The final Saturday of the 2025 season marks one last power rankings.
Unfortunately for most the readers involved, the penultimate day of the season will be filled with anxiety and potentially disappointment.
The Mets, who had the best record in baseball in mid-June, and the second wild card spot in August, are on the verge of completing their collapse. They are “tied” with the Reds entering Saturday’s affair with the Marlins, but need to finish one game better than the Reds to make the playoffs.
Detroit, however, is going through an even worse collapse. Perhaps the biggest in baseball history. On September 10, the Tigers held a 9.5-game lead over the Guardians for the division lead and looked bound for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Now, on September 27, they’re deadlocked with the Guardians at 86-74, and would be the third wild card if the season ended today.
That leaves the Astros as the team looking up in the American League playoff race. They’re one game behind the Tigers for the third wild card, and would need to win the last two games of the season and see one of the Tigers or Guardians lose the remaining two to secure a playoff spot.
Eric Canha-Imagn Images
1. Phillies
Losing Zack Wheeler for the season hasn’t slowed down the Phillies.
They’ve gone 16-7 in September, inserted Aaron Nola back into the rotation, and have pulled two within one game for the best record in the majors.
Nola shoved in Friday’s start against the Twins, punching out nine batters across eight innings of one-run ball. If they win the last two games and the Brewers are swept by the Reds, then they’d get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
2. Yankees
The AL East might actually be within grasp for the Bombers.
They’ve won six consecutive games, backed by Aaron Judge‘s latest heater. He’s hit four homers in his seven games, and bolstered his case for MVP. And yes, he should win the MVP. Every number in Judge’s .330/.458/.687 slash line leads the league, including his 124 walks and 9.5 bWAR. He’s also clubbed 52 homers, driven in 111 RBIs, scored 135 runs and recorded 366 total bases (both second in MLB), despite missing 10 games. Yeah, I don’t really care that Cal Raleigh catches.
With Judge, along with Giancarlo Stanton, leading the way, the Yankees easily have a path to the division crown. Beat up on the Orioles two more times, and hope the Rays can win one of the final two games against the Blue Jays.
3. Brewers
The Brew Crew is about to get a big arm back heading into the postseason.
Trevor Megill is expected to come off the 15-day IL Sunday after hitting the shelf with a right flexor strain. Him, paired in the backend of the ‘pen with Abner Uribe, would lock down the scariest duo in the bullpen heading into October.
Till then, the Brewers are in a position where they would like to win a game this weekend over the Reds. Just one would give them home-field advantage throughout October and lock down the best record in baseball. They could achieve that with a loss by the Phillies, but they’re playing the Twins and that’s a big ask.
Jackson Chourio also made history in Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Reds. With his 20th stolen base, he is now the youngest player in major league history with multiple 20-20 seasons. The youngest before him was Mike Trout.
4. Dodgers
The Dodgers finally popped champagne last week.
Thursday’s win over the Diamondbacks secured the club’s fourth straight National League West title, their 12th in the last 13 seasons.
It’s been an incredible run for the defending champs, who seemingly haven’t even hit their full potential. They recently added Max Muncy, Roki Sasaki, and Blake Snell off the IL, adding to a team that struggled to a 91-win season as of Saturday morning.
Plus, with Mookie Betts back in form, this team could easily run the table for one final month of the season. They’ll start October with either the struggling Mets or average Reds, then get a crack against a strong Phillies team for five in the NLDS if they advance.
5. Blue Jays
Nathan Lukes played hero Friday night for the Jays.
Tied at two against a Rays team that has the Jays’ number this season, Lukes clubbed a two-run homer in the fifth to stave off Tampa. The win kept the Jays tied with the Yanks at 92-68 and atop the AL East.
Because they have the tiebreaker, all the Jays have to do to win their first AL East crown since 2015 is finish with the same record as the Yankees. They’ll have two more games against the Rays, including one Saturday where they’ll throw rookie Trey Yesavage. As of now, they have home-field advantage through the playoffs, but would lose it if the Yankees win the division or the Mariners (tiebreaker) finish with the same record.
6. Mariners
Seattle has been the best team in baseball the last calendar month. They’re 17-6 in September, but have gone 17-3 in their last 20 games. At one point in September, the Mariners and Astros were only separated by a game, but the M’s rode the elevator up and left the Astros in the lobby.
Cal Raleigh continues to club homers at a ridiculous pace, and became the first catcher to ever hit 60 homers in a season last week. He doubled last night in a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers, and has two more games to try and pass Aaron Judge (63) for the most homers ever hit in an AL season.
With their ridiculous pace of winning, the Mariners also bypassed the wild card round. They could take home-field advantage for the AL side of the playoffs, but they’d need to win two games against the Dodgers, and the Rays and Yankees would have to lose out.
7. Cubs
The Cubs got a massive win over the Cardinals.
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered to reach the 30-30 club in his age 23 season, helping the Cubs reach the 90-win mark to pull two games ahead of the Padres for home-field advantage in the wild card series. Crow-Armstrong also became the sixth player this season to record a 30-30 season, marking a new MLB record.
Friday also saw the return of Kyle Tucker to the lineup. The lefty went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Getting a healthy Tucker back would be massive for the Cubs’ playoff push, along with Cade Horton, who hurt his back in his start against the Mets Tuesday.
8. Red Sox
Boston has climbed their way back into the top-10 for the final list of the season.
Despite trading away Rafael Devers, losing Alex Bregman for time in the middle of the season, and now Roman Anthony for a month, the Sox have clinched a playoff spot.
It came Friday with a wild win over the Tigers. Tied 3-3 in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman stranded a runner on third with only one out, and then Ceddanne Rafaela drove a ball off the wall in center to score Romy Gonzalez to win the game.
It was the 12th walk-off hit for the Red Sox this season, which is the most in the majors. They’ll go on the road for a wild-card series, but no one wants to face Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello in a three-game series.
9. Padres
The Padres’ 7-4 win Friday kept them alive in the race for the top wild card spot.
Now two games behind the Cubs, the Padres could secure home-field advantage by completing a sweep over the Snakes, along with a two-game winning streak by the Cardinals to end the season.
Friday was also positive because it saw a good start from Yu Darvish. The veteran went five innings while allowing only two runs against a desperate D-backs team. A strong Darvish would be a positive for a Friars team that has struggled to find good, consistent rotation options.
10. Astros
Friday was an absolute blow to the Astros’ playoff hopes.
Tied 3-3 in the eighth, Mike Trout launched a go-ahead solo homer to take the lead for the Angels, eventually handing them a 4-3 loss. Now one game out of a playoff spot, the Astros are going to score board watch.
Luckily, the free-falling Tigers are only one game ahead of them, and face a tough Red Sox team in Boston. The Guardians also lost Friday 7-3 to the Rangers, leaving a second potential team to fall out of a spot for the Astros.
Houston will send AJ Blubaugh to the mound Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive. If they lose today, the Astros will be eliminated from the playoffs, as they don’t hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers or Guardians. Luckily for Houston, they face a weaker Angels team
Rest of the field
11. Guardians
12. Tigers
13. Reds
14. Mets
15. Diamondbacks
16. Rangers
17. Royals
18. Giants
19. Rays
20. Braves
21. Marlins
22. Athletics
23. Cardinals
24. Orioles
25. Pirates
26. Angels
27. Nationals
28. Twins
29. White Sox
30. Rockies
