There is a lot of baseball left, but the 2026 MLB season is proving that the league can change dramatically in just a year.

The very best organizations, unsurprisingly, remain at or near the top of the standings, but it’s the middling and rebuilding teams that have stood out the most through the first two months of the season.

To put it in perspective, the league’s best and worst records this season are separated by just 18 games in the standings. That might sound like a lot, but it’s much better than the 29.5-game gap that separated the best and worst records on this date last season. The league from top to bottom is much more competitive.

Both the Giants and Athletics entered the season with different expectations, and have gone in opposite directions early on. For better and for worse.

Here are where the Giants and Athletics sit in the MLB power rankings on the first day of June.

1. Atlanta Braves

Record: 40-20

The league’s second-best hitting team also is the league’s second-best pitching team. That’s a pretty rock-solid formula if you ask me.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 38-21

Shohei Ohtani got off to a slow start? Blake Snell is hurt? Kyle Tucker hasn’t lived up to expectations? Cry me a river. They’re still one of the three best teams in baseball. The champs will be just fine.

3. Milwaukee Brewers

Record: 35-21

Congrats on landing Kyle Harrison. I’m happy he’s developing into a star with an organization that actually knows how to develop young pitching. The two teams that traded him away have to be regretting it.

4. Tampa Bay Rays

Record: 36-20

The Tampa Bay developmental lap is fully operational again this season after a down 2025 campaign. They Rays just always seem to be doing something right.

5. New York Yankees

Record: 36-23

Cam Schlittler did his best Gerrit Cole impression while the staff ace worked his way back. The rotation as a whole has been excellent.

6. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 34-27

Another team that seems to always do a lot with very little. Cleveland has a new staff ace, and his name is Gavin Williams.

7. San Diego Padres

Record: 32-26

You’re telling me San Diego is playing this well while its best player, Fernando Tatis Jr., has ONE home run on the season and its second best player, Manny Machado, is batting just .174? Just wait until they get going …

8. Chicago White Sox

Record: 32-27

Munetaka Murakami has been the steal of the offseason. The AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner has been the South Side’s first bright spot in years.

9. Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 31-27

After Geraldo Perdomo’s random breakout last year, it appears it’s Ildemaro Vargas‘ turn to become the D-backs’ out-of-nowhere infield star. Arizona should be a pretty safe bet to secure a wild-card spot.

10. Chicago Cubs

Record: 32-28

Despite suffering a brutal 10-game losing streak and being dealt multiple blows to their starting rotation this season, the Cubs remain in a good spot entering June, but definitely need help on the pitching front.

11. St. Louis Cardinals

Record: 31-26

Jordan Walker has arrived, and he’s an early season MVP candidate. Michael McGreevy is the new ace of a pretty lackluster starting rotation.

12. Pittsburgh Pirates

Record: 32-28

The prospects are arriving, and Pittsburgh finally is reaping the rewards from years of rebuilding. Will this be the year Oneil Cruz fully lives up to his potential?

13. Seattle Mariners

Record: 31-29

What a fall from grace for AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh. Seattle can run away with this division if its star catcher eventually can return to form.

14. Washington Nationals

Record: 31-29

CJ Abrams and James Wood have formed one of the better middle-of-the-order tandems in the league, and it won’t be long before Washington is back in contention. But it probably won’t be this year.

15. Cincinnati Reds

Record: 30-28

Two of the early season NL Rookie of the Year candidates are on the same team, with both young pitcher Chase Burns and first baseman Sal Stewart leading the way for Cincinnati.

16. Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 30-29

Philly got off to a horrendous start to the season, but has turned it around as of late. They seem to do this a lot. I would not be surprised one bit to see this team surge throughout the summer and challenge Atlanta for the division.

17. Toronto Blue Jays

Record: 29-31

A solid pitching staff, led by free-agent signing Dylan Cease, has been pretty steady so far, but Toronto just looks like a team suffering from a bit of a World Series hangover.

18. Texas Rangers

Record: 28-31

With Corey Seager hurt again, Josh Jung is this lineup’s best hitter. And it shows. That’s no knock against him, he’s having a great year. Texas’ lineup just lacks its familiar thump.

19. Athletics

Record: 28-31

It was clear before the season started that the A’s were turning a corner in their rebuild and were putting together a young, competitive team. They aren’t a legitimate playoff contender this season, but the fact they find themselves 2.5 games out of first place in the division after two months is a major win.

20. Baltimore Orioles

Record: 28-32

The young core that powered Baltimore to 101 wins three years ago is enjoying a nice bounce back, and the Pete Alonso signing has worked out OK, but the pitching has been terrible and likely will cap their ceiling at around 80-82 wins.

21. Houston Astros

Record: 27-34

Houston could — and should — trade Yordan Alvarez this summer to restock one of the worst farm systems in the league. He’s under contract for two additional years and could net a haul.

22. New York Mets

Record: 26-33

It wouldn’t be the first time the Mets had a $300 million-plus payroll and underperformed. It also wouldn’t be the second or third time. However, this year they don’t appear close to being a wild-card team.

23. Minnesota Twins

Record: 27-33

Is this the summer that Minnesota finally trades Byron Buxton? He’s been one of the league’s best hitters early on, and his value probably is as high as it will be all season. Will the Twins have a repeat of last season’s deadline fire sale?

24. Boston Red Sox

Record: 25-33

Yeah, go ahead and fire your manager and his staff one month into the season. That’ll fix things. Another year of ineptitude for a fan base that has zero tolerance for it.

25. Miami Marlins

Record: 26-34

If you were to tell me before the season that Liam Hicks would be one of the league’s best run producers, I probably would have said: ‘Who?’ He and Otto Lopez are have been two nice building blocks.

26. San Francisco Giants

Record: 23-36

It’s been bad. Really bad. San Francisco got off to one of its worst starts in recent history, and it’s far from rookie manager Tony Vitello’s fault. The stars slumped at the plate early on, staff ace Logan Webb struggled before landing on the injured list, and the defense has been abysmal. Except for … Luis Arráez? Who somehow transformed into a Gold Glove second baseman.

27. Los Angeles Angels

Record: 23-37

Sell the team, Arte.

28. Detroit Tigers

Record: 22-38

What a fall from grace after a great 2025 season. The Tarik Skubal trade rumors are popping up again. Will they actually pull the trigger?

29. Kansas City Royals

Record: 22-37

Bobby Witt Jr. only can do so much by himself. Perhaps we overvalued their young, homegrown talent after one impressive season.

30. Colorado Rockies

Record: 22-38

Hey, they’re only tied for the league’s worst record this year. It could be much, much worse!