Ohtani celebrates child No. 2 by helping Dodgers return to No. 1

This week, for most of the teams in Major League Baseball, will mark the midway point of the season. (The Orioles and Astros are just two games away from their 81^st, though the Rays still have seven more to go to get there.) That sure did happen fast, didn’t it? How did we get halfway through the season already? These seasons, they grow up so quickly.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Dodgers (previously: 2)
How could we not start the Power Rankings the day after Father’s Day without congratulating Shohei Ohtani, whose wife had their second child last week? Ohtani celebrated by homering his first game back which, honestly, sure beats a cigar anyway.

2. Braves (previously: 1)
In a matchup that sure feels like we may see again come October, the Braves won two out of three against the Brewers this weekend. Most impressive, those two wins came against Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison, the Brewers’ aces who are exactly the sort of pitchers you run into in the postseason. Those wins felt like yet another test passed by the Braves.

3. Brewers (previously: 3)
Meanwhile, the Brewers had to feel better, after scoring just five runs in the first two games of the series, breaking out for an eight-run second inning in the finale of the series. It ended a three-game losing streak and may end up mattering in October: These teams are tight enough that a potential postseason series may require a tiebreaker for home-field advantage. (The two teams play again in August.)

4. Yankees (previously: 4)
This was the week of the Knicks' championship parade, so forgive us one more Knicks reference: New Knicks champion Karl-Anthony Towns said this week that he almost quit basketball as a kid to play baseball, hopefully for his beloved Yankees (he grew up in New Jersey). If you think Aaron Judge and Spencer Jones are tall, KAT would have become the tallest player in MLB history at 7 feet tall.

5. Rays (previously: 5)
One-run victories giveth, and one-run victories … stop giveth. The Rays got off to their great start largely because they won nine of their first 10 one-run games. No longer: They lost their first seven of eight one-run games in the month of June before sneaking one out on Sunday.

6. Phillies (previously: 7)
We all know the Phillies are a team reliant on their stars, but Saturday was downright ridiculous: Bryce Harper hit for the cycle and Kyle Schwarber had three homers, making the two the 2nd pair of teammates to hit three homers and have a cycle in the same game, joining Lou Gehrig & Tony Lazzeri in 1932. What fun it will be to see those two in the All-Star Game in their home stadium next month.

7. Mariners (previously: 8)
The Mariners are the only team in the AL West that has a positive run differential, but it should be noted that they still haven’t quite pulled away from the pack the way many might have expected them to. One probably shouldn’t sweat it: They were still four games back in the AL West on Sept. 3 last year and still won the division just fine.

8. White Sox (previously: 6)
The White Sox, obviously, are still very much in the thick of everything in the AL Central, but their big tests of late have not gone all that well. The road trip to Detroit and The Bronx ended with them going 1-5, so heading into a huge series with the Guardians this week, the White Sox have a clearer sense, after their hot start, of just how far they have left to go.

9. Cardinals (previously: 9)
Is the Cardinals pitching going to run out of gas? The Cardinals offense has found ways to improve throughout the season, but starters Kyle Leahy, Michael McGreevy and, especially, Matthew Liberatore have faded considerably in recent weeks, putting extra stress on the bullpen and generally fraying the entire staff at the edges. If the Cardinals fade from the Wild Card race in this transition year, it won’t be because of the hitting: It’ll be the pitching. Even more worrisome: Their best starter, Dustin May, couldn’t make it to the third inning on Sunday.

10. Cubs (previously: 11)
Remember when Pete Crow-Armstrong was struggling? It’s reasonable if you’ve forgotten, because he is having a June for the ages. His numbers: nine homers, 14 RBIs, .437 BA and, for good measure, six stolen bases.

11. Guardians (previously: 12)
Travis Bazzana isn’t just having a breakthrough rookie season: He’s carrying the extremely banged-up Guardians right now. His wild night Saturday -- 4-for-4, two homers, five RBIs -- was the culmination of what is starting to look like an All-Star year.

