Ranking Every MLB Team's Starting 9 After 2 Months of 2025 Season
While the three most potent offenses of the 2025 Major League Baseball season have already eclipsed 300 runs scored, there are five less prolific lineups that might still be at least a week away from cracking 200.
In fact, at exactly 6.0 runs per game, the Chicago Cubs are scoring more than twice as much as their woebegone NL Central brethren in Pittsburgh (2.98 runs per game).
How do the rest of the 30 lineups line up from top to bottom thus far?
Though "Starting 9" is specifically in the headline, we aren't looking at just the nine players from each team who have made the most plate appearances or anything like that. Full-season, full-roster numbers are the driving force here.
Rather, the "Starting 9" is the nine-word summary we'll provide for each team's season to date.
For each of the 30 teams, we'll highlight both a most valuable player and a least valuable player/position. Again, though, rankings were based on full-team numbers, not just who has the highest highs and/or the lowest lows.
Click here for last month's edition.
30. Colorado Rockies
1 of 30
Starting Nine: If you do not have something nice to say...
MVP: Jordan Beck
Beck is leading the Rockies in both home runs (eight) and OPS (.865), putting together not one, not two, but three multi-HR games this season. In fact, he had a run in late April in which he clubbed four home runs in the span of five at bats. Of course, he has only generated nine RBI from his eight home runs, because that's 2025 Rockies baseball.
LVP: Kris Bryant
It is only by the grace of Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg—and the general expectation of ineptitude from this franchise—that we don't spend more of our days discussing this being one of the worst signings of all time. Bryant is on the IL right now recovering from a procedure to help his lumbar degenerative disc disease. And as we close in on the exact mid-point of his seven-year, $182 million deal, he has been worth negative-1.6 bWAR to the Rockies, playing in fewer than 33 percent of team games.
29. Pittsburgh Pirates
2 of 30
Starting Nine: Scored four or fewer runs in 26 consecutive games. (April 23-May 21)
MVP: Oneil Cruz
His overall WAR leaves something to be desired, because his defense in center has been mediocre even on the good days. With 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases, though, Cruz has been—without a close runner-up—the most valuable bat in this atrocious offense.
LVP: Bryan Reynolds
Tommy Pham's barely .500 OPS is the biggest eyesore in the lineup. But considering Reynolds has a .606 OPS on a contract more than 26 times the size of Pham's, he has become the biggest scapegoat (aside from Bob Nutting's ownership in general) for Pittsburgh's constant offensive woes.
28. Chicago White Sox
3 of 30
Starting Nine: They're on pace for 10 more wins than last year?
MVP: Chase Meidroth
Shane Smith has been a revelation in the pitching rotation, and Chase Meidroth has impressed at shortstop, batting well north of .300 in the month of May. Both could be in the mix for AL Rookie of the Year (if Jacob Wilson ever slows down) and might be long-term building blocks.
LVP: Andrew Vaughn
With an honorable mention to Luis Robert Jr.—who is hitting so poorly that the White Sox might not be able to trade him away this summer—Vaughn has been the least valuable hitter in the majors, per Baseball-Reference, and was optioned back to Triple-A Charlotte last week.
27. Kansas City Royals
4 of 30
Starting Nine: Good thing they have the pitching to win 2-0.
MVP: Bobby Witt Jr.
A tip of the cap to Maikel Garcia, who is having an excellent batting campaign of his own, co-anchoring what limited offense the Royals have had this season. But Witt has been the more valuable defensive asset, as well as the superior baserunner, presently second in the majors with 19 stolen bases.
LVP: Hunter Renfroe
Renfroe was designated for assignment last week, and not a moment too soon. The veteran outfielder had no home runs and just four RBI in 108 plate appearances as Kansas City daily regretted including a player option in his contract signed two winters ago.
26. Texas Rangers
5 of 30
Starting Nine: Will this underachieving lineup ever start to wake up?
MVP: Wyatt Langford
The pick here would be Corey Seager if he could ever stay healthy, but it's Langford who is leading the team in both home runs and stolen bases with 10 of each at just 23 years young. He went off for eight home runs and a .996 OPS last September and has carried some of that mojo into his second season in the bigs.
LVP: Joc Pederson
Take your pick between Pederson and Marcus Semien, both of whom are hovering around a .500 OPS. At least Semien plays defense and can be in the lineup against left-handed pitching, though. The Rangers paid Pederson a lot of money to come mash at DH against righties, and he just isn't doing it.
25. Miami Marlins
6 of 30
Staring Nine: At least some building blocks are starting to emerge.
