Watch out Yankees … the American League East is heating up.
New York has seen its division lead be entirely erased as it’s now tied with the Blue Jays atop the division with the Rays just a half-game back. Both Toronto and Tampa Bay reached their highest rankings of the season this week at 10 and seven, respectively, while the Yankees hold fast at No. 6.
Elsewhere in the AL, the Astros have steadily moved up our list to No. 4, also their highest ranking of the season, after having ranked 17th as recently as mid-May. Houston has ridden its momentum to a seven-game lead over the Mariners, who have fallen to 14th after peaking at No. 8 in early June, in the AL West.
What will the next week and a half before the All-Star break bring?
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 David Schoenfield, Alden Gonzalez and Bradford Doolittle to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.
It’s not just that Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have yet to rejoin the rotation. It’s not just that Shohei Ohtani is stretched out to only a couple of innings. It’s not just that Michael Kopech joined 11 other pitchers by landing on the injured list Tuesday. It’s that the Dodgers remain at the top of the standings even while getting very little from two of their most important offensive contributors. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts combined to slash just .221/.293/.303 in the month of June. The Dodgers — with their rotation shorthanded, their bullpen in flux and the top of their lineup compromised — went 17-10 in June regardless. — Gonzalez
Record: 54-33 Previous ranking: 2
The legend of Tarik Skubal grows with each outing. When Skubal struck out 13 Twins over seven innings Sunday, it was the second time this season he has struck out that many hitters while throwing under 100 pitches. He also did it once last year. Baseball-Reference has pitch data mostly complete dating to 1988, and in that time, Skubal is one of only four pitchers to have three or more such games. Jacob deGrom has done it five times, and Freddy Peralta and Gerrit Cole are also at three. Skubal is as efficient as he is dominant. — Doolittle
Record: 51-36 Previous ranking: 3
There were 103 pitchers in June who threw at least 25 innings. They combined for a 3.76 ERA, giving up 1,261 earned runs in the aggregate. Only two of those earned runs were given up by Zack Wheeler, who had a 0.58 ERA over 31 innings in five June starts. There’s a half-season to go, but Wheeler has moved into position to finally earn his first Cy Young Award after his second career second-place finish in last season’s balloting. The Phillies haven’t had a Cy Young winner since Roy Halladay in 2010, who in turn was the first Philadelphia Cy Young winner since the 1980s. — Doolittle
Record: 52-34 Previous ranking: 5
What was most impressive about the Astros’ surge — going 19-7 in June behind dominant pitching and dynamic performances from the likes of Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes — was that they did it without Yordan Alvarez. That will have to continue. On Tuesday, just days before the Astros were getting ready to activate him off the injured list, Alvarez suffered a second setback in his recovery from a fracture in his right hand. He was at the team’s spring training facility in Florida and reported that his hand felt sore after some swinging drills. He will now go see a hand specialist. The Astros can only hope for good news. — Gonzalez
Record: 51-35 Previous ranking: 4
Matthew Boyd continues to make a push for an All-Star selection, beating Cleveland — the team that gave him a chance late last season to make a comeback after Tommy John surgery in 2023 — on Tuesday with a strong seven innings to improve to 8-3 with a 2.65 ERA. He has lowered his ERA to 1.66 over his past seven outings. With Justin Steele out for the season and Shota Imanaga just back after sitting out seven weeks, Boyd has been the only steady presence in the Cubs’ rotation. He has already pitched his most innings since 2019. Now the Cubs will look for some rotation help for him. — Schoenfield
Record: 48-38 Previous ranking: 6
The Yankees finished 13-14 in June, as the offense continued to stumble. After an .829 in OPS in April, it fell to .792 in May and .718 in June. Aaron Judge still hit nine home runs and had a .967 OPS in June, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. was terrific with a .318 average, seven home runs and 19 RBIs. But Paul Goldschmidt hit .143, Ben Rice hit .181 and Trent Grisham hit .229 with only two home runs. All three had been red hot to begin the season, helping to back up Judge early. Let’s see if the Yankees look to add a bat at the trade deadline. — Schoenfield
Record: 48-39 Previous ranking: 9
