We’re six full weeks into the 2016 MLB season, so we figured it’s about time that we rank all 30 clubs having played approximately 40 games each. Thus far the play has been underwhelming across the west coast, while multiple east coast squads have shined with a few early surprises along the way. But at the end of the day, everyone is still chasing a squad that is having its best start in over a century. So let’s start from the bottom and work our way up to the best in baseball.
30: Atlanta Braves (9-27, 5th NL East) – The Braves are 2-17 at home this season, and they won’t get any more relief as they head to Pittsburgh this week. Saturday’s 5-0 shutout over the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals may have been a bit of a moral victory for the team with the worst record in the majors, but for now Hotlanta remains Coldlanta.
29: Minnesota Twins (10-26, 5th AL Central) – Minnesota’s sluggish play in the final few weeks of the 2015 season has carried over to 2016 and has still not let up. The Twins strung together a pair of wins against Cleveland this weekend after an eight game skid, but face the biggest deficit of any MLB team, already sitting 13.5 games out of first place. Nowhere to go but up in the AL.
28: Houston Astros (15-24, 5th AL West) – All the critics who said Houston was playing over their heads last year are continuing to smile. The rest of the baseball community is scratching their heads as to how a team that many picked to win the AL West is sitting dead last in the division. Away games have certainly been the Achilles heel for the ‘stros thus far, posting a 5-14 record away from Minute-Maid Park. Houston dropped the last two games of a four-game weekend series against Boston, and it won’t get any easier as they head to Chicago this week for a three-game series against the red hot White Sox.
27: Cincinnati Reds (15-22, 5th NL Central) – It’s a similar narrative with the Cincinnati Reds. While posting a respectable 12-10 record at the Great American Ballpark, the Reds maintain an MLB worst road record of 3-12. It doesn’t help that they play in a stacked division with teams such as the Cardinals, Pirates, and Cubs. It’s safe to say that the Reds are missing the pitching talent they had a year ago in the form of Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto, in addition to the loss of power hitter Todd Frazier to the White Sox.
26: Arizona Diamondbacks (17-23, 5th NL West) – The Arizona Diamondbacks are without question the biggest letdown in Major Leagues. After blockbuster moves in the off-season that saw the club land incredible pitching talent in the the forms of Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller, Arizona finds themselves in the cellar of the NL West coming off a four game home sweep courtesy of the San Francisco Giants. Greinke has posted 5.26 ERA through eight starts after finishing with a 1.66 ERA in Los Angeles last season, and has already topped his loss count from last year with a 4-4 record after going 19-3 in 2015. Time to push the panic button in the desert if you ask me.
25: Oakland Athletics (16-22, 4th AL West) – The East Bay has cooled down after Oakland surprised many by jumping out to a 10-7 record that briefly saw them take over first place in the AL West. Since then, Oakland has gone 6-15, highlighted by a five game losing streak last week that saw them surrender at least 11 runs four time. The A’s have posted a -38 run differential in their last eight games.
24: Milwaukee Brewers (16-22, 4th NL Central) – Nothing extraordinary is brewing in Wisconsin at the moment. Milwaukee sits at 10-11 at home while sitting 6-11 on the road. That home record may take a dive however as they host the Cubs this week at Miller Park. Like Cincinnati, it’s just tough playing in a division with so much incredible talent, and the Brewers will have to take advantage of their non-division opponents as much as possible going forward.
23: Detroit Tigers (16-21, 4th AL Central) – It’s been a uncharacteristically rough start for the Tigers, granted they have only played a mere 14 home games while playing 23 games on the road. Nonetheless, they have gone a poor 5-9 in those 14 home games, and 2-8 in their last 10 contests. Detroit will likely get some relief when they host the AL worst Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park this week, but time will tell if they can break out of their slump or not. At least Justin Verlander can cheer about his engagement for now.