12. Nationals (previously: 15)
It was a surprise to some that in the offseason the Nats signed veteran Miles Mikolas, who looked like he was done in St. Louis last year. He started poorly in Washington, but he has been much better of late, partly because he’s throwing harder than he has in years. He has been over 97 mph twice, something that hadn’t happened in nearly a half decade. “I've been feeling really good,” Mikolas said. “All my stuff in the training room, the strength coaches, it's full-body work, and everyone here has been great, helping me get back to where I want to be physically.” Since moving into a follow-up after an opener, his ERA is under 4.00, also for the first time in years.

13. Padres (previously: 13)
The story of the Padres’ season has been the struggles of their veteran hitters, but it sure looks like the one having the worst season is about to break out of it. Manny Machado had five RBIs on Saturday. His OPS is still 200 points below his career average, but there are signs of life. "I trust Manny Machado,” manager Craig Stammen said.

14. Pirates (previously: 12)
Only Paul Skenes could have a stretch where he gives up two runs or more in three straight starts and raises his ERA to 2.86 and have it be as bad as we’ve ever seen him. No one with the Pirates is worried. Amazingly, the Pirates have lost seven straight Skenes starts. “It just speaks to the talent he’s got, and expectations that are a little bit elevated for him,” manager Don Kelly said.

15. Diamondbacks (previously: 14)
The Diamondbacks are still right in the thick of the Wild Card race, but if they’re going to stay in it, they need their game stories not to have paragraphs like this one, from MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert wrapup this weekend: "On the same day they placed right-hander Ryne Nelson on the injured list with a setback that will keep him out until at least September and got confirmation that closer A.J. Puk's return would also be delayed until later in the season, the Diamondbacks watched starter Michael Soroka walk off the mound with a trainer in the top of the second inning. Then in the eighth, outfielder Jordan Lawlar beat out a bunt single and immediately left the game." Yeah, that’s not what you want.

16. Blue Jays (previously: 17)
If the Jays end up fighting their way back to the World Series this year after a slow start to 2026, they may look at Wrigley Field on Saturday as the pivot moment. They’d been blown out on Friday, were falling in the AL East standings again and had been shut out for six innings. And then: Eight straight runs, an 8-6 win and a Blue Jays team that may be close to remembering what made it so excellent, and irresistible, last year.

17. Marlins (previously: 18)
Why not the Marlins, at this point? One of the more adventurous and experimental front offices in the sport is showing results, with the Marlins the hottest team in baseball so far in June. They’ve gotten above .500 and are right in the thick of the Wild Card chase. If this team keeps getting better like this -- if June is just the start -- who’s to say it couldn’t be the Marlins back in the postseason again?

18. A’s (previously: 16)
The A’s have so many good hitters that you wouldn’t think one guy would make so much difference, but it was obvious that Zack Gelof -- in the midst of a 23-game hitting streak -- wasn’t in the lineup on Saturday night. Sitting after being hit in the head the night before, the A’s were shut out 7-0. Gelof is smoking hot right now: hitting .362 (34-for-94) with 12 extra-base hits, including five home runs, 13 RBIs and 19 runs scored during his hitting streak, which he extended to 24 games on Sunday.

19. Rangers (previously: 19)
You can understand why the Rangers might think they’re the team that can unlock Jarred Kelenic. The former phenom, famously part of the trade for Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó, is with his fourth team now that he’s up with the Rangers after crushing it in Triple-A since being signed June 2, going .340/.431/.620 with three home runs, one triple, three doubles and 11 RBIs in 13 games with Round Rock. This could be his last best chance.

20. Reds (previously: 21)
Sal Stewart is not from the New York City area -- though he does look like a guy who would have been at the Knicks parade, he is in fact from Florida -- but with more than two dozen friends and family in attendance at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night, you can be forgiven for thinking he was. He had six RBIs in a 10-2 win, helping end an extended slump.

