By many statistical measures, such as runs scored and wRC+, Major League Baseball\u2019s top three offenses last season belonged to the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks. Two of them met in the World Series. The third missed the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Elite hitting teams aren\u2019t always contenders. But a strong lineup sure helps.<\/p>\n
In baseball, the prevailing narrative at this time of year focuses on the pitcher\u2019s mound. As the old adage goes, \u201cPitching wins championships.\u201d But from Reggie Jackson to David Ortiz, and Kirk Gibson to David Freese, many postseason heroes built their legacies at the plate.<\/p>\n
We recently ranked each postseason pitching core<\/a> \u2014 frankly, all seem tragically flawed \u2014 and so before the Wild Card round begins Tuesday, we\u2019ve done the same with each playoff team\u2019s lineup. Before we get to the rankings, here\u2019s how the 12 teams still standing stack up in a handful of common statistical categories.<\/p>\n Playoff lineups by the numbers<\/p>\n Team<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n R\/G<\/p>\n \u25bc<\/p>\n HR<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n SB<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n BB%<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n K%<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 5.2<\/p>\n 274<\/p>\n 134<\/p>\n 10.6%<\/p>\n 24.7%<\/p>\n 5.1<\/p>\n 244<\/p>\n 88<\/p>\n 9.3%<\/p>\n 22.4%<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n 166<\/p>\n 164<\/p>\n 9%<\/p>\n 19.5%<\/p>\n 4.9<\/p>\n 191<\/p>\n 77<\/p>\n 7.9%<\/p>\n 17.9%<\/p>\n 4.9<\/p>\n 186<\/p>\n 139<\/p>\n 8.2%<\/p>\n 22.2%<\/p>\n 4.9<\/p>\n 223<\/p>\n 161<\/p>\n 9.1%<\/p>\n 21.8%<\/p>\n 4.8<\/p>\n 212<\/p>\n 124<\/p>\n 7.9%<\/p>\n 23.0%<\/p>\n 4.7<\/p>\n 198<\/p>\n 61<\/p>\n 8%<\/p>\n 25.1%<\/p>\n 4.7<\/p>\n 238<\/p>\n 161<\/p>\n 8.7%<\/p>\n 24.3%<\/p>\n 4.4<\/p>\n 167<\/p>\n 105<\/p>\n 8.6%<\/p>\n 23.4%<\/p>\n 4.3<\/p>\n 152<\/p>\n 106<\/p>\n 7.9%<\/p>\n 19.3%<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 168<\/p>\n 129<\/p>\n 8%<\/p>\n 22.9%<\/p>\n But there\u2019s some crucial context missing from those season-long totals, so let\u2019s also consider each team\u2019s wRC+ \u2014 a stat quantifying offensive value and measuring it in runs created \u2014 in more granular detail.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s each playoff team\u2019s wRC+ over the past month; in the second half; against right-handed pitching; and against lefties.<\/p>\n Playoff teams’ wRC+ breakdown<\/p>\n Team<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sept.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 2nd HALF<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n VS RHP<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n VS LHP<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 128<\/p>\n 110<\/p>\n 114<\/p>\n 108<\/p>\n 121<\/p>\n 118<\/p>\n 110<\/p>\n 106<\/p>\n 119<\/p>\n 117<\/p>\n 118<\/p>\n 121<\/p>\n 113<\/p>\n 102<\/p>\n 110<\/p>\n 110<\/p>\n 113<\/p>\n 109<\/p>\n 114<\/p>\n 111<\/p>\n 105<\/p>\n 111<\/p>\n 105<\/p>\n 96<\/p>\n 103<\/p>\n 123<\/p>\n 113<\/p>\n 111<\/p>\n 101<\/p>\n 91<\/p>\n 90<\/p>\n 81<\/p>\n 101<\/p>\n 118<\/p>\n 107<\/p>\n 107<\/p>\n 99<\/p>\n 97<\/p>\n 103<\/p>\n 103<\/p>\n 88<\/p>\n 89<\/p>\n 97<\/p>\n 79<\/p>\n 87<\/p>\n 94<\/p>\n 98<\/p>\n 114<\/p>\n Now armed with all that data, let\u2019s get ranking! Below we\u2019ve listed each playoff team, from most to least threatening, and highlighted their five key hitters.<\/p>\n 1. New York Yankees<\/p>\n The good: Trent Grisham has been resurgent in the leadoff spot, Ben Rice has emerged as a multi-positional left-handed slugger, and Stanton has returned from injury to post huge numbers since the middle of June. All of that is on top of Judge having another historic season that saw him win the major-league Triple Crown by a substantial margin in each category. By almost every statistical measurement, this was the most productive lineup in baseball, and its relatively high-profile bench (Paul Goldschmidt, Jasson Dom\u00ednguez, Jose Caballero) provides interesting situational and matchup opportunities.<\/p>\n The bad: The Yankees weren\u2019t nearly as dominant in the second half. They still hit a lot of home runs and ranked top-five in a lot of key statistics, but didn\u2019t separate themselves in quite the same way, and the bottom of the order \u2014 with Anthony Volpe, Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells \u2014 has been underwhelming; each of those three has a below-average wRC+ this season.