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?
With the NBA and NHL seasons now over, we turn to the time of the year where baseball is the only show in town – and what a show it is becoming. With Shohei Ohtani back on the mound (on a limited basis), the Dodgers have reclaimed the top spot in our rankings, but there are enough strong teams to think that a very interesting summer is upon us.
That sentiment is well represented by a team like the Rays, who are entering our top 10 after a solid streak of upper-echelon baseball, while the Giants added Rafael Devers in a stunning trade, and the likes of Milwaukee and Cleveland continue to hold unlikely playoff spots. With 22 out of 30 teams being no more than three games away from postseason seeding, there is still plenty to sort out as the season is about to reach its true midpoint, as teams like the Rangers need to find their identity, while the unfortunate few, like the Nationals, are headed towards an uncertain future.
Contender
No. 10 – Tampa Bay Rays (43-35, +70)
In the past ten days, the Tampa Bay Rays have again highlighted their excellence, weirdness, and uniqueness in the baseball landscape. As a recap:
- Swept the Mets on the road, scoring 24 runs in three games, despite a $240 million payroll disparity
- Confirmed reports of a potential sale of the franchise
- Split a series against the Orioles, including an 8-run comeback that became a 12-8 win
- Had a relief pitcher hit by a stray foul ball on his own dugout (Hunter Bigge is recovering successfully)
- Took two of three from the AL-best Tigers, scoring 14 times in the series opener
This recent run of success has been shocking to some but it appears business as usual for a franchise that loves to operate as the league’s lunatic fringe. After falling to 16-21 on May 8, Tampa has gone a remarkable 27-14, with no losing streaks that exceed two games during that span. Combined with the Yankees’ recent tailspin, the Rays have found a legitimate shot at an improbable AL East crown, while also becoming a sure bet for the postseason, with playoff odds now comfortably over 90%. The question then becomes if this team actually has the manpower to be considered a contender, as their roster is full of their usual unheralded heroes, but to an even higher degree in 2025.
The Rays have won 22 of their last 30 games!
While previous versions of the Rays at least had a handful of recognizable names, such as the now-Mariner Randy Arozarena, the average baseball fan would struggle to come up with the current Rays standouts. Of course, it would have been tough to peg Jonathan Aranda for a .903 OPS or Junior Caminero for 19 homers, but here they are mashing with some of the AL’s top teams. While the Rays don’t walk much and are an average unit when it comes to power, their ability to put the ball in play and run the bases smartly continues to pay dividends, with Tampa parlaying their fifth-best average and league-leading stolen bases into a top-10 scoring rank in MLB.
The pitching has become a bit harder to decipher, with the Rays having to navigate this season playing their home games at a minor-league stadium. A few surface stats suggest that their staff is struggling, especially as the Rays have given up the third-most homers while sporting a middling K rate. However, that organizational plan to attack the zone has paid off in other ways, as Tampa pitchers own the second-lowest walk rate and fourth-best WHIP in the game, leading to a top-10 ERA for a staff that is still without some of its presumed best arms. With Ryan Pepiot, Drew Rasmussen, and Zack Littell forming a solid top three and Taj Bradley and Shane Baz coming into their own, the Rays could have a surplus of pitching talent to retool around the deadline, while giving the offense some reinforcements.
Even as catching the Yankees is still a tall task, the Rays have suddenly become a true dark horse, one that could make some noise in a top-heavy AL that lacks surprise contenders. Even as the second half will be loaded with longer road trips, the Rays’ brand of baseball should be well-rounded for any schedule imbalance, while their group of veterans and youngsters bodes well to navigate the dog days of summer, all under the tutelage of the always-underrated Kevin Cash. Even as they won’t receive many All-Star nods and national recognition, it is time to start filling up the Tampa bandwagon.
The Middle
No. 20 – Texas Rangers (38-40, +16)
With nearly half a season on the books, we are able to understand each team’s identity with confidence, unless you want to discuss the Texas Rangers. In many ways, they have become a walking contradiction, leading to this moment, where they are still in contention but unable to break through. Just in the month of June, they have a solid 10-9 record, including two games in which they scored 16 runs, but they have also averaged just over three runs scored in their other 17 contests, while being limited to two or fewer runs in five of their losses.
The 2025 Texas Rangers are endlessly frustrating. Great pitching and terrible hitting, just the worst combination. And it’s been like this since opening day. Yet somehow they’re still hanging around .500. Amazing.
The daily struggle to score has turned the Rangers into a facsimile of their manager’s previous tenure in San Francisco, where torture became the norm for a team that could not provide consistent run support for their top-line pitching. Bruce Bochy, of course, has the benefit of the doubt when handling a team of this ilk, as Texas’ staff is clearly one of the best in the sport. The Rangers lead the league in WHIP allowed and are second in team ERA, as the rotation trio of Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle has been as good as advertised. They have even managed to turn Patrick Corbin into a serviceable pitcher, which should demand an organizational award on its own.
