playESPNMultiple AuthorsSep 24, 2026, 07:00 AM ETOpen Extended ReactionsWe’re down to the final days of the 2026 regular season with still quite a number of teams that have something to play for — including a few who are fighting for their postseason lives.Such is the case with the Astros and Rangers, who are tied atop the AL West (with Houston owning the tiebreaker); the team that loses the division will most likely miss the playoffs entirely. Elsewhere in the American League, the Guardians and White Sox are still battling for the division title, though the loser of that should slot into the third wild-card spot.While all the divisions in the National League have been clinched already, the wild-card race, specifically in terms of seeding, is very much heating up, with the Phillies, Cubs and Padres entering play on Wednesday in a three-way tie.Which clubs will get to keep playing into October? And which will watch their playoff aspirations come to an end?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 Bradford Doolittle, Buster Olney and Jorge Castillo to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.Week 25 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings1.
Milwaukee BrewersRecord: 99-59 Previous ranking: 1With the season down to a handful of games, the Brewers have all but run out of time for Kyle Harrison to recover his first-half form. Harrison was 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA before the break; he’s 2-3 with a 7.80 ERA since. His strikeout rate has remained steady, even as his velocity and movement measures have become more volatile. Meanwhile, his walk rate has more than doubled, and his homers-allowed rate has nearly tripled.
Suffice to say, this is not a great combination of trends. Milwaukee has tried to get Harrison back in stride by using him out of the bullpen, but he’s gotten hammered as a reliever. Brewers fans who dreamed of a big three rotation of Jacob Misiorowski, Harrison and Logan Henderson probably need to recalibrate their expectations at this point. — Doolittle2. Los Angeles DodgersRecord: 97-61 Previous ranking: 2We’re nearing October baseball, and it’s as if the Dodgers are knocking off items on a to-do list.
Shohei Ohtani back in the lineup? Check. Edwin Diaz finding his stuff, finally? Check.
Will Smith back in the lineup? Check — and he has an OPS of close to 1.000 this month. Mookie Betts back to being Mookie Betts? Check.
Kyle Tucker digging out of his seasonlong slump? Check. L.A. is putting the pieces back together just in time as it begins its effort to become the first NL team to go back-to-back-to-back. — Olney3. Tampa Bay RaysRecord: 96-62 Previous ranking: 3Tampa Bay began the season with the longest odds to win the AL East.
On Tuesday, it clinched its first division title since 2021 with a win over the Yankees. The Rays will enter their first postseason since 2023 as the favorites to win the AL pennant behind a distinct home-field advantage at Tropicana Field, a strong pitching staff and a dynamic lineup centered around MVP candidate Junior Caminero, designated hitter Yandy Diaz and first baseman Jonathan Aranda. With a payroll that ranks 28th in the majors, the Rays seek to become the team with the lowest-ranked payroll to ever win the World Series. — Castillo4. Atlanta BravesRecord: 93-65 Previous ranking: 5Atlanta would’ve preferred to get a first-round bye in the playoffs, of course, but the fact that the Brewers and Dodgers seemed to have locked down the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds allows the Braves to treat this last week of the regular season like the last week of spring training.
They can plot out the best way to rest their key relievers, assess the progress of Robert Suarez and arrange at-bats for the position players to be primed for the postseason. Meanwhile, the teams the Braves are likely to face in the first round — the Phillies, Cubs and Padres — are all still pushing for berths and home-field advantage in the wild-card round. — Olney5. New York YankeesRecord: 91-67 Previous ranking: 4Despite manager Aaron Boone saying on Tuesday that Aaron Judge isn’t expected to return from his calf strain in time for the wild-card round, Judge told ESPN the following day that he does in fact intend to be ready for Game 1. He suffered the injury last Wednesday and was placed on the injured list two days later.
The Yankees were initially cryptic about the setback, declining to disclose the severity and Judge’s outlook.Boone offered some clarity Tuesday when he called it a “moderate strain” and acknowledged that the club does not plan on having him to open the postseason. Judge received a PPP injection Monday. The Yankees hope that will spur recovery. Otherwise, New York faces an uphill challenge to survive in October without its three-time MVP at his best. — Castillo6.
Chicago CubsRecord: 87-71 Previous ranking: 6No player has made more of a second-half leap than Alex Bregman, whose season has just gathered momentum almost daily since the last week of July. That momentum was stopped in its tracks when Bregman suffered facial fractures last weekend when struck by a foul ball. The good news is that the Cubs decided against placing Bregman on the IL, believing he might be ready for the playoffs after.But even if that proves to be optimistic, Cubs fans can take solace in the presence of icy-cool rookie Pedro Ramirez. The Cubs didn’t drop off much when Dansby Swanson was injured, as Ramirez provided a league-average bat and glove work at both second and third base that has kept an elite Cubs defense on track.
You want Bregman in there, for sure — but Ramirez provides a heck of a Plan B. — Doolittle7. San Diego PadresRecord: 88-70 Previous ranking: 8San Diego’s magic number for clinching a playoff spot is shrinking, allowing general manager A.J. Preller and skipper Craig Stammen the chance to line up their staff for the wild-card series, with options developing. Stammen indicated to reporters that unless Michael King is needed to clinch a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season, he will be held over to start Game 1 of the wild card, wherever that is — so he wouldn’t necessarily be used Sunday in order to win home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.Additionally, the Padres are in a better position to rest their bullpen, the perceived strength of the team.
Adrian Morejon ranks third among all relievers in innings. Rest might be overrated for Mason Miller: He has made 16 appearances on zero days’ rest, and in those games, he has allowed two hits and one earned run in 16⅔ innings, with two walks and 27 strikeouts. — Olney8. Philadelphia PhilliesRecord: 87-71 Previous ranking: 7The culture of Philadelphia’s starting pitchers, from Zack Wheeler to Cristopher Sanchez to Aaron Nola, is to pitch deep into games. Unlike so many starters in this generation, Wheeler takes the mound expecting to work into the late innings — and the Phillies will need this sort of production from the rotation, given the team’s recent bullpen problems.
Orion Kerkering, an important part of the relief corps, struggled so badly that he was sent to the minors last week. Jose Alvarado has pitched better down the stretch, and hard-throwing Alex MacFarlane has quickly ascended into an important role in his rookie season in the bullpen. But the Phillies’ rotation will carry the team’s October dreams. — Olney9. Boston Red SoxRecord: 85-73 Previous ranking: 9The Red Sox rewarded Chad Tracy on Tuesday for leading the team’s historic turnaround by removing his interim tag and giving him a three-year contract to continue as manager.
Now he’ll look to accomplish what his predecessor Alex Cora couldn’t last year: beating the Yankees on the road in the AL Wild Card Series.Boston has cooled off since going 32-5 to put itself in playoff position and faces some injury uncertainty going i
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