Junior Caminero is having quite the season. With 21 home runs, he has a chance to become only the third player in his age-21 season to hit 40 home runs, matching Eddie Mathews (47 in 1953) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (41 in 2019). He’s also chasing a more dubious record: Jim Rice’s single-season record of 36 double plays grounded into (Caminero is already at 22). Caminero’s strikeout-to-walk ratio improved in June, which bodes well for him continuing to mash in the second half. After a 26-6 ratio in April and 17-3 in May, it was 18-11 in June. Remember, this is his first full season in the majors. — Schoenfield
Record: 48-38 Previous ranking: 10
Brandon Woodruff will rejoin the rotation this weekend in Miami to make his first MLB start since September 2023, when he injured his shoulder. Woodruff made 10 starts in his rehab assignment, a stretch that included a couple of setbacks when he sustained an ankle injury and was then struck by a line drive. His most recent rehab start Sunday had been his first since June 3 and he gave up four runs with only one strikeout in 3⅔ innings, throwing 82 pitches and topping out at 95.4 mph (averaging 93 on his fastball). Milwaukee’s rotation has eclipsed expectations, but Woodruff would be a huge boost if he’s close to what he was pre-injury. — Schoenfield
Record: 49-38 Previous ranking: 7
The Mets’ slump has deepened to the point where it has changed the team’s competitive context. On June 12, the Mets beat Washington, extending their winning streak to six games and going 21 games over .500. They held a three-game edge over the Cubs for the National League’s top mark. Then New York dropped 14 of 18. Suddenly, the Mets were leading a close and crowded NL wild-card derby, only a couple of games from dropping out of the playoff picture altogether. Needless to say, things are getting stressful at Citi Field. — Doolittle
Record: 48-38 Previous ranking: 14
Alejandro Kirk is playing his best baseball since he started the 2022 All-Star Game. He hit .285 that season with a 127 OPS+ but fell off to a 92 OPS+ in each of the past two seasons. But he hit .365 in May and .337 in June and might be on his way to a Gold Glove Award. He leads all catchers in Statcast’s catcher framing runs and has a caught-stealing rate above the MLB average. He trails only Cal Raleigh and Will Smith in catcher WAR via FanGraphs. The Blue Jays have never had a two-time All-Star catcher, as Kirk, John Buck, Russell Martin and Ernie Whitt each have one selection. — Schoenfield
Record: 47-41 Previous ranking: 11
Sonny Gray threw an absolute gem last Friday, a nine-inning one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and no walks to beat the Guardians. The game score of 96 was a career high for Gray and tied a Tarik Skubal start for best in the majors in 2025. Indeed, it was one of the best starts for a Cardinals pitcher since the division era began in 1969. Shelby Miller had a 98 in 2013 (9 IP, 1 H, 13 SO) and Jaime Garcia had a 97 in 2016 (9 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 13 SO). Jose DeLeon has the highest since 1969 with a 103, which came when he pitched 11 innings in 1989. — Schoenfield
Record: 46-40 Previous ranking: 12
The Padres finished the month of June with a losing record — in large part due to their offense, which posted the sixth-lowest OPS and scored the fourth-fewest runs per game. Fernando Tatis Jr. slumped pretty badly, and Jackson Merrill didn’t produce a single home run, but those two are bound to get hot again. The biggest problem — one general manager A.J. Preller is motivated to fix before the trade deadline — is the bottom of the Padres’ lineup. The Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters combined to produce a .196/.280/.293 slash line last month. — Gonzalez
Record: 46-41 Previous ranking: 8
When the Giants beat the Dodgers on June 13, they were 12 games above .500 and tied for first place in the National League West. They have since lost 12 of 17 games — including seven of their past nine — and are suddenly fighting just to remain relevant heading into the trade deadline. On Tuesday, president of baseball operations Buster Posey picked up manager Bob Melvin’s 2026 option and, in light of the recent stretch, defended the coaching staff, telling reporters: “If anybody deserves any blame from the top, it should be on me.” — Gonzalez
Record: 45-41 Previous ranking: 13
Cal Raleigh is already one home run away from equaling the career high he set last season — in 68 fewer games. If he manages at least two home runs in the Mariners’ next 10 games — a strong likelihood, given that he is averaging a home run every three games — he will be one of seven players ever to reach 35 before the All-Star break. None of them were switch-hitters. And none of them, of course, were catchers. Before Raleigh, the most home runs a catcher had collected before the All-Star break was 28, by Johnny Bench in 1970. — Gonzalez
Record: 45-42 Previous ranking: 15
