MLB power rankings: Brewers, Rays, Dodgers take the top 3 spots as the playoffs approach

The regular season is winding down, with the teams at the top of the standings starting to clinch their spots in the postseason and those at the bottom being mathematically eliminated.

Our latest power rankings — the final edition of this regular season, as our next rankings will include only the 12 teams that qualify for October — take one final look back and determine each team’s regular-season MVP.

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Let’s get to it.

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1. Milwaukee Brewers (93-57)

There’s no shortage of statistics highlighting Jacob Misiorowski‘s glow-up from dynamic rookie with sky-high potential to maybe (probably?) The Best Pitcher On The Planet. But here’s a simple one exemplifying how unhittable The Miz has been: Batters are hitting .156 against Misiorowski this season, which would be the lowest mark for a qualified starting pitcher in a full season in MLB history, besting the record held by 2000 Pedro Martinez at .167. Martinez finished fifth in AL MVP voting that season; it’ll be interesting to see where Misiorowski ends up on NL MVP ballots come season’s end.

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Can Junior Caminero make a late charge past Yordan Alvarez for AL MVP? He’s got a classic case as the best player on the best team, and he delivered his signature moment on Friday, when his walk-off homer (against Alvarez’s Astros, no less) clinched a playoff berth for Tampa Bay and his second consecutive 40-homer season. And while Caminero’s defense at the hot corner doesn’t grade out well, his durability and availability have been admirable: He has started every single game at third for the Rays. Only Matt Olson has played more defensive innings this season. Whether he catches Alvarez or not, there’s no disputing that Caminero is the heart and soul of the American League’s runaway No. 1 seed, and he’ll have the opportunity to elevate his profile even further in October.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (91-59)

Don’t let his first trip to the injured list as a Dodger overshadow what Shohei Ohtani was able to accomplish before he went down. While the sequencing and drawn-out nature of his injury saga raised some big questions for the Dodgers and Ohtani with October approaching, he still provided an immense amount of value before his pitching was paused and his offensive performance tailed off, including a .902 OPS with 30 homers at the plate and a 1.79 ERA across 85 ⅔ innings pitched. He might not win MVP for the first time in four years, but there’s a great chance that Ohtani still finishes second, and it’s hard to argue against that runner-up placement based on how spectacular he was in the first half of the season.

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After all he accomplished in Chicago and Boston, Chris Sale has somehow leveled up again since joining the Braves, even as he enters his late-30s. Most remarkable has been Sale’s rediscovery of the high-end velocity that he hadn’t showcased in nearly a decade, pushing his fastball up to triple-digits in Atlanta’s marquee matchup with the Dodgers last month. Back spasms prevented Sale from pitching for the Braves in the playoffs two years ago, and the team missed October last year. So whether it be in the wild-card round or the division series, Sale’s upcoming postseason debut for Atlanta will be one of the most highly anticipated outings of October.

5. New York Yankees (87-63)

With three-time MVP Aaron Judge sidelined for multiple months, it’s the pitching that has carried the Yankees into a comfortable position in the standings, and sophomore right-hander Cam Schlittler has been at the forefront of those efforts. Schlittler’s electric postseason debut last October sparked sizable hype entering his first full season in the Yankees’ rotation, and he has more than delivered on those lofty expectations. Schlittler leans heavily on three hellacious, high-90s fastball variants (44% four-seam, 25% cutter, 20% sinker) to utterly overwhelm opposing batters, and his brilliance has started to build some MVP buzz.

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6. Philadelphia Phillies (83-67)

It has been a strange season for Cristopher Sánchez. The bad: He has allowed 10-plus hits on five occasions; no other pitcher in MLB has more than three such outings. The good: Sánchez has gone at least six innings with zero earned runs allowed 11 times this year; that’s three more than any other pitcher. On the whole, it has been another ace-like campaign, and Sánchez ranks third in fWAR among starting pitchers, behind only Cy Young frontrunners Misiorowski and Schlittler. Even in a rotation with several other frontline arms, Sánchez stands out. 