21. Twins (previously: 24)
In a division in which no team has a positive run differential, the Twins are keeping their head above water, thanks largely to an offense that is healthier and finally scoring some runs. This road trip was fueled entirely by an offense that scored four runs or more (including 16 on Saturday) in every game. “We're well-rounded,” said Brooks Lee, who is at hot as anybody. “There's power in all parts of our lineup, and that showed tonight.” This team is only one game out of the Wild Card, so you know.

22. Orioles (previously: 20)
Have the Orioles needed a pitching performance like Trevor Rogers’ against the Dodgers on Saturday more any time in recent memory? In danger of falling apart again -- this time potentially fatally so -- Rogers shut down the Dodgers for one hit over seven innings in a game the Orioles desperately needed to win. There’s still a long way back, but the Orioles were happy to get something happy, finally.

23. Astros (previously: 22)
The Astros have not given up on this season, and the fact that they’re finally a little bit healthy -- while not entirely healthy -- is an urgent reason why. As written up by MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart this week, the returns of Hunter Brown, Jeremy Peña and Josh Hader give the Astros one last chance to charge back up the hill.

24. Mets (previously: 23)
Of all the problems the Mets have had this year, it has been a little undernoted how short Freddy Peralta -- who was supposed to be their ace -- has fallen of expectations. After getting shelled by the Phillies over the weekend, Peralta’s ERA rose to 4.83, which, as noted by MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, had placed him 59th out of the 66 pitchers currently qualified for the Major League ERA title.

25. Tigers (previously: 25)
The Tigers got a little bit more juice in Comerica Park this weekend, thanks to another big game from Dillon Dingler and Tarik Skubal’s first start at home since coming back from his elbow surgery. They’re not that far out of the Wild Card race: Could they have one more run left in them? Now’s the time to do it.

26. Red Sox (previously: 26)
The home sweep against the Blue Jays this week may have been a killer: The Red Sox now have the third-worst playoff odds in the American League, ahead of only the Royals and the Angels, per FanGraphs.

27. Royals (previously: 27)
Bobby Witt Jr. was out of the lineup again on Sunday, and the Royals lineup is, obviously, much worse without him. It should be noted, though, that for all his greatness, his numbers have gone down each of the last three years: His OPS is a full 140 points below where it was two years ago. Of course, he had an MVP-caliber season in 2024 … but that’s still quite a drop. Then again: The Royals did score 30 runs against the Cardinals this weekend (mostly) without him.

28. Giants (previously: 28)
The Giants have plenty of problems, but they’ve resolved one of them: What they’ll do with their rotation now that Tyler Mahle is back. It looks like Adrian Houser is going to hit the bullpen. It could make some sense for the pitcher. “He wants the same thing as everybody else, just wants to do better,” manager Tony Vitello said. “He’s really found a rhythm in the middle of outings.”

29. Angels (previously: 29)
Do not fret: Despite his first injury of the season -- a terrific rebound season for him -- Mike Trout thinks he’ll be back for the All-Star Game in his home area of Philadelphia next month. “From last night to today, it's a night and day difference, so that's positive for me,” Trout said about his right hamstring strain. “I was a little worried last night but had a plane ride and just sitting down after playing, so that kind of came into effect. But feels way better today, so I'm not overly concerned about it, but I'm going to do everything I can in that training room and the weight room to get back.”

30. Rockies (previously: 30)
The ending of the Rockies’ win on Saturday night over the Pirates was confusing for everyone -- you can always tell something strange happened when an umpire has to give a clarifying quote to pool reporter afterward -- but one person who wasn’t confused by the runner interference call that gave the Rockies a win was third baseman Kyle Karros, who was at the center of the play. “I was going to get the ball, then his cleat kind of clipped my glove,” Karros said. “I still fielded the ball, but it was all kind of rattling around in my glove, so I couldn’t really get a throw off. But I knew the rule going into it.” In the end, even Pirates manager Don Kelly agreed.