Power Rankings: Can anyone unseat the Tigers at No. 1?
With a third week in a row atop our list, the Tigers become the team with the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 so far in our 2025 power rankings, passing the Dodgers, who have spent two consecutive weeks in the top spot twice this season.
Week 12 also saw a number of clubs continuing their rise up our rankings, including the Astros and Rays each moving up one spot, to eighth and ninth respectively, as well as the Brewers and Reds each rising three places.
The mid-June blockbuster trade of Rafael Devers from the Red Sox to the Giants didn't affect either team's outcome this week, with San Francisco at No. 7 for a second straight week and Boston going from 20th to 17th.
Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Jorge Castillo and Bradford Doolittle to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
Record: 47-27 Previous ranking: 1
The Tigers' poorest-performing position this season has been shortstop, the spot Detroit thought it solidified when it signed Javier Baez. Rather than becoming an obvious trade deadline need, the Tigers seem to have found an in-house solution: Baez. The return of center fielder Parker Meadows on June 2 allowed manager AJ Hinch the luxury of relocating Baez's resurgent bat to his old position, which he had not started at since April 18. Good idea: Baez has a 1.017 OPS this season when playing at his old stomping grounds. -- Doolittle
Record: 46-29 Previous ranking: 4
Underneath the shadow of the future Hall of Famers at the top of the Dodgers' lineup, Andy Pages is emerging as one of the best young run producers in the sport. Manager Dave Roberts believes that Pages has greatly benefited from the mentorship of Teoscar Hernandez, who fosters a focus on driving in runs. Pages, said Roberts, "hunts RBI." The 24-year-old is on pace to finish the year with 32 homers and drive in 106 runs; in his past 50 games, he's batting over .330, with a slugging percentage close to .600. -- Olney
Record: 45-29 Previous ranking: 2
The Mets' rotation has been baseball's best, but it's entering a period of flux. Kodai Senga, having a Cy Young-caliber campaign, hit the shelf with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, and Tylor Megill is out for longer than Senga with an elbow sprain. Meanwhile, Sean Manaea, who is on a rehab assignment for Triple-A Syracuse, and Frankie Montas, who has yet to make his Mets debut because of a lat strain, should return soon. Montas is also on rehab, but over six outings has an ERA that looks like half a football score (12.05). What will this unit look like a month from now? -- Doolittle
Record: 45-28 Previous ranking: 5
What has really caught the attention of rival evaluators is how versatile Chicago is in how it dominates.
With Pete Crow-Armstrong leading the way, the Cubs have six players on pace to hit 20 or more homers this year. They field three players who could reach 30 bases, and they rank second in the majors in defensive runs saved. "That's a team that could win the World Series," an executive from another team told ESPN recently. -- Olney
Record: 42-31 Previous ranking: 3
Aaron Judge is human after all. The two-time AL MVP -- and near lock for another one this year -- is 1-for-19 with 11 strikeouts and two intentional walks over the last five games to interrupt a historically unmatched start to the season and drop his batting average from .394 to .366. If he needed more evidence he's again the MVP front-runner (he doesn't), New York's offense, which led the majors in wRC+ and OPS through last Thursday, crashed during his rut. The Yankees scored four runs in those five games and were shut out in three consecutive games for the seventh time in franchise history. The 29-inning skid was their longest since September 2016. The Yankees go as Judge goes. -- Castillo
Record: 44-30 Previous ranking: 6
Nick Castellanos' streak of 236 games started came to an abrupt halt Tuesday when Phillies manager Rob Thomson benched him for an "inappropriate comment" after Castellanos was removed from Monday's game for defensive purposes. Truth is, he has little objective leverage working on his behalf. As tricky as public-facing defensive metrics can be in small sample sizes, they are convincing when it comes to Castellanos -- and the sample is huge. Over 13 seasons at different positions, he's minus-136 defensive runs saved, per Baseball Reference, and he has never broken even in any season, regardless of sample size. -- Doolittle
Record: 41-33 Previous ranking: 7