7. Chicago Cubs (84-67)

Alex Bregman has been one of the most valuable players in baseball for the past three months, which would earn him the nod here on most other rosters. But Bregman’s teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong has spent that same span of time absolutely lapping the field in WAR and most offensive categories amid one of the best seasons in Cubs franchise history — and the Cubs have been around for a while! Crow-Armstrong’s astonishing ascension from young superstar to full-blown main character of the major leagues cannot be overstated. This has been the regular season of PCA; will his storybook season continue in October?

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On the morning of May 30, Fernando Tatis Jr. woke up with a .652 OPS and zero home runs through 236 plate appearances across 55 games. Since then, he has hit .300/.364/.546 with 22 homers and 21 stolen bases in 93 games, accruing 4.3 fWAR along the way, the second-highest mark in MLB over that span behind only PCA. Need I say more?

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9. Boston Red Sox (82-68)

Willson Contreras has far surpassed even the most optimistic expectations for his first year in Boston, posting a career-best 151 wRC+ that ranks third among qualified hitters, behind only Crow-Armstrong and Yordan Alvarez. As hoped, his offensive profile has fit perfectly at Fenway Park, where he has hit .323/.429/.581 compared to .232/.345/.455 away from Boston. And beyond the batting, Contreras’ unwavering intensity and competitiveness set the tone for the Red Sox on and off the field as they rallied back up the standings after a poor start to the season.

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He doesn’t have the gaudy power numbers of some of the other top backstops in baseball, but there’s a case to be made that Gabriel Moreno has been the best all-around catcher in the majors this season. Among the 26 primary catchers with at least 300 plate appearances, Moreno’s 13 homers are tied for 15th, but he’s first in batting average (.301), first in on-base percentage (.379), second in wRC+ (133) and ninth among qualified catchers in Statcast’s Fielding Run Value. He’s often overshadowed by some of the bigger names in the Snakes’ lineup, but if Arizona manages to eke out a wild-card spot, Moreno will be a massive reason for it.

11. Chicago White Sox (77-73)

After arriving via trade two years ago, when the White Sox had one of the worst offenses in modern baseball history — which he contributed to with a .387 OPS over 42 games down the stretch — Miguel Vargas has blossomed into a legitimate offensive force as the centerpiece of the upstart White Sox lineup. He swatted his 31st homer of the season on Monday in Chicago’s crucial victory over Cleveland to claim the tiebreaker in the AL Central race. Most impressive is that Vargas’ sterling underlying batted-ball data fully supports his breakout: While his .361 wOBA ranks 29th among qualified batters, his .381 xwOBA ranks eighth. 

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As with Aaron Judge and the Yankees lineup, José Ramírez — the perennial leading candidate for Guardians’ MVP — going down in June due to a hamate injury (and struggling to produce after returning) opened the door for others on Cleveland’s roster to emerge as headlining contributors. Seizing that opportunity have been a trio of standout rookies in Parker Messick, Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana. All three have enjoyed stretches of excellence buoying Cleveland’s push for a postseason spot, but Messick’s steadiness atop the rotation has been especially impressive. Not only is he making a run for AL Rookie of the Year, but also the 25-year-old southpaw has a real chance of finishing as the third AL Cy Young finalist behind leading contenders Schlittler and Dylan Cease. 

13. Houston Astros (75-75)

His chances at claiming the Triple Crown have dwindled as he has cooled off a bit in September, and he might be managing an ankle injury with October approaching, but Yordan Alvarez has been head-and-shoulders above every other hitter in the league from a pure offensive standpoint this season, at a whopping 175 wRC+ (.310/.427/.589), and he might earn his first AL MVP Award as a result. If anything, his dominance has been a reminder of what Houston was missing last season, when he played only 48 games and the Astros missed the postseason for the first time since 2016.

