We have just one month left in the MLB regular season – actually, less than one month left! Maybe your team is jockeying for playoff position; maybe they’re trying to make sure they make it to the postseason at all; maybe they’re already looking toward next year. But every team has something to watch down the stretch of this last month.
These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.
1. Brewers (previously: 1)
Can the Brewers get to 100 wins? They’re in excellent position to have the best winning percentage in franchise history. (Their franchise record for victories is 96, done twice.) But finishing the season strong — or, really, just finishing the season as strong as they’ve played it up to this point — could give them triple-digit victories for the first time.
2. Phillies (previously: 3)
Winning the NL East for the second year in a road is the obvious mission, but it’ll also be fun to see how many homers Kyle Schwarber ends up hitting. He’s on pace for 58, which is Ryan Howard’s franchise record. Can he pass him? Can he get to 60?
3. Tigers (previously: 2)
The Tigers have had a raucous home crowd all year, really since last postseason, and the excitement all Detroiters have for their Tigers — and all their teams of late — will be, in the words of “Spinal Tap,” turned to 11 come October. Which means nailing down home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs, something they could very much do with a solid September, could make a huge, huge difference.
4. Dodgers (previously: 7)
The Dodgers have had rotation injury issues all season, but generally speaking, they’ve pooh-poohed them, basically saying, “We’ll be healthy at the end of the year, when it counts.” We’re coming to the end of the year now. The rotation is starting to look healthy. Can the Dodgers keep it that way in September?
5. Blue Jays (previously: 4)
There have been some great eras throughout Blue Jays history — you may remember those two World Series in a row? — and if this Vlad Jr.-led incarnation of the team is going to etch its name as one of those inner-circle Blue Jays teams, they’re going to have to win some playoff games. The best way to do that is to get home-field advantage right out of the gate by winning the division … and maybe even getting themselves a first-round bye.
6. Cubs (previously: 5)
Starting this week, the Cubs play 15 consecutive games against teams under .500. It might be a little late to catch the Brewers in the NL Central — though the Cubs still think they can make a run — but it couldn’t be lined up better for the Cubs to get themselves in prime playoff position. And maybe Kyle Tucker will remain hot enough to start thinking he’s not ready to leave Wrigley Field anytime soon.
7. Padres (previously: 6)
It has been 19 years since the Padres last won the NL West (and of course 27 years since they reached the World Series). This is one of the best Padres teams we have seen in decades, and they are a heat-seeking missile locked on catching the Dodgers in this division. The postseason is all that matters, of course, but this is a Padres team that wants those Dodgers behind them badly.
8. Yankees (previously: 10)
The Yankees have been one of the streakiest teams in baseball since the All-Star break, winning seven in a row and 12 of 16 right on the heels of having the worst record in the American League in the 38 games preceding that. Which way is this going to turn in September? More importantly: Which direction will their streak be going once October begins?
9. Red Sox (previously: 8)
Do you realize the Red Sox have made the postseason only once since winning the World Series in 2018? (They lost in the ALCS in 2021.) The Red Sox are in excellent position to return, a particularly encouraging sign for a team that’s so young. But they need to make sure, in September, that they lock it down.
10. Astros (previously: 9)
Truly, it’s rather absurd that the Astros — who lost almost their entire rotation and best hitter for most of the season — are still in first place in the AL West. If they were to win the AL West this year, something they have done in every full season since 2016, this would be one of their most impressive, and most memorable, division titles.
11. Mets (previously: 12)
There is always some sort of drama going on with the Mets, which is why it is perhaps not surprising that Juan Soto — who, for all the off-the-field contract headlines, is as steady as it gets on the diamond, and particularly in the batter’s box — has been one of the best players in baseball right as the Mets have steadied the ship. We’ve seen him have big moments before. In September and October, he’ll have the chance to truly cement himself as the Mets’ signature star.
12. Mariners (previously: 11)
Cal Raleigh is likely going to pass Ken Griffey Jr. as the single-season home run leader in franchise history, and probably soon. But at this point, getting to 60 has to be the goal. Oh, and the other goal: Getting the Mariners back to the playoffs, and maybe even getting that first division title in 24 years along the way.
13. Royals (previously: 14)
It’s going to be tough to overtake Aaron Judge in MVP voting — something Bobby Witt Jr. certainly learned last year — let alone the grand story that is Cal Raleigh. But it should be said that Witt has been better than both of them, by a good margin, for about two, maybe three months now. If he can get the Royals back in the playoffs, he’ll have a much better case than is perhaps currently being appreciated.
14. Rangers (previously: 16)
It is somehow fitting that the Rangers, a team that has been up and down all year, never settling on one identity, has started winning games again right when they lose Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi and Evan Carter. In September, honestly, it feels like they’re just continuing to play with house money.
