Every week, the Pitcher List team will publish an update to our power rankings, highlighting three teams among the different tiers of contention. As always, the full rankings can be found at the bottom of this article, but where’s the fun in that?
After being in the cellar for most of the season, it seems as if the Rockies have found another gear in their race towards ignominy, losing all of their games this week en route to a 9-50 mark that stands as the worst start in modern baseball history. They are not alone in the tough-week business, though, as the A’s sport a six-game losing streak, while presumed contenders like the Phillies and D-backs also endured a difficult finish to the month of May.
In the Phillies’ case, it was enough to drop them back a few spots, opening the door for the Dodgers to reclaim the No. 1 position in these rankings. Even as the top 10 remains mostly unchanged, other teams are starting to make some noise, including the Brewers, Astros, and Blue Jays, all of whom can at least stake a claim towards wild-card relevancy. With 21 teams within four games of a playoff spot, we may be heading towards another crowded finish and a very interesting trade deadline.
Contender
No. 1 – Los Angeles Dodgers (36-22, +84)
In the annals of extreme baseball statistics, the Dodgers are becoming an interesting case study, especially when it comes to managing a pitching staff. With 14 hurlers currently on the IL accounting for over $100 million in 2025 salary, it means that this group carries a higher dollar amount than the payroll of six MLB franchises. The constant churn has forced LA to send out an astounding 28 different pitchers, with 13 of them making at least one start, with both numbers leading the league. The lack of consistency has sunk the Dodgers to a bottom-third unit in terms of ERA, strikeouts, and home run rate, with only Yoshinobu Yamamoto serving as a constant quality presence in the rotation.
That has not mattered much in the standings, as the Dodgers’ devastating offense has been enough to overcome almost all of the team’s pitching woes. Entering June, LA leads the league in runs, homers, and OPS, while also being top-5 in walks and doubles. The expected excellence of Shohei Ohtani (22 homers and 63 [!!!] runs) has been complemented by stars and role players alike, with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman being as important as the likes of Andy Pages and Tommy Edman, giving the team an offense that can erupt for a big inning at anytime.
Just in this past week, the Dodgers cruised to convincing series wins against two AL contenders, taking a road set against the Guardians and then dominating in a home matchup versus the Yankees. In those four victories, LA combined to score a staggering 42 runs, highlighted by an 18-2 demolition of New York during the World Series rematch.
Dodgers scored so many runs the font looks weird in the scoreboard
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen.bsky.social) 2025-06-01T02:27:30.273Z
Even as the Padres and Giants have stayed close to the Dodgers in the standings, it is all but a done deal that LA will win the division and use the rest of the season as a way to set up their playoff rotation as their injured hurlers start to come back. The team’s impressive 9-1 start has been followed by a pedestrian 27-21 mark, but such a potent attack is more likely to sustain winning streaks than their middling pitching is prone to creating losing ones, and therein lies the formula of these mighty Dodgers.
An upcoming brutal stretch of 17 games against teams who currently hold a playoff spot will certainly be challenging, but LA has proven more than capable of beating such teams. With Ohtani slowly returning to his pitching routine and the eventual returns of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers will become the clear favorite to go back-to-back in the World Series. They say that money can’t buy everything, but in the case of LA, it is enough to buy time in their quest towards a dynasty.
The Middle
No. 12 – Seattle Mariners (32-26, +8)
For years and years, the Seattle Mariners have almost made performance art on just being plain weird. Despite employing some of the most iconic players of the past quarter century, they failed to truly make a mark on the baseball landscape. Most recently, they established a formula that relied on top-tier pitching and adequate hitting to return to relevancy, albeit with mixed results. In a season where that was supposed to be the standard, it has all gone haywire for the M’s, with the caveat that it all appears to be working, somehow.
This past week may have been the most chaotic sequence Seattle has experienced in 2025, starting with a home series loss against the Nationals in which they allowed nine runs in each of the final two games. That was followed by what might have been the most dramatic series in MLB so far this season. The Twins and Mariners started by splitting two extra-inning affairs, while the rubber match ended in a Seattle walk-off after an intense pitchers’ duel. Even as all-world closer Andrés Muñoz finally allowed earned runs against him and blew two saves, the Mariners must be feeling good about their chances at this point.
