MLB Power Rankings: Mid-Season Shake-Up Sees New No. 2 and a Powerhouse Emerge

MLB teams are playing their 81st games this week, meaning we've hit the official midway point of the 2026 season.

The back-to-back reigning champion Dodgers hold tight to their No. 1 slot, with a new competitor behind them at two this week -- Milwaukee. The Brewers reach their highest ranking of the season in Week 13, jumping over the slightly-slumping Braves for the second spot. The Phillies have made their way back into the top five after falling as low as No. 21 following an early-season dip in production that they seem to have rebounded from.

Where does your favorite club rank midway through the season?

Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Jorge Castillo and Alden Gonzalez to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 12 | Preseason rankings

Record: 52-29

Previous ranking: 1

The Dodgers seemingly avoided a scare with Kyle Tucker , who exited Monday's game early with back spasms. While Tucker doesn't expect to land on the injured list, this development only makes a bad debut season even worse. When his back locked up, he was performing like a below-average hitter. He had accumulated just six home runs in 75 games, while slashing an underwhelming .234/.333/.374. Tucker is getting paid a whopping $55 million this year, the type of money lavished on someone who anchors a franchise. Most teams would not be able to survive subpar production from a player like that. To the Dodgers, it doesn't matter one bit. -- Gonzalez

Record: 49-29

Previous ranking: 3

Brandon Woodruff returned from the injured list Monday to dominate the Reds. The 33-year-old right-hander, out nearly two months with a shoulder injury, held Cincinnati to one hit and no walks over six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. A healthy Woodruff could prove significant for a Brewers rotation that is alarmingly thin beyond Cy Young front-runner Jacob Misiorowski and breakout All-Star candidate Kyle Harrison . The offense, on the other hand, is third in the majors in runs scored per game behind the Nationals despite ranking 28th in home runs. -- Castillo

Record: 48-31

Previous ranking: 2

After looking like a runaway locomotive over the season's first couple of months, the Braves' momentum slowed in June because of a slumping offense. We're not talking collapse here, as their June record continues to hover around .500. But given the paces of the hard-charging Dodgers and Brewers, this stretch of mediocrity has dropped the front-running Braves into a three-team scrum for the eventual first-round byes in the National League's side of the playoff bracket. The biggest problem at the plate has been a lack of the homers that fueled Atlanta's offense early in the season. Through May, only the Yankees had homered more often. In June, only the Rays have homered less often than the Braves. Maybe in July we'll find out the real level of their power bats. -- Doolittle

Record: 48-31

Previous ranking: 4

It's been an eventful time for Jazz Chisholm Jr . Last Thursday, he fouled a ball off the ground that ricocheted into his groin, left him writhing in pain and forced him to exit the game. Chisholm returned to the lineup the next day and maintained he still doesn't plan on wearing a protective cup. On Monday, he played second base with a green lollipop in his mouth, which manager Aaron Boone later said, "pisses me off." Boone said he and Chisholm addressed the situation before Tuesday's game. A few hours later, Chisholm smashed a go-ahead, two-run home run in a win over the Tigers. -- Castillo

Record: 44-36

Previous ranking: 6

Kyle Schwarber 's 2025 season was the stuff of fantasy -- 56 homers, 132 RBIs, 4.6 bWAR, all career highs in his age-32 season. It was kind of a late age for a career season, but it happens. Schwarber might be somehow on his way to even better numbers at age 33, at least in the homer and WAR columns. His three-homer outburst against the Mets on Saturday put him right on pace for 60 on the season, a number that would boost him past Ryan Howard for the Phillies' single-season mark (58). If Schwarber does get to 60 this season, that milestone blast would double as his 400th career Schwar-bomb. Finally, though Schwarber is only halfway through his fifth season with the Phillies, he's already moved into the top 10 on the franchise's career homer list. And if he gets to 60 this season, he will move into the top five. -- Doolittle

Record: 44-33

Previous ranking: 5

Tampa Bay's unsustainable success in one-run games has regressed to the mean. The Rays began the season 9-1 in that department as part of their scorching 34-15 start. Since then, they've gone 1-8 in one-run games during a rough 10-17 stretch. But they're still a force back home at Tropicana Field after a season spent at Steinbrenner Field; the Rays' 27-12 home record is tops in the majors. -- Castillo

Record: 43-37

Previous ranking: 11

There might not be a better position player in baseball than Pete Crow-Armstrong when he's rolling. And after a terrible start to the season at the plate, PCA is rolling again. The polarizing center fielder has been white hot in June with 10 home runs and a .410/.474/.867 slash line in 20 games. His 4.8 fWAR, also boosted by elite defense and baserunning, is second in the majors. And yet the Cubs' 16-25 record since May 9 is the fourth-worst in the majors. -- Castillo

Record: 41-40

Previous ranking: 10

Skubal to the ...? All-Star outfielders and shortstops available? Here are the big names your team could be targeting.