In the first hours after Giants players learned that the team had traded for Rafael Devers, who is generally regarded as one of the better hitters in the game, they were careful to be respectful to the two big leaguers swapped to Boston in the deal, pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks. But it was easy to see in their faces how excited they are about the addition of Devers, who gives the Giants their best pure hitter since Buster Posey, the guy responsible for making the deal in his first season as San Francisco's president of baseball operations . -- Olney
Record: 43-31 Previous ranking: 9
The blows keep on coming for the Astros, but they keep on winning. The latest setback was Lance McCullers landing on the injured list when he sprained his right foot working out over the weekend. He's the fourth Astros starter placed on the IL this season, including Yordan Alvarez, who remains out with a fractured hand. But the Astros continued to charge forward nonetheless, winning seven of eight games and 11 of their past 15 to take a commanding lead in the AL West. Hunter Brown (1.88 ERA in 14 starts), Josh Hader (1.45 ERA in 29 games) and Jeremy Pena (3.6 fWAR and 143 wRC+) have starred for a franchise that just won't stop winning. -- Castillo
Record: 41-33 Previous ranking: 10
Here's a fact not on most people's bingo cards in 2025: The Rays, the organization once at the forefront of the opener craze, lead the majors in starter innings pitched. That's despite not having ace Shane McClanahan throw a single pitch this season. Instead, right-handers Drew Rasmussen and Ryan Pepiot are leading the way. Rasmussen has a 2.55 ERA in 14 starts. Pepiot has a 3.11 ERA in 15 outings. Further illustrating Tampa Bay's consistency in the rotation, Rasmussen, Pepiot, Zack Littell, Taj Bradley and Shane Baz have started 72 of the team's 73 games this season. Joe Boyle got the other start. The formula is working, with the Rays surging to within 1½ games of the first-place Yankees in the AL East. -- Castillo
Record: 39-34 Previous ranking: 8
Manny Machado is a big-stage performer, and the Padres have a couple of high-end starting pitchers. But in the eyes of some rival executives, the best part of the team is its bullpen. "That's the group that got them as far as they got last year," one club official said.
Moving forward, evaluators from other teams are very curious as to whether the Padres' key relievers can continue to sustain the high volume of work. Jason Adam is tied for most appearances in the big leagues; Jeremiah Estrada was tied for the fifth-most outings; and Adrian Morejon was tied for 10th most. -- Olney
Record: 39-35 Previous ranking: 14
In this era when relievers are absorbing more and more innings, Abner Uribe has emerged among the best setup men, with the sort of stuff that makes you wonder how anyone can hit him. Uribe is averaging 11.53 strikeouts per nine innings, but he also has generated an exceptional ground ball-fly ball rate of 2-to-1. Closer Trevor Megill, Nick Mears and Uribe have been the collective backbone for the Brewers' bullpen this season. -- Olney
Record: 40-33 Previous ranking: 13
Max Scherzer completed his second and maybe final rehab start Wednesday and looked ready for the big leagues. Pitching for Triple-A Buffalo, the 40-year-old right-hander held Worcester to one hit and two walks with eight strikeouts over 4⅓ innings. He threw 75 pitches, the target number in preparation for possibly coming off the IL next. Scherzer landed on the IL with right thumb inflammation after logging just three innings in his season debut March 29. The Blue Jays have remained in the postseason picture without him, but the rotation, which ranks 26th in ERA, could use a healthy and effective Scherzer, who signed a one-year, $15.5 million contract in February. -- Castillo
Record: 39-35 Previous ranking: 16
The history of manager Terry Francona's teams, generally, is that they will get better over the course of the season, and Cincinnati has proved that anecdote to be true. The Reds have won 19 of their past 30 games, and they've got a run differential of plus-44 for the season. The surge coincides with the play of Elly De La Cruz, who is batting .333 with 15 runs and 10 RBIs in 15 games. Somebody get De La Cruz to the Home Run Derby. -- Olney
Record: 37-36 Previous ranking: 15
Logan Gilbert was activated from the IL on Monday and looked sharp in his return from a right elbow flexor strain. The 2024 All-Star held the Red Sox to two runs with 10 strikeouts in his first start since April 25. Gilbert has a 2.55 ERA in seven outings this season. His strikeout rate has soared from 27.4% last season to 39.7% in this year's small sample size. If he stays healthy, he's a significant boost for a club that lost eight of nine games earlier this month and fell behind the Astros in the AL West. -- Castillo
Record: 36-37 Previous ranking: 19