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Ezequiel Durán has quietly delivered one of the great superutility seasons in recent history, appearing in at least 10 games at every position besides first base, catcher and pitcher. Incredibly, his glovework has graded out as average or better at every spot, including a remarkable +12 Outs Above Average across 385 innings at shortstop while Corey Seager was sidelined. All the while, Duran has enjoyed a career season at the plate, setting personal bests in doubles (26), homers (17), RBI (80) and wRC+ (117).

Where would the Blue Jays be had they not shelled out a hefty chunk of change last offseason to sign Dylan Cease? The rest of their rotation has been ravaged by injuries, and those woes combined with the disappointing offense led Toronto to trade away its only other reliable rotation arm, Kevin Gausman, with an eye toward the future. But as the Blue Jays have continued to hang around the wild-card race, Cease has stayed steady as the one of premier right-handers in the league, racking up a career-high 236 strikeouts and yielding more weak contact than ever when he’s not coaxing whiffs.

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Bryan Reynolds has been the steadiest Bucco bat, having appeared in every game for Pittsburgh this year, but Brandon Lowe has felt like this club’s biggest difference-maker on the whole, ahead of even the rotation filled with talented arms. Lowe has supplied pop as planned — his 29 homers are the most by a Pirate since Josh Bell in 2019 (37) — but his shockingly good (and much improved) defense at the keystone (+14 Outs Above Average) has made his addition all the more impactful. He’s an intriguing free agent to monitor this winter. 

WAR metrics that favor defensive contributions will tell you that rookie JJ Wetherholt and his sparkling glovework at second base have been the best all-around player for St. Louis this year, but the most important development for the Cardinals in 2026 has been the offensive breakout of 24-year-old Jordan Walker. Walker now looks like the kind of slugger you can build a lineup around, a foundational piece who can anchor the offense as St. Louis tries to restore its status as a contender. Plus, Walker’s Home Run Derby performance in Philadelphia was arguably the highlight of this entire Cardinals season, alongside Joshua Baez’s historic debut. 

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DFA’d by the Giants at the start of the 2024 season after debuting briefly with Toronto, Otto Lopez has developed into an all-around menace with the Fish, making his first All-Star Game this summer and leading the majors in hits with less than two weeks to go. And if the bat-to-ball skills weren’t enough, Lopez is also a stellar defender at shortstop and one of the most impactful baserunners in the league. What a fun and valuable player he has become. 

19. Baltimore Orioles (73-78)

Pete Alonso‘s emotional homecoming in Queens this week was an emphatic reminder of how much he and his rock-solid production have been missed in the Mets’ lineup. He has continued to be a dependable force atop the batting order for his new ballclub, roughly replicating his terrific output from his final season as a Met while starting every game for the Orioles, with his durability remaining a hallmark of his profile. It might not be enough to fuel a return to October, but Alonso has done his part and then some in his first year in Birdland.

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This is a toss-up between Dillon Dingler and Kevin McGonigle, as Dingler was unbelievable on both sides of the ball until a shockingly ice-cold stretch in August did some serious damage to his overall statline. McGonigle has been awfully consistent all season, which is no small feat as a 21-year-old rookie. His special hit tool has largely lived up to the significant preseason hype while he has spent the bulk of his defensive reps at shortstop. McGonigle has thus far been everything Detroit could’ve hoped for and an ideal piece to build around in the post-Tarik Skubal Era.

A hamate injury cost Ryan Jeffers a couple of months in the middle of the season, but what the 29-year-old catcher has shown when available (137 wRC+) should make him one of the more attractive position players available in free agency this offseason. And with the Twins having just drafted their next potential franchise catcher in Vahn Lackey, it’s likely that Jeffers will begin a new chapter elsewhere after a stellar tenure in Minnesota since he was selected in the second round back in 2018.

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22. New York Mets (69-81)

Like Cleveland, the good parts of the Mets’ season have largely been defined by rookies, in their case an ace in Nolan McLean and a pair of dynamic outfielders in Carson Benge and AJ Ewing. But on a pitching staff where so much else went wrong, McLean establishing himself as a frontline arm (or close to it) has been especially encouraging, and he just might pitch himself to NL Rookie of the Year honors with a few strong outings to close out the season.