MVP: Kyle Stowers
Not a whole lot has gone right for the Marlins over the past two seasons, but trading Trevor Rogers to Baltimore for Stowers and Connor Norby is beginning to look like an all-timer of a fleecing. Though the oft-injured Rogers did make an impressive 2025 debut on Saturday, Stowers is quietly batting .300 with 10 home runs, while Norby is hitting .367 since early May.
LVP: Jesús Sánchez
He hit the longest home run of the 2024 season, but after a delayed start due to an oblique strain, he isn't hitting much of anything this year. Even after homering on Monday, his OPS is just .685.
24. Los Angeles Angels
7 of 30
Starting Nine: Somehow averaging fewer than three runs per home run.
MVP: Logan O'Hoppe
Overshadowed in his own division by Cal Raleigh, the Halos' backstop is quietly top 10 in the majors in home runs with 14 of them. He's also averaging more than eight strikeouts per walk drawn, which is an affliction throughout a lineup that ranks 29th in walk rate and 30th in whiff rate.
LVP: Mike Trout / Anthony Rendon
Since the beginning of last season, Trout and Rendon have appeared in a combined total of 115 games (barely 25 percent of a possible 430) while making a combined $146.9 million. Rendon has yet to play this season. Trout had a negative-0.2 bWAR in his 29 games before injuring his knee. Kind of hard to win while getting less than nothing out of what nearly amounts to an entire 2025 Miami Marlins payroll ($84.7 million).
23. Milwaukee Brewers
8 of 30
Starting Nine: Brewers are hitting their way to deadline fire sale.
MVP: Rhys Hoskins
Both William Contreras and Brice Turang are supplying more value than Hoskins if you factor in defense, but it's an open-and-shut case in favor of the first baseman at the dish, where he is having one of the best seasons of his career. He's only on pace for about 20 home runs, but his .287 batting average will stand out in what figures to be a seller's market at first base, should the Brewers go that route in two months' time.
LVP: Left side of the infield
Christian Yelich making north of $20 million for south of replacement level production is brutal, but at least he tallies the occasional home run at DH. Milwaukee's as SS and as 3B splits, on the other hand, remain a total disaster, entering Tuesday with a .486 OPS at the former and a .487 mark at the latter.
22. Baltimore Orioles
9 of 30
Starting Nine: Fourth highest-scoring offense in 2024; maybe fourth-worst this year.
MVP: Ryan O'Hearn
From 2019-22, O'Hearn was, by FanGraphs' estimates, the least valuable of the 379 position players with at least 600 plate appearances. He sure has turned a corner during the Baltimore portion of his career, culminating in what is presently the fifth-best OPS (.969) among qualified hitters. We've talked a lot already about the impending appeal of Cedric Mullins on the trade block, but O'Hearn may spark the biggest bidding war if he keeps this up.
LVP: Heston Kjerstad
What's maddening about the Orioles averaging well below four runs per game is that their overall teamwide wRC+ and OPS+ marks are almost exactly league average. They've just been dreadful with runners in scoring position, especially Kjerstad at 7-for-40 with no extra base hits. So many ducks left on the pond.
21. Cincinnati Reds
10 of 30
Starting Nine: Occasionally goes off, wildly inconsistent; shut out eight times.
MVP: Elly De La Cruz
He isn't running quite as much as last season when he stole 31 bases within Cincinnati's first 50 games, but Cruz still ranks among the MLB leaders with 17 swipes to go along with his nine home runs. (Still searching for that first triple of the season, though, after tallying 10 three-baggers in 2024.)
LVP: Jeimer Candelario
Now into season No. 2 of the three-year, $45 million deal that never made a lick of sense for Cincinnati, Candelario has amounted to a negative-1.6 bWAR for the Reds. He has been on the IL for the past month with a back injury, and it certainly wasn't suffered as a result of carrying this offense, his .113 batting average ranking dead last among the more than 300 players with at least 90 plate appearances this season.
20. Washington Nationals
11 of 30
Starting Nine: Players they got back for Juan Soto are thriving.
MVP: James Wood
CJ Abrams is also having an excellent season as the other half of this two-man offense, but Wood has been arguably the second-biggest breakout star of this MLB season behind Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Nats' left fielder has remarkable power to all parts of the ballpark, with three opposite-field home runs that have traveled at least 400 feet.
LVP: Josh Bell
Bell had an impressive run with the Nationals in 2021-22, but the attempt to rekindle that flame has been wildly unsuccessful, his current OPS (.546) 300 points below his .846 mark from that previous stint.
19. Tampa Bay Rays
12 of 30
Starting Nine: Leading majors in stolen bases; not scoring many runs.