Spencer Steer‘s three-homer game propelled him to NL Player of the Week honors. His bat getting going will be important for an offense looking for more consistent firepower from someone besides Elly De La Cruz. Steer hit .174 in April and .270 in May, with only two home runs each month. He hit .302 with five home runs in June. Matt McLain also got it going in June after hitting under .200 each of the first two months. The Reds have also struggled against left-handed pitchers, another reason they need those two right-handed bats to keep improving in the second half. — Schoenfield
Record: 43-43 Previous ranking: 16
The month of June was a roller coaster of highs and lows for the D-backs. It began with four straight wins, then three straight losses, five straight wins, then three straight losses, three straight wins and, shortly thereafter, four straight losses. By the end of it, executives from contending teams were calling D-backs general manager Mike Hazen, wondering if he’d be willing to trade off some of his pending free agents, a list headlined by Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor. Hazen informed them he is not ready to give up on the 2025 season. Barring a sudden, bigger drop-off, that mindset should continue. — Gonzalez
Record: 43-44 Previous ranking: 20
The Rangers basically continue to tread water, with their offense still lagging behind their pitching staff. But one positive has emerged of late: Marcus Semien looks as if he might finally be back on track. The Rangers’ second baseman was slashing .193/.278/.257 at the end of May. Since then, his slash line is up to .321/.387/.560, with 13 walks to 16 strikeouts. The offense in general, though, continues to lag behind. The Rangers have put up a .710 OPS since the start of June, 10 points below the league average.— Gonzalez
Record: 41-44 Previous ranking: 18
A six-game losing streak dropped the Red Sox under .500, and though the offense rebounded with 15-1 and 13-6 wins over the Blue Jays and Reds, Boston will need to decide what to do with Walker Buehler in the rotation. His ERA is now 6.45 after giving up 32 runs in 26 innings over his past six starts, including pitching fewer than five innings in four of the past five. Kyle Harrison, the key return in the Rafael Devers trade, could be an option; although, in his first Triple-A start for the Red Sox, he gave up eight hits and four runs in four innings. — Schoenfield
Record: 39-46 Previous ranking: 19
As the season moves beyond its natural halfway mark, the Braves continue to show little indication that they are about to shake off their seasonlong stupor. In fact, they fell behind the red-hot Marlins in the division after losing their first game of July and are closer to the last-place Nationals than they are to playoff contention. Despite the stellar return to action by Ronald Acuna Jr., the offense hasn’t been supercharged by his presence. His season debut was May 23, when the Braves averaged 4.12 in runs per game, ranking 18th. Since then, Atlanta has scored 4.02 runs per contest, ranking 25th. — Doolittle
Record: 40-44 Previous ranking: 17
As the Guardians try to resuscitate an increasingly lackluster season, shortstop Brayan Rocchio has been recalled, ending a six-week exile to Triple-A. Rocchio made a run at a Gold Glove last season, in part offsetting a 76 OPS+ at the plate, but this year the defensive metrics were down and the OPS cratered at 21 OPS+. He was summoned back to the majors after Gabriel Arias was injured, but Rocchio had been doing well in the minors, hitting .252/.353/.484 with seven homers and seven steals over 41 games for Columbus. The Guardians could really use some of that at the big league level. — Doolittle
Record: 42-43 Previous ranking: 22
Jo Adell was a No. 10 pick out of high school during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and debuted in the majors at 21 years old. His power, arm strength and speed made many believe he was destined for greatness. Then the strikeouts piled up, the baserunning blunders manifested and the defense looked poor. By the end of the 2024 season, Adell was a .211/.268/.381 hitter in 308 games in the big leagues. The first month-plus of 2025 wasn’t much better. And then, it seems, something clicked. Since May 21,Adell is slashing .295/.381/.628 with 13 home runs in 37 games. At age 26, maybe he has just now figured it out. — Gonzalez
Record: 41-45 Previous ranking: 23
As the Twins tread water in the tepid AL wild-card race, along with most of the rest of the league, things are looking up around their infield. Royce Lewis is back from his latest injury, slotting in at third base. Brooks Lee, who started for most of the second half of June at Lewis’ hot-corner spot, is coming off a big month. And rookie Luke Keaschall is ramping up his activity as he recovers from a forearm injury. Meanwhile, Carlos Correa continues to languish with a 88 OPS+ and a bWAR figure at exactly replacement level. At least the Twins have options. — Doolittle
Record: 40-47 Previous ranking: 21
