MLB Watchability Rankings for All 30 Teams Right Now
With the 2025 MLB season at its halfway mark, it's time to take whatever opinions you had of teams back on Opening Day and throw them out the window.
We know who they are now. And more to the point, whether they're worth anyone's time.
The goal here is to drill down into how entertaining all 30 MLB teams are in 2025 by ranking them according to their watchability. To this end, the ideal is a team that combines consistent winning with exciting stars and an element of pure, uncut likeability.
The more a team checks these three boxes, the higher it ranks. The more it struggles to do so, the lower it ranks.
Let's count 'em down three at a time.
Note: Stats are current through play on Monday, June 23.
30-28: Rockies, White Sox, Marlins
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30. Colorado Rockies
Record: 18-61
There actually is a recommended way to watch the Rockies, but it involves showing up to see them in-person at Coors Field. And even then, you're not so much there for them as for the Rocky Mountain vibes and local brews.
The actual team deserves to be buried deep underneath the Rockies. An 18-60 record doesn't sound fun, after all, and the actual making of said record has been a truly miserable experience. They have been outscored by an average of 2.6 runs, which is twice the differential of the team on the other end of the spectrum.
It says a lot that the Rockies' best player is a reliever, and one who may not even be on the team on the other side of the trade deadline.
29. Chicago White Sox
Record: 25-55
Let's give the 2025 White Sox this much: They make the 2024 White Sox look like chumps.
Among the players who can take a bow for this are Shane Smith, who has a sub-3.00 ERA, and Miguel Vargas, whose bat has been hot since late April. There's also a guy in the bullpen named Steven Wilson who has a sub-2.00 ERA.
And yet, it is only last year's team that is standing between the 2025 White Sox and all-time franchise infamy. The offense is especially, well, offensive by way of a league-low .634 OPS. It's as if someone made a whole team out of 2024 Christopher Morels.
28. Miami Marlins
Record: 32-45
If you asked a random fan to name five Marlins players from the past, they could probably do it. But if asked for five Marlins players from the present...eh, probably a different story.
Even if their roster churn hasn't been as constant as it was in 2024, this is still an unhealthily anonymous team. It will be that much more so once Sandy Alcántara is shown the door ahead of the trade deadline, and even he is a "star" in name only this year.
Still, at least there's Kyle Stowers' quiet rise and Edward Cabrera's pitch GIF-ery. The Marlins also like their late-inning drama, as they have already been on either side of nine walk-offs in 2025.
27-25: Pirates, Nationals, Athletics
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27. Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 32-49
Here's a flow chart for watching the Pirates:
- If Paul Skenes is pitching or Oneil Cruz is at bat, then do
- If not, then don't
Skenes has been the best pitcher in MLB (don't @ us, just look at that 1.91 ERA) since he debuted last May, while Cruz is apt to electrify with his power, speed and arm strenghth. Particularly his power, which has a max exit velocity of 122.9 mph.
Yet even with respect to a pitching staff that has solid talent outside of Skenes, the rest of the team is "meh" personified. The offense isn't even truly that, as it ranks last in the league in both scoring and home runs.
26. Washington Nationals
Record: 33-47
The Nationals pretty much fall under the same umbrella as the Pirates. While the latter has Skenes and Cruz to hold fans over, the former has MacKenzie Gore and James Wood.
Gore is the strikeout maestro in baseball right now, as the lefty leads all hurlers with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Wood, meanwhile, hits tanks. Whereas the average home run travels 395 feet, the 22 he's hit have gone an average of 413 feet. He's also an actually good hitter, something Cruz can't say.
There's otherwise not a lot about this team to like, and that's a shame. After so many years of rebuilding, the Nats ought to have more than two compelling players.
25. Athletics
Record: 32-49
Though the whole unit isn't especially good at scoring runs or playing the field, the A's actually have a sneaky-fun starting nine.
Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler are still there, and both Jacob Wilson (.349 AVG) and Nick Kurtz (9 HR since May 20) are hitting like they want to own the AL Rookie of the Year voting. If he keeps fielding like this, Denzel Clarke may get a vote or two as well.
It's therefore too bad about the pitching, which has yielded a league-high 115 home runs and AL-high 462 runs. It's also too bad about the home ballpark, which is as unpleasant to look at as it apparently is to play at.
24-22: Angels, Rangers, Orioles
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24. Los Angeles Angels
Record: 39-40
The Angels aren't good, but they're so much better than expected that they can fairly be called the single biggest curiosity in MLB this year.