15. Reds (previously: 13)
It should be said: August was the worst month of Elly De La Cruz’s season, and even one of the worst of his career. He is still young, obviously, but it’s time for him to make that next step forward, not just for the Reds’ playoff hopes, but for his Next Big Star status.
16. Guardians (previously: 15)
An August slump put a damper on the annual José Ramírez Needs to Win an MVP At Some Point conversation, but if the Guardians are going to make a run in the Wild Card race, it will require Ramírez getting out of his recent slump and playing like that MVP, and potential Hall of Fame, player once again.
17. Diamondbacks (previously: 17)
Corbin Carroll is having the most incredible almost-entirely-invisible season in recent memory. This week, he tied Aaron Judge for the most extra-base hits in baseball, more than Cal Raleigh, more than Kyle Schwarber, more than anyone. No Diamondback has ever led the Majors in extra-base hits.
18. Cardinals (previously: 19)
The Cardinals are going through a big rebuild this offseason under GM-in-waiting Chaim Bloom, and the key part of the last month will be seeing which young players make the case to be regulars next season. Masyn Winn and Iván Herrera seem like sure things; can Jimmy Crooks, Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman, among others, join them?
19. Giants (previously: 20)
It doesn’t look like the first season of having Rafael Devers on the roster – there are nine more after this one – is going to end in a postseason appearance, which is disappointing. But Devers has another month, perhaps one in which he can maybe hit as well as he did for Boston in May (when he had a 1.074 OPS), to worm his way into the hearts of Giants fans moving forward.
20. Rays (previously: 18)
The Rays are going to have their stadium back next year, and that’s obviously excellent, but it will be sad to see them say goodbye to playing games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which has been a charming, even quaint, home for them all season. They need to go 6-7 in their last 13 games to assure a winning record in their lone season there.
21. Marlins (previously: 24)
Sandy Alcantara’s early struggles – remember, he had a 7.22 ERA at the All-Star break – ultimately led to the Marlins not trading him at the Deadline, which turned out to be a great idea: He has a 3.16 ERA since and is either building up his trade value all over again or, maybe even better, setting himself up to be a key No. 1 for an intriguing young team in 2026. September is a chance for him to keep it going.
22. A’s (previously: 25)
The A’s have had one of the best offenses in baseball for months now, and it keeps getting better and younger. We’ll see if they can help out their pitching in the offseason, but watching these hitters continue to improve and evolve is one of the most fun things any baseball fan will get to do in September, not just A’s fans.
23. Braves (previously: 23)
Spencer Strider has struggled for more than a month now, but there have been signs of the old Strider over his last few starts. For as rough as this year has been for the Braves, they still have a promising 2026 rotation of Chris Sale, Reynaldo López, Hurston Waldrep and the rehabbing Spencer Schwellenbach. If Strider can finish looking somewhat like the old Strider, there’d be even more hope for a rebound from the team in 2026.
24. Angels (previously: 21)
Mike Trout has been stuck on 398 home runs for a long time (since Aug. 6). He’s mired in a miserable slump right now, but he is going to get to 400, and make history, sometime in September. Right?
25. Orioles (previously: 22)
It’s far from certain that interim manager Tony Mansolino is going to get the big job full-time next year. But if the Orioles can have a winning record in September, they’ll have a winning record since Mansolino took over for Brandon Hyde.
26. Twins (previously: 26)
Byron Buxton is having the best year of his career – he’s one homer away from joining Kirby Puckett as the only players in Twins history to have 30 homers and 20 steals in a season – and it has of course been because he has at last been healthy. Can he stay healthy the rest of the way? Will that carry over into next year … and years after that?
27. Pirates (previously: 27)
It has been since Doug Drabek in 1990 that the Pirates have had a Cy Young winner. (Vern Law is the only other Pirate to win one, in 1960.) This last month, we get to watch Paul Skenes’ final march to potentially become the next one.
28. Nationals (previously: 28)
James Wood has been wildly streaky this year, probably to be expected from such a young player. Everything the Nats are hoping for the next few years revolves around Wood: It’d be nice to see him finish on a good streak rather than a bad one.
29. White Sox (previously: 29)
The White Sox have been better than they were last year which, to be clear, wasn’t particularly difficult. The real question now: Can they avoid losing 100 games for the third consecutive season? They need to go 13-11 to do so. Good luck!
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
The Rockies have a very real chance to put up the worst run differential of the Modern Era. The worst to this point, -349 (in 154 games), was put up by the 1932 Red Sox. They’re currently, after Monday’s 8-2 loss to the Giants, at -359. This is probably not a record they want. They have 3 1/2 weeks to avoid it.
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Jason Catania, Mark Feinsand, Daniel Feldman, Doug Gausepohl, Will Leitch, Brian Murphy, Andrew Simon, David Venn.