The Royals have traditionally built rosters that catered to the contours of their ballpark, giving them an above-average home advantage, at least when they’re good. Since Royals/Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973, Kansas City has a home winning percentage 17 points better than its road mark, the 12th-largest disparity of the 30 active franchises. But this year’s Royals have been a disaster at the K, going 20-24 with a run differential that translates to 61.7 wins over 162 games. Their paltry 2.84 home scoring average is more than a half-run worse than every other team in the majors. — Doolittle
Record: 37-49 Previous ranking: 24
The Orioles’ poor first half isn’t just due to their failure to upgrade the rotation in the offseason — the failure of the offense to pick up the slack also shares the blame. The offense has declined from 4.98 runs per game in 2023 and 4.85 in 2024 to 4.15 in 2025 — and that’s after moving in the left-field fence, which masks the offensive struggles even more. The Orioles have a .760 OPS at Camden Yards, but just .654 on the road, where their slugging percentage is in the bottom five in the majors. — Schoenfield
Record: 38-46 Previous ranking: 27
Break up the Marlins! When Miami beat Minnesota to begin July, extending its winning streak to eight games, the Fish at least temporarily moved into third place in the NL East. But the improved play started before the current surge, as the win improved the Marlins to 17-13 over the preceding 30 games. They have been particularly good away from home, going 12-4 in recent weeks and averaging more than 6.19 runs per game, the third-best road scoring average during that span. Miami’s playoff odds remain at pretty much zero, but at least the team is showing signs of trending in the right direction. — Doolittle
Record: 38-50 Previous ranking: 26
Mitch Keller‘s bad-luck season might finally be turning around. After winning his first start, Keller lost 10 decisions in a row, but now he has won two straight after beating the Mets 9-1 and the Cardinals 5-0, lowering his ERA to 3.64. The Pirates have scored two or fewer runs in 11 of his 18 starts. Even though Keller is signed through 2028, his name has popped up in trade rumors, with the idea that the Pirates will have to trade from their rotation to upgrade their long-term future on offense. — Schoenfield
Record: 36-50 Previous ranking: 25
For a rebuild to truly work, teams need some of the prospects they acquire and develop to actually become stars. Washington clearly has one in 22-year-old James Wood, who played in his 162nd career game Saturday. At that point, his career slash line was .273/.367/.492 with 31 homers, 105 RBIs, 95 runs and 24 steals. Wood is on pace to hit 42 homers this season, and if he gets there, that would push his career mark to 51. The only players in Expos/Nationals history to hit more through age 22: Juan Soto (98) and Bryce Harper (97). — Doolittle
28. Athletics
Record: 36-53 Previous ranking: 28
Catcher Shea Langeliers sat out most of June because of an oblique strain, during which his club continued to slide. But the A’s won each of his first two games back, and Langeliers had a major imprint in both of them — a three-run homer in his first at-bat Monday, then a homer, a double and two critical caught-stealings Tuesday. The hope is that his return could help keep this season from spiraling. “Since he’s been back, there’s a new type of energy,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters. “You can see the guys having a little more fun.” — Gonzalez
Record: 28-58 Previous ranking: 29
The White Sox have a long, long way to go but the early work of Chicago’s second-year front office, led by GM Chris Getz, continues to put up some positive results. In addition to a surfeit of productive rookies, including Rule 5 steals, add the second-chance market to their list of successes. These are underproductive veterans looking for a chance to regain their footing and, in doing so, perhaps create some trade value around the deadline. Exhibit A: veteran right-hander Adrian Houser, signed in late May after being released by Texas. Over his first seven starts for the White Sox, Houser has gone 3-2 with a 1.90 ERA and 3.23 FIP. — Doolittle
Record: 19-67 Previous ranking: 30
The Rockies won only 10 games in the month of June. An even bigger problem is that they won one fewer in March, April and May combined. One positive, though, is that German Marquez posted a 2.97 ERA in six starts. Marquez, one of the few homegrown pitching successes in Rockies history, is a pending free agent. And given the inordinate number of teams still within the range of contention, Marquez could yield the Rockies a nice package of young players in return. Of course, he would actually have to be traded — and the Rockies have been known to make pretty questionable decisions this time of year. — Gonzalez
Washington Nationals slugger James Wood will bring his massive power to the big stage, becoming the third player to commit to the July 14 Home Run Derby in Atlanta.