22: San Diego Padres (17-22, 4th NL West) – The Padres have shown some improvement in the previous weeks, playing .500 baseball after a poor 3-9 start that was opened up by a shutout sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. The biggest highlight for San Diego this season thus far was taking two out of three games against the MLB best Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field last week, handing the the Cubbies their first series loss of the season. San Diego is 5-5 in their last 10 contests, but will face a challenge at home this week as they host the NL West leading San Francisco Giants.
21: Tampa Bay Rays (16-19, 4th AL West) – Tampa has fallen under .500 after dropping five of their last six games, which included a three game sweep at the hands of the Mariners in Seattle. Pitcher Erasmo Ramirez has continually looked impressive though, maintaining a 6-1 record with a 1.76 ERA. Perhaps a surprise Cy Young candidate? It’s way too early to predict any of that, but it certainly is a thought.
20: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (16-21, 3rd AL West) – The Angels may finally be finding their groove after a three game road sweep of the Seattle Mariners this weekend, but that doesn’t change the fact they suffered back to back sweeps at home against the Rays and Cardinals (a six game skid) prior to this weekend. The Angels are dismal 6-12 at home, and things won’t get any easier with the loss of Garrett Richards to Tommy John Surgery for the rest of the season.
19: New York Yankees (16-20, 5th AL East) – After an abominable 9-17 start, the Yankees have won 7 out of their last 10 contests, taking two out of three against the AL Central leading White Sox this weekend in New York. Carlos Beltran also reached the 400 career home run mark with a bast on Sunday afternoon, and Alex Rodriguez is nearing the 700 career home run mark himself. Look out, because something may be brewing in the Bronx.
18: Kansas City Royals (18-19, 3rd AL Central) – Not exactly the start that the defending World Series champs were looking to have. The Royals have not looked great on the road thus far, going 7-13 while maintaining an 11-6 home record. Kansas City has now gone 10-17 after starting off the season 8-2, and the next week won’t get any easier as they face a six game slate against the red hot Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.
17: Toronto Blue Jays (19-20, 3rd AL East) – It was quite the weekend for the Blue Jays, their first time back in Arlington, Texas since game four of the 2015 ALDS against the Rangers. The Jays dropped the series 2-1, but the biggest moment may have been Sunday afternoon’s brawl that saw Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor punch Joey Bautista after a late slide. If you watched game five last year, you knew that it was fight that was seven months in the making. No suspensions have been levied on any players yet, but if players including Bautista and Josh Donaldson are sitting a few games each, the next week could be interesting. Nonetheless, Toronto will head north across the border to host a three game series against Tampa before playing the lowly Twins in Minneapolis. Maybe it’s not such a bad time to have key players missing if such is the case.
16: Cleveland Indians (17-17, 2nd AL East) – It’s a little cliche that the only team sitting at exactly .500 in the majors is the one that plays in the city along the shores of Lake Eerie. Certainly it’s a better spot that the Indians have been in recent years (2013 aside), but even at 2nd place they sit 5 games out of first place behind the White Sox. They may have taken a little dip in their confidence too after dropping two in a row against 10-win Minnesota this weekend. Next up for the Tribe will be some inter-league action with their cross-state counterparts, the Cincinnati Reds.
15: Colorado Rockies (19-18, 3rd NL West) – Lots of offense, no pitching: that’s once again the story line for the ball club in the Mile-High City. Nonetheless, the Rockies completed a home sweep against the New York Mets this weekend to win their 4th straight contest, only sitting 1.5 games out of first place in the NL West. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story have been driving the train, already with 13 and 11 home runs this season, respectively. Maybe this will finally be the year that Colorado gets over the hump if the two keep it up.
14: Pittsburgh Pirates (19-17, 2nd NL Central) – It’s been a little slow of a start for the team that has received the top NL Wildcard spot the last three seasons, paying a .500 7-7 at PNC Park. Pittsburgh is now 4-6 in their last ten contests, and are a whopping eight games behind the first place Cubs despite their 2nd place position. An upcoming home series against the MLB-worst Braves may get them back on the right track this week, though catching Chicago may be a tough task for any team at this rate.
