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?
The baseball season is so long that it can be easy to become overjoyed by a nice stretch, while a long losing streak can suddenly feel like the worst thing in the world. These dueling scenarios are playing out coast to coast, with the Mariners fulfilling the promise of an aggressive trade deadline, while the teams in New York have simultaneously collapsed at the worst possible time.
As each team now has around 45 games to go, every pitch and every inning will gain an outsize importance, especially for the teams whose destiny is still in limbo. Today, we highlight the aforementioned M’s and Mets, while also giving a shout-out to the chaotic A’s, who are terrible at pitching, but a true menace at the plate.
Contender
No. 5 – Seattle Mariners (66-53, +37)
The Seattle Mariners are having a moment. While the front office made a statement by boldly adding to the team’s offense around the trade deadline, the results on the field have been even better than expected, with the newcomers coalescing quickly to create one of the deepest and most balanced attacks in baseball. After capping up an impressive 9-1 homestand, the Mariners have suddenly blended fun and talent to create this legit contender in the AL.
With teams like the Tigers and Yankees sputtering, and the Astros dealing with a litany of injuries, the M’s have a real chance to not only win their division but make a deep playoff push. This kind of splash was long-awaited for Seattle fans, as it became clear the team needed to capitalize on Cal Raleigh’s historic season and their surging rotation.
Safe to say that Josh Naylor loves playing in Seattle 😮💨🔱
Via @MarinersPR #mariners #seattle #tridentsup pic.twitter.com/u5FDtyaUOf
— The Couch GM (@The_Couch_GM) August 10, 2025
The new-look Mariners were at full display in their weekend sweep of the Rays, which included power hitting from their newcomers, strong starts from Luis Castillo, Logan Evans, and Bryan Woo, and a shutdown bullpen that made all leads stand. And while Raleigh continues to be a force (league-leading 45 homers!), he has found plenty of support from Randy Arozarena, Jorge Polanco, and Julio Rodríguez, and the high-profile additions of Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez have given the Mariners an above-average hitter at every position.
While Suarez has had a slow start in his return to Seattle, it is almost certain that he will get going at some point, and his game-changing power was essentially built for October. With Bryce Miller slowly getting back to his best shape, the rotation is almost at full strength at this key juncture of the season, as the Mariners could go four-deep in aces during the postseason, giving them an edge in any short series. Even as their starters are not typical fire-breathers, the change of pace from their crafty ways to the bullpen’s hardball style should be a challenge for any opposing offense.
With an active seven-game winning streak propelling the M’s to playoff odds above 90%, it is clear that the team has the momentum and talent to go all the way. However, there are still plenty of things to figure out and navigate, starting with an upcoming nine-game East Coast trip that includes visits to the desperate Mets and the red-hot Phillies. Should Seattle come out favorably from that slate, they will be in the driver’s seat through the rest of August, as the schedule will become much friendlier. Much like the top-seeded Brewers and the upstart Padres, it is all lining up for teams that have never won the Fall Classic, but they still need to fortify their position during these dog days of summer.
The Middle
No. 12 – New York Mets (63-55, +30)
In recent weeks, the Yankees have slowly regressed to the point of panic and are now barely hanging on to the last playoff spot in the American League. Improbably, a similarly dramatic scenario is also playing out in Queens, where the Mets have lost 10 of their last 11 games, dropping them to five games behind the Phillies in the NL East while also falling to the third wild-card spot, where they are now battling against the likes of Cincinnati for the last playoff ticket in the NL. It has been a shocking development for New York, a team that had started with plenty of promise and appeared to have enough resources to weather any blip during the season.
Instead, the Mets have fallen back to their historic standards of losing in every way possible. Even during most of this horrid stretch, the team has been competitive, as evidenced by the fact that half of their losses have come by one run. However, that can also signal a team that has lost most of its self-confidence, which is a dreadful thought for the fanbase. A home sweep to the Guardians included a tough loss in extras and then being almost no-hit in the finale, and that was followed up by a road sweep at the hands of Milwaukee. While falling to the best team in baseball is understandable, the closing game of the series saw the Mets squandering a 5-0 lead, with closer Edwin Diaz allowing a walk-off homer in the ninth, providing some karmic payback for how last season’s playoffs ended for these teams.
The Mets have lost all of these game in the last two weeks… pic.twitter.com/3WdH7mty4x
— Mets'd Up Podcast (@MetsdUp) August 10, 2025
With all this doom and gloom around Citi Field, it would be easy for the Mets to capitulate, but they had enough margin for error provided by their hot start. Their playoff odds are still solidly above 50%, and the front office was aggressive adding talent at the deadline, and now it should all be a matter of playing better and regaining some confidence, which should be a realistic endeavor for a roster full of veterans.
