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. 6 – Philadelphia Phillies
By several definitions, it is safe to say that we are witnessing one of the best stretches in the history of the Phillies, in line with the early 80s or the late 00s. Philadelphia has established itself as a perennial contender with a clear identity, including an electric home atmosphere, star players that resonate with the city, and the national spotlight set upon them. Alas, the big difference between those iterations of the Phils and the current era is easy to see, with the likes of Mike Schmidt and Jimmy Rollins delivering a championship to the city, while the incumbent Phillies have not been able to break through. Moreover, the Phillies have seen diminishing playoff returns ever since their surprise 2022 pennant, creating a sense of urgency that is evident in how this roster is now constructed.
There are reasons to believe in Philadelphia, starting with the fact that they are coming off two straight 95+ win seasons and that they were the only NL team that truly competed with the Dodgders in the postseason. The 3-1 NLDS loss could have easily turned with a couple of lucky bounces, which was a completely different feeling when compared to the same 3-1 NLDS defeat against the Mets in 2024. The former led the team to run it back with the same core, and the latter has led to a similar strategy, albeit with a few unexpected bumps on the road.
SIX MORE YEARS OF SÁNCHEZ pic.twitter.com/VcHjBYIfiQ
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 22, 2026
The release of Nick Castellanos, which included a very public feud with the team’s manager, could have signalled an intention to get younger, but he is being essentially replaced by a similarly-flawed outfielder in Adolis García. Re-signing free agent Kyle Schwarber seemed like a no-brainer in terms of the team’s image and identity, but it also means that the Phillies are counting on a combined 3,000 plate appearances of players who are at least 33 years old. The icing on the cake may have come when Bryce Harper, essentially the team’s heart and soul, also had a public spat with POBO Dave Dombrowski. While the comments could have been part of a 4D chess strategy to motivate Harper, they can also backfire and create unnecessary chaos for a team that is not likely to again cruise to an NL East title as they did in 2025.
The onus for the Phillies may come in the form of the hungry, hungry Mets and Braves, both of whom underperformed mightily a year ago, and that doesn’t even include the pesky Marlins, who can surprise a few people. Much like it happened to their East foes, this could be the year when things start to crack in Philadelphia, as a slow start or a couple of injuries to their veterans could create a situation in which the fanbase starts getting restless.
While the front office was also wise to secure its pitching future by extending Cristopher Sánchez and should also be happy for Aaron Nola’s WBC performance, it is also true that the team’s core is locked for the foreseeable future, and there is not much room to adjust on the fly. The mystery around Zack Wheeler’s health adds a layer of uncertainty that could punish the Phillies in the short term, making it even more crucial for their veterans to produce and keep things steady to start the season. If there is a contender that could fall off the radar in 2026, the Phillies appear to be at risk of doing so, putting a lot of pressure on their roster and front office to keep their contention window open for as long as they can.
The Middle
No. 15 – Baltimore Orioles
Seeing the Orioles at 15th place in our Power Rankings makes perfect sense. On one hand, they are still projected to trot out a line-up full of twenty-somethings that is now complemented by Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward, adding much-needed power and experience. On the other hand, they still play in the loaded AL East and are counting on veterans and oft-injured pitchers to carry them through that gauntlet. This is all coming off a disastrous 75-win season in which they fired their manager and were out of the race by early May.
So yes, there are plenty of cases to be made for and against the Orioles in 2026, as it is just as easy to predict another bad season or see them contend for AL East supremacy. Regardless of the final outcome, it is at least refreshing to see a team like the Orioles try to maximize their contention window, which is what you are supposed to do when you have a generational talent like Gunnar Henderson and are expecting that Adley Rutschman’s lousy 2025 was just a blip in an otherwise star-turning development. The fact that the team has continued to develop and promote young talent to the big league team is encouraging, and now it is time for the likes of Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo to take a step forward.
Let this be your sign that Opening Day is just around the corner 😏 pic.twitter.com/OkFsDXf2tl
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 20, 2026
Even with the addition of Alonso to add another brand name to the offense, Baltimore’s fate will probably reside on how the pitching staff manages to bounce back after a bottom-10 season. Trading for Shane Baz was a high-risk, high-reward type of move, especially considering that the Orioles have no clear-cut ace in their staff, while every other AL East contender can boast of at least two in their rotations. Having Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers as the presumed top-of-the-rotation mates is encouraging from a stability perspective, but their limited upside puts a dent in how far the Orioles can go.
Having said all this, the Orioles are a natural bounce-back candidate, as even a league-average pitching performance could be enough to propel positive regression towards the .500 mark. The issue beyond that is trying to claw enough fortune and one-run wins to aim towards the 90-win threshold, which is how the AL wild card requirement should look by the end of the season. The dissonance between Baltimore’s potential and their limitations puts them square in the middle of these rankings, but there is definitely a path towards the playoffs, especially if the front office is serious about improving and is able to snag a true rotation stalwart by midseason.
Wait ‘Til 2027
No. 26 – St. Louis Cardinals
After covering a team that should contend and a team that could contend, we finish with a team that will not contend… but is at peace with that fact. Just like the Phillies are in the middle of a golden age, the Cardinals are barely scratching the surface of a dark time for their franchise, as they are almost certain to amass four straight playoff-less seasons for the first time since the early 90s. While this is certainly uncharted territory for the proud franchise, they appear to have a plan to get over it in the foreseeable future, which is finally a turn in the right direction.
While the 71-win Cardinals of 2023 showed clear signs of decay, the front office was not up to the task of assessing its roster correctly, instead believing that they were a few quick fixes away from being the St. Louis of yore. Even as a winning season followed, the fall back to 78 wins in 2025 was enough to catapult ownership to make harsh decisions, including upper-management adjustments in the front office and the departure of nearly all notable veterans on the roster. As it stands today, the Cardinals are ready to face 2026 with half of their 40-man roster consisting of homegrown players, including a starting lineup that is projected to feature only players drafted by the organization.
For such a storied and successful franchise, the St. Louis Cardinals Fangraphs page is a pretty sad scroll right now pic.twitter.com/c7cYAjkKNz
— Max Mannis (@MaxMannis) March 23, 2026
Naturally, the growing pains that will come with this transition are inevitable, as the Cardinals lack any true superstar-type player in their lineup. In a division where even the Pirates look frisky, and the Brewers and Cubs are well-rounded, St. Louis will probably struggle to score above three runs per game, and that is not even mentioning a pitching staff that is relying on the injury-prone Matthew Liberatore and Dustin May to lead the way. However, this looks like the best course of action for a franchise that probably thought that a deep rebuild was akin to heresy.
After trading away notable veterans like Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Nolan Arenado, the front office was able to stockpile a few prized prospects and free up money for the next half-decade. The goal for the 2026 Cardinals will be to stay patient with their young players and give them as many chances to fail as possible, as any kind of development will be welcome. If St. Louis loses 95+ games in the process, so be it, especially as it seems that there is an outline and a plan to create the next good version of the Cards. With the NL emerging as the top league, this will not be easy, but bottoming out may be the best way to come out triumphant on the other side.
Full Preseason MLB Power Rankings
