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?
Contender
No. 9 – Detroit Tigers (85-71, +73)
The Detroit Tigers entered last week with a chance to silence all the noise and secure the AL Central for good. A sweep would have been the proverbial nail in the coffin, a series win would have left them in pretty good shape…even a single win could have been enough to keep Cleveland at bay. Instead, the Tigers were manhandled by an inspired Guardians squad, as they rolled into Comerica Park and left with a three-game sweep in which they limited Detroit to a single run over the last two games.
Even with that disappointing result, the Tigers still had quite favorable odds to seal the deal, facing an eliminated Atlanta team with nothing to play for. The bad mojo from the Cleveland series carried over to the next one, with the Tigers suffering another sweep, this time by a combined 22-8 score in which their staff looked exhausted and their offense appeared helpless. The dagger came in the second contest, as closer Will Vest blew a two-run lead, and now the Tigers have lost nine of their past 10. As fans in Detroit and baseball pundits try to understand how the Tigers have almost blown a 15.5-game lead to Cleveland, others are relying on more esoteric explanations.
The Detroit Tigers are 1-8 since three of their players did the Trump dance on 9/11
pic.twitter.com/qTSYgAOMWo— Always the Jake (@JacobsFieldRBW) September 21, 2025
The reality in this nearly epic collapse is that the Tigers may have simply run out of gas, as the front office failed to bring in reinforcements at the deadline. While that position was defensible at the time, with the Tigers having a comfortable lead, it looks terrible in hindsight. A veteran starter would have been nice to complement the fantastic Tarik Skubal, or maybe the team would have benefited from adding a true shutdown closer instead of the fringe arms they did add to their bullpen. The offense has not been much better, with Javier Báez turning back into a pumpkin and the likes of Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson looking more like solid players than superstars. While the Tigers have not been terrible in the second half, they have not looked the part of a true AL contender for a while, and will now enter the final week fighting for their playoff lives.
A road series against Cleveland will certainly produce fireworks, as the Tigers now have to at least win one game to remain alive, especially as the Guardians need only one win to secure the season series. That will be followed by a season-ending set in Boston, where the Red Sox have also faltered down the stretch and will be looking to salvage their campaign. It is not unreasonable to think that the Tigers could miss the playoffs altogether, in what would represent a shocking turn of events. At the same time, they are still in control of their fate, and even a 3-3 record could be enough to sneak into October. With Skubal being tentatively scheduled for two games this week, the Tigers are still in a good spot, but they need to find their footing if they are to avoid an embarrassing collapse.
The Middle
No. 11 – Cleveland Guardians (84-72, -9)
On a Sunday that saw the Cleveland football team win a game in absolutely bonkers fashion, the city’s baseball team had a chance to move into playoff positioning and extend its 10-game winning streak. Alas, the Guardians could not hold on to an early lead against the lowly Twins. The result may have been disappointing in a vacuum, but it does not take away from the remarkable fact that the Guardians are in this position in the first place, as their season simply does not make sense.
Cleveland planning when to start playing 😂💀 pic.twitter.com/UMidqm8fX6
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) September 20, 2025
Despite making it to the ALCS last season, the Guardians were never seen a serious contender in the AL, as they seemed to be behind their division mates in terms of talent, while the other divisions in the league appeared to have an edge for wild card placements. Things played out like that for most of the season, with the Guardians becoming sellers at the trade deadline while carrying a 46-49 record. That was followed by a mediocre August that threatened to become another wasted season in the illustrious career of José Ramírez, but a 2025 Tigers-like run since the start of September has taken us to this unexpected place.
Cleveland is now 16-5 in September, but that includes a 1-3 start to the month that could not portend what was to come. The Guardians at one point won 15 of 16, featuring a healthy dose of blowouts and one-run affairs, highlighting its brand of smart baseball and the expert managing of Stephen Vogt. Pairing this with the already-examined decay of the Detroit Tigers has produced an improbable division battle atop the Central, which becomes more inexplicable when considering the overall body of work of the Guardians.
Even with a +46 run differential in September, the Guardians still sport a negative number in this stat, and are the only team to have a winning record despite being outscored in 2025. Outside of the aforementioned Ramirez, who should receive more than a few MVP votes, Cleveland may not have anyone else that could be recognized by a casual baseball fan, but that could definitely change if they make it to the playoffs again.
Sunday’s loss has given us a fantastic scenario to close out the season, as the Guardians now stand one game back in the AL Central and hold the last wild card spot, with a showdown against the Tigers followed by a series against the eliminated Texas Rangers, all of it coming at home. With the odds now in their favor, Cleveland has the chance of not only making the playoffs but also providing a few scares for the AL’s traditional contenders, especially if they reach via the division title. In a year full of unpredictable results, this could become the wildest one of all.
Wait ‘Til 2026
No. 27 – Washington Nationals (64-92, -148)
In year six of a seemingly endless rebuild, the Washington Nationals have been irrelevant at best and atrocious at worst for the better part of 2025. Following a decent start that carried all the way through May, the team’s lack of talent was ultimately exposed by the league, as Washington went a dreadful 25-53 from June to August to seal its fate in what became yet another lost season, including the alarming trend of seeing their top young players hit a proverbial wall in their development.
Having said that, the Nationals at least found a way to make their mark in September, becoming a pesky spoiler for the Mets despite having nothing to play for. After dropping the series opener in a key meeting in Queens, with a very Washington-like 12-6 score, the Nats took advantage of an extra-inning inside-the-park homer to take game 2, and then held on to a one-run victory in the rubber game, featuring a circus catch that must have all Mets fans fuming.
LOL ??????????????????? ??????????????????????? ??????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????? lmao, even pic.twitter.com/UY0TX2z2bY
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 21, 2025
While being a pest for a division rival is always fun and commendable, it is also true that the Nationals will end the year as not only one of MLB’s worst teams but also one that does not seem to have a plan going forward. A quick glance at the bottom of the standings shows teams like the Twins and White Sox, who may be bad but at least have building blocks in their effort to someday contend, while the Pirates have literally the best pitcher in the league to daydream of better days. On the other hand, the Nats seem stuck with the likes of the Angels and Rockies as organizations stuck in limbo.
Despite solid overall seasons from CJ Abrams and James Wood, the rest of the offense has ranged from mediocre to downright bad, with little progress from the team’s large contingent of hitters under 25. Having Abrams, Wood, plus the once-promising youngsters like Dylan Crews and Brady House, suggests that the Nationals will continue to believe in the process and their player development machine, but that may be moot unless they address their dreadful pitching staff.
With a team ERA that has only been better than Colorado’s, it is hard to fathom that the Nationals were once built upon a strong pitching foundation. Even as wins and losses have become outdated, it is still shocking to see a rotation with four hurlers sporting double-digit Ls, with half of their pitchers posting negative bWAR. Outside of the impressive underlying stats of MacKenzie Gore, there is not much to think that things can get better in 2026, while the NL East should continue to be a powerhouse, with even the Marlins showing signs of knowing what they are doing.
In the end, the Nationals will be in search of a new manager and the right front office to finally turn things around, with a realistic timetable for that coming closer to the end of the decade. It is a shame, considering that fan interest has dwindled around the nation’s capital, but it is also the result of poor planning and the bad luck that followed the team’s championship in 2019. At least they will finish the season knowing they may have played a key role in this year’s version of a Mets September collapse.
Full Week 26 MLB Power Rankings
