There are six weeks left in the 2025 MLB season, and after it seemed as if some of baseball’s top teams were running away with their divisions early on, we’ve seen those leads shrink to, in some cases, zero.

In the National League West, we’ve seen the Dodgers’ commanding lead be erased entirely, as the Padres now lead their rivals by one game atop the division — and with a series between the two coming up this weekend.

The same has happened in the American League West, with the Astros overtaking the Mariners earlier in the season and building a cushion atop the division, only to see that disappear as Seattle has won eight of its last 10 games to be just one game back from Houston.

Meanwhile, the Brewers have built a comfortable lead in the NL Central — and atop the majors, with the best record in all of baseball — after overtaking the Cubs late last month thanks to a number of winning streaks, including the current 12-game one.

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 Buster Olney, Alden Gonzalez and Jesse Rogers to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 18 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

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Record: 76-44
Previous ranking: 1

Sometimes there just aren’t enough words to describe how a team is doing what it is doing. It becomes less about talent — and, don’t get me wrong, Milwaukee is talented — and more about belief and confidence. The Brewers are riding that high right now, believing every time they step on the field, this is their game. But it still takes production to win, and during their latest win streak, Brice Turang and William Contreras have led them with big hit after big hit. Contreras has been playing top-level baseball over the past two weeks, hitting six home runs in the span of 12 games while Turang hit six in 11. Milwaukee looks unstoppable right now. — Rogers

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Record: 69-51
Previous ranking: 2

Ranger Suarez has been dominant on the road this season but imploded against the Reds on Tuesday when he gave up 10 hits and six runs in 5⅓ innings. That game raised Philadelphia’s starting rotation ERA to over 4.00 since the All-Star break. It’s probably not much of a concern as the Phillies have more important days ahead of them, so getting Suarez, Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo ready for the postseason should be No.1 on the team’s to-do list. A comfortable lead in the division will help that cause come September. — Rogers

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Record: 70-51
Previous ranking: 6

As Shane Bieber finishes his minor league rehabilitation and prepares to join the Toronto rotation, manager John Schneider and his staff will have some choices. They could go to a six-man rotation, maybe temporarily, to give the team’s veteran starters a little extra rest in the last weeks of the season. Or they could shift someone to the bullpen. Lefty Eric Lauer has been a revelation for the Jays this year, posting a 3.36 ERA in 13 starts, but he has the most experience out of the ‘pen among the Toronto starters. — Olney

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Record: 68-53
Previous ranking: 4

Brock Stewart, the Dodgers’ big deadline addition to the bullpen, is dealing with shoulder inflammation and was placed on the injured list Tuesday, where he joined five other high-leverage relievers. Manager Dave Roberts is once again short on options to hold leads late, but his offense has also been too inconsistent to routinely obtain leads in the first place. And oftentimes when the lineup produces, that day’s starting pitcher does not. The Dodgers have been a sub-.500 team since the start of July and can’t do much right these days, which might make this a really bad time for them to host the surging Padres this weekend. — Gonzalez

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Record: 70-52
Previous ranking: 5

As the Tigers try to hold off Cleveland down the stretch, they will have to defend first place head-to-head. Six of Detroit’s final 12 games in the regular season are against the Guardians — at home Sept. 16-18, and in Cleveland Sept. 23-25. But according to FanGraphs, only three teams — the Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers — face a weaker schedule than the Tigers over the last quarter of the season. — Olney

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Record: 67-54
Previous ranking: 11

The Mariners won their eighth consecutive game Tuesday night and moved into a first-place tie with Houston in the AL West — marking the first time since the start of June that they’ve held a share of the division lead. The Mariners, now a game back after Wednesday’s loss, have won nine of 11 since the front office made a multitude of win-now moves at the trade deadline and will spend these next six-plus weeks gunning for their first division title since 2001. They’ll get some additional help, too, with Bryce Miller rejoining the rotation soon and Victor Robles settling back atop the lineup shortly thereafter. The vibes in Seattle are on another level right now. — Gonzalez

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Record: 68-51
Previous ranking: 3