Wood, 22, has delivered 22 home runs in 86 games during his first full major league season. He was acquired by the Nationals in 2022 as part of the package of top prospects Washington received in the trade that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.
Wood announced the commitment on Instagram, with a video montage of himself, along with video clips of former Atlanta Braves star Hank Aaron hitting his record 714th home run in 1974. The video included the words, “Derby bound.”
Wood has 12 homers that have been hit harder than 110 mph. It’s the second most in the league behind Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani‘s 13. Wood also has four dingers that have been launched longer than 445 feet.
Raleigh, who would become the first catcher to win the event, has a major-league-best 33 home runs. Acuna has nine home runs in 36 games after returning from a torn left ACL that also limited him to 49 games last season.
DENVER — Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez‘s setback to his recovery from a fractured right hand is not as serious as first feared, general manager Dana Brown said Thursday.
Alvarez, who suffered the injury on May 2, was shut down after experiencing pain in his right hand. He had taken some swings at the team’s spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday and when he arrived there Tuesday, the area was sore.
He was examined by a specialist, who determined inflammation was the issue and not a setback with the fracture.
“It had nothing to do with the fracture, or the fracture not being healed,” Brown said before Houston’s game at Colorado. “The fracture at this point is a nonfactor, which we’re very glad about. And so during the process of him being examined by the specialist, we saw the inflammation, and Yordan did receive two shots in that area.”
Alvarez first experienced issues with his hand in late April but stayed in the lineup. He was initially diagnosed with a muscle strain but a small fracture was discovered at the end of May.
Brown said there has not been an update on the timetable for Alvarez’s return but said with the latest update it “could be in the near future.”
“Yordan is going to be in a position where he’s going to let rest and let the shot take effect, and then as long as he’s starting to feel better, we’ll put a bat in his hand before we start hitting, but we’ll just let him feel the bat feels like,” Brown said. “And then we’ll get into some swings in the near future, but I felt like it was encouraging news. Now, with this injection into the area that was inflamed, we feel a lot better.”
Alvarez, who averaged 34 home runs over the previous four seasons, has just three in 29 games this year and is batting .210. He was the 2021 ALCS MVP for the Astros and finished third in the AL MVP voting for 2022.
Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is under investigation by Major League Baseball after a betting-integrity firm flagged a pair of pitches that had received unusual gambling activity, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Sources said betting-integrity firm IC360 sent an alert in June to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz, whom MLB has placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” through July 17.
The alert, according to sources who reviewed it, referenced action on Ortiz’s first pitches in select innings to be a ball or a hit batsman in two games: June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals. In both the bottom of the second inning against the Mariners and the top of the third inning against the Cardinals, Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that was well outside the strike zone.
The alert on Ortiz’s first pitches flagged bets in Ohio, New York and New Jersey. Betting on the result of first pitches is offered by some sportsbooks, with such wagers commonly referred to as microbets.
Ortiz’s paid leave, which ends at the conclusion of the All-Star break, was negotiated between the league and the MLB Players Association. If the investigation remains open, the leave could be extended.
Ortiz had been scheduled to start Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
“The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation,” the team said in a statement. “The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”
The investigation into Ortiz’s potential violation of the league’s gambling policy comes a little more than a year after MLB levied a lifetime ban against San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for placing nearly 400 bets on baseball. Four other players received one-year suspensions for gambling on baseball while in the minor leagues. In February, MLB fired umpire Pat Hoberg — widely recognized as the best ball-strike arbiter in the game — for “sharing” a legal sports betting account with a friend who bet on baseball and later deleting messages key to the investigation.
A 26-year-old starting pitcher, Ortiz was acquired by Cleveland from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the winter as part of the three-team trade in which the Guardians sent second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays. With a 4-9 record and 4.36 ERA, Ortiz has been a staple in a Guardians rotation whose 4.13 ERA ranks 18th in MLB.
Ortiz’s leave comes amid a slide for the Guardians, who have lost six consecutive games to drop to 40-44. While Cleveland remains in second place in the American League Central, it trails first-place Detroit by 12½ games.
Ortiz signed with the Pirates in 2018 at 19 years old, far later than the typical prospect, and didn’t reach full-season ball until 2021. He quickly shot through the Pittsburgh organization and debuted in 2022, eventually throwing 238⅓ innings and posting a 3.93 ERA in his three seasons with the Pirates.