<\/p>\n The big question: Can Judge, who could soon win his third American League MVP trophy, deliver a defining postseason? He\u2019s hit just .183 with a .669 OPS in 40 playoff games since 2019. Coming off an all-time season last October, Judge homered in back-to-back ALCS games but was largely a non-factor in the World Series.<\/p>\n 2. Philadelphia Phillies<\/p>\n Five key hitters<\/p>\n PlayerPOSHRSBwRC+<\/p>\n SS<\/p>\n 15<\/p>\n 36<\/p>\n 125<\/p>\n DH<\/p>\n 56<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n 152<\/p>\n 1B<\/p>\n 27<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n 131<\/p>\n 3B<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 105<\/p>\n 2B<\/p>\n 13<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n 100<\/p>\n The good: The core of the Phillies lineup is an experienced bunch, battle-hardened by previous playoffs and poised to make another deep run. Schwarber is one of the greatest sluggers of his generation. Harper is a force in October. Turner, one of the game\u2019s only .300 hitters<\/a>, is healthy and back atop the lineup. The Phillies are among the MLB leaders in most key statistical hitting categories this season.<\/p>\n The bad: The rest of the Phillies lineup lacks a certain je ne sais quoi \u2014 a presence, perhaps, suggesting they are to be feared at this time of year. Nick Castellanos has that vibe in the batter\u2019s box, yet he has played himself out of a regular role. There are other candidates to show up in leverage moments: Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, Brandon Marsh, Stott, Harrison Bader, and even Edmundo Sosa.<\/p>\n The big question: Can Bader sustain his productivity at the plate? The Phillies didn\u2019t acquire him to lead off, yet that\u2019s where he wound up while Turner was hurt. Bader batted .305 from that point forward, though he cooled off in the last week of the regular season. His bat may be a linchpin for the Phillies this postseason.<\/p>\n 3. Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n The good: The fact that trade deadline addition Eugenio Su\u00e1rez didn\u2019t make our key hitters list is a sign of just how far the Mariners have come.\u00a0 Raleigh has emerged as one of the game\u2019s great power hitters. Rodr\u00edguez finished the year strong. In the second half, the Mariners were third in the AL in wRC+ and third in the majors in homers. Su\u00e1rez and left-handed hitter Dominic Canzone \u2014 another guy originally acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks \u2014 give the lineup depth, something the Mariners haven\u2019t had in recent years.<\/p>\n The bad: Well, Su\u00e1rez didn\u2019t make our \u201ckey hitters\u201d list. He hasn\u2019t been nearly as good with Seattle as he was with Arizona. He\u2019s had a below-average wRC+ since the trade, though he\u2019s still an obvious home run threat. Right fielder Victor Robles is healthy again, but he missed most of the year with a dislocated shoulder and hasn\u2019t been as productive as he was last season. The Mariners also don\u2019t grade well in most baserunning metrics, though they do steal a lot of bases.<\/p>\n The big question: Could swing-and-miss tendency haunt Seattle against postseason pitching? The Mariners had the third-highest whiff percentage in the majors, behind only the Angels and Rockies, two of the worst teams in the league. Could that come back to bite them at the worst time?<\/p>\n 4. Los Angeles Dodgers<\/p>\n The good: The soon-to-be four-time MVP with 55 homers, 22 steals and a nearly .400 on-base percentage this season is their leadoff hitter. And after Ohtani comes a couple more former MVPs, Betts and Freeman \u2014 the Dodgers\u2019 hero last October<\/a>. Betts got right late this season, as did slugger Hern\u00e1ndez, and Freeman and Ohtani are as reliable as ever.<\/p>\n The bad: Los Angeles failed to secure a wild-card bye, which stings for a number of reasons, including that starting catcher Will Smith is recovering from a hairline fracture in his right hand and is unlikely to help against Cincinnati. Smith\u2019s return timeline is unclear. Tommy Edman and Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez are both coming off bad Septembers, though by now they\u2019re both proven postseason performers.<\/p>\n The big question: If not Smith, then who? Ben Rortvedt is an all-glove catcher who is a .190 career hitter. Dalton Rushing is a formerly heralded prospect batting .204 across 155 plate appearances as a rookie. Whichever catcher the Dodgers go with will put a pretty glaring hole in the bottom third of the Dodgers\u2019 lineup that\u2019s being carried by center fielder Andy Pages\u2019 breakout season.