jose Altuve is 36, and Tatsuya Imai is in the bullpen. It’s not great, but the Astros are in first place largely because the American League West has been awful. Assuming they make the playoffs, the Astros won’t be anything close to World Series favorites, but would you want to face Alvarez, Hunter Brown and Josh Hader in a short series? — Jennings
Record: 75-75
Last Power Ranking: 16
Best thing to happen in 2026: Konnor Griffin’s debut
For one afternoon in early April, the baseball world turned its attention to PNC Park, where a 19-year-old phenom made his debut, with a sellout crowd in attendance and eyes around the league positioned on a new superstar talent.
It carried shades of the debuts of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, where the hopes of thousands of beleaguered fans rested on the shoulders of giants in size and expectations, and kids by any other measure.
Griffin delivered in his debut, then continued to do so over much of the first half before an elbow strain and later a finger injury limited his rookie campaign. The good news is that he’s still just 20 years old, and is signed for the long haul in Pittsburgh. — Flores
Record: 74-77
Last Power Ranking: 14
Best thing to happen in 2026: Otto López is a star
López isn’t just an All-Star, though he was that for the first time in his career this summer. He’s got a legitimate shot at some top-five MVP votes based on a WAR that sits third among NL position players. López leads the NL in hits, is second in batting average and triples, has 50 extra-base hits and 30 steals — and plays a fine shortstop, too. More broadly, his emergence can stand in for the larger growth of Miami’s offense, which is on pace to score its most runs since 2017, when the Marlins outfield contained Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna. — Britton
Record: 74-76
Last Power Ranking: 19
Best thing to happen in 2026: They’re fairly healthy at the end
The Rangers might actually make the playoffs this year, which is pretty incredible for a team with a ton of injuries and a negative run differential. There’s a good amount of talent on the roster, but very little dependability, and a lot of key players have spent time on the injured list. But down the stretch, the Rangers have Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung in the lineup. They have Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and MacKenzie Gore in the rotation. Joc Pederson has been excellent. It has not been a good year for the Rangers, but do they have a two-week playoff push in them? Maybe. — Jennings
Record: 75-76
Last Power Ranking: 17
Best thing to happen in 2026: Jordan Walker’s turnaround
Entering the 2026 campaign, Walker had accumulated a grand total of minus-2.6 bWAR over his first three seasons, casting some doubt on the former first-round pick’s ability to meaningfully contribute to the next great Cardinals team.
Consider that doubt erased as Walker finally made good on the promise that followed him out of Decatur High School (Ga.) in 2020. He entered Monday with a 134 OPS+, with 28 home runs and 100 RBIs. Just one stolen base separates him from becoming the first Cardinal since Tommy Pham in 2017 to make the 20-20 club.
The apex of his season came in July, when Walker outlasted hometown favorite Kyle Schwarber to win the 2026 Home Run Derby on a walk-off blast.
“He’s like, ‘Adversity, I eat for breakfast,’” his father Derek told The Athletic after the win.
Adversity overcome indeed. — Flores
Record: 73-78
Last Power Ranking: 18
Best thing to happen in 2026: Pete Alonso looks worth the investment
After years of waiting for the big splash in free agency, the Orioles cannonballed into the deep end for Alonso — a player the industry as a whole was more lukewarm toward. Baltimore has looked wise for that investment: Alonso’s compiled another 30-100 season that ranks among the best of his career. (He’s also looked much better defensively than he did during his last season in New York.) He’s once again played every game and looks like he can anchor the middle of the O’s order for years to come. — Britton
Record: 71-79
Last Power Ranking: 20
Best thing to happen in 2026: Kevin McGonigle’s arrival
Few things have gone to plan for these 2026 Tigers, but the debut and subsequent excellence of McGonigle is one of them.
His 4.9 fWAR doesn’t just lead the team; it’s the ninth-best mark in all of baseball. But there’s so much more: a 126 wRC+, an ability to draw walks at an elite clip (93rd percentile), patience at the plate (13.8 percent strikeout rate) and above-average sprint speed. Solid baserunning with good enough defense for there to be room for improvement. An All-Star selection and likely Rookie of the Year with potential for serious down-ballot AL MVP votes.
And it’s all happening at 22 years old. — Flores
Record: 70-80
Last Power Ranking: 23
Best thing to happen in 2026: Drafting Vahn Lackey
Following the 2013 season — Joe Mauer’s final full year as a catcher before shifting to first base — the Twins have relied on a cavalcade of replacements, from Kurt Suzuki to Gary Sanchez to Ryan Jeffers to be their backstop. None of them particularly excelled, and none offered the franchise longevity that Mauer did.
In comes Lackey, a projected No. 1 overall pick who fell to the Twins at No. 3 during this year’s cycle, the highest-drafted catcher by Minnesota since Mauer in 2001 and the Twins’ highest pick since Royce Lewis in 2017.
“Lackey’s appeal is his ability to stay behind the plate and add value at such a scarce position,” The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote in the lead-up to the draft.