Chicago might have to focus on a wild-card spot, as an offensive slump combined with the Brewers’ hot streak has tanked the Cubs’ percentages to win the division. The good news is the starting staff has kept them above water, ranking first in ERA since the All-Star break. But a power outage in the middle of the order is concerning. Kyle Tucker, who might still be feeling the aftereffects of a jammed finger suffered on June 1, has just a handful of extra-base hits since the calendar turned to July. The power lull has seemingly infected everyone in the lineup — outside of rookie Matt Shaw. — Rogers

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Record: 69-52
Previous ranking: 8

Michael King made his long-awaited return to the Padres’ rotation Friday, and though it resulted in an ineffective, two-inning outing, the fact that he was there in the first place was a major development for a Padres team that seems to be rounding into the best version of itself for the season’s stretch run. The lineup — bolstered by the additions of Ramon Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn and Freddy Fermin — once again looks deep. The bullpen, fortified by the addition of Mason Miller, is one of the game’s best. The rotation is as close to whole as it has been all year. And now the Padres are poised to take down the Dodgers in the NL West. — Gonzalez

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Record: 68-53
Previous ranking: 10

The Astros find themselves in a tight division race with the surging Mariners and will have to try to fend Seattle off, at least in the near term, without their star closer, Josh Hader, who landed on the IL on Tuesday with what the team described as a shoulder strain. The Astros still don’t know the severity of the injury, but manager Joe Espada called it a “punch to the gut.” Hader converted his first 25 save chances this season and sports a 2.05 ERA, with 76 strikeouts in 52⅔ innings. Bryan Abreu can be a capable closer in the meantime, but Hader’s absence significantly weakens the entirety of the bullpen. — Gonzalez

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Record: 66-56
Previous ranking: 9

It seems appropriate that Roman Anthony wears No. 19 for the Red Sox, since his immediate impact is similar to the work of another Red Sox player who wore No. 19: Fred Lynn, the 1975 Rookie of the Year and MVP. Anthony has a 135 OPS+ with an on-base percentage of .399 in 53 games, and, like Lynn in his rookie season, Anthony has quickly become a core piece of Boston’s offense. — Olney

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Record: 64-55
Previous ranking: 7

A collective slump at the plate since late July has been maddening for New York, although Pete Alonso setting the franchise record for home runs was a recent bright spot. Maybe the Mets will look back at their 13-5 win over Atlanta on Tuesday — when Alonso set the mark — as a turning point.

Right now, you could throw a dart at their roster and you’ll probably hit a player who is struggling at the plate. That does actually include Alonso, who has an OBP under .250 since the All-Star break. Francisco Lindor might be the most frustrated of the group as he’s hitting .188 over his last 23 games. As he and Alonso go, so do the Mets. They’re too good to continue on the pace they were on before Tuesday. — Rogers

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Record: 64-57
Previous ranking: 12

Some of New York’s trade deadline acquisitions started out their Yankees campaigns infamously, with that ugly game in Miami. But in the past eight days, reliever David Bednar has provided some stability for the bullpen, twice making five-out appearances while striking out 12 in seven innings over that span. Manager Aaron Boone has more to figure out about his bullpen, but he seems to have settled on a closer. — Olney

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Record: 64-58
Previous ranking: 14

A starting staff that ranks fourth in the NL in ERA got a boost with the return of Hunter Greene from injury. Could that be the difference-maker Cincinnati needs to make a playoff push? It might be a moot point if the Reds don’t hit enough. Every few games, they show signs of being capable of a potent offense, but then they revert to lower-scoring days, as they did last week in losing three games while scoring a total of just three runs. Miguel Andujar came up big over the past seven days, compiling an OPS over 1.300. The Reds need more contributions like that. — Rogers

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Record: 62-57
Previous ranking: 15

Cleveland has won 21 of its past 30 games, thriving through a period in which it lost closer Emmanuel Clase to a leave of absence related to a gambling investigation; traded Shane Bieber, who had been expected to join the Cleveland rotation down the stretch; and listened to offers for Steven Kwan. The Guardians’ improbable surge is reminiscent of that of the 2024 Tigers. — Olney

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Record: 61-61
Previous ranking: 13

The Rangers won their second consecutive game against the Yankees on Aug. 5, at which point they stood just a half-game back of a playoff spot. It seemed then as if the 2023 World Series champs — a team that has spent most of the time since searching for some consistent offense — were finally poised to make their move. Then Texas slipped once more, getting swept at home by the Phillies and totaling just seven runs over the course of a four-game losing streak. The Rangers are running out of time to showcase the consistent baseball they still believe they’re capable of. — Gonzalez