It'll be interesting to see how deep Arizona delves into the free agent pitching market, since its recent forays there have been an abject disaster: Madison Bumgarner (five years, $85 million), Jordan Montgomery (two years, $47.5 million), Eduardo Rodriguez (four years, $80 million) and Corbin Burnes (six years, $210 million). Bumgarner was cut in the fourth year of his deal; Montgomery was terrible last year and had elbow surgery this year; Rodriguez has a 6.27 ERA in 2025; and Burnes is out for the season after Tommy John surgery. -- Olney
Record: 38-35 Previous ranking: 12
When executives near the end of their contracts, the usual expectation is that those officials will make a big push at the deadline to give their respective teams the best possible chance to win -- and maybe make a case for an extension. The read of St. Louis by other teams, conversely, is that the Cardinals won't consider being aggressive at the trade deadline out of the desire for a more palatable finish for John Mozeliak, who is in his last year as the team's head of baseball operations. -- Olney
Record: 39-37 Previous ranking: 20
The decision to trade Rafael Devers might haunt the Red Sox for a long time. At the moment, questions still abound: Why now? Why for that package? Was there a mandate from ownership to unload the entirety of Devers' contract? Lost in the outrage is another question: How is Boston going to replace Devers? Unearthing Devers' production elsewhere is far-fetched.
As for the DH spot Devers left behind, the Red Sox will at least temporarily cycle various players. They used Kristian Campbell, Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez in the first three games of the post-Devers era. A more permanent solution could soon be Masataka Yoshida, who has been on the IL all season after undergoing shoulder surgery in October. -- Castillo
Record: 36-37 Previous ranking: 11
It's hard to believe, but, at 31 years old, Byron Buxton has played more than 102 games only once since reaching the majors in 2015. This season, he has been mostly healthy (now would be the time to knock on wood, Twins fans) and is playing as well as he ever has. Buxton has a career-best OBP, and, once on base, he's 12-for-12 in stolen bases while scoring 41% of the time, tied for third best in the AL. His power numbers are good, and, according to BaseballMusings.com, he leads the AL in RBI percentage among qualifying batters. -- Doolittle
Record: 36-38 Previous ranking: 22
The Rangers put up 16 runs twice in three games last week, giving fans hope that the team's perplexing offensive struggles were in the past. But they have otherwise continued. Besides those two games, Texas has been held to five or fewer runs in its 12 games since June 1. Turns out the hitting coach wasn't the problem. And yet the ineptitude has not cost the Rangers much lately; they've won seven of 10 games to squeeze back into the wild-card picture. -- Castillo
Record: 37-35 Previous ranking: 18
At 32 years old, Jose Ramirez is as good as ever and is a solid bet to land an eighth top-10 MVP finish of his eventual Hall of Fame career. He has been at it so long now that, at this point, he's moving way up the list on a number of Cleveland franchise leaderboards. He should pass Tris Speaker for second in total bases in the next month, leaving only Earl Averill ahead of him. Ramirez also has a great shot at passing Hal Trosky, Nap Lajoie and Jim Thome this season to move in behind Averill in RBIs. Just an amazing career. -- Doolittle
Record: 33-39 Previous ranking: 21
Matt Olson has probably been the Braves' best position player this season, but that might say more about Ronald Acuna Jr.'s late start to the season and the club's underachieving offense than about Olson. The lefty masher racked up 54 homers and 139 RBIs in 2023, but this season's .251/.354/.479 showing is a dead ringer for his numbers in 2022 and 2024. In other words, 2023 looks like an outlier year, not a new, elite career level. Olson is a fine player as is, but this season's Braves sure could use the 54-homer version of him. -- Doolittle
Record: 36-38 Previous ranking: 17
The Royals' clutch-hitting-based offense of 2024 has devolved into the AL's lowest-scoring attack in 2025. The bats were particularly miserable during a 3-10 start to June, when Kansas City scored three or fewer runs eight times, losing all eight of those games. Injuries dinged the pitching staff, affecting the run prevention, and the bats have not picked up the slack. Even Bobby Witt Jr. has struggled. Over his first 12 games this month, Witt hit .234 with a .677 OPS. As the offense flailed, the Royals' postseason odds dwindled to the point that the club's trade deadline direction is no longer fixed. -- Doolittle