13: St. Louis Cardinals (20-18, 3rd NL Central) – The Cardinals have almost been a mirror image of the Pirates this season, sitting a two games over .500 and playing a little more sluggish than many expected. Of course, the Cardinals did suffer several key departures in the off season, including Jason Heyward, Shelby Miller and John Lackey. They have gone 6-4 in their last ten games, but suffered a 2-1 series loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles this weekend, a place where they have so often dominated. The Cards host the Rockies this week, and that could potentially prove to be a challenge considering the momentum they bring in combined with their offense. Like Pittsburgh, it’ll be tough for St. Louis to catch Chicago at this rate, even if they do go on a tear.
12: Los Angeles Dodgers (20-18, NL West) – Los Angeles has picked back up some momentum after losing six straight games at home earlier in the month to drop below .500, a time at which no NL West team had a winning record. They took a three game home series against the Cardinals 2-1 as aforementioned, and have now gone 6-4 since the dreaded home skid ended. Clayton Kershaw has been his normal-self, as he is now 5-1 on the season with a 1.74 ERA after shutting out the Mets 5-0 last Thursday, just a day after the Dodgers allowed two home runs to Mets’ pitcher Noah Syndergaard in a single game.
11: New York Mets (21-16, 3rd NL East) – After a six game winning streak that saw great hitting by the Mets’ pitching staff, including the timeless image of 42 year old Bartolo Colon going deep for the first time in his career, it’s been a rough past few days for the squad. They suffered a three game sweep at the hands of the Rockies this past weekend, now having dropped four games in a row to bump them down to third place in the NL East. While there is no need to panic, the Mets will be looking to turn things back around to their winning ways sooner than later.
10: Miami Marlins (20-17, 4th NL East) – Here come the Marlins. After starting off 5-11, Miami has rebounded nicely to rise to a winning record for the first time in over a year, winning 11 of their next 12 contests. Though they have gone 5-5 in their last ten contests and have lost Dee Gordon to a PED suspension, Miami can take confidence in winning two in a row against the red hot Washington Nationals in Washington this weekend to salvage and split the four game series. Up next is a three game road trip to the City of Brotherly Love before heading back home next weekend to face Washington once again.
9: San Francisco Giants (22-18, 1st NL West) – The NL West has certainly looked average at best this season, but the Giants are heating up as they are riding a five game winning streak after winning one at home against Toronto last week before completing a four game sweep in Arizona this weekend. It’s the longest active winning streak of any team in the majors at the moment, and the Giants are now 7-3 in their last 10 games. While the trio of Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Madison Bumgarner have been the three-headed monster that everyone anticipated they would be, Matt Cain also showed signs of promise this weekend after early-season struggles, only allowing one run in a 2-1 win against Arizona on Sunday. The even-year magic may finally be kicking in out by the bay.
8: Philadelphia Phillies (22-16, 2nd NL East) – Well who woulda thought? After finishing in the cellar of the NL East in 2016 with 63 wins and 99 losses, the Phillies are by far the biggest surprise of the season. After starting off 6-9, they’ve been above .500 ever since winning 9 of the ensuing 10 games, which included a shocking sweep of the Nationals in the nation’s capital. The Phillies are 11-7 against division opponents, not too shabby for a team playing in a division with four winning squads and little expectations. Will it hold up? Who knows, but it has certainly caught all of us off guard for now.
7. Seattle Mariners (21-16, 2nd AL West) – After flopping last season when expected to win the AL West for the first time since 2001, the Mariners are finally showing signs of promise. Last week they were sitting at 21-13 before suffering a three game home sweep at the hands of the Angels. Home games if anything have been the downfall of the Mariners this season, as Seattle is 8-10 at home while 13-6 on the road. Felix Hernandez also sits only at 3-3 on the season. If those two areas are corrected soon, a new era of Mariners Baseball could very well be on the horizon.