23. Seattle Mariners (70-81)

Randy Arozarena has been the only consistent bright spot in an otherwise disastrous season for Seattle, an on-base machine full of clutch moments that have far too often been undone by shortcomings elsewhere on the roster. Arozarena has timed his fantastic campaign well, as he has played himself onto the short list of best position players available in a relatively weak free-agent class this winter. He should cash in accordingly. 

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24. Cincinnati Reds (70-80)

Last year, Elly De La Cruz played all 162 games but was reportedly battling a left quad injury for most of the season, which hampered his performance. This season, De La Cruz made his first trip to the injured list as a big leaguer due to a hamstring strain in June but has otherwise delivered exactly the kind of step forward many were hoping for last year. This more healthy version of De La Cruz has been an all-around dynamo on both sides of the ball, and his gigantic improvement batting from the right side as a switch-hitter could be what unlocks his true MVP potential moving forward, even beyond his annual crown as Cincinnati’s best player. 

The surface-level stats — 30 homers and an NL-leading .395 on-base percentage — are plenty impressive on their own, but it’s the underlying batted-ball data that solidifies James Wood as one of the most dangerous sluggers in the league. Wood stands alone atop the leaderboards for average exit velocity (95.1 mph), hard-hit rate (58.1%) and barrel rate (20.1%), process-oriented metrics that support the eye test suggesting he’ll be terrorizing opposing pitchers for the foreseeable future. What a hitter.

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Rafael Devers‘ season is suddenly over after the Giants placed him on the 60-day injured list Sunday due to a core muscle injury that might require surgery, but it was hard to tell he was battling through anything based on his recent production. Devers hit .377/.476/.928 (1.403 OPS) with 11 HR over his final 18 games before being sidelined. His final tally of 37 homers is the most by a Giant in the post-Barry Bonds era, far exceeding Willy Adames’ 30 from a year ago. A lot went wrong in San Francisco this year, but Devers’ first full season as a Giant was a smashing success.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Bobby Witt Jr. was having a down season because of how far off the radar the Royals have been, but his sensational defense at shortstop (22 Outs Above Average) and overall offensive production (121 wRC+, 40 stolen bases) have combined for 6.5 fWAR, the top mark in the AL. Witt winning the AL MVP Award this year for the first time would be something of a surprise considering his modest slugging output (18 HR) and lack of national relevance on a last-place team, but another finish on or near the proverbial podium is in play and would be deserved. 

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28. Athletics (61-89)

A poor pitching staff and an avalanche of injuries in the lineup sunk this A’s season by midsummer. But Henry Bolte has been a rare bright spot and a late-rising candidate for team MVP. For the purposes of this exercise, I’ll give the rookie outfielder the nod, and not only to celebrate the nominative determinism of the guy named Bolte (pronounced bol-TAY, to be fair) being atop this season’s sprint speed leaderboard. Since Aug. 1, Bolte is hitting .312/.397/.497 and leading American League position players in fWAR. That’s ridiculous!

Reid Detmers is the objectively correct pick here — he should fetch a ton in a trade if the Angels finally choose to deal him this winter — but allow me to salute Mike Trout for playing 130-plus games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2018-19 and continuing to produce at a well above-average clip while regularly manning center field at age 34 and now 35. Even with his best days so clearly behind him, Trout ranks third in OBP among qualified AL hitters, behind only Alvarez and Contreras.

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30. Colorado Rockies (55-95)

Catcher Hunter Goodman has demonstrated that his 2025 breakout was no fluke, repeating as the Rockies’ lone All-Star representative and upping his home run total from 31 to 38 (with two weeks to go). And before you cry “Coors!” regarding his gaudy dinger count, consider this: 23 of Goodman’s long balls have come away from Colorado. That’s the second-most road homers in a single season by a Rockie behind only 1997 Larry Walker, with 29!