<\/p>\n 5. Toronto Blue Jays<\/p>\n The good: No, those Springer numbers are not from 2019. The 36-year-old was resurgent this season, leading a Blue Jays offense that was No. 1 in the majors in batting average and had the highest wRC+ in the second half. Bichette bounced back from a disappointing 2024, Daulton Varsho returned from injury to give the Blue Jays much-needed impact, and various multi-positional role players (Addison Barger, Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement) helped lengthen the lineup beyond the big names at the top.<\/p>\n The bad: Anthony Santander was coming off a 44-homer season when the Blue Jays made him their biggest offensive addition last winter. He has been a disappointment both in terms of production and health. He returned last week from a lengthy IL stint, but he\u2019s a secondary, boom-or-bust lineup figure at this point. Another offseason addition, second baseman Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez, also had a down year at the plate. The Blue Jays hit for a high average, but their hard-hit rate is middle-of-the-pack, and their barrel percentage is among the worst in baseball.<\/p>\n The big question: Can Bichette get back up to speed? After spending most of September on the IL, a first-round bye gives him a solid chance of returning in some capacity for the division series. He finished the season strong, with a 1.028 OPS in his last 53 games before hurting his knee, and it\u2019s worth wondering whether he can pick up anywhere close to where he left off.<\/p>\n 6. Milwaukee Brewers<\/p>\n The good: If you stride into this postseason as an unaffiliated fan, consider falling for the Brew Crew. They play an old-school, aesthetically pleasing brand of ball. They put rangy defenders across the diamond, and their hitting profiles are such that Milwaukee racks up base hits, walks and stolen bases at an alarming rate. They were a top-three lineup this season in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage, walk-to-strikeout ratio, infield hits, bunt hits and stolen bases.<\/p>\n The bad: Power outages have befallen the Brewers in postseasons past, and they ranked 22nd in homers this season. Still, Yelich\u2019s power stroke returned this season, Chourio and Contreras are 20-homer guys, speedster Turang smacked 18 homers this season, and right-handed bench bats Andrew Vaughn and Rhys Hoskins are capable of doing damage.<\/p>\n The big question: Is Chourio all right? Returning from a right hamstring strain in late August, the 21-year-old outfielder was 6-for-9 in his first two games back and then went cold for all of September, batting .200 with seven extra-base hits \u2014 two of which came on the last two days of the regular season.<\/p>\n 7. Chicago Cubs<\/p>\n Five key hitters<\/p>\n PlayerPOSHRSBwRC+<\/p>\n LF<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n 116<\/p>\n RF<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n 25<\/p>\n 136<\/p>\n DH<\/p>\n 32<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n 123<\/p>\n 2B<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n 29<\/p>\n 109<\/p>\n 1B<\/p>\n 34<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 140<\/p>\n The good: Tucker is back, which, when you paid a steep price to acquire him for one playoff run together, is an incredibly important bit of news. The Cubs are a nicely blended lineup. Lefties. Righties. Contact. Power. Speed. Because of those wheels and the Cubs\u2019 propensity for putting the ball in the air, they grounded into the fewest double plays in the majors this season \u2014 61 fewer than the league-worst Blue Jays.<\/p>\n The bad: Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong mostly disappeared after All-Star first halves. Tucker had a .738 OPS and five homers in an injury-shortened second half, nearly 150 points off his first-half OPS. Crow-Armstrong had 25 homers and 27 steals before the break; despite a strong end to September, he has a .634 OPS with six homers and eight steals since then, sliding to the bottom third of the lineup.<\/p>\n The big question: Will Tucker come alive in the playoffs? His postseason hitting history has been more bad than good. Tucker\u2019s playoff OPS by year: .500 (2019), .694 (2020), .874 (2021), .706 (2022), .517 (2023) and, in just two games last October, .000 (2025).<\/p>\n 8. San Diego Padres<\/p>\n The good: This is a deep lineup that got better as the season wore on and can beat you a couple of different ways. The Padres ranked sixth in second-half wRC+ (111). Luis Arraez ended a \u201cdown\u201d year by batting .352 in September. Tatis had a 25-homer, 32-steal season. Machado, Merrill and Bogaerts are a dangerous heart of the order, while Gavin Sheets, O\u2019Hearn and Jake Cronenworth are quality left-handed hitters lengthening the lineup.