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Record: 61-61
Previous ranking: 19

Is this the real Jordan Walker? Has he finally arrived? OK, that might be over the top for a .233 hitter, but he has been on a nice run since the All-Star break, hitting around .300, though with just one home run. More recently, he had an 8-for-16 stretch that included back-to-back three-hit games. His development is part of the Cardinals’ big picture strategy for the season, which has been all about allowing their young players to succeed or fail without looking over their collective shoulders too much. Outside of going on the IL due to appendicitis, Walker has had that opportunity. Could 2026 finally be the year for the 23-year-old? Stay tuned. — Rogers

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Record: 59-62
Previous ranking: 16

The Giants haven’t had a winning month since April. At this point, they’re clearly playing for next year. With that in mind, though, perhaps Rafael Devers, the mid-June acquisition that was supposed to catapult them to the top of the NL West, is finally starting to figure out Oracle Park and get back to who he is. After slashing just .230/.337/.368 in July, Devers is slashing .267/.389/.556 in his first 12 games of August. Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters Devers is “taking more balanced swings, a little more fluid,” a result, Melvin thinks, of no longer trying to do too much. — Gonzalez

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Record: 60-61
Previous ranking: 18

On the day that Kansas City acquired Adam Frazier, one rival evaluator was confused by the move, citing Frazier’s struggles in Pittsburgh, where he hit .255 with a .318 OBP. But the Royals got Frazier in part because of his stabilizing influence in the clubhouse, and he has played well for Kansas City so far, hitting over .300 and helping to spur an offense that has been significantly better of late. In the first half of the season, the Royals ranked 29th of 30 teams in runs scored; since the All-Star break, they rank sixth. — Olney

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Record: 59-63
Previous ranking: 17

Tampa Bay has an excellent track record for flipping proven talent and developing the young players they acquire in return. However, that has not been the case for Christopher Morel, who has had a disappointing season with a minus-0.6 WAR. Morel, who came to the Rays from the Cubs last year in the swap for Isaac Paredes, has 18 walks and 88 strikeouts in 241 plate appearances in 2025. — Olney

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Record: 58-62
Previous ranking: 20

Miami’s chances at making a wild-card run took a hit last week when it batted .218 as a team with two home runs over a span of six games. The Marlins lost five of them, including a crushing doubleheader sweep by the Braves over the weekend. Game 2 was the killer, as the Marlins led 4-0 before falling 8-6. In those six games, Kyle Stowers went 2-for-21 (.095) as Miami ranked 27th in OPS for the week. It helped drop them further behind the other NL wild-card teams. — Rogers

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Record: 59-62
Previous ranking: 21

Geraldo Perdomo has quietly been among the game’s best shortstops over the past four years, and now he’s in the midst of his best season. The switch-hitting 25-year-old boasts a .955 OPS since the start of July, putting his slash line up to .286/.386/.443 this season. Combine that with his typically solid defense and opportunistic baserunning, and Perdomo already compiled 4.7 FanGraphs WAR, ranked eighth among position players. It’s clear why the D-backs gave him a four-year, $45 million extension earlier this year — despite the presence of top prospect Jordan Lawlar. — Gonzalez

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Record: 59-62
Previous ranking: 22

Zach Neto homered twice against the Dodgers on Monday, then turned a triple play against Shohei Ohtani in what amounted to a massive momentum shift in another Angels victory Tuesday. The latter, Neto said, was the highlight. It accounted for the first triple play of his life, and it came against one of the game’s best players. “It was pretty special,” said Neto, who was perfectly positioned to catch Ohtani’s line drive up the middle, then stepped on second base and fired to first, all in a matter of roughly three seconds. The Angels once again don’t have much to play for this season, but they completed a sweep of the Dodgers on Wednesday and finished 6-0 against their crosstown rivals this season. — Gonzalez

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Record: 57-63
Previous ranking: 23

With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, rival GMs believe that Minnesota was never actually open to the idea of trading right-hander Joe Ryan. With the Twins’ announcement that they’ll be adding new minority owners, there will be questions about whether Ryan can be locked down to a long-term deal, but even if that doesn’t happen, his trade value will continue to be sky-high, assuming he stays healthy, into the offseason. Cast against the landscape of a relatively thin free agent starting pitching class, he’d be in high demand from contenders. — Olney