MVP: Jonathan Aranda
For this once highly touted prospect, the fourth time has been the charm. Aranda has cooled off a bit from his blistering start, but he's still north of a .300 batting average as the near everyday first baseman. He struggled to carve out a role in the majors in each of the previous three seasons, but he might be a heart-of-the-order staple for the next half-decade.
LVP: Yandy Díaz
While Díaz hasn't been as woefully ineffective as some of the LVPs on this list, the Rays will be wondering if their 2023 batting champ will ever get back on track. After posting a .330 batting average two years ago, he's sitting at an on-base percentage of just .290. Worse yet, he's making $10 million, which is near 10 percent of Tampa Bay's entire payroll.
18. Cleveland Guardians
13 of 30
Starting Nine: Couple bright spots juxtaposed with a few gaping holes.
MVP: José Ramírez
Though not quite on pace to match last year's incredible campaign of 39 home runs, 118 RBI and 41 stolen bases, Ramírez's eternally underappreciated march to the Hall of Fame continues in what will likely be his 10th consecutive season with an OPS north of .800. With two doubles Monday night, he extended his hitting streak to 19 games.
LVP: Shortstop
Both right and center field have also been problem areas for the Guardians' offense, but the shortstop situation has been exceptionally bleak, with Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias mutually accomplishing next to nothing while playing there. Curiously, Arias has an .877 OPS when playing second base, but he seems doomed to fail when starting in the other middle infield spot.
17. Minnesota Twins
14 of 30
Starting Nine: Not a terrifying lineup, but gets the job done.
MVP: Byron Buxton
In "only the Twins" fashion, Buxton and Carlos Correa collided in the field and concussed each other on May 15. Correa returned to action last Friday, but we're still waiting on Buxton to get back and resume leading the charge with his 10 home runs and eight stolen bases, best on the team in both departments.
LVP: The Next Generation
Twins batters in their age-27 or older season have been collectively solid, but players below that cutoff have struggled to the tune of a .330 slugging percentage. Getting Royce Lewis going will be key if they expect to stay in this playoff picture until it actually matters.
16. Houston Astros
15 of 30
Starting Nine: Better than many, but still much worse than anticipated.
MVP: Isaac Paredes
As good as Kyle Tucker has been for the Cubs, did the Astros already win the 3-for-1 trade that netted them Cam Smith, Hayden Wesneski and Paredes? The latter has been the saving grace of this otherwise underachieving offense, with 11 home runs and what would be the best single-season OPS of his career (.867) if he can keep it going.
LVP: Yordan Alvarez
Both Jose Altuve and Christian Walker have also struggled to alarming degrees, but Alvarez batting .210/.306/.340 before landing on the IL at the beginning of May wasn't on anyone's preseason bingo card. He had a career OPS of .973 heading into the year, and Houston has spent the entire season treading water within three games of .500, trying to adjust to not having his usual sledgehammer in the lineup.
15. Toronto Blue Jays
16 of 30
Starting Nine: Limited home runs, but lowest strikeout rate in majors.
MVP: Daulton Varsho
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still the Big Kahuna north of the border, but how about the run Varsho has been on? After missing the first month of the season, he hit his eighth home run on Monday, moving into sole possession of first place on the team in what was just his 19th start of the season. He's still a wizard with his glove in center, too.
LVP: Anthony Santander
The Blue Jays keep waiting for him to snap out of his funk; to look like the slugger who hit 105 home runs over the past three seasons for Baltimore. But it keeps not happening, with Santander's OPS dipping back below .600 after another hitless dud on Monday.
14. Athletics
17 of 30
Starting Nine: A's can score; they just can't prevent many runs.
MVP: Jacob Wilson
Only Aaron Judge has tallied more hits this season than Wilson's 70, as the A's shortstop is already starting to run away with the AL Rookie of the Year race. He didn't draw a walk until his 23rd game of the season, but Wilson is batting .360 with a .430 OBP since then.
LVP: JJ Bleday
The A's made a flurry of roster moves late last week, hoping to spark something after losing 13 out of 15 games. One of those moves was sending Bleday back to Triple-A Las Vegas with a .204 batting average and .656 OPS. His replacement, Denzel Clarke, has gone 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts, so maybe Bleday will be back soon, for better or worse.
13. San Francisco Giants
18 of 30
Starting Nine: Outfield might be top five, but infield needs work.
MVP: Matt Chapman
As has been the case throughout his career, Chapman's batting average (.218) leaves something to be desired. But he both walks and homers enough that you certainly don't feel like you're sacrificing run potential to get his platinum glove on the field. Chappy is exactly on pace to match his 27 home runs and 15 stolen bases from last season.