Record: 36-37 Previous ranking: 24
The Angels' aggressive handling of top prospects continued last week when they called up second baseman Christian Moore, their first-round pick from Tennessee last June. Moore is the third straight first-round pick the Angels fast-tracked to the majors within the first half of their first full professional season, joining shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel. A Yankees fan from Brooklyn, Moore went hitless in his first two starts before lining a triple past a diving Aaron Judge at Yankee Stadium on Monday for his first career hit. -- Castillo
Record: 31-42 Previous ranking: 25
Boston's AL East rivals were surely pleased to see Rafael Devers shipped off to San Francisco, but perhaps nobody was happier than the Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn. With Devers in the NL, O'Hearn moved to first place among AL designated hitters in All-Star fan voting. The slugger is deserving of the honor. In a lineup featuring Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, O'Hearn has been the club's best hitter with a .302 batting average, 10 home runs and an OPS of .869 in 61 games. Astonishingly, he could end up being Baltimore's lone representative. -- Castillo
Record: 30-44 Previous ranking: 23
Welcome to The Show, Brady House. The Nationals' first pick (No. 11) from the 2021 draft made his MLB debut last week against Colorado. He collected his first two hits and first RBI in his second game (also against the Rockies). When Dylan Crews returns from the IL, he will join House, CJ Abrams and Robert Hassell III on an active roster with four top-11 picks taken since 2019 -- and that doesn't include budding star James Wood, a second-round pick in 2021. The Nationals are flailing on the field lately, but their talent level keeps rising. -- Doolittle
Record: 29-45 Previous ranking: 26
David Bednar has had some ups and downs in his time as the Pirates' closer, but with the trade deadline 42 days away, he is drawing the attention of some rival evaluators with his recent performances. Pitching for a team that isn't going to provide many save chances, Bednar has six walks and 34 strikeouts in 24 innings. Left-handed hitters have an OPS of just .548 against Bednar, and he has given up only one extra-base hit (a double) in 41 at-bats. -- Olney
Record: 30-46 Previous ranking: 28
The Athletics have been a better club on the road than at Sutter Health Park, their temporary, minor league digs, and nobody embodies the contrast more than Luis Severino. The veteran right-hander has a 6.79 ERA in 10 home starts and a 0.93 ERA in six road outings. Combine the outputs and you get a 4.42 ERA -- not what the Athletics envisioned when they gave Severino the largest guaranteed contract in franchise history. If only he could pitch anywhere but West Sacramento. -- Castillo
Record: 29-43 Previous ranking: 27
If you created a Sandy Alcantara trade barometer, the arrow would be pointing upward, meaning things are looking up. After bottoming out at an 8.47 ERA at the end of May, Alcantara has displayed sharper command this month, and the results have followed. In three starts -- which includes outings against the woeful offenses of Colorado and Pittsburgh -- Alcantara has a 2.12 ERA over 17 innings with 15 strikeouts and only three walks. Suitors are probably already knocking on the proverbial door of Marlins GM Peter Bendix regarding the former Cy Young winner, but if Alcantara keeps this up, they'll be pounding on it. -- Doolittle
Record: 23-50 Previous ranking: 29
If you're going to stink, you might as well do it with young players so that your fans can dream of a day when things don't stink so bad. Here's a fun fact: The White Sox lead the majors in rookie WAR, ranking sixth among hitters and tops on the pitching side. Chicago is still headed for another 100-loss season, but things could be worse: Colorado, which looks to be bidding to break the loss record set by last year's ChiSox, ranks last in rookie WAR. South Side denizens would be more than happy to let the Rox take on that malodorous crown of worst team in history. -- Doolittle
Record: 17-57 Previous ranking: 30
Given the struggles of the Rockies this season, they are likely to glean only one spot on the NL's All-Star team, and perhaps that'll be Hunter Goodman, the 25-year-old who leads Colorado in all of the Triple Crown categories. So much has gone wrong for the Rockies, but the emergence of Goodman has been perhaps the team's best story. Over 70 games in 2024, Goodman hit .190 with a .417 slugging percentage. This year, he has improved his OPS by more than 200 points. -- Olney
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