The bullpen is bad, sure, but the rotation has a couple of guys (Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano) with ERAs in the 3.00s and the offense is fourth in the league in home runs. Five different hitters are in double digits for long balls.
Paradoxically, though, the 2025 Angels are less watchable than some of the truly bad teams of recent vintage. This may sound like madness, but just remember those ones had Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani at their respective peaks.
23. Texas Rangers
Record: 39-41
The Rangers are a good team to watch if you want to see some good pitching. Not every day, perhaps, but at least when Jacob deGrom or Tyler Mahle is on the hill. Each has an ERA in the low 2.00s.
What you don't tune into the Rangers for is offense. The bats have been a little better since Bret Boone came aboard in May, but we're still talking about a lineup that scores 3-ish runs per game and gets on base at a .292 clip. It's not pretty.
Plus, there is the lingering specter of what this team used to be. That the Rangers could go from a power-driven World Series champion to just another mediocre squad in two years is frankly a bummer that is not easily ignored.
22. Baltimore Orioles
Record: 34-45
Glimpses of the Orioles of 2023 and 2024 have been showing up more often lately. They're 18-10 since May 24, mostly owing to a pitching staff that has stabilized with a 3.37 ERA.
It's therefore too bad that this staff is not especially compelling, though it's a worse thing that the O's have fallen off a cliff offensively. It's the home runs that have gone away, with Baltimore going from second in that category in 2024 to 11th in 2025.
What makes this even sadder is that it's still mostly the same starting lineup. But whether we're talking Gunnar Henderson or whoever, it seems like everyone is hitting as if the weight of this year's disappointment has simply gotten too heavy.
21-19: Twins, Braves, Guardians
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21. Minnesota Twins
Record: 37-42
Byron Buxton is healthy, and you know what that means: All kinds of fun. He's dialed up a .912 OPS and 17 homers, and he can still go get it in center field.
And have you seen Joe Ryan pitch? It's been a thing lately, with him having posted a 2.62 ERA in his last 10 starts. The ideal scenario is him setting 'em up and Jhoan Duran knocking 'em down with a fastball that averages 100.2 mph.
Still, this is another case of a fallen idol from the 2023 season. There's just a lot of filler in this roster, for which we're counting even a post-prime Carlos Correa and a star who never was in Royce Lewis.
20. Atlanta Braves
Record: 37-41
To watch the Braves in 2025 is to continue to expose yourself to plenty of familiar stars. There's still connective tissue to the club that won the World Series in 2021, and even more to the one that won 104 games in 2023.
More specifically, Ronald Acuña Jr. has quickly reclaimed his spot as one of the most electrifying stars in baseball. In just 28 games since returning from his second ACL tear, he's gone off for a 1.213 OPS. He just got his 200th stolen base on Tuesday and could also get to 200 home runs by the end of the year. He's at 174 presently.
And yet, to watch the Braves in 2025 also just feels...sad. Sort of like watching a once-great band that has aged into touring smaller venues. The comfort of the familiar is there, but the magic is long gone.
19. Cleveland Guardians
Record: 39-38
José Ramírez is one of the game's great players, so any excuse to watch him do his thing must be taken without hesitation. And yet, he isn't even the Guardians' best player this year.
The sweet-swinging, slick-fielding Steven Kwan has him beat with 3.3 rWAR, and he's worth stumping for as a relatively hidden gem. Most notably, there is something hypnotic about how he never swings and misses.
It's a largely anonymous offense outside of those two, though, and the pitching is solid without being especially interesting. The bullpen is the best part, and even it has fallen far from its truly spectacular form (i.e., 2.57 ERA) from last year.
18-16: Royals, Cardinals, Blue Jays
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18. Kansas City Royals
Record: 38-41
One thing that hasn't changed for the Royals relative to 2024 is that they can still pitch the heck out of the ball. Their 3.41 ERA is the fourth-lowest in MLB, and they basically don't have a weak spot in their rotation.
As to what has changed, Bobby Witt Jr. is no longer the only hitter worth watching in their lineup. He's having another awesome season with 26 doubles, 10 homers, 21 stolen bases and a bunch of defensive highlights. Except now, Maikel Garcia has become his partner in crime with a .860 OPS, 19 doubles and 17 steals of his own.
Even despite their exploits, however, watching the Royals try to score runs is like watching paint dry on growing grass. Only the Pirates have scored less often and hit fewer home runs.