LVP: LaMonte Wade Jr.
We've had a lot to say about Willy Adames' underwhelming start these past two months, but at least he has been hovering around replacement level all season. Wade has just been a mess at first base, with a .533 OPS to go along with four errors. If he doesn't get right soon, San Francisco and Boston could get into quite the bidding war for the best first baseman available this summer. (If either one is a buyer.
12. San Diego Padres
19 of 30
Starting Nine: Would've ranked better before five-game stretch of three runs.
MVP: Manny Machado
Fernando Tatis Jr. was the indisputable choice here one month ago. But while the right fielder has posted a .620 OPS in May, San Diego's third baseman exploded for a 1.062 OPS and would be more legitimately in the running for NL Player of the Month were it not for Shohei Ohtani. Machado is now batting .319 for the year, which would be the highest batting average of his career. He's also narrowly on pace for a new personal record in stolen bases, already with seven.
LVP: Left Field
A problem with no apparent solution, Jason Heyward (presently on the IL) and Co. have a .500 OPS for the season. Normally the DH, Gavin Sheets has made some starts in left recently, but none of his 10 home runs have come while playing out there.
11. Atlanta Braves
20 of 30
Starting Nine: At least they finally have Ronald Acuña Jr. back.
MVP: Marcell Ozuna
He never used to be a particularly patient hitter, entering this season averaging one walk for every 12 plate appearances. But Ozuna has that ratio down to one free pass for every five trips to the plate, leading the majors with 43 walks and ranking top five with a .423 on-base percentage. He also has nine home runs, and maybe he'll start getting more pitches to hit now that there's another big bat back in the lineup.
LVP: Left Field
It took all of one pitch off the IL for Acuña to announce his long-awaited presence in right field, but the other corner outfield spot remains a problem. Alex Verdugo has been, well, better than Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz were, but he's also homerless in 133 plate appearances, almost exactly replacement level while he replaces Jurickson Profar for at least another month.
10. New York Mets
21 of 30
Starting Nine: Has Brett Baty been their best hitter in May?
MVP: Pete Alonso
We all knew the .343 batting average in April would never last, but the Polar Bear has really crashed back to earth with a .665 OPS in May. The net result, however, is still pretty impressive, triple-slashing .291/.392/.533 one-third of the way through what may be another contract year.
LVP: Starling Marte
Of New York's six hitters making at least $12 million this season, there's little question that Marte has done the poorest job of earning that paycheck. Even after a recent surge of 11 hits in 34 at-bats—spread out over 20 games, because he only plays about half the time—his .227 batting average is the worst of his career.
9. Seattle Mariners
22 of 30
Starting Nine: If only they had hit this well last season...
MVP: Cal Raleigh
The Big Dumper arguably was already the best hitting catcher in baseball over the previous three seasons, but he has kicked it up a few notches this year. His OPS right now (.948) is a full 200 points better than last season, when he became just the second catcher in the past two decades to post a 30 HR, 100 RBI line. He's currently on pace for 52 dingers this year.
LVP: Right Field
The M's have been floundering in left since losing Victor Robles to a dislocated shoulder just 10 games into the season. Five players have made at least eight appearances there, but nothing is sticking. They scooped Leody Taveras off waivers from Texas, but he has continued to hit just as poorly as what got him cut in the first place.
8. St. Louis Cardinals
23 of 30
Starting Nine: On pace for 96 more runs than last season.
MVP: Brendan Donovan
Donovan hasn't homered since April 18, but the National League leader in both hits and doubles has remained a productive staple in the heart of the Cardinals' order. He has had five games with at least three hits just in the past two weeks, bringing what was already a .304 batting average up to .328.
LVP: Jordan Walker
Dating back to April 15, Walker is batting .168 with one home run and 35 strikeouts in 102 plate appearances. St. Louis has been as patient as can be with what was a top-five overall prospect two years ago. But after more than 200 games with a barely .700 OPS for his career, it's about time to decide whether it wants to win this season or keep hoping he'll figure it out soon.
7. Philadelphia Phillies
24 of 30
Starting Nine: Averaging 5.5 runs while winning 21 of last 27.
MVP: Kyle Schwarber
Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber. Those are the only players with more than 130 home runs since the beginning of 2022, with Schwarber (18 this season, 149 total) doing all he can to keep pace with Ohtani (19 and 151, respectively). He always has been a slugger, but his current slugging (.576) and OPS (.974) are career-best marks. The 32-year-old may well be headed for another lucrative four-year deal this offseason.
LVP: Center Field
After hitting .095 through his first 18 games and then spending two weeks on the IL, Brandon Marsh is hitting .340 in May, splitting time between center and left. For the year, though, the Phillies have gotten a .617 OPS out of the CF spot in the lineup, which is typically buried in the 9-hole to keep the self-inflicted damage to a minimum.
6. Boston Red Sox
25 of 30
Starting Nine: Desperately trying to make up for their poor pitching.
MVP: Rafael Devers
It was a 1A/1B situation between Devers and Alex Bregman until 1B suffered a severely strained quad that is likely to keep him out of commission until after the All-Star break. Devers is batting .375/.486/.670 with seven home runs in May, seemingly fueled by the continued debate around whether injury-ravaged Boston should force him to play the field.
LVP: Trevor Story
Through 24 team games, Story was 30-for-89 with five home runs and six stolen bases in what looked like it was going to be a renaissance type of season. Since then, though, he's 15-for-114 with just one four-bagger. At least he's healthy for a change, already playing in more games than either of the previous two seasons. But at what cost to the offense?
5. Detroit Tigers
26 of 30
Starting Nine: Best record in baseball doesn't happen without solid offense.
MVP: Spencer Torkelson and Javier Báez
Wild to think both of these guys were almost out of a job this winter. Maybe that lit the fire they needed, though, with Torkelson leading the Tigers in home runs, RBI, doubles and walks while Báez has made the most of his second act as a center fielder with a .789 OPS and already as many home runs as he had in 2024.
LVP: Third Base
Whether it has been Andy Ibáñez, Jace Jung, Zack McKinstry or even Báez at the hot corner, Detroit just cannot seem to get anything out of that spot in the lineup. Matt Vierling made his 2025 debut this past Friday and perhaps could be the answer.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
27 of 30
Starting Nine: Fifth in runs scored, but .500 due to pitching.
MVP: Corbin Carroll
Could also go with either half of Arizona's middle infield tandem here, as both Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte have been outstanding this season. But Carroll ranks third in the majors in total bases with 15 home runs, six triples and nine doubles, not to mention nine stolen bases. He couldn't hit water in the ocean this time a year ago, but he has 35 home runs, 29 stolen bases and 108 runs scored over his last 125 games.
LVP: Alek Thomas
It speaks volumes to the overall strength of this lineup that the biggest problem area is a center fielder who is batting .265. For the fourth consecutive year, though, Thomas has a sub-.700 OPS, and he hasn't provided any real value with his glove. Tim Tawa has started five of the past 12 games in center and might become the regular soon.
3. New York Yankees
28 of 30
Starting Nine: Judge is king, but this entire offense is thriving.
MVP: Aaron Judge
It's still a far cry from the Barry Bonds treatment, but Judge has been intentionally walked six times in the last 18 games, now leading the majors with 10 IBB. It hasn't done anything to slow him down, though, his OPS preposterously still north of 1.200, as it has been for a month now. He's batting .398 and is on pace for 55 home runs.
LVP: Third Base
Oswaldo Cabrera was at least treading water at third base until the horrific ankle injury that will likely keep him out for the rest of the season. And aside from him, Yankees third basemen (mostly Oswald Peraza) have gone a combined 8-for-71 with 23 strikeouts.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
29 of 30
Starting Nine: After slow start, averaging 6.6 runs last 28 games.
MVP: Shohei Ohtani
Freddie Freeman is leading the NL with a .361 batting average while Will Smith is leading the NL with a .456 on-base percentage, but it's Ohtani who is leading the majors in both home runs (19) and runs scored (57)—with 11 stolen bases, to boot. He is slowly but surely nearing a return to pitching, but there's a good chance he'd win his fourth MVP even without reprising that unicorn role.
LVP: Michael Conforto
Dating back to April 6, Conforto has made 154 plate appearances, good for sixth-most among Dodgers. He has one RBI to show for it, and even that came on a groundout. How they can continue penciling him into the lineup while benching two productive bats like Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim or Kiké Hernández is baffling.
1. Chicago Cubs
30 of 30
Starting Nine: 10 or more runs in 12 of 54 games.
MVP: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker
There are two players with at least a dozen home runs and a dozen stolen bases, and they both happen to play in the Cubs outfield. If forced to pick just one here, got to go with PCA for what might be the most valuable defense in all of baseball. But they are both hitting .280 for the highest-scoring team.
LVP: Third Base
Since getting called back up a little over a week ago, Matt Shaw is hitting .346 and looks much more like the NL Rookie of the Year candidate they were hoping for back on Opening Day. Even with that recent flourish, though, the Cubs have gotten a .558 OPS from the hot corner this season, compared to at least a .700 mark from every other spot in the lineup.
