What are the chances we already know the 12 MLB playoff teams this year? By ESPN’s playoff odds, the 12 teams currently in position to make the postseason all have 87.2% odds or better; 10 are above 93%. Among those not in the playoffs, the Rangers (14.3%) and Royals (10.5%) are the only ones above 5%.
Crazy things happen, but there’s a real chance the playoff teams as of Sept. 1 will be the playoff teams as of Oct. 1. But that doesn’t mean we know all the teams 1-30. That’s where our MLB Power Rankings come in. Check out blurbs on all 30 teams below, and then at the bottom you can see the full power rankings table.
Fantasy Baseball Power Rankings (9/1)
1. Milwaukee Brewers (Last Week: 1)
85-53, 97.3 projected wins
The Brewers have gone only 7-9 since ending their 14-game winning streak. The nice thing is, they’ve built up enough cushion — and the other elite teams are playing so mediocrely — that they still have the best record in baseball by 5 games.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (Last Week: 2)
79-58, 93.3 projected wins
It’s easy to miss it, because his exploits are the flashiest, but Kyle Schwarber not only doesn’t have the best bWAR on the Phillies, he doesn’t have the second- or third-best. He’s behind Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Trea Turner. That’s a testament both to how little value Schwarber offers outside of the batter’s box and how good the Phillies are overall.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (Last Week: 6)
78-59, 93.1 projected wins
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 06: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a pitch during a MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 6, 2019 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
Clayton Kershaw looked done-done last year, putting up -0.3 bWAR and a 4.50 ERA in seven games and basically spending the year on the IL. But he’s getting it done so far in 2025 — he’s thrown 88.1 innings and has a 9-2 record and a 3.06 ERA. He’s basically done striking people out, but the old guy still has something.
4. Detroit Tigers (Last Week: 3)
80-58, 92.6 projected wins
After a rejuvenated 2024 that saw him put up a 3.17 ERA between the Tigers and Dodgers, Detroit brought Jack Flaherty back this offseason in hopes of doing that again. Instead, his ERA is 4.74 and he leads the AL in losses.
5. Toronto Blue Jays (Last Week: 4)
79-58, 92.5 projected wins
Time to worry in Toronto? They’re still all but a lock to make the playoffs, but the Blue Jays have seen the Red Sox and Yankees come storming back in the last couple weeks. They’ve already fallen out of the 1 seed in the AL and are within 3 games of losing their AL East lead and falling to a Wild Card.
6. Chicago Cubs (Last Week: 5)
78-59, 91.1 projected wins
Everyone assumed Pete Crow-Armstrong would regress from his early-season heroics, but the level of that regression has been incredible — he slashed a miserable .160/.216/.230 in August. He hit 1 home run. He struck out 29 times against only 5 walks. Heck, he was only 2-for-4 in steal attempts. Just an absolute disaster month.
7. New York Yankees (Last Week: 8)
76-61, 90.4 projected wins
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – SEPTEMBER 24: New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) at bat during the MLB game between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays on September 24, 2019 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire)
Is Aaron Judge heating back up? After scuffling (by his standards) to a .200/.373/.385 slash line in August through the 26th, he finished hot, putting up .389/.560/.944 with 3 homers and 8 runs scored in his final five games of the month.
8. San Diego Padres (Last Week: 7)
76-61, 89.7 projected wins
Jose Iglesias’ career looked maybe over after his lone year in Cincinnati in 2019, but he rebounded in a big way with the Orioles in 2020. He crashed and burned with the Angels in 2021, but then he was a monster after landing in Boston to finish that season, and that carried into his year in Colorado in 2022. Then it really looked over after he never even saw the big leagues in 2023 and the first half of 2024, only to become a sensation with the Mets in the second half. He landed in San Diego this offseason, and it’s been about as bad as it could be, a -0.6 bWAR and a 58 OPS+. Is it over-over this time?
9. Boston Red Sox (Last Week: 10)
76-62, 89.0 projected wins
The story that Aroldis Chapman having a rejuvenated year in part because he just learned to locate his fastball for the first time feels little too folklore-y to be true, but regardless, a 1.02 ERA at age 37 is wild.
10. Houston Astros (Last Week: 9)
75-62, 88.1 projected wins
Every division leader has playoff odds of 99.7% of better except the Astros, who have struggled to put the Mariners and Rangers away and so sit at a still-strong-but-not-on-the-level-of-the-others 88.7%.
11. New York Mets (Last Week: 11)
73-64, 87.2 projected wins
The Mets have 25 games left. Francisco Lindor leads the league with 617 plate appearances. There’s an outside shot at 750 there, which would be the first time someone got to that number since Rickie Weeks in 2010.
12. Seattle Mariners (Last Week: 12)
73-64, 86.5 projected wins
The Eugenio Suárez acquisition has not worked out so far, with the former Diamondback seeing his OPS drop by 232 points (.897 to .665) in the move from Arizona to Seattle.
13. Texas Rangers (Last Week: 15)
71-67, 82.2 projected wins
A week ago, I marveled that the Rangers had lost Marcus Semien and Evan Carter and responded with a series sweep. Well, this past week, they lost Nathan Eovaldi for the rest of the season and Corey Seager for most of the rest of the season … and they went 5-1. For better or worse, they refuse to go away.