17. St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 44-36
There's a huge gap between the Cardinals (+26) and the next-best team (+19) on the Outs Above Average leaderboard, and that is by no means a mirage.
This is an excellent defensive team, and especially up the middle with Masyn Winn at short and Victor Scott II in center field. Any ball hit in their direction carries the potential for satisfying viewing.
The Cardinals are a pretty bland team otherwise, neither doing anything poorly or anything especially well. They score runs, but they don't hit many homers or steal many bases. They also keep runs off the board, but don't strike guys out.
16. Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 42-36
Sure, the Blue Jays are winning games. And sure, they have a veritable truckload of name-brand players, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer and (once again as of Wednesday) Max Scherzer.
And yet, none of those guys nor any other Blue Jay is having a particularly memorable season. It feels appropriate for a team whose winning ways are almost certainly unsustainable, as Toronto has allowed 10 more runs than it has scored.
Defense is the thing the Blue Jays do best, and they're not even 100 percent in that department as long as Daulton Varsho and his fly-ball-slaying glove are out of action.
15-13: Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Padres
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15. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 41-38
It's a bummer about Corbin Carroll, who's headed to the injured list with a chip fracture in his left wrist. He has been one of the most dynamic players of 2025, putting up 20 homers, nine triples and 13 doubles prior to his injury.
With Carroll gone, there's still Ketel Marte, Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor to tune in for when you're in the mood for offensive goodness. Indeed, the team as a whole ranks third in scoring and OPS.
As for the pitching, well, it's hard to watch. Absent Corbin Burnes while he recovers from Tommy John surgery, Merrill Kelly is basically the only competent hurler on a staff that has a 4.74 ERA. And with all respect, his pitching style is on the dull side.
14. Boston Red Sox
Record: 40-41
The Red Sox are the trashy reality TV show of the 2025 season. The entire timeline leading up to the Rafael Devers was great content precisely because it was so cringe, and it's clear by now that it's dysfunction all the way down.
As things stand, the actual team is just OK and yet oddly interesting. Top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are there to provide rooting interest, and don't overlook the ongoing breakouts of Carlos Narváez and Ceddanne Rafaela.
Further, definitely don't overlook Garrett Crochet on days he pitches. He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now, as he's rocking a 2.20 ERA and leading the AL in innings and all of MLB in strikeouts.
13. San Diego Padres
Record: 43-36
The Padres would have ranked highly on this list earlier in the season, but not so much now amid a 15-21 spiral since May 16.
Their pitching can only be so entertaining sans Michael King, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, and their lineup quickly thins out after a very-much-worth-watching front three of Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado. Luis Arraez and Xander Bogaerts are there, too, but they're not hitting.
At this point, the recommended way to watch the Friars is to wait until they face the Los Angeles Dodgers again. That will be in mid-August, and you can rest assured that the flavor will be spicy.
12-10: Reds, Rays, Brewers
7 of 10
12. Cincinnati Reds
Record: 42-38
As this is about watchability, you just know we have to lead our Reds discussion with Elly De La Cruz. The slugger/speedster is even more of a create-a-player than usual in 2025, as he's tracking toward career highs with a .861 OPS and 18 homers.
And yet the best reason to watch the Reds concerns their...pitching?
It's not what you'd expect from a team that plays its home games in MLB's foremost launching pad, but it's true. The Reds had a 3.83 ERA even before calling up Chase Burns for his spectacular MLB debut on Tuesday, and he's a bit like a Hunter Greene clone in that he uses a lethal fastball-slider combo to shove when he's on the hill.
11. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 44-35
The Rays are good. Like, genuinely good. They've scored 70 more runs than they've allowed, so they might even be underachieving.
How watchable they are, though, depends on what you want out of your baseball entertainment. Theirs is more of a collaborative offense (especially with a MLB-leading 104 stolen bases) than one driven by stars, and their pitching staff is less dominant and more efficient. They also have a bunch of good fielders but no great ones.
A recipe for winning baseball? Obviously. But a recipe for must-see baseball? It's not a hard no, but it isn't a hard yes, either.
10. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 44-36
Every year, the Brewers have one less star than they did the year before. And every year, it doesn't matter. There's something inherently charming about that.
As to the product on the field, this is secretly one of the deeper offensive teams in the National League even though Jackson Chourio hasn't gotten hot yet. All but two lineup regulars have an OPS+ over 100, and those include familiar standouts like Christian Yelich and Rhys Hoskins.