It’s the type of pick that could yield immediate and long-term results, something the Twins and their fans are after. — Flores
Record: 70-81
Last Power Ranking: 21
Best thing to happen in 2026: The offensive leap looks sustainable
In the spring, solidifying the star status of both James Wood and C.J. Abrams felt like Washington’s biggest mission of the season. But in Year 1 under Paul Toboni and Blake Butera, the Nats have gone a step further by showing they can build a deeper, better lineup than one that relies just on Wood and Abrams. Faded prospects like Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz have revived their careers; Mead netted Washington talented young starter Connelly Early at the trade deadline. Luis García had the best year of his career; he brought back four more pitchers. The Nationals led the majors in scoring for a large chunk of the season, and while they won’t finish at No. 1, their regression hasn’t been all the way to the league mean. Now, they just need to figure out the pitching side of things. — Britton
Record: 70-81
Last Power Ranking: 22
Best thing to happen in 2026: Kade Anderson emerged as baseball’s top pitching prospect
The Mariners were supposed to be better than this. A year ago, they were a win away from playing in the World Series. This year, they’re going to finish below .500. Cal Raleigh took a massive step back at the plate — he might have set the bar too high last year — and the rest of the team just delivered too many so-so performances from supposed-to-be-better players. The Mariners did, however, start to introduce their next generation. Colt Emerson didn’t immediately produce, but Cole Young was solid, Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes have arrived, and 22-year-old Anderson made his big-league debut just weeks after Keith Law named him the top prospect in all of baseball. The Mariners were a disappointment this season, but it’s not hard to imagine them returning immediately to relevance next season. — Jennings
Record: 69-81
Last Power Ranking: 25
Best thing to happen in 2026: The Oklahoma State pipeline
Not much has gone right for arguably baseball’s most disappointing team in 2026. But the Mets may very well end up with two of the top three or four rookies in the National League in Oklahoma State products Nolan McLean and Carson Benge. McLean has built on his stupendous 2025 late-season cameo by making every start and consistently delivering quality outings. Benge has rebounded from a brutal April to open his major-league career by posting a top-20 WAR among all major-league position players since the start of May. Moving on from their recent core did not work as planned this year; however, these two are very obvious parts of the new one. — Britton
Record: 70-80
Last Power Ranking: 24
Best thing to happen in 2026: Sal Stewart’s rookie year
A September call-up a season ago helped Stewart and his Reds clinch an improbable postseason berth before the skill that has come to define him was quickly revealed. In Cincinnati’s two-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the wild-card series, Stewart led his team with four RBIs, second-most among all players that round.
Several months later, he’s pushing for the MLB lead in RBIs, with 107 entering Monday, and that skill has him in the thick of the Rookie of the Year conversation. Only two rookies (Ted Williams, 1939, and Walt Dropo, 1950) have ever led the league in RBIs. Only six other rookie batters this century have tallied 100 or more (Pete Alonso, Aaron Judge, Jose Abreu, Ryan Zimmerman, Hideki Matsui and Albert Pujols).
It’s been a historic effort for Stewart, one that could and should end with hardware. — Flores
Record: 66-84
Last Power Ranking: 26
Best thing to happen in 2026: Jac Caglianone’s breakout campaign
A mid-season call-up in 2025, Caglianone had one of the worst debuts you could imagine, posting minus-1.6 fWAR in just 62 games. Of the 1,470 players to qualify, Caglianone had the second-worst season in 2025.
However, from the World Baseball Classic in March through the 2026 campaign, Caglianone has turned the conversation around. He’s posted 2.3 fWAR, with a 125 wRC+. Though strikeouts and swing-and-miss continue to be a concern, Caglianone’s batted-ball data ranks at or near the top in nearly every category — the hallmark of a slugger that can help extend a lineup alongside Bobby Witt Jr.
While it’s been a lost season in Kansas City, it’s been everything but that for the former No. 6 pick. — Flores
Record: 62-89
Last Power Ranking: 27
Best thing to happen in 2026: Turning Luis Arraez into two legitimate prospects
Rafael Devers bounced back from a terrible start to have another strong year at the plate. Is that anything? The fact is, this was an awful year for the Giants. Even Devers is on the IL at this point, and there’s little point in continuing to pitch Logan Webb. Just a total mess. But at least the team capitalized on Luis Arraez’s excellent first half by trading him to the Phillies for two good pitching prospects. (Arraez hasn’t been nearly as good since the trade.) That’s a solid return on a one-year investment, especially when that one year was a massive disappointment. — Jennings
Record: 61-89
Last Power Ranking: 30
Best thing to happen in 2026: Tyler Soderstrom and others picked up where they left off
The A’s have no pitching and too many injuries. They were good for about a month and then the bottom fell out, and they’re going to finish with a worse record than last season. But not all of last year’s progress was lost. Soderstrom is a good example. He had a breakout season in 2025 (.820 OPS) and largely repeated that production before getting hurt this year (.810 OPS). Nick Kurtz was also good again, Shea Langeliers was an All-Star, Zack Gelof had a bounceback, and Henry Bolte emerged in center field (making up for Denzel Clarke taking a step back). — Jennings
Record: 57-93
Last Power Ranking: T-28
Best thing to happen in 2026: Arte Moreno made a bunch of money
Mike Trout had his best season in years, Zach Neto was a top-10 shortstop, and the front office made some forward-thinking, rebuilding moves at the trade deadline. Those were small silver linings in an otherwise awful season, but the real bright spot is that after generally trending in the wrong direction for two decades under Arte Moreno, the Angels found a new owner in Stan Kroenke, who has deep pockets and a strong track record. The Angels are about to miss the playoffs for the 12th straight season. Maybe they won’t have to wait another 12 more. — Jennings
Record: 55-95
Last Power Ranking: T-28
Best thing to happen in 2026: At least some of their young guys can hit
None of the Rockies is going to win the Rookie of the Year award, but two of them — first baseman T.J. Rumfield and center fielder Cole Carrigg — do rank top-10 among National League rookies in fWAR. Second-year third baseman Kyle Karros also has been solid, and 26-year-old catcher Hunter Goodman made his second straight All-Star team. There’s still a lot of work to do in Colorado, especially on the mound, but at least some young hitters are finding success. Is that enough to actually build upon? — Jennings