Alas, much of this greatness is being squandered seemingly every day. Interestingly enough, the Rangers are one of three teams (joining the Dodgers and Brewers) with at least three games scoring 15 or more runs, but those extremes have become even harder to explain when the team is averaging 3.13 runs in the rest of their contests. Outside of the shortstop position, with Corey Seager and Josh Smith holding the fort, the Rangers have struggled all around the diamond, with several unproductive at-bats becoming the norm in Arlington. To wit, the Rangers are 27th in OBP and 28th in OPS despite not striking out at a high clip, instead showing that the team is making poor contact and failing to produce in high-leverage spots, while also carrying some tough luck against them.
Texas’ team BABIP of .270 is the lowest in baseball, but this comes with the caveat that the team is hitting ground balls at one of the lowest rates in the game. A deeper dive into Statcast numbers suggests that the Rangers are solidly above average in terms of barrels and hard hit percentage, but most of their fly balls are failing to make an impact. With the offense ranking in the bottom third for extra-base hits, it becomes clear why extended rallies have come sparingly, even as the offense has the talent to suddenly produce in bunches. Counting on the likes of Adolis García (97 OPS+), Marcus Semien (90 OPS+), and Jake Burger (87 OPS+) to turn things around is reasonable, but it is starting to get late for this team to be considered among the AL contenders.
With playoff odds around 25% and the Astros doing their yearly rise to the top (not to mention the similarly confounding Mariners and the suddenly decent Angels), the run to the division will be tough to navigate for Texas. However, with such a clear need for hitting, it will be interesting to see how GM Chris Young approaches the upcoming trade deadline. This team saw just two years ago that all it takes is a chance to play in October, and while that version of the Rangers relied on a potent offense, this current iteration has the pitching prowess to go on a similar run, as long as it finds just enough offense to squeeze out a few more torturous victories.
Wait ’til 2026
No. 27 – Washington Nationals (32-46, -73)
The Nationals were not pegged to contend in 2025, especially in a loaded NL East. There was still plenty of optimism, though, as this season was seen by many as a critical step in the franchise’s return to relevancy. Following consecutive 71-win seasons, but now with many of its erstwhile top prospects as part of the major league roster, a climb to the land of .500 with a chance to hover around the wild card race was probably a reasonable expectation for Washington. The team did live up to it for a while, topping at a 28-30 mark to close out May, only for the wheels to come off harshly ever since.
In June, the Nationals have gone a league-worst 4-16, with a -38 run differential that actually seems kind of generous. The nightmare month has included an 11-game losing streak that featured consecutive home sweeps to the Marlins and Rockies, which seems almost impossible to pull off. Washington has reached this point despite having two of the best players in baseball, as James Wood has blossomed into a bona fide star (21 homers and a .935 OPS), while MacKenzie Gore leads the NL with 123 strikeouts in only 93 innings pitched. Between them and fellow standout CJ Abrams, a combined 9.0 fWAR should be a solid foundation in a team looking to improve. Alas, the rest of the Nats roster has amassed a grand total 0f 0.9 fWAR, clearly explaining why things have gone awry in the nation’s capital.
The week’s closing loss served as a perfect microcosm of how this team has lost its way despite a promising start. For five innings, Washington held strong against the mighty Dodgers, clinging to a 3-0 lead on the road. Michael Soroka was dealing, as he retired the first eight LA hitters in order and managed to strike out 10 of them in five scoreless innings. That was somehow followed by 13 straight unanswered runs by the Dodgers, as Washington imploded to turn a possible win into an embarrassing loss. The lack of progress has led many around the fanbase to call for the firing of long-time manager Dave Martinez, though he would likely be just an scapegoat in what appears to be a franchise-wide failure to progress.
Dave Martinez has found himself very much on the hot seat, with his Washington Nationals having dropped 12 of their last 13 games to fall 14 games below .500.augustafreepress.com/news/it-may-…
— Chris Graham (AFP Guy) (@fringemedia.bsky.social) 2025-06-21T16:46:15.679Z
With many of their veteran trade chips under-performing, it is unlikely that the Nationals can regroup with new impact prospects at the deadline, instead having to lean on their own youngsters to start putting it together. The lack of consistency that has eluded the likes of Keibert Ruiz and Dylan Crews speaks to the growing pains of a rebuild, but Washington is now in year six following their World Series title. With a daunting schedule before the All-Star break (15 out of 18 games against teams above .500), things could get even uglier for this franchise, with a managerial change becoming almost a foregone conclusion at this point. However, it has become clear that a complete overhaul may be afoot.
