A Complete MLB Pyramid - Contenders, Pretenders, Sleepers, and More

Now well past the All Star break and the trade deadline too, we're reaching that point of the season where things are really beginning to take shape and it's not too premature to taking a look into the postseason. There's been plenty of interesting storylines playing out league-wide, with many of the expected contenders playing up to high expectations but no one team quite separating itself from the pack. Five teams have 66-68 wins, making up the five best records in baseball, but none strike me to be noticeably ahead of the field while plenty more capable rosters lurk in the Wild Card picture. Philly has been pretty brutal since the break, the injury-ridden Dodgers aren't nearly as dominant as many thought, while the Orioles and Yankees have been hot and cold for a while now with some really rough stretches mixed in. And do we really trust Cleveland? Things have gotten extra weird in the NL with only three teams fully out of it, and a cluster of Wild Card contenders all within a few short games of any of those top three spots. And as for the AL, their top two finishers from a year ago - Texas and Houston - are on the outside looking in, needing to pass the likes of a few major surprises in Kansas City and Boston to leap back into the picture. So let's break it all down. We'll evaluate the legitimate contenders, the teams that might be tricking us all, the sleepers, and plenty more. The categories slowly go from the best to worst and the teams within them are also ordered how I'd rank them. So in essence, these are a form of power rankings. And yes, the White Sox are in a category of their own. Because where else would they be?

Contenders

Philadelphia Phillies

These Phillies were the last of the bunch to fall into a tough stretch in 2024, but they're living it right now coming out of the All Star break to a 5-11 start. It had been five straight series losses for Philly, but this is a team that's proven far more trustworthy than most when October rolls around and might have the best team we've seen yet during this little three-year run. Not many teams have a rotation quite like this one, with four rock solid arms, two of which set for top-5 Cy Young finishes. The bullpen is where the problems arise, as prone to a collapse as anyone but switching things up at the deadline swapping Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto for Carlos Estevez and Tanner Banks over a couple of deals. It's still the biggest weakness on the roster, though Estevez has been lights out for a while now and should go a long way to bringing the unit close to where it needs to be. Harper's slump has aligned with that of the team as a whole, but I'll take my chances giving him the benefit of the doubt. It's a great lineup no matter how you look it, one that's finally gotten healthy and always seems to turn it up a notch when a big moment arises. Rough stretches happen to everyone - this one isn't scaring me - this is still a legitimate contender with a playoff-ready roster and plenty of stars built for another run.

New York Yankees

Not too long ago, there's not much of anything I could've been told to convince me the Yankees were contenders. But I'm official dragged back in, with a strong deadline and a really convincing past week enough to send me back over the edge. The lineup has been their biggest issue for a while now, long unable to give Judge much protection and those issues extending to Soto as well upon his arrival this season. But Jazz Chisholm gives them one more productive bat in the middle of the lineup, even 80% of first half Stanton gives them another, and you can only hope for some consistency out of the Volpe-Gleyber-Verdugo coalition that has been on and off all year long. And Austin Wells has given them a lot as of late, their clear No. 1 catcher going forward and suddenly a bat the Yankees feel comfortable lining up behind Soto and Judge. At least I 2022 and 2024 it's felt to me like these Yanks are just a couple more competent bats away from really competing, and I have reason to believe they've unlocked just that after a really concerning stretch over the month of June and beyond. You figure Cole gets it going at some point, and Luis Gil has continued to give them more than they could've asked, but I can't say I go into a game started by the likes of Stroman, Rodon, or Nestor with too much confidence. Clarke Schmidt's return will help, and if I had to guess I'd say he snags Nestor's rotation spot, while New York has another real problem on their hands as Clay Holmes continues to prove unreliable. But the Yankees' bullpen still ranks near the top in most metrics and it probably can't get much worse for Holmes, and Mark Leiter Jr. looked like a solid addition to the 'pen. If the Yankees' starting pitchers build back any semblance of the consistency they had early on this team becomes as dangerous as any, and I'm still confident calling them contenders with the reinforcements they picked up and the best duo in baseball that finally has some protection.

Los Angeles Dodgers

It's always tough buying into the Dodgers in October when these colossal chokes have continued to stack up over the years, but more so than ever before the talent is undeniable. They've kept up with the best teams in baseball record-wise even with a pitching staff ravaged by injuries and MVP candidate Mookie Betts miss the last month-and-a-half, and it hasn't really even been one of those classic Dodgers years where pitchers have come in at of nowhere and stepped in at a high level. The top five in the lineup were All-Stars and though it's hard to expect too much out of the back end, the 3 MVPs and five All-Stars is enough for me. Glasnow is finally logging innings and if he can get all the way to October unscathed, that's a sufficient top dog of the rotation. And Yamamoto and Kershaw behind him is a nasty duo, so long as the latter avoids the all-too-familiar woes, and the Jack Flaherty add gives them one more strong arm to work with. At its peak this might be the best rotation in the game, complemented by one of the game's best bullpen. The billion dollar offseason has helped these Dodgers assemble as talented a team as they've had over this extended run of success, and they've got all the pieces to seriously contend for a title and flip the narrative completely once and for all.

Houston Astros

It's going to take some serious work just to reach October baseball, but if there's anyone that's going to do it it's these Astros. No one's going to want to see Houston in the postseason - it's just a matter of if they can get there. This is a very similar lineup to the one that's found so much past success, with Altuve, Alvarez, and Bregman the headliners and some disciplined hitters filling out the order. The back half of this lineup hasn't entirely done their part this season, though, and it's a big reason they haven't quite found the success they're used to, and something's going to have to give there if a corne will be turned. The pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries but found a gem in Ronel Blanco, is seeing Framber Valdez seemingly improve with each start, and should get Justin Verlander back for the stretch run. It hasn't had the names we're accustomed to this season, but it has a chance to return to a formidable status when the games have some added meaning deeper in the year. Houston's got five games to make up with two months to go, with a recent slide putting a dent in the progress they'd been making this past month and a half. It's no small task for the first team in MLB history to reach seven straight championship series, but they've got the personnel to do that. Even with an outside chance of getting in I think this team's chances at competing are higher than most, and they'll be a scary sight for the rest of the league if they start to find their rhythm.

My Biggest Sleepers

San Diego Padres

This might be my favorite sleeper in the league if the season ended today, a Padres crew with a lot more talent than people realize quietly starting to win some games even amidst some injuries. Soto's departure made this lineup a whole lot weaker on paper entering the season, but they got aggressive adding Arraez and have seen rather stunning breakout years out of Jurickson Profar and rookie Sam Merrill. Tatis Jr. had been getting hot before an injury but the team hasn't missed much of a beat without him, not to mention the recent addition of a guy it became easy to forget about in Xander Bogaerts. It's also a rotation still waiting to get back a pair of solid starters in Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish, and one where Dylan Cease has looked terrific as of late while Michael King is establishing himself as a legitimate starting pitcher. Add adding the two veterans into the mix is going to make this one of the most complete rotations in the league if they can even somewhat return to form. The bullpen went all-in at the deadline adding Tanner Scott and Jason Adam to the mix, a pair of outstanding complements to one of the best closers in baseball in Robert Suarez. Quietly, this Padres lineup has built itself into one of the strongest in baseball. With a rotation that should have the depth it needs come playoff team and a shut-down arm in the back of the bullpen, I think this squad is built for a really nice run.

Arizona Diamondbacks

It won't catch us as off guard if Arizona makes a deep run this time around, bringing back so much of that World Series runner-up roster and finally starting to put it together for the first time this season. The hangover was real for the DBacks coming out of the gate in 2024, and while last year's MVP runner-up Corbin Carroll still hasn't put it together, another MVP candidate has re-emerged and a really dangerous lineup top-to-bottom suddenly finds themselves tied for the third-best record in the National League. Ketel Marte has been a top-3 player in the NL this season and Christian Walker has been great again, not to mention a couple nice platoon bats in Joc Pederson and Josh Bell. As Eugenio Suarez finds his groove and you assume Carroll is only going to regress back to his 2023 self, there's plenty of reason for optimism for Arizona. There's some reasonable doubt in the rotation but it's a group that's put it together before, and Merrill Kelly and E-Rod's returns should go a long way while Brandon Pfaadt is slowly becoming a really solid arm. I'm out on Jordan Montgomery, though, and Paul Sewald has long played himself out of the closer role at this point. The Diamondbacks have the bats to contend with the best, and a pitching staff that had what it takes a year ago would be entering the postseason with a very similar group that is beginning to peak.

Pretenders

Baltimore Orioles

This was a critical deadline for the Orioles after such an exciting start to the season, but they left a lot on the table and all things considered find themselves in a worse spot than they were about a month ago. The O's have been sliding a bit as of late but the talent is still there offensively, though the Jordan Westburg injury is a devastating blow for a guy they'll definitely need come postseason time. And between Henderson, Rutschman, Santander, Mountcastle, and maybe now Jackson Holliday, this offense will be fine. But injuries have hit this rotation hard, a rotation whose struggles were already their downfall in a quick exit to the 2023 postseason, and a rather stagnant in that department deadline despite some strong candidates is really going to hurt this team when the playoffs come around. Corbin Burnes is obviously an ace, but the going gets tough after him. And that's before Grayson Rodriguez, their likely No. 2, was scratched minutes before his most recent start. Things get bleak rotation-wise even if Rodriguez is fine, as Albert Suarez has been hit hard as of late and Kremer still hasn't found his footing, not to mention another of their starters, Cole Irvin, was optioned down to triple-A day three days ago. And even Rodriguez has a 3.86 ERA. I'm not sold on Zach Eflin saving the day. Kimbrel has fallen out of the closer role with a brutal stretch while new bullpen addition Gregory Soto has been getting rocked out of the gate, and this is a bullpen that was already giving Baltimore trouble that doesn't seem to be relenting. An offense with plenty of young studs has been enough to get the Orioles to this point, but they're not there quite yet with a rotation that tails off way too hard past Burnes to hold up in playoff baseball.

Cleveland Guardians

Guided by fantastic hitting with RISP it's been a big year to this point for the Guardians, with the MLB's very best record at this moment in time with a lineup that's been near the top over the course of this entire year. Kwan is the perfect leadoff hitter, Ramirez remains one of the game's elite hitters, and the rest of the order has rounded out nicely with a lot of overperforming up and down the list. But this team doesn't hit a lot of home runs and it's fair to question how much of the production outside of this top-3 is sustainable into October. These have been hitters the advanced stats suggest will regress, not to mention they're the best team in baseball in one-run games, a mark that tends to lean more towards luck than a team that'll keep doing it into the postseason. Though having Emmanuel Clase sure helps. The starting pitching is where my biggest red flags begin, a rotation decimated by injuries that's looking at one, maybe two guys I'd trust to go out there and give me a good start. McKenzie had been pretty brutal before going down again, and I just can't count on a rotation led by Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively to take me to the promise land. The numbers from the rotation have actually been good, but not a starter on that roster sports an ERA under 3.40 plus minimal postseason experience among the group. Alex Cobb, who still hasn't thrown a pitch this season, isn't changing that. This was a lot of negatives - this is still a terrific team that has been far better than anyone could've expected this season - I just don't see this roster keeping this luck going through an entire postseason.

Pretenders, But A Step Further Down

Milwaukee Brewers

A good Brewers team is always a fun regular season story overcoming a notoriously low payroll and winning a bunch of games, but the lack of talent always seems to prevail come postseason time when most of anyone they face is going to have the talent edge. Even if the Brewers are lucky enough to get Christian Yelich back with some time to go in this regular season, these same issues will plague them again in 2024. It's quietly a really solid lineup when it's at its best, with a pair of stars in Yelich and William Contreras, some real power with Willy Adames and Rhys Hoskins, plus some sneaky good hitters in Turang, Perkins, Chourio, and Ortiz. With a nice mix of power and guys that get on, this has been one of the best offenses in baseball and carried them to a lot of wins. But the pitching is predictably its weak point, having traded away Corbin Burnes in the offseason and without Brandon Woodruff the entire year, and they've only got one guy on the roster who's made more than 20 starts and no clear go-to guy as the ace of this team. It's a whole lot of mediocrity as far as starters go and though the bullpen has been scary good, this isn't a rotation you can rely on to go win you multiple playoff series. The offense has played well above expectations, so much so with the names they've got that it might be hard to see them keeping this up all the way through the postseason. And even if they do, this team can only go so far with a rotation with as many questions as it's got.

Boston Red Sox

It's been an unexpectedly fun year to be a Red Sox fan, a squad that's got some swagger to them with an overachieving lineup and a pitching staff that's made it work all the way to this point. The hitting has been really solid, and I don't see that slowing down all that much. Devers, Duran, and O'Neill aren't going anywhere, and they're getting far better at-bats out of the bottom of the order than I ever would've expected. Yoshida's provided a boost while Connor Wong has been quietly excellent, and this team just has a knack for squeezing hits through all the way through the lineup and putting together big innings they've got no business having. And Casas' addition will go a long way. But is it sustainable through a deep run? Are Wong and Rob Refsnyder really .300 hitters? Every everyday hitter they have is hitting for a higher average this season than their career mark. And it makes sense - it's not a lineup full of proven hitters you'd expect to lead the league in average - this lineup is peaking and even if Casas returns, probably going to see a drop in numbers as a whole down the stretch. They don't have the pitching to last in October - Bello's regression hurts, and while Taylor Houck has had an All-Star season, he's look really shaky as of late and isn't an ace on a contending team. And Pivetta and Crawford feel bang-average. All things considered, Boston has to be really happy about what they've accomplished this season. But as for putting together a serious run, it's not a crew quite built for it.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins don't do a specific thing really well, but they do it all good enough to put together the big season they've had that has them right in the thick of the AL Wild Card race and hungry for more. Minnesota's offense has done a lot right from top to bottom, filling it out with enough competent hitters to rank in the top-10 in runs, batting average, and OPS with just one All-Star in the mix. They still haven't unleashed a full season out of Royce Lewis, who continues to show flashes of greatness in his limited time on the field, but a plethora of solid hitters across the board has done the job despite a very underwhelming 2024 from the pitching staff thus far. Nobody has taken control as the ace of this group - Pablo Lopez has struggled mightily and not a pitcher in this rotation has an ERA under 3.60 - and it's been a whole lot of mediocrity from a crew with four guys that would be a really nice third option and nothing more. While the lineup has done its duty so far, this isn't a group talented enough to go toe to toe with the hitters they'll be seeing come postseason time. And unless the rotation does a complete 180, they probably won't be doing them many favors either.

Win Some Games, But It Won't Mean Much

Atlanta Braves

The Braves have spent the entire year in a playoff spot, so it feels weird to say that this has still been a rough season for them thus far. This lineup was a complete wagon by all accounts and purposes a year ago, but literally everyone not named Marcell Ozuna has regressed in 2024, and the best of them all in Ronald Acuña Jr. lost his season to a second torn ACL in four years. The heart of this order has struggled for much of the year and injuries to Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies have just been added blows, and this offense has put up plenty of duds here in 2024 after leading the league in everything offensively a year ago. And while bringing back the guys that helped salvage the season in 2021 makes for a fun story, it's a desperation move more than anything else. Even with an injured Spencer Strider this pitching staff has still more than pulled its weight, bullpen included, but these slumps at the plate that looked flukey early on just haven't really gone anywhere. This is a team that has already taken steps backwards these last two seasons and isn't going to give me much optimism for anything more this time around. It's hard to imagine where this offense would be without Ozuna, and while it's been fantastic pitching carrying them to a lot of wins, this offense has been too brutal for too long for me to expect anything different this October.

New York Mets

This Mets team hit rock bottom sooner than most this season, but a Grimace-inspired resurgence has given this season new life and made 2024 a fun year to this point for Mets fans. It's an objectively really strong lineup, one of the best 1 through 9 in baseball but still weirdly prone to the no-show performances that were all too common in the beginning of the year. But the talent is certainly there - Vientos' emergence has given them one more unexpected threat while snagging J.D. Martinez in the depths of the offseason really rounded things out - and the top of the order is doing their thing with Lindor and Nimmo delivering and Pete Alonso solid as always. But it's the pitching that is going to do this team in, a unit I'm not confident in whatsoever. Holding onto Verlander and Scherzer probably wasn't the answer, but Kodai Senga's brutal re-injury in the midst of his first game back really puts into question if there's even one starter on this roster I'd trust. Severino is a nice story but I just can't fully get behind him after 2023 and some rough moments this year, and while Manea and Peterson are putting up solid numbers, these aren't guys powering my rotation through a five-game NLDS series. And the bullpen poses some concerns as well, inciting a similar lack of trust I don't see being overcome in these playoffs. These Mets rank third in the NL in runs this season, but they're far too vulnerable on the other end for me to get behind a real postseason run.

Kansas City Royals

These Royals have been undoubtedly the best turnaround story in baseball, turning a 56-win 2023 into a big 2024 with real playoff aspirations. Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the very best players in baseball and Salvador Perez is an All-Star while Pasquantino has been good too, but that's about as far as it goes in this order. No other everyday hitter is hitting north of .255, and three guys just isn't enough when not one more guy in the lineup poses a very serious threat. It's still enough to pass of as a solid team, and the rotation led by Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans has been strong plus some decent veteran help in Wacha and the recently added Michael Lorenzen. But the bullpen is a concern, which between Hunter Harvey and Lucas Ecreg wasn't properly addressed at the trade deadline. This strikes me as a Royals team that'll be willing to spend these next few years, putting some money on the table this last offseason and still putting together a proactive deadline, though it's a lineup too top-heavy to make serious noise quite yet.

Seattle Mariners

Even as division leaders, the 2024 Mariners haven't given me enough to even give them the respect as "pretenders". It's nothing short of a miracle this team is even where they are - they rank second to last in batting average and fourth to last in runs and OPS, with no player's OPS above .800 and the majority of their everyday lineup under .700. It's gotten real bad, with last year's MVP runner-up Julio Rodriguez struggling mightily before the injury and J.P. Crawford taking a huge step back in what's been the worst season of his career. As you'd deduct from the tone of this section, the pitching has been their saving grace. Kirby, Gilbert, and Castillo have been excellent, Bryce Miller has been as good a No. 4 as the league has, and Bryan Woo has looked really strong in the limited time he's seen the field. Any of those first three have a real case as this team's ace, but is it enough to overcome the no-shows from the offense? The bullpen has been bang-average, and Seattle is going to need more from that to escape these low-scoring crapshoots they're always in the middle of. If the hitting was even close to league-average, this could be a legitimate contender. But this team averages 3.76 runs a game with a decent at best bullpen, and the glaring issues are starting to peek through as they're beginning to struggle to win the close games. The Arozarena trade wasn't saving the season. He's had his worst season in years and while he might add some energy, fits into a brutal order like this more than most with an OPS still under .700 despite a strong last two months. It's one of the worst lineups in baseball and the stats show it, and while anything can happen in a short playoff series when you've got the better pitchers, I don't see a world these Mariners hang on and get to that point with two months left to play this regular season.

Fine, But Not Cutting It

St. Louis Cardinals

After a brutal 2023, the Cardinals have gotten a lot closer to where they want to be this season finding themselves right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race. And it hasn't been their two future Hall of Fame candidate hitters leading the way - the supporting cast has come up big for St. Louis to help keep them afloat in 2024. Between Alec Burleson, Mason Wynn, and Nolan Gorman, this has been a decent enough offense so far that's near the league-average in most departments. The starting pitching is a problem though, as Sonny Gray's recent struggles have denied them a true No. 1 with Lynn, Mikolas, and Gibson all seemingly unfit for the role. That, even more than the hitting, is what will hold this team back, even with one of the league's very best bullpens led by Ryan Helsley. In a crowded Wild Card race I just don't think the Cardinals have enough on either end to come out alive, though they're a few pieces away from being right where they want to be.

Texas Rangers

Texas returned just about everyone from their World Series winning 2023 crew, and even while most of the core has remained healthy it's been a season-long struggle to get it together that is really starting to run out of time. Adolis Garcia's regression has been heavy and Josh Jung's injury has hurt, and a few of the supporting cast guys like Heim and Duran haven't been able to replicate breakout 2023s. But aside from that they've gotten good years out of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien plus a breakout campaign from Josh Smith, so there remains a bit of confusion on exactly why they haven't gotten it going. Nathaniel Lowe has been fine while Wyatt Langford has added a boost to the order, but they just aren't stringing the hits together like they were a year ago ranking closer to the bottom than the top in runs and batting average after finishing in the top-3 in both departments just a season ago. The pitching hasn't been what they've needed - deGrom and Scherzer remain hurt while Eovaldi and Jon Gray have had it rough as of late - and they've found themselves needing to score runs they can't generate to win the types of games they would a year ago. The magic just isn't there for Texas this go round - even as they've flirted with a turnaround on multiple occasions they've just kept getting set back with an untimely dud of a series - though there's still time if this a group serious about a 180.

San Francisco Giants

These Giants always find a way to win games no matter who's on the roster. In video game terms, this is a team stock-piled with 75-77 overalls. Most of this lineup is about as average as they come, though they've been fortunate to get big years out of Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey plus a fantastic start to Tyler Fitzgerald's first real MLB season. Blake Snell was a disaster in the first half but as we've seen in the past has turned a new leaf once the second half rolled around, while Logan Webb has been good again. The rotation rounds out with an average back end - Jordan Hicks has struggled after a strong start and my expectations for Robbie Ray are limited - while the bullpen has taken a step back this season with Camilo Doval's regression a big reason why. The Giants do an admirable job grinding out more wins than the roster probably should, but they're still a long way from contention after missing out on a few more big free agents last offseason.

Chicago Cubs

Instead of a yard sale of a deadline like most expected, the Cubs opted to hang onto their core and even add one more long-term piece in Isaac Paredes. Now on paper this offense isn't so bad, but even with the talent they've got this team has been very prone to a lot of no-shows offensively that's gotten in the way of the chance to really compete. They've been shut-out the third most times in baseball with an offense that feeds for the worst off each other's struggles, even with some established hitters to go around and more depth than a lot of contenders have to offer. There's a world where this offense puts it together, with the deadline suggesting they've got their sights set on 2025, and the rotation has grown solid enough to help guide them to contention down the line. Imanaga and Steele are a strong one-two with decent depth behind them especially if Kyle Hendricks continues to figure it out. The bullpen is a major problem, and trading Mark Leiter Jr. felt like a seller's move, but they added Nate Pearson and you have to assume they prioritize relief help once the offseason comes around. This a team with the talent to contend for a playoff spot, though they won't get the chance to do it until at least 2025.

Pittsburgh Pirates

It's been a really similar 2024 for the Pirates as it's been for the Reds mentioned right above, riding high on a young superstar but still in search of the proper pieces to surround him with. For Pittsburgh it's been Paul Skenes, last year's No. 1 pick that instantly took the league by storm with his incredible start, already making a case as the league's top pitcher and on his way to locking that down before the season's end. He's one half of a nice duo of rookie pitchers with Jared Jones his counterpart, and they've got another young arm in Luis Ortiz plus the veteran Mitch Keller that's given them a lot to be excited about. They've struck gold on a few arms, and it's allowed them to hover around .500 all the way up to this point even with an offense that doesn't always give them much. Skenes hasn't gotten much run support early in his career and the offense ranks 25th in batting average and 22nd in runs, lacking much reliability outside of All-Star Bryan Reynolds and paying the price with some uninspiring losses in games they should've had. But this could be a fun story brewing in Pittsburgh guided by their young arms, but they can only take them so far right now as they've stood dead in the middle lurking right around .500 for most of this year.

Cincinnati Reds

Elly De La Cruz has been all the Reds have hoped for and then some, and the objective of the franchise going forward becomes building a competitive team around him. The lineup isn't there yet, ranking third to last in batting average but 10th in home runs and subsequently 15th in average, as they've got some a few competent bats to work with but far from anything to write home about. But having De La Cruz atop that lineup will go a long way in making everything else go, even if the wheels haven't been turning quite yet here in 2024. Hunter Greene is quickly solidifying himself as the ace with this breakthrough year, and the rotation behind him has been solid as with behind Lodolo and Abbott looking like above-average options. Cincinnati is an intriguing situation with some fun young talent to work with, though there's a lot to be done to get this team over the hump and back into NL contention.

Tampa Bay Rays

After their historically good start to last season, the Rays have never fully gotten it going this season and seem destined to linger around .500 all the way through. Trading Arozarena and Paredes confirmed this team, to no one's surprise, wasn't serious about contending, and injuries plus their limited spending might finally catch up to them in the final two months of this season. The lineup doesn't offer much outside of Yandy Diaz and the two Lowe's, and the already injury-riddled rotation lost even more of its production at the deadline parting ways with Eflin and Civale. Tony Bradley has been a very pleasant surprise, but they're out of reliable options past him plus a bullpen that got weaker at the deadline. After a 2020s full of overperforming, the core is starting to dwindle down in Tampa, and they could be in for a rough finish to the season with less talent to work with than they've seen in quite some time.

A Bad Team However You Look At It

Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto entered the year with high expectations and for good reason after a strong 2023, but they've been the odd man out in a loaded AL East and have been a pretty heavy disappointment through the first 2/3 of the season. The Blue Jays unloaded at the deadline trading away much of their middle of the order, but the production already wasn't cutting it in a year that's always seemed destined for a last-place finish. And that's even with Vlad Guerrero Jr. catching fire for a good two months now as he's played his way back into MVP candidacy for the first time in three years, but Springer has regressed and it's been as brutal a year for Bo Bichette as anyone could've envisioned. Gausman has taken a step back too while Manoah has fallen off the map completely, and the rotation as a whole has been bang-average even with all the money going around it. This team's culture has taken a clear step in the wrong direction over the course of this year with the franchise cornerstone Vladdy even entering some trade talks, and I don't see John Schneider surviving this season that's beem about as rough as their most pessimistic fans could've envisioned.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals were hovering around .500 for a while until the truth prevailed for this ball-club, falling into their worst stretch of the season and well out of contention, almost certainly for good. While C.J. Abrams' growth has been awesome and James Wood is a future All-Star, there's not all too much else to be excited about at the moment. The pitching has been a problem - Mackenzie Gore's struggles have been a brutal sight for the organization to see and who knows the post-Tommy John future of Josiah Gray - there's no clear No. 1 or No. 2 in this rotation that is somehow still sending Patrick Corbin out there every fifth day. There's some reason for optimism with the young talent the Nationals have, but they're still a ways away from contending and on their way to another difficult season.

Detroit Tigers

A pitiful lineup has once again plagued Detroit this season, as Torkelson and Meadows failing to take the steps they were hopeful for has left this offense as unthreatening as any and completely hindering any chance of competing. The rotation had actually been really good, led by Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal, though trading away two of the three good arms in Jack Flaherty probably ended any hopes of the rotation carrying them much further. Now the pitching looks pretty as a whole with nothing behind Skubal and Reese Olson, and an offense forced to give Javier Baez everyday bats has become a complete liability however you look at it. Riley Greene's injury is just the icing on the cake. I was always a proponent of moving Skubal for a big haul instead of watching his contract slowly run out with a supporting cast like this around him, but here we are. There's not much to be excited about in Detroit, and in an AL Central that's exceeded all expectations this year, there's really just no place for them at the moment.

Just Brutal

Oakland Athletics

The good news for Oakland is they've been playing some really solid baseball as of late with an offense as sharp as any in baseball as of late. But with that being said, it's still the same old A's, in last place in the division again sporting one of the worst records in baseball. But there are real positives. Brent Rooker is really good, one of the best seven hitters in the AL right now putting up far better numbers than his All-Star campaign in 2023. Lawrence Butler has come alive as a promising piece and the lineup as a whole can generate some real power, and in one of the more random developments of this entire MLB season, Miguel Andujar has played a really solid season of baseball near the top of this Oakland order. The pitching still isn't good though they've found a flame-throwing gem out of the bullpen in Mason Miller, though the bats have given the A's some fun moments in 2024 and particularly this last month. No longer is coming to Oakland a total mockery of the sport - the crowd won't show up but a win is far from guaranteed - as they've worked their way to a game under .500 at home and have put together a far more respectable campaign than the season prior.

Los Angeles Angels

This team couldn't even hang their hats on Ohtani and Trout this season with the former out of Anaheim and the latter hurt again, and it's been exactly what you'd expect as a franchise that surrounded those stars with so little is now forced to stare that supporting cast right in the face. It's a lineup that doesn't scare anyone and a pitching staff with one reliable arm in Tyler Anderson, and for what feels like comedic effect Anthony Rendon has returned to the lineup and returned right back to his useless ways wearing an Angels uniform. They're near the bottom in everything on both sides of the ball and limping their way to the finish line even with a few hitters playing above their pay grade. But all in all, it's been the exact year the Angels were doomed for when they faced reality without their generational talent. There's nothing positive going on with this organization with minimal talent plus an uninspiring farm system, suffering through another year without a healthy Mike Trout and paying the price.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins reached the postseason this past season and returned much of the production that got them there, making it more surprising than I think a lot of people realize that they've had THIS bad of a season. Miami never recovered from a brutal start, with that losing culture peeking back in almost instantly and now fully encapsulating the franchise, as they traded away much of their best talent at the deadline and have been putting together a season-long case for the worst team not called the Chicago White Sox. Everything promising about the pitching staff from these last two seasons has gone downhill due to injuries and general inconsistencies, and a lineup that looked solid on paper entering the year has had a pretty remarkable fall from grace into one of the league's most uninspiring. Xavier Edwards' recent tear might be the only plus that will come of this season, a true nightmare for the Marlins that followed up their first true postseason berth since 2003.

Colorado Rockies

There's just simply not many positives to pull from the Rockies in general, and this season isn't making for any exceptions. It's been another directionless struggle of a season in Colorado, currently donning the league's second-worst record with no real reasons for optimisms. It's hard to get the most thorough read on their guys with the Coors Field factor playing into all the numbers, but I'll safely say there's no hidden studs lingering in that pitching staff. There's a few promising hitters in Ryan McMahon and 23-year-old Ezequiel Tovar, though they'll face their usual issues filling out a lineup. Outside of those couple solid hitters, there's really just not much to say about this crew. The future isn't much brighter than the present, and the present is 41-72.

Why Even Bother

Chicago White Sox

It was an interesting time last season when amidst all the chaos regarding their future in Oakland, the A's were putting together a season on pace for a historically bad mark much of the way. Now a year later, the White Sox are running circles on the disaster that was the 2023 A's. As I type this out, the White Sox just ended their 21-game losing streak that marked the longest the MLB has seen since 1988, 36 years ago, showing no signs of 'slowing down' from this absolutely atrocity of a stretch. As you'd expect, there's not much going for them. Their big hitter from last season Luis Robert has regressed quite a bit, not one qualified player on their roster has an OPS above .700, and their leading HR hitter has 12. You won't find an angle that makes any of this look close to competent. The one thing they've got going for them has been Garrett Crochet, who's finally stayed healthy and put together a really strong year, but it's hard to see him lasting long in Chicago and even harder to see it ever making a difference. It really wasn't long ago the White Sox had finally broken through and looked like serious contenders, and likely to stay that way. Murphy's Law has prevailed ever since.