While the aforementioned pitching has not arrived as expected, Seattle still has Bryan Woo and his minuscule walk rate to lead the staff, a healthy Luis Castillo, and above-average arms like Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller. The bridge to Muñoz has been shaky at times, but that is an easier area to fortify around the trade deadline. As a staff, the M’s are hovering around the middle class in terms of run prevention and strikeouts, which becomes a bit more palatable now that the offense has finally become a strength for this franchise.
Playing in the same league as Aaron Judge prevents almost anyone from joining the MVP conversation, but it is nevertheless necessary to give a shout-out to what Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh is doing from the catcher position. After homering for the sixth straight game, Raleigh is now in sole possession of the top spot in terms of homers, carrying an OPS above 1.000 and even adding six steals to his ledger. Despite being last in doubles and next-to-last in triples, Seattle has featured enough power to be a top-10 team in homers, and the 12th-best in runs and OPS. Julio Rodriguez has shelved his usual slow start, while the likes of Jorge Polanco, J.P. Crawford, and Randy Arozarena have added enough thump to keep the offense afloat.
Reminder: it's only June 1st 🤯Cal Raleigh is putting together one of the best hitting seasons by a catcher we've EVER seen!
With just a half-game lead over the surging Astros in the AL West, it is hard to say that Seattle is a lock for the playoffs, but the projection systems are fairly optimistic that it is going to happen, giving them around 70% odds of playing into October. Following a tough May, the team will get a friendlier schedule in June, with a series against the Cubs being the only one they will have against a division leader. If the pitchers start to pull their weight a bit more, the Mariners would not only become favorites to win the West, they could become a real threat for a deep playoff run amid a weak American League.
Wait ’til 2026
No. 23 – Cincinnati Reds (29-31, +30)
Just a week after allowing the Cubs to score 28 runs over a three-game set in Cincinnati, the Reds had been able to hold the same Chicago club to only two runs over the first 16 innings of the rematch series at Wrigley Field. With two outs and a chance to earn a series win in the bottom of the eighth, this happened…
A RUN!
— Chicago Cubs (@cubsbot.bsky.social) 2025-05-31T20:20:21.000Z
Will Benson’s critical misplay proved costly for the Reds, leading to the two runs the Cubs would need to earn a 2-0 win, which was compounded with a 7-3 score in the rubber match, as Cincinnati fell to 2-4 on the season against Chicago. In many ways, the disappointing ending to this set served as a perfect microcosm of how 2025 has gone for this team, failing to launch on several occasions. Despite a misleading +30 run differential, fueled by an aberrant 24-2 April win over the Orioles, the Reds have been a fairly mediocre team in many respects.
To wit, they are 14-14 at home and 15-17 on the road, played to a 16-15 mark during March-April, and then went 13-15 in May. Their record against teams above .500 is 15-17 and 14-14 against teams with losing marks, while also going 11-10 against the AL and 18-21 within their own league. They also have peaked with a couple of five-game winning streaks, almost balanced by two four-game losing streaks. All of this has led to a 29-31 overall record and sub-10% playoff odds, which look like a disappointment for a team that has been capable of providing several star performances.
The Reds are the only team in baseball with three starting pitchers among the top 20 in fWAR, with Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, and Nick Lodolo becoming one of the best rotation trios in baseball. Elly De La Cruz has started to come around after a tough start, and now has 11 homers and 17 steals, looking primed to another 30-30 season as his floor. However, there are several underachieving pieces on this squad that have dragged the results down, starting with the fact that no other hitter has more than six homers in his ledger, while the bullpen has failed to sustain several leads, with a 4.08 ERA that is over a half-run higher than what the rotation has accomplished.
Even with Terry Francona’s return to managing, the Reds have failed in several aspects of situational play, with an 0-5 record in extra innings and a 5-9 mark in one-run games. In a division in which the aforementioned Cubs have won eight straight series, the Brewers are back in contention, and the Cardinals have been a pleasant surprise, it seems as if the Reds may have to take a step back and think about what their true potential is this season. Hovering around .500 will always provide the hope that a team is one hot streak away from a wild card spot, but Cincinnati’s offense and bullpen just have too many holes to think they can compete in a loaded National League. While this doesn’t portend a sell-off by the trade deadline, it is still sad to think we are unlikely to see the Greene-Abbott-Lodolo triumvirate in a short playoff series.