14. Kansas City Royals (Last Week: 14)
70-67, 82.2 projected wins
He won’t get the votes to win, but Bobby Witt Jr. will be the third AL MVP finalist alongside Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, and he definitely deserves to be there.
15. Cincinnati Reds (Last Week: 13)
69-68, 80.7 projected wins
DENVER, CO – APRIL 27: Cincinnati Reds third baseman Noelvi Marte (16) hits a ninth inning RBI single during a game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 27, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)
The first line of Noelvi Marte’s career obituary has been written thanks to his PED suspension in 2024, but in limited time this year he’s hitting like he was expected to when he was the cornerstone of the Luis Castillo trade years ago, a .332 OBP and .510 slugging percentage in 262 plate appearances.
16. Tampa Bay Rays (Last Week: 16)
67-69, 80.4 projected wins
Pete Fairbanks is 31 and has set career highs in games (52) and innings pitched (51.1). That’s as much a testament to how well he’s pitched in 2025 as it is an indictment of his injury history before this year.
17. Cleveland Guardians (Last Week: 19)
68-67, 79.7 projected wins
The Guardians have been .500 12 different times this season. They’re above it now at 68-67; can they stay there this time?
18. San Francisco Giants (Last Week: 20)
68-69, 79.7 projected wins
Just when the Giants looked done, they’ve won eight of nine. That’s balanced with Justin Verlander’s rebound — he has had outings of 7 scoreless innings, 6 innings with 2 runs and 5 scoreless innings in his last four games.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (Last Week: 17)
68-70, 79.6 projected wins
After three straight good starts that got his ERA down to an almost-palatable 4.76 ERA in late July, Brandon Pfaadt has allowed 28 earned runs in 35.1 innings (7.13 ERA). I’m not at all sure the Diamondbacks can have him in the rotation in 2026.
20. St. Louis Cardinals (Last Week: 18)
68-70, 79.1 projected wins
JoJo Romero took over as closer after the Ryan Helsley trade. He’s 5-for-6 in save opportunities with a 2.51 ERA in 14 games since. That’ll play.
21. Los Angeles Angels (Last Week: 21)
64-72, 76.5 projected wins
ANAHEIM, CA – SEPTEMBER 28: Los Angeles Angels right fielder Taylor Ward (3) in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of an MLB baseball game against the Oakland Athletics played on September 28, 2022 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)
You have to hope for a quick recovery for Taylor Ward after his freak injury Sunday — he’s having his second-best season, best since 2022.
22. Miami Marlins (Last Week: 23)
65-72, 76.4 projected wins
Obviously this won’t continue, but Jakob Marsee is now 30 games in and has a 1.058 OPS and 1.9 bWAR. The 24-year-old is having a magical debut.
23. Atlanta Braves (Last Week: 24)
62-75, 74.9 projected wins
Matt Olson has played 752 consecutive games. That’s already the 12th-longest streak in MLB history, and if he can continue it through next season he’ll be top eight in MLB history. No, he won’t threaten Cal Ripken Jr. or Lou Gehrig, but I would have bet against anyone ever even threatening a 1,000-game streak again, and Olson could do that.
24. Sacramento Athletics (Last Week: 25)
63-75, 74.6 projected wins
It’s easy to forget, since he was worth essentially nothing before becoming an Athletic, but this is his fourth MLB team, after a .668 OPS in 81 games with the Royals, Twins and Padres in 2020-2022.
25. Minnesota Twins (Last Week: 26)
62-74, 74.5 projected wins
Pablo López frustrated a lot of people last year with a 4.08 ERA that didn’t even drop below 5.00 permanently until mid-July, but he’s bounced back to a perfectly fine 2.82 (3.03 FIP) when healthy this year.
26. Baltimore Orioles (Last Week: 22)
61-76, 73.4 projected wins
The Orioles looked functional for a bit of the middle of August (winning six of seven against Seattle, Houston and Boston), but that’s fallen apart — Baltimore has lost nine of 11 to fall down to 26th in our rankings.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (Last Week: 27)
61-77, 72.7 projected wins
Maybe it isn’t Paul Skenes-ian, but Bubba Chandler has been the bulk guy out of the bullpen twice so far, and he has thrown 8 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts and 4 baserunners. That’s a nice little start.
28. Washington Nationals (Last Week: 28)
53-83, 63.9 projected wins
James Wood had an electric first half, entering the All-Star break with a .915 OPS. But he’s struggled since, down to .631 and seeing his K:BB ratio drop from 1.97 to 3.88.
29. Chicago White Sox (Last Week: 29)
49-88, 59.6 projected wins
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 14: Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert (88) runs to second during a game between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox on July 14, 2022 at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)
The inverse of James Wood, Luis Robert Jr. had a nearly unplayable .599 OPS through the first half, but he’s slashed .298/.352/.456 in the second half to recover some of his value.
30. Colorado Rockies (Last Week: 30)
39-98, 48.9 projected wins
The Rockies winning six of seven (and seven of nine) in mid-August basically secured that they won’t set any worst-record marks. They’re already at 39 wins (the 1962 Mets had 40, last year’s White Sox had 41) with 25 games to go. Still, they’ll reach 100 losses some time this week, and it’s only the first week of September.
Check out our full rankings below: