Believe it or not, what you are about to read isn’t directed at the 2026 Orioles. Rather, it’s about six teams that easily could lapse into the same seemingly unlikely scenario that befell Baltimore in 2025.
The six teams I have in mind — the Phillies (8-13), Astros (8-15), Mets (7-15, 11-game losing streak), Blue Jays (8-13), Royals (7-15) and Red Sox (8-13) — combined to go 7-30 this past week.
The 2025 Orioles were swept by the Tigers to fall to 10-17 in late April a year ago. I won’t bore you with all the injuries, the horrible starting pitching and the lack of offensive firepower. Did I mention the injuries?
After winning two of three against the Yankees and winning the first game of a series against the Royals, the Orioles were back to five games under .500 at 13-18. Birdland calmed down a bit, only to see the season end with a 2-14 run that saw the Orioles fall to 15-32.
The next two weeks are a crucial crossroads for the six teams I mentioned above. Chances are two or three of them will right the ship well enough to be in the playoff conversation.
But there is every chance that a few of these teams like the Mets, Astros and Royals are digging holes they cannot climb out of. It happens. The season can slip away in the snap of the fingers.
Now, on to my power rankings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (15-6, No. 1 last week): In 18 innings this season, Shohei Ohtani has allowed just one earned run, struck out 18 and allowed no home runs. Tanner Scott (1.04 ERA, 0.58 WHIP) and Alex Vesia (0.00 ERA, 0.58 WHIP) are throwing well out of the bullpen. That’s great because Edwin Díaz has a 10.50 ERA. Max Muncy has six home runs but just seven RBIs. But after a down year for Muncy in ’25, this bodes well.
2. Atlanta Braves (15-7, No. 4): The Braves swept the Phillies in Philly this past weekend. That late-inning tandem of Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suárez is as formidable as any late-inning duo. Spencer Strider is just two weeks away from his season debut.
3. New York Yankees (13-9, No. 3): The highlight of the week was an amazing four-game split against the Angels in which Mike Trout and Aaron Judge put on their own personal Home Run Derby. Then they swept the Royals thanks to great starting pitching from Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers.
4. Chicago Cubs (12-9, No. 5): I cannot believe the Cubs are this high in the rankings with no Cade Horton (Tommy John surgery) or Mathew Boyd (bicep strain). Now, closer Daniel Palencia (oblique) is out. With three other teams from the division also in the top 10, I’m not sure this is a sustainable position for the Cubs.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (12-9, No. 6): I’m not sure how manager Pat Murphy does it. The Brewers are down all three of their big offensive weapons. Andrew Vaughn (hamate) is due back in mid-May. Jackson Chourio (hand) is due back in the next 10-12 days. Christian Yelich (left adductor strain) is out until mid to late May.
6. Cleveland Guardians (13-10, No. 10): Starting pitchers Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo, Parker Messick and Gavin Williams will keep the Guardians in almost every game. And then Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter and José Ramírez can take over. If Travis Bazzana gets promoted and is as good as advertised, they could be a real dangerous team later in the year.
7. Cincinnati Reds (14-8, No. 15): Given the fact that they have scored 71 runs and allowed 73 runs and two of their five starters have ERAs north of 5.00, it’s hard to see the Reds at 14-8 and No. 7 in these rankings. But Rookie of the Year candidate Sal Stewart is putting up some monster numbers: seven homers, 19 RBIs and a .978 OPS. He is a large part of their early success.
8. Seattle Mariners (10-13, No. 2): The starting pitching is so good and is about to get deeper shortly with the season debut of Bryce Miller. To date, Cal Raleigh (.159), Julio Rodríguez (.209) and Josh Naylor (.146) collectively have 25 RBIs. No matter how good the starters are, if that level of production keeps up, the Mariners will slide down the pole.
9. Detroit Tigers (12-10, No. 8): The offense is a good bit light for me, but when your top three starters have given up just four homers in 83 innings, that doesn’t require great offense. The big news in Motown is that the Tigers signed Kevin McGonigle to an eight-year, $150 million deal at the beginning of his big league career.
10. Pittsburgh Pirates (13-9, No. 12): There is no question the Pirates are ahead of schedule and for real. The rotation is five deep with Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft and Carmen Mlodzinski. But there is a trio in the ‘pen doing excellent work — Gregory Soto, Issac Mattson and closer Dennis Santana. The light bulb for how to be a star might have finally gone off for Oneil Cruz.
11. San Diego Padres (15-7, No. 16)
12. Arizona Diamondbacks (13-9, No. 17)
13. Boston Red Sox (8-13, No. 7)
14. Athletics (11-11, No. 14)
15. Tampa Bay Rays (12-9, No. 22)
16. Baltimore Orioles (10-12, No. 11)
17. Los Angeles Angels (11-12, No. 23)
18. Texas Rangers (11-11, No. 18)
19. Philadelphia Phillies (8-13, No. 13)
20. Minnesota Twins (11-11, No. 20)
21. New York Mets (7-15, No. 9)
22. Toronto Blue Jays (8-13, No. 21)
23. St. Louis Cardinals (13-8, No. 28)
24. Kansas City Royals (7-15, No. 19)
25. San Francisco Giants (9-13, No. 25)
26. Washington Nationals (10-12, No. 26)
27. Houston Astros (8-15, No. 24)
28. Miami Marlins (10-12, No. 27)
29. Chicago White Sox (8-14, No. 29)
30. Colorado Rockies (9-13, No. 30)