The pitching staff, meanwhile, now has an appointment-viewing arm in rookie righty Jacob Misiorowski, who's been literally unhittable. Plus, here's a hint for enjoying Milwaukee's entire staff: It benefits from the best defensive outfield in the majors.
9-7: Astros, Mariners, Giants
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9. Houston Astros
Record: 46-33
This is the least star-studded Astros team in a decade, and this feels even truer while Jose Altuve is having a merely OK season and Yordan Alvarez remains on the injured list with a banged-up hand.
What the Astros do have, however, is an excellent left-side infield duo (Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes) and a pitching staff that is having little trouble standing strong even against a wave of injuries.
The Astros lead MLB with 768 strikeouts, with 109 of them coming from Hunter Brown alone. He and Framber Valdez are proper aces, and Josh Hader is at the back end of arguably the best bullpen in the majors.
8. Seattle Mariners
Record: 41-37
If it's MLB's leading home run hitter you want to see, then you've come to the right place. And in the case of Cal Raleigh, every time he goes deep (32 and counting so far) means an excuse to shout "Big Dumper!" at maximum volume.
The Mariners have otherwise been maddeningly inconsistent, but now's a good time to tune in anyway. Their rotation recently got Logan Gilbert and George Kirby back alongside Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo, and the non-Raleigh bats are waking up.
Seattle has scored 41 runs in its last four games, and this is even though Julio Rodríguez only just got back in on the long ball fun on Monday. This is about the time of year when he usually goes on a heater, and a hot J-Rod is as fun as players come.
7. San Francisco Giants
Record: 44-35
The Giants were already a pleasant surprise 10 days ago. Now they have Rafael Devers, who is the eyeball magnet their offense has been missing for years.
Devers was crushing the ball even in what had become a miserable environment in Boston. Now that he's reportedly "elated" to be in San Francisco, Giants fans aren't the only ones who should be watching for what comes next.
It also shouldn't be overlooked that the Giants have one of the best ace duos in MLB right now. That is Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, each of whom has an ERA in the 2.00s after 16 starts.
6-4: Yankees, Mets, Phillies
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6. New York Yankees
Record: 45-34
If absolutely nothing else, the Yankees are worth watching for Aaron Judge. Even amid a sustained cool-down, he still leads the majors in all three triple-slash categories and isn't far off the MLB lead with 28 home runs.
The supporting cast isn't too shabby, either. Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger are MVP winners in their own right, while Max Fried (16 GS, 2.05 ERA) and Carlos Rodón (16 GS, 3.10 ERA) are pitching like they want Cy Young Award votes.
Yet even if this year's iteration is also on course for 94 wins, the Yankees were more fun to watch when they had Juan Soto in 2024. Maybe it sounds like a hot take, but we all know it's true, right?
5. New York Mets
Record: 46-34
The Mets are the only team in the league with four hitters who have each hit 15-plus home runs, and contained within is one of the great trios of the season.
Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso are doing their usual thing, and Soto's cold start has gone up in smoke. Since May 31, his OPS is up over 1.200 and he has nine home runs just since then.
It is therefore odd that the Mets are kind of a mid offensive team, and their pitching frankly isn't as fun as its league-best 3.20 ERA would lead one to believe. With Kodai Senga now among a bunch of injured arms, it's an ace-less unit.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 47-32
The Phillies are as loaded with stars as they've ever been, yet the cracks in the foundation have never been clearer. Suffice it to say that Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto are not doing their best work.
They're still there, though, and Kyle Schwarber has never been more there. With a .920 OPS and 24 home runs, he is slugging his way even further into the good graces of baseball fans everywhere.
This is also the place to go if you want to see good starting pitching. Zack Wheeler (15 GS, 2.61 ERA) is still an ageless marvel, and the rotation as a whole has 3 rWAR on the next-best in MLB.
3-1: Cubs, Tigers, Dodgers
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3. Chicago Cubs
Record: 46-33
The Cubs deserve a bonus point or two simply by virtue of having arguably the most entertaining player in MLB right now. That's Pete Crow-Armstrong, who checks boxes as an elite hitter, baserunner and fielder.
Yet PCA is but one part of an offense that can truly do it all. The Cubs rank second in scoring because they do everything well, including home runs (fourth) and stolen bases (third). Turn on any given game, and you're liable to see the North Siders putting up a 10 spot in the "R" column.
It is therefore a drag that the Cubs are less proficient on the mound, but at least Shota Imanaga is coming back on Thursday. His vanishing fastballs and off-