6. Texas Rangers (22-16, 1st AL West) – The Rangers are on a roll, especially after an epic series win against Toronto this weekend that featured a Drew Stubbs walk off in the 10th inning on Saturday before the massive brawl broke out in Sunday afternoon’s comeback victory. Texas is a solid 14-7 at Globe Life Park this season and shows no signs of stopping, possessing a roster filled with young talent and a few veterans. Of course, many suspensions will be handed out after Sunday’s incident, some speculating that Rougned Odor will be sitting up to eight games for his right hand hook on Joey Bautista. Adrian Beltre could also fall victim after shoving Bautista when he was retaliating at Odor. Questions also linger among the Rangers’ bullpen, with closer Shawn Tolleson having several slips of late including back to back home runs in the bottom of the 9th inning Saturday that knotted the game before Stubbs ended it.
5. Chicago White Sox (24-14, 1st AL Central) – Good times for the Windy City indeed. The White Sox are enjoying their best season since their 2005 World Series run, propelled by solid pitching and consistent. Chris Sale and newly acquired Matt Latos are both early AL Cy Young candidates, posting undefeated records of 8-0 and 5-0, respectively. Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera are each batting just over .300. While the Sox have dropped 4 of their last five games to move them out of first place overall in the American League, it’s hard not to see Chicago winning the AL Central given their pitching depth and the struggles among other teams in their division.
4. Washington Nationals (23-15, 1st NL East) – The Nationals have tapered off slightly after starting the year 19-8, but the extraordinary talent they posses on their roster is still as evident as ever. Max Scherzer tied an MLB record last week by striking out 20 batters in a single game for the first time since Randy Johnson did so in 2001. Bryce Harper already has 11 home runs. There is no reason to not see this squad reaching at least the NLCS at this rate, especially motivated after last year’s disappointing 83-79 record.
3. Boston Red Sox (24-14, 2nd AL East) – The White Sox aren’t the only sox enjoying some success at the moment. The Red Sox are red hot, going 15-5 in their last 20 games to inch all the way within one game of first place Baltimore. Their average of 10.4 runs per game in their seven game home-stand last week was their third highest average in any home stand of at least seven games since 1900, and somehow their +59 run differential is only second place in the majors. They can thank hitters such as Mookie Betts and David Ortiz for those stats. Ortiz, playing in his final season in the majors, is bating .320 with ten homers and 33 RBIs already. So far, a grand stretch-run for one of the great players of this era.
2. Baltimore Orioles (23-13, 1st AL East) – What a start for Baltimore. After a disappointing 2015 campaign that saw the Orioles miss the postseason after making it all the way to the ALCS in 2014, the O’s rocketed out of the gates to open the season a perfect 7-0. Not only have they remained in first place in AL East ever since, but they are 8-2 in their last 10 contests and boast an MLB best home record of 16-6. Manny Machado and recently acquired Mark Trumbo have been the difference makers for Baltimore, batting .330 and .307 respectively with each tallying 11 homers thus far. Throw Adam Jones and Chris Davis into the mix, and there is some serious depth in the O’s lineup. Starting Pitcher Chris Tillman has also looked impressive with a 5-1 record through eight games.
1. Chicago Cubs (27-9, 1st NL Central) – Three times as many wins as losses. A +109 (yes, 109) run differential. A starting pitching staff with three pitchers in the 1 ERA range. The best start for the club since 1903. It’s pretty simple: The Cubs, by a long shot, are the team to beat. Heck, they can post a losing record the rest of the season and still win 90 games. Will the curse finally be broken this year? Who knows, but history is on the Cubbies’ side this season, as eight of the nine other teams to win at least 27 games in their first 35 games made it to the World Series, four of them winning it. At this rate, the billy goat may be the only thing that can stop the Cubs from ending 108 years of misery in October.