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?
As CBA talks are certain to dominate baseball’s discourse all season long, it is worth noting that the biggest disparity among teams may not be money, but rather the ability to maximize a roster. A quick look at these rankings shows that teams like the Mets, Giants, Red Sox, and Tigers are spending hundreds of millions to be embarrased by organizations like Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, and Cleveland, who continue to find ways to compete despite a lack of big-time contracts.
Meanwhile, other smartly-run teams continue to get out of their early-season funks, as evidenced by how the Phillies, Mariners, and Blue Jays have played lately, showing that money will never be the most important factor in this game. Of course, the combination of money and smarts has given us the mighty Dodgers, Atlanta, and the Yankees, but the playing field is kept even by the nature of the game and the importance of a long season to make it all fair.
Speaking of fairness, the Cubs may feel cursed at the moment, but they are still hanging on to the top 1o, while the Mariners are barely kept out by their uneven start. At the very bottom, the Angels just blew a 5-2 home lead against the Rockies and lost despite scoring eight runs, which works as a perfect representation for the state of the franchise.
Contender
No. 9 Chicago Cubs (32-28, +19 run differential)
Barely hanging on to their status as contenders, the Cubs have essentially become Schrodinger’s team. From a certain point of view, they are a fun, dynamic team that has already posted two 10-game winning streaks. A different lens also sees that the same Cubs promptly went and lost 10 straight, with an offense that is middle of the pack and a pitching staff that is trending downwards and has almost a full rotation on the IL. Much like their most visible star, Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs are divisive, and it is hard to take a stance as to whether they are a dangerous team or in danger of falling way behind in a competitive NL Central.
Current state of the Chicago Cubs pic.twitter.com/Y68mVzkGQO
— Northside Bleacher Bum (@NrthsdeSluggers) May 25, 2026
The aforementioned PCA leads the club in WAR due to his unmatched defensive prowess, but he is also barely above-average at the plate. Ian Happ leads Chicago in homers and OPS, but has been known for being streaky. Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki have strong numbers overall, but have been unable to carry slow starts from Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, and the team’s lack of a strong, steady bat was felt during the recent 10-game skid. The pitching situation is even more problematic, as injuries have forced the Cubs to improvise, leading to mixed results. Ben Brown has transitioned from the bullpen to the rotation, becoming the team’s best pitcher. Alas, mid-level pitchers like Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, and the declining Shota Imanaga are almost a coin flip at this point.
Chicago’s 13-16 May be a harbinger of things to come, especially as Milwaukee has seized control of the NL Central, while the Reds and Pirates look to be better equipped to hang in the wild card race. While a favorable June schedule that includes six games apiece against the Rockies and Giants could provide some relief on the win column, the long-term prognosis for the Cubs is not as rosy. Chicago’s playoff odds are strong on paper, hovering around 60%, but it looks like the only way that can be accomplished is by having better injury luck or going all-in at the trade deadline.
The Middle
No. 11 Seattle Mariners (32-29, +31 run differential)
In a season that has included several slow starts and disappointments, it had been hard to put a label on the Mariners. Despite entering the year with sky-high expectations, they never looked the part of a major contender, thanks in part to maddening inconsistency. After a weird sequence in mid-April in which they lost five, then won four, and lost four again, Seattle settled into a groove of winning and losing without any real logic, alternating them en route to a record near .500 amid a string of uneven results from their star players.
After ending April with a 16-16 mark, the M’s just finished May barely above the break-even point, with a 15-13 record that doesn’t look like much. However, the way Seattle has reached this point makes all the difference, as the Mariners are finally looking like the team that was supposed to run away with the AL West. Finishing the month with a six-game winning streak, including consecutive sweeps of quality teams like the A’s and Dbacks, has created a new buzz around Seattle, especially as they have shown their formula of elite pitching complemented by a dynamic offense.
BACK-TO-BACK WALK-OFF WINS‼️ pic.twitter.com/3CbOQaoam8
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 2, 2026
Seattle’s staff posted a top-10 ERA in May, with the likes of Bryan Woo, George Kirby, and Emerson Hancock delivering ace-like results. Even the Luis Castillo controversy has started to die down a bit, with the former #1 starter becoming a versatile option that can start or come out of the bullpen. Closer Andres Muñoz has been far from his dominant 2025 form, but the rest of the relief corps has stepped up significantly, as Seattle leads the league in walk-off wins and has the third-best reliever ERA in the league. Even with Cal Raleigh on the shelf, strong performances from Luke Raley, Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodríguez and the emergence of Cole Young have produced an offense that knows they only need adequate run support to win most games.
Now riding a seven-game winning streak and three games above .500, the Mariners are again projected as a lock to win the West, with playoff odds now exceeding 90%. As their fellow division opponents scuffle, and the AL as a whole struggles to stay afloat, Seattle may end up becoming the team to beat, and will probably jump to the next tier by next week and never go back down.
Wait ‘Til 2027
No. 30 Los Angeles Angels (23-38, -52 run differential)
In terms of small sample size, the Angels’ 11-11 start may rank as one of the biggest mirages of 2026, as it somehow seemed that the Halos were finally able to at least be respectable. Fueled by a rejuvenated Mike Trout, LA played in a spirited way not seen in a long time, capping that stretch with consecutive wins over the Yankees and Padres in which they scored 19 combined runs. The fun days ended there, though, as the Angels regressed to their usual selves in a hurry, losing ten of their next eleven games. Trout has, fortunately, remained a bright spot and recently eclipsed the 90-WAR mark for his career, but the supporting cast around him is a reminder of how this franchise is always mismanaged, leading to yet another depressing season.
are we being so serious rn pic.twitter.com/pBqg0CmlqN
— swilly ☻ (@swillysports) June 2, 2026
As it has usually happened for the Angels, the current roster is a combination of mediocre veterans and former prospects that failed to take off, with only Trout and a couple of bright spots giving the team a smudge of relevancy. A glimpse at the team’s offense provides the regular combination previously described, with the likes of Jorge Soler, Logan O’Hoppe, Jo Adell, Yoán Moncada, and Josh Lowe each getting at least 100 plate appearances to post sub-replacement level production. Despite being a top-10 unit in terms of homers, the Halos are well below-average in OBP and almost never steal bases, leading to an offense that is way too dependent on its few decent hitters to step up. The pitching has been even worse, with only the occasional Reid Detmers gem and the strong start of José Soriano keeping it from rock bottom. Angel pitchers are allowing almost a runner and a half per inning, which quickly explains why they have gone 12-26 since their surprising start.
While other losing franchises have at least a plan or the hope of a plan for the foreseeable future, the Halos are stuck in the same limbo they have faced over the past decade. Trading Trout is almost impossible given his contract status and a full no-trade clause, while the franchise is bereft of other valuable assets to entice other teams for potential moves. Even playing in the lowly AL West, there is not much to look forward to in LA’s rest of 2026, outside of more Trout milestones and the occasional Jo Adell home run robbery. Other teams on dire straits can always wait for next season; in the Angels’ case, they may be the only franchise hoping for a lockout that at least stops the losing.