Juan Soto may be having the quietest 4-WAR season in baseball, but he needs more support from the likes of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, who have struggled mightily with strikeouts and consistency. Franchise stalwarts like Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo continue to be solid, but the top-heavy nature of this offense needs more from its superstars at this moment. That is especially urgent considering the team’s staff has fallen back to earth after an otherworldly start.
On the surface, the Mets remain a top-10 unit in many season stats, but that fails to account for the regression the team has suffered since July. The return of Sean Manaea was supposed to be the catalyst for the rotation, but the reality is that the Mets would struggle to name a playoff rotation outside of Kodai Senga. Frankie Montas Jr. has been awful since his season debut, while the trio of Clay Holmes, Tylor Megill, and Griffin Canning lacks the traits of a power pitching profile for October. The front office prioritized bullpen reinforcements at the trade deadline, but that does not make much sense if they are not protecting many leads.
The schedule’s quirks have produced a scenario in which the Mets will have more than half of their remaining games against NL East foes, as they could still battle for a division title. However, time is running out in this once-promising season around Queens, as the Mets are once again proving that money is not everything in this game.
Wait ’til 2026
No. 24 – Sacramento Athletics (53-67, -98)
In year one of their Sacramento experiment, the Athletics have been through many ups and downs that were probably predictable. Playing home games in a minor league stadium comes with several caveats, as adapting to that unique situation was bound to become tough, even for a young team on the rise. The A’s going 23-34 in Sacramento so far could be an easy excuse to explain how this team failed to improve in 2025, but that would be ignoring all the reasons this franchise has to be optimistic.
The A’s fate was sealed by a brutal 1-20 stretch in May, but they have been a more traditional rebuilding roster outside of that, with growing pains and a few standout youngsters that have provided a glimpse of the next competitive A’s. It all starts with rookie Nick Kurtz, who has essentially become a lock for AL Rookie of the Year. Despite only playing in 79 games thus far, Kurtz has been a revelation at age 22, with an OPS well over 1.000 and 23 homers. Fellow rookie Jacob Wilson has also been impressive when healthy, while other longer-tenured Athletics have also been offensive forces, including Brent Rooker (24 homers, .846 OPS) and Shea Langeliers, who just this week had one of the best-ever games for a primary catcher.
Teammates in MLB history to each have a game with 3+ HR, 4+ XBH & 5+ Hits in the same season:
Shea Langeliers & Nick Kurtz
That’s it. pic.twitter.com/XxahbMDHX1
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) August 6, 2025
In the past week, a couple of double-digit scoring efforts that led to series wins over the Orioles and Nationals served as clear reminders that the A’s are explosive and capable of ruining a pitcher’s day. The recent offensive surge has placed the A’s as a top-10 unit in terms of slugging, with seven hitters having at least ten homers and nine hitting at least ten doubles. The ability of this offense to put up big innings is clear, but they need to figure out how to improve in terms of run prevention, figuring out how to master a tough home ballpark in the process.
The A’s staff has allowed nearly six runs per game at home, in a situation reminiscent of what the Rockies have to face when playing in their own ballpark. Despite valiant efforts from league-average hurlers like Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, most of the team’s pitching results have oscillated from lousy to terrible. Despite having twelve different pitchers with at least one start, no Athletic primary starter has kept his ERA under 3.50, while the bullpen has been similarly bad outside of set-up man Sean Newcomb. Even former closer Mason Miller struggled to adapt to this new environment before being traded to the Padres, making it clear that the franchise has its work cut out for it going forward.
The Miller trade gave even more power to the future A’s lineup, and now the quest for pitching should become the priority. The AL West has quietly become a mecca for quality hurlers, with the Rangers, Astros, and Mariners ranking among the top teams in baseball when it comes to pitching. However, all of them would probably say they envy the kind of lineup the A’s have nowadays, especially as most of their hitters are cheap and with plenty of team control to spare. If the franchise is serious about contending as they plan their move to Las Vegas, they could probably deal from their surplus of hitting talent to land a couple of impact arms, lest they are content with losing a bunch of 10-8 games in Sacramento.
Meanwhile, we get to enjoy the offensive prowess of these A’s, who could end up deciding the fate of their division mates. With a series against each of the contending AL West hopefuls, an untimely sweep could be devastating.
Full Week 20 Power Rankings
