1 Sentence to Describe the Current State of Every MLB Team After June
Well, that was fast. With the calendar about to turn from June to July, the 2023 Major League Baseball season has already reached its halfway mark.
For anyone wants to get caught up with every team in the league, we've got the Cliffs Notes.
We've summed up the state of all 30 teams in just one sentence. Some are certainly longer than others. Some are also more serious than others. Either way, we promise that you'll only find one period apiece. And that's the truth...period.
We'll go division by division, starting in the American League East and ending in the National League West.
American League East
1 of 6
1. Tampa Bay Rays: 56-28, Plus-152 Run Differential
The Rays' odds of winning the World Series have nearly tripled since the start of the year, which tracks so long as one focuses more on their powerful offense and less on their injury-ravaged pitching staff.
2. Baltimore Orioles: 48-31, Plus-27
Who would start Game 1 for the Orioles in a playoff series is a good question, but nobody should want to face their sneaky-deep lineup or their league-best bullpen in such a format.
3. New York Yankees: 45-36, Plus-39
The Yankees are 15-17 when Aaron Judge isn't in the starting lineup, so it's not the best omen that the recovery timetable for his toe injury is so far up in the air that it might as well be in the stratosphere.
4. Toronto Blue Jays: 45-37, Plus-26
Perhaps the only thing to say in defense of the underachieving Blue Jays is that there's no way they could have anticipated Alek Manoah going from "Cy Young Award finalist" to "Guy Who Can't Even Hack It in Rookie Ball."
5. Boston Red Sox: 40-42, Plus-6
Having the best record of any last-place team is one silver lining for this Red Sox team, with another being that their best players are all 20-somethings who'll be around for a while.
American League Central
2 of 6
1. Minnesota Twins: 40-42, Plus-24 Run Differential
There's an arm for every occasion in the Twins pitching staff, but the only hope they have of getting their sleepy offense to wake up resides with Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton (combined OPS: .708).
2. Cleveland Guardians: 39-41, Minus-7
Speaking of teams rich in pitching but poor in offense, it's hard to consider the Guardians a threat for any kind of playoff run while they have 11 fewer home runs than any other team.
3. Detroit Tigers: 35-45, Minus-80
With his OPS still stuck in the .600s even after 739 career plate appearances, Jim Bowden of The Athletic can't be the only one wondering whether the Tigers should move on from former No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson.
4. Chicago White Sox: 36-47, Minus-55
Now that Tony La Russa is no longer around to take all the blame, it's clear that the White Sox are in need of a rebuild just seven years after they began their last one.
5. Kansas City Royals: 23-58, Minus-135
Speaking of rebuilds, it's honestly hard to determine where the Royals are supposed to go next now as they continue to pile up Ls even after changes in ownership and front office leadership.
American League West
3 of 6
1. Texas Rangers: 49-32, Plus-157 Run Differential
Honestly, who needs Jacob deGrom when you have Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and and an exceptionally deep offense that scores runs in Texas-sized bunches?
2. Houston Astros: 44-37, Plus-56
The Astros are hanging in there, but it's telling that they've gone from outscoring opponents by an average of 1.4 runs per game in 2022 to just 0.7 runs per game this year.
3. Los Angeles Angels: 44-39, Plus-36
If the question is how the Angels are on track for their first winning season since 2015 despite a down year from Mike Trout (.858 OPS), the answer is: "Because they have Shohei Ohtani, you fool!"
4. Seattle Mariners: 38-41, Plus-22
There's no question the Mariners can pitch, and there ought to be no question as to whether Julio Rodríguez, Teoscar Hernández and Eugenio Suárez (combined OPS: .710) are better than [waves hands] this.
5. Oakland Athletics: 21-62, Minus-240
As if being one of the worst teams of all time wasn't enough, the A's are also run by a nepo billionaire who clearly roots for Rachel Phelps when he watches Major League.
National League East
4 of 6
1. Atlanta: 53-27, Plus-117 Run Differential
If Atlanta can win 20 out of 23 without them, just imagine what this team will be capable of once it gets Max Fried and Kyle Wright back in its rotation in the second half.
2. Miami Marlins: 48-34, 0
It feels like it should be a bigger story that the Marlins, fueled by would-be .400 hitter Luis Arraez and rookie sensation Eury Pérez, are tied for the second-best record in the National League.
3. Philadelphia Phillies: 43-37, Minus-7
The good news is that Trea Turner still has 10-and-a-half years to redeem himself, while the bad news is that he does indeed need to redeem himself after a slow start (.690 OPS) to this year.
4. New York Mets: 36-45, Minus-18
Before he made a $430 million bet on this year's roster, somebody probably should have told Mets owner Steve Cohen that going forward with by far the league's oldest pitching staff was a bad idea.
5. Washington Nationals: 32-48, Minus-62
As bad as the Nationals are, don't underrate the potential for Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore (combined ERA: 3.65) to form a proper ace duo in the near future.
National League Central
5 of 6
1. Milwaukee Brewers: 43-38, Minus-21 Run Differential
The winning record is nice, but it's all too easy to get distracted wondering what the heck's happened to Corbin Burnes (4.10 ERA) and Willy Adames (.652 OPS).
2. Cincinnati Reds: 43-38, Minus-16
The Reds are 16-5 and among the highest-scoring teams in baseball since human toolkit Elly De La Cruz debuted on June 6, and he isn't even their most productive rookie hitter.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates: 38-42, Minus-32
The Bucs have lost 34 of 52 since getting off to a 20-8 start, but at least nobody will be wondering about Bryan Reynolds' trade status for the foreseeable future.
4. Chicago Cubs: 37-42, Plus-23
Everyone's expecting them to offload Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger before the trade deadline, but a 13-11 June already has their record more closely in line with their run differential.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: 33-47, Minus-31
National League West
6 of 6
1. Arizona Diamondbacks: 48-34, Plus-34 Run Differential
It's easy to get distracted by Zac Gallen's pitching and Corbin Carroll's exciting push for the NL Rookie of the Year, but let's not overlook that Ketel Marte (.888 OPS) is continuing his trend of playing like a superstar in odd years.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers: 45-35, Plus-62
This is the flimsiest team the Dodgers have had in years, but things would certainly be a heck of a lot worse if Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez didn't have a .909 OPS and 53 home runs between them.
2. San Francisco Giants: 45-36, Plus-42
Sans a powerful offense like the one they had in their 107-win season in 2021, the Giants have lately been using spectacular relief pitching to win 28 out of 41 games.
4. San Diego Padres: 37-44, Plus-19
There are many reasons why the Padres are playing well below expectations, but having the worst average with runners in scoring position since 1969 is definitely a big one.
5. Colorado Rockies: 32-51, Minus-138
Judging from how much attendance at Coors Field has slipped this year, Rockies fans are sending a clear message to Dick Monfort that they would also like to have a good team to go with their beautiful ballpark for a change.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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