<\/p>\n The bad: Ram\u00f3n Laureano reportedly has only \u201cdelusional hope\u201d of returning from his finger fracture in time to help the Padres this postseason. He had a career season, batting .281 with a 138 OPS+ for the Baltimore Orioles and Padres. In 50 games for San Diego, he had nine homers, 30 RBIs and led the team in barrel rate. The Padres could use that big right-handed bat, as they rank 28th in the majors in home runs and are below-average by wRC+ against left-handed pitching.<\/p>\n The big question: Is Merrill at full strength? After his remarkable rookie season, in which he finished runner-up in rookie of the year voting to the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 Paul Skenes, he went on the injured list three times this season. He stole 16 bases in 2024. He stole one in 2025. But his foot speed and center-field defense have remained superb, and his power came back in a big way in September.<\/p>\n 9. Boston Red Sox<\/p>\n The good: After mixing and matching much of the season, the Red Sox have lately settled on a regular lineup with Gonzalez playing every day and Masataka Yoshida hitting cleanup against righties. The team\u2019s active wRC+ leader is Refsnyder, who, like Gonzalez, is a platoon hitter capable of mashing lefties. With the Red Sox likely to face two left-handed starters in the Wild Card series (Max Fried and Carlos Rod\u00f3n), Refsnyder and Gonzalez will be important early, while Yoshida and Wilyer Abreu could have greater impact if the Red Sox advance. David Hamilton gives them a late-inning baserunning threat off the bench.<\/p>\n The bad: The Red Sox had a slightly above-average lineup (103 wRC+) that underwent dramatic changes during the season. Top prospect Kristian Campbell didn\u2019t stick at second base. Rafael Devers was traded. Standout rookie Roman Anthony got hurt in early September. Bregman and Duran weren\u2019t great in the final month of the season, Abreu struggled after returning from the injured list, and the Red Sox had a sub-100 wRC+ in the second half and in September.<\/p>\n The big question: When will Anthony come back? Abreu\u2019s return in late September added an important left-handed bat, but it remains unclear whether the team will stay alive long enough for Anthony to come back from an oblique strain. Anthony emerged as a key bat at the top of the lineup, but his return is not a given.<\/p>\n 10. Detroit Tigers<\/p>\n The good: Let\u2019s assume the first half represents the Tigers\u2019 potential. They were sixth in the majors in slugging percentage and wRC+, and their lineup was deep enough to send four hitters to the All-Star Game. (A fifth, Torkelson, was in the All-Star conversation.) The Tigers have versatility with everyday impact and enough mix-and-match role players to capitalize on matchups. Hitting against left-handed pitchers has been a strength for the Tigers all season, and Jahmai Jones has emerged recently as a trusted right-handed bat who will start against lefties.<\/p>\n The bad: The season didn\u2019t end at the All-Star break, and in the second half, the Tigers ranked in the bottom third of the majors in wRC+, with a strikeout rate better than only the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals. All four All-Star hitters had below-average numbers in the second half, from Greene to B\u00e1ez, Torres and Zach McKinstry. The Tigers very nearly blew what seemed to be the safest playoff spot in the league.<\/p>\n The big question: Can the Tigers be at their best after being so clearly at their worst? They did just enough at the very end to get into the postseason, but the team isn\u2019t flying high. So, are the first-half Tigers going to show up behind ace Tarik Skubal? Or will the second-half Tigers go down with a whimper?<\/p>\n 11. Cleveland Guardians<\/p>\n The good: Ram\u00edrez is always Ram\u00edrez, and Kwan at times looked more like Kwan in September. Manzardo has proven he can hit at the big-league level, and Valera showed up late in the year to provide an instant spark as the team\u2019s new No. 2 hitter against righties. Beyond that, there\u2019s just some sort of magic happening with this team<\/a>, and maybe that\u2019ll continue.<\/p>\n The bad: The numbers. Basically, all of them. Ram\u00edrez is great, but this is not a good offensive team. Only the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates had a lower wRC+ this season, and even those two teams hit for a higher average. You might assume that the Guardians were much better in the second half, but no. They were only slightly less bad. They did hit more in September, but even then, they were only slightly above-average (101 wRC+), with their stunning surge fueled mostly by the pitching staff. The Guardians\u2019 offense is their weakness.<\/p>\n