Passan & McDaniel rank the top 100 &#187

The Mariners split six games in March, then went 13-13 in April, 15-13 in May and have begun June by going 10-11. They continue to be slightly above average, despite a makeup that suggests they should be much more than that. In a year when the AL West -- really the American League in general -- is watered down, it has been good enough to keep them in first place. But the Mariners are playing a dangerous game if they don't get going soon. Given that they don't have many major absences, outside of Brendan Donovan and Matt Brash , there's no reason why they shouldn't. -- Gonzalez

Record: 42-36

Previous ranking: 7

The Cardinals, behind their young stars, keep proving the doubters wrong and remain in the top NL wild-card slot. Right fielder Jordan Walker should make the NL All-Star team with 18 home runs and a 139 wRC+. Designated hitter Ivan Herrera (137 wRC+) and first baseman Alec Burleson (134 wRC+) are raking. Second baseman JJ Wetherholt , who clubbed two home runs Sunday against the Royals, is the NL Rookie of the Year favorite. But St. Louis began a stiff test Monday with 24 straight games against teams currently above .500. -- Castillo

Record: 42-39

Previous ranking: 9

The Guardians' first half topped out at nine games over .500, an apex reached on May 22 when they extended their season-best winning streak to seven games with a 1-0 win at Philadelphia. But they've struggled in the month-plus since then, failing to win more than two in a row at any point while scoring at an MLB-worst clip of 3.3 runs per game. The absence of Jose Ramirez hasn't helped of course, and he's not coming back any time soon. If Cleveland's offense is going to snap out of its funk, it'll probably be due to the rookies holding down everyday spots. That might be enough: Travis Bazzana 's speed-power combination continues to shine, and perennial prospect Kahlil Watson finally reached the show and bashed his first big league homer Tuesday in Chicago. -- Doolittle

Record: 42-37

Previous ranking: 15

Is Manny Machado finally starting to heat up? The Padres sure hope so. Over his past five games, Machado is 6-for-18 with four extra-base hits. On Saturday and Monday, he hit the decisive home run. On Tuesday, he delivered a walk-off single. And though his batting average is still only up to .184, his teammates see this recent stretch as validation for what they've said publicly all along -- that Machado will eventually morph back into who he always has been. "I don't think at any point during the season, regardless of the numbers, that anybody felt bad when Manny was up at the plate," Padres closer Mason Miller told reporters. "We have way more images in our head of him succeeding than him failing." -- Gonzalez

Record: 41-38

Previous ranking: 8

The White Sox's feel-good first half teetered a bit when they dropped five of six during a tough road trip against the Yankees and Tigers. While the young Sox remain well-positioned in the soft AL Central, it's too soon to know if they'll be in position to add at the deadline. One thing that has marked this Chicago squad has been the number of successful promotions of internally developed prospects they've seen this season. And seemingly, the younger the White Sox have gotten, the better they've played. As long as this keeps up, a conservative deadline approach might end up being the best bet for the short and long term. -- Doolittle

Record: 40-40

Previous ranking: 14

The Pirates have hit a wall in June, losing 11 of their past 17 games with a 4.79 staff ERA over that span. The good news is that the offense, which is much improved from last season, should soon receive a jolt with shortstop Konnor Griffin 's return from the IL. The 20-year-old rookie is slated to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday at Double-A Altoona. He has been on the IL since May 31 with a right forearm strain. -- Castillo

Record: 39-41

Previous ranking: 18

Here are the big names who could move -- and the teams that could deal for them.

Passan's early trade deadline preview &#187

Nine potential Skubal trade proposals &#187

Olney: Trade deadline X factors to watch &#187

Max Scherzer 's ugly season took another detour to the IL last week. In April, it was right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. This time, after just one start following the first IL stint, it's for back spasms. Scherzer allowed five runs across 3⅓ innings in that one outing and left with a 10.23 ERA in 22 innings over six outings. The Blue Jays had some good news with Shane Bieber making his season debut Tuesday after missing the start of the season with elbow inflammation, although he gave up four runs on nine hits over 3⅔ innings. -- Castillo

Record: 41-40

Previous ranking: 13

Halfway through their season, the Nationals own baseball's highest-scoring offense. This attack, led by young stars James Wood and CJ Abrams , is for real, and it's propelled the Nationals into the crowded NL wild-card derby. This is all a bit unexpected, but if they're going to keep up this run at contention, they'll have to find some answers in the bullpen. In a key division tilt against the Phillies on Tuesday, Washington coughed up leads of 5-0 and 8-6 as a small horde of Nationals relievers gave up 12 runs to the Phillies over the last three innings, including eight in the ninth. That gave Washington 21 losses in games it has led at some point, tied for the most in the NL. In June, Washington's bullpen has MLB's lowest strikeout rate, has allowed the most homers and has blown an MLB-high eight saves. -- Doolittle

Record: 42-39

Previous ranking: 19

When the Marlins made the playoffs during the shortened 2020 season, they finished 31-29 despite being outscored by 41 runs. They repeated the trick in 2023, earning a wild-card spot with an 84-78 mark even though they were outscored by 57 runs. In fact, despite those two playoff appearances, Miami has not finished with a positive run differential since landing at plus-2 in 2010. The Marlins' recent surge of good play not only pushed their record back over .500, putting them in the wild-card mix, but they also climbed into positive territory in the run differential department. It's too soon to know if the surprising Marlins can keep thi

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49167235/mlb-2026-power-rankings-week-13-dodgers-brewers-braves-yankees-phillies)._