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Record: 54-66
Previous ranking: 24

A rival executive mused last week about Baltimore’s thin pitching and saturation of position player prospects. “The Orioles should have Garrett Crochet,” he said, noting how well Baltimore matched up with what the White Sox reportedly were looking for in a Crochet trade. This is just one what-if in a long list of what-ifs as the Orioles begin the process of building a pitching staff for 2026. — Olney

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Record: 52-68
Previous ranking: 25

If the Braves are going to quickly return to contender status next season, they’ll need Spencer Strider at his best. That hasn’t been the case in his first season back after undergoing elbow surgery. Strider has given up 13 runs in 8⅔ innings this month after having an OK July where he threw two quality starts in five outings. We’ll see where his fastball velocity is next spring, but right now, it’s down 3 mph from 2022, 2 mph from 2023 and 1 mph from before his injury. Can he be successful at 95 mph rather than 98 mph? — Rogers

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Record: 54-69
Previous ranking: 26

The A’s still have a lot of work to do to become competitive again, but their offense is legitimately promising. And one of the many reasons for that is Shea Langeliers, the 27-year-old catcher who slumped through the first two months of the season but has been one of the game’s best hitters in recent weeks. Since the All-Star break, Langeliers ranks second in the majors with a 1.227 OPS — just behind his teammate, Nick Kurtz, at 1.249 — and has accumulated 12 home runs, tied with Kyle Schwarber for tops in the sport. — Gonzalez

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Record: 51-71
Previous ranking: 27

When will the misery end for Pirates fans? They’ve lost five in a row, including a Paul Skenes start in which Milwaukee beat them 14-0 on Tuesday. Pittsburgh’s problem is the same as it has always been: It can’t hit. Consider this: The Pirates have hit a major league-worst 86 home runs, which is 17 less than the Padres, who rank 29th. And it’s an astounding 105 home runs behind the Yankees, who lead MLB. Without more power next season, Pittsburgh will land right back where it is now … in last place in the division. — Rogers

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Record: 44-77
Previous ranking: 28

The only member of the White Sox organization under contract for 2026 is Andrew Benintendi, for $17.1 million. Otherwise, moving forward, the White Sox have almost no payroll obligations. This made it easy for them to bet on the upside of Luis Robert Jr. and keep him through the deadline; presumably, they will pick up his $20 million option in the winter, and they’ll continue to hope that Robert’s potential fully manifests. — Olney

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Record: 48-72
Previous ranking: 29

Somehow the Nationals do not have the worst ERA in baseball since the All-Star break despite looking horrendous on the mound. Their struggles there have affected every part of their pitching staff — MacKenzie Gore gave up eight runs in a recent start, Jake Irvin gave up six and Mitchell Parker gave up five. Washington feels like it’s playing out the string on the mound as the staff has given up 80 runs in eight losses this month. The team needs some overhauling in the offseason, starting with a new general manager and manager. — Rogers

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Record: 32-88
Previous ranking: 30

August is only 14 days old and it already includes an eight-game losing streak for the Rockies. The Rockies have suffered through five eight-game losing streaks this season. Their run differential is a whopping minus-326, more than double that of the second-worst team (the Nationals at minus-148). And of their remaining 13 series, seven will come against teams that will likely be in the playoffs this year, including three against the Dodgers and Padres. With a little more than six weeks remaining, the Rockies are on pace for 119 losses, two shy of the modern-day record set by the 2024 White Sox. It’s going to be close. — Gonzalez

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ketel Marte went deep for the Arizona lead with two outs in the ninth inning again against the Texas Rangers. The big swing this time came from the other side of the plate.

Martel’s three-run homer batting left-handed capped a two-out rally in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks in their series finale at Texas on Wednesday, a 6-4 win that came less than 24 hours after the switch-hitter’s upper-deck solo shot from the right side in the final at-bat for a 3-2 victory.

“He’s one of a kind. He’s just a special player. When his timing’s right and his body’s right, he’s capable of carrying a ball club,” manager Torey Lovullo said after the All-Star second baseman’s latest game winner. “And it was a great moment for him. The smile on his face as he was rounding the bases is something that I know we all enjoyed.”

