1. Los Angeles Dodgers (44-30)
   Fresh off their World Series championship a year ago, the Dodgers have picked up right where they left off. Adding Trevor. Bauer to an already-stacked rotation has solidified their spot as the team to beat in the National League, and despite trailing the Giants in the AL West, LA looks poised for another deep October run.
2. Chicago White Sox (44-30)
   Even after going 1-5 in their last six games, the White Sox still rank as the best team in the American League by our standards. The White Sox sport the best team ERA in the American League at 3.38 and the second-best run differential. Carlos Rodón has been a pleasant surprise and Lance Lynn has been everything Chicago could have hoped for when they traded for him this past offseason.
3. San Francisco Giants (48-26)
   Even with the best record in baseball, no one still seems to be taking the Giants seriously. There
   are not a lot of big name players in San Francisco, but the Giants have proved you don’t need
   superstars and huge contracts to win baseball games. The offense has a steady balance of pieces
   from their championship stretch in the early 2010s and young talent like Mike Yastrzemski, but
   their success has been predominantly due to their league-best starting pitching that boasts a 3.22
   ERA.
4. Houston Astros (46-28)
   As much as everyone outside the state of Texas would hate to admit it, the Astros are good. Like, really good. After a sluggish start to the season, Houston not only catapulted themselves to the top of the AL West, but they now have the best record in the American League. The Astros have
   gotten the job done against tough opponents, racking up an MLB-best 29 wins against teams with a winning record.
5. San Diego Padres (45-32)
   In an offseason with several big trades and free-agent signings, there might not have been a more significant acquisition for any team than the Padres signing Yu Darvish. He leads a dynamic and drastically improved starting rotation that has led San Diego to post an MLB-low 3.09 team ERA. Offensively, a stacked lineup with no easy outs that is led by Fernando Tatis Jr. makes the Padres one of the best all-around teams in baseball.

6. Boston Red Sox (44-30)
   Boston has ridden the coattails of a stellar offense to the sixth spot in our rankings. The Red Sox’s team slugging percentage of .441 is the third-best in baseball. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers should find themselves in Colorado for the All-Star Game after putting up spectacular numbers over the first portion of the season. Their bullpen has been very solid thanks in large part to Matt Barnes and Garrett Whitlock, and the starting rotation has held up just enough.
7. Tampa Bay Rays (44-31)
   Once again, the Rays are getting it done. Tampa Bay has used their run prevention strategy to land them in playoff contention and a fight for the AL East title. The Rays have the best bullpen ERA in the American League, and they’re going to need that unit to stay sharp after Tyler Glasnow’s injury. Wander Franco looks to provide an offensive spark, and he looks to be doing that just two days into his Major League career.
8. Oakland Athletics (45-31)
   Oakland may have lost their lead in the AL West, but they’re still in the elite group of teams in the American League. Matt Olson has caught fire and now finds himself tied for fourth in the MLB home run race with 20 bombs. Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, and James Kaprielian lead an Athletics rotation that seems to be solid year in and year out.
9. New York Mets (38-31)
   After a tough start in April, the Mets have found their stride as the weather has heated up. In an underwhelming division that many expected to be the most competitive in baseball, the Mets have taken firm control of the NL East. It certainly helps to have a virtually automatic win every fifth day with Jacob DeGrom on the mound.
10. Chicago Cubs (41-33)
    The Cubs are a team that many wrote off prior to the season as a team that is on the brink of another rebuild, but that hasn’t been the case thus far. The same familiar faces that brought Chicago their first World Series in over a century back in 2016 are keeping the Cubs in contention. Additionally, the former Cardinal prospect Patrick Wisdom has slugged his way into being a vital part of the Chicago offense amidst his flaming hot start to his Cubs career.
11. Milwaukee Brewers (42-33) The Brewers are a tough team to figure out. They boast one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, led by young Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff, but have one of the worst offenses in the majors. An abysmal team batting average of .212 makes the Brew Crew a tough sell to win the NL Central despite coming into today tied for first.

12. New York Yankees (39-34)
    We may need to put the “Bronx Bombers” nickname on hold for now, or at least until the Yankees are no longer in last place in the American League for runs scored. For as bad as the offense has been, Aaron Judge has put together an All-Star-worthy season. On the pitching front, Gerrit Cole has prevailed despite the drama surrounding him in the ongoing “sticky stuff” storyline. Oh, and while you were reading this the Yankees turned another triple play.
13. Toronto Blue Jays (37-35)
    The Blue Jays’ young core has been on full display this season and has propelled Toronto to the second-best team slugging in the American League. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be the current favorite to win AL MVP if it weren’t for Shohei Ohtani’s once-in-a-lifetime season. If Toronto can get more value out of their pitchers and George Springer performs as expected, the Blue Jays have the potential to be a very dangerous team late in the season.
14. Cleveland Indians (40-31)
    Breaking news: the Cleveland Indians are being carried by Jose Ramirez and a strong arsenal of arms. After trading Francisco Lindor, it would seem odd to have high expectations for this Cleveland squad, but their pitching has seemingly come through once again. Shane Bieber is Shane Bieber, but Aaron Civale, Emmanuel Clase, and James Karinchak are all deserving of the spotlight as well.
15. Atlanta Braves (35-38)
    The power-hitting Atlanta Braves have been as inconsistent as it gets. This is not a rarity for teams that live and die by the long ball as the Braves do, as their pitching staff is not well-equipped to handle offensive droughts. Still, in a weak NL East, they find themselves just five games back with plenty of time to figure it out.
16. St. Louis Cardinals (36-38)
    The Cardinals have been without four of their five normal starting pitchers for a large part of this season so far, and they have suffered because of it. A young, wildly inconsistent rotation that leads the MLB in walks combined with a struggling offense has seen the Cards drop five of their last six following a sweep of the Marlins. Despite losing both games of a 2-game series against Detroit this week, St. Louis has been solid against the bottom third of the league but brutal against contending teams. The Cardinals have plenty of opportunities to get back on track before the All-Star Break but can not afford to fall any further back from Chicago and Milwaukee.