The 413-foot homer to right was Marte’s fourth hit Wednesday.

His first three hits were singles, one driving in their first run, off former teammate Merrill Kelly, who made his third start for the Rangers since they acquired him from Arizona at the trade deadline two weeks ago.

“What you saw today is him in a nutshell. He hits good pitches, he hits bad pitches,” said Kelly, who exited the game after six innings with a 3-2 lead. “He can work the count, he could work the AB and punch a single into left or hurt you with a big-time homer from either side of the plate. Obviously, he proved that the last two nights. He’s kind of the guy that you circle in that lineup that you don’t want to beat you. … Unfortunately, we let him beat us the last two days.”

Marte’s solo homer with two outs in the ninth Tuesday night, on a two-strike 79.8 mph sweeper thrown by Danny Coulombe, went 445 feet.

In the series finale, Phil Maton had entered with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and struck out the first three batters he faced on nine pitches. James McCann then homered with two outs in the ninth, No. 9 batter Blaze Alexander was hit by a pitch and Geraldo Perdomo walked on four pitches before Marte went deep on a 76.4 mph curveball.

Marte is hitting .297 with 23 homers and 54 RBIs in 88 games, and has an NL-best .329 batting average in road games after going 6-for-9 the last two games in Texas. He missed nearly a month early in the season with a left hamstring strain.

“I’m feeling good. My body is good, I’m healthy,” Marte said.

“He can take it to a whole new level like, you know, a league above the major leagues, and that’s hard to do. There’s only a few players who can do that,” Lovullo said. “Everything happened kind of in order to lead up to that moment. He didn’t let us down. … This was a team moment, and Marte made it all happen.”

Split duo Kelly and Zac Gallen, who started for Arizona on Wednesday, were the dynamic duo atop the Diamondbacks rotation when they made their run to the World Series two seasons ago that ended with a loss to the Rangers.

Gallen allowed two runs over five innings in his 161st start for the Dbacks, one fewer than Kelly made during their time together. Gallen’s 61 wins with Arizona are one shy of matching Kelly for the third-most in team history.

Kelly, a 36-year-old right-hander who spent 7½ seasons with the Diamondbacks, struck out five over six innings in his first start against them.

“It was cool. I’m glad it’s over, but it was fun just seeing the guys in the box,” Kelly said. “It’s obviously a very different vantage point that I’m used to seeing them from the dugout. But kind of what I expected, a little anxiety to begin leading up to the game. But once the game starts, it’s still executing baseball as usual.”

NEW YORK — Pitching prospect Nolan McLean will make his major league debut Saturday for the New York Mets, who are hoping the right-hander can provide a boost to a struggling rotation.

McLean, 24, is ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Mets’ farm system by ESPN. He went 8-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 21 games, including 18 starts, between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.

He struck out 127 batters in 113 2/3 innings with a five-pitch arsenal that includes a mid-to-high 90s fastball as well as a sweeper that’s been clocked in the mid-80s.

“We feel good with him going out there and giving us a chance to win baseball games at the big league level,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Credit to him that he put himself in this position.”

Mendoza and swingman Paul Blackburn, who was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday to replace Justin Hagenman on the roster, both said they were impressed by McLean’s mound maturity.

“I was there in Jacksonville (for) his first start at Triple-A and his demeanor and his presence out there — really looked like he knew kind of what he wanted to do, what he was trying to do, how he was trying to set up guys,” Blackburn said. “I think that just kind of says a lot about somebody.”

McLean, who played for Oklahoma State, is the first member of the Mets’ 2023 draft class to reach the majors. He is taking the rotation spot of Frankie Montas, who was sent to the bullpen Tuesday after going 3-2 with a 6.38 ERA in his first eight games, including seven starts.

The Mets rotation ranks sixth in the majors with a 3.70 ERA, though their 591 inning are the fourth-fewest. David Peterson, the scheduled starter Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves, is the only New York starter to pitch at least six innings in a start since June 7.

McLean, who last pitched for Syracuse on Sunday, has thrown at least six innings in nine starts this season. He reached at least 90 pitches seven times, most recently on Aug. 5.

“Every time you’re able to call up a prospect, whether it’s a position player or a pitcher, the expectations here is to help us win baseball games,” Mendoza said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.