17. Cincinnati Reds (36-36)
    The Reds are a team that many gave up on following a disappointing finish to last year’s season, and after losing Trevor Bauer to free agency, many figured the Reds would go back to being the Reds again. However, a strong offense led by slugger Nicholas Castellanos has kept them involved in a fairly open NL Central race that could come down to the final week of September.
18. Washington Nationals (35-36)
    The Nats are another team that many wrote off coming off of a disappointing 2020 season, but it appears they’ve begun to wake up after a rough April and May. Kyle Schwarber has been on a tear recently, and Josh Bell has started to look more like his old self again. It remains to be seen what the club will do with free agent-to-be Max Scherzer, but the next month of baseball will be a big indicator in whether or not he will be a National in August.
19. Philadelphia Phillies (34-37)
    There is no excuse for the Phillies to continue to be mediocre year after year with the talent they have on the roster, but here we are again. Bringing in Joe Girardi has not provided the boost the Phils needed to get back to competing for a World Series, and there is not a lot that excites you about the Phillies going forward.
20. Los Angeles Angels (36-38)
    The Angels should be one of the most exciting teams in baseball, but we’ve reached the point where frustration takes over when talking about this club. As it stands right now, Shohei Ohtani is unquestionably your AL MVP, Jared Walsh is enjoying a breakout campaign, and Mike Trout is on your payroll (please come back soon). Yet, the Angels are marred by a starting rotation that, even with the help of Ohtani, has the sixth-worst ERA in all of baseball.
21. Seattle Mariners (39-37)
    Despite being over .500 well into the month of June, Fangraphs gives the Mariners just a 0.8% chance to make the playoffs, and sadly for Seattle fans, that seems about right. The Mariners have an inspiring young group of players, but they lack a superstar in both the lineup and the rotation. While it may not amount to much this year, the Mariners could have a bright future if they play their cards right.
22. Kansas City Royals (33-39)
    The Royals ended April with a 15-9 record and had some asking if they were going to compete this year. Well, it’s June and that question has been answered with a resounding no. There are bright spots, however, as Salvador Pérez is in the midst of perhaps the best season of his career and Andrew Benintendi was producing prior to landing on the IL.

23. Miami Marlins (31-42)
    Marlins fans have every right to be impatient at this point, but this is a Miami team that has shown a lot of promise. No, they aren’t going to compete for a division championship this year, but they are brimming with young talent, especially in the starting rotation. Give it some time.
24. Minnesota Twins (31-42)
    The Twins are likely the biggest disappointment of the 2021 season so far. The lineup has gotten production from the ageless wonder Nelson Cruz and one of the season’s breakout performers in Byron Buxton (when he’s played), but pitching has been Minnesota’s Achilles heel. Kenta Maeda is having a disastrous season after a stellar 2020 campaign and the bullpen has cost them multiple times.
25. Detroit Tigers (32-42)
    Well, the Tigers are not in last in the AL Central, so there’s that. In all seriousness though, the Tigers are 24-23 since the start of May and there have been bright spots in a season that was declared lost from the get-go. Casey Mize has pitched well, Spencer Turnbull threw a no-hitter, and Akil Baddoo has been a great story. Of course, you want these bright spots to mean you have a winning ballclub, but that won’t be the case this year.
26. Texas Rangers (27-47)
    The Rangers are meeting expectations this year, the problem is that they were expected to be a noncompetitive team. Texas currently has the ninth-worst team ERA in baseball and the ninth-worst team wRC+. If you’re looking for the formula for baseball success, that’s not it. Kyle Gibson and Adolis Garcia are turning in great seasons though and deserve recognition.
27. Colorado Rockies (31-44)
    Even after trading the face of the franchise Nolan Arenado to St. Louis, the Rockies find themselves with the same problem they’ve had for the past 10 years: pitching. A team ERA of 4.89 that is good for 27th in the league is not a good formula for a young team to win baseball games, even with a top 10 offense in terms of batting average. Trevor Story figures to be a key trade deadline asset for the club to acquire some young talent moving forward.
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (26-46)
    The Pirates find themselves well outside of the four-team race for the NL Central as many expected coming into the season, and a 10-game losing streak to start the month of June seems to have solidified the Buckos as the bottom feeders in the division. The one bright spot in the Pittsburgh offense that ranks 29th in the league in runs scored is Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has strong argument for NL ROTY and figures to be a building block for the franchise’s future.

29. Baltimore Orioles (23-51)
    The Orioles are still very much in rebuilding mode, and it’s shown this season. The team has an MLB-worst 5.35 ERA despite having a legitimate ace in John Means. There isn’t much too forward to day in and day out with this team with the exception of Cedric Mullins. If you haven’t already, consider voting to send him to Colorado for the All-Star Game, he – and Orioles fans – deserve it.
30. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-55)
    There were not a lot of expectations for a young and rebuilding DBacks team, but to be 34 games below .500 three weeks before the All-Star Break is just ridiculous. Arizona finally snapped a dreadful 17-game losing streak Tuesday but remain winless in their last 23 road games. It can’t get any worse, right?

List as of the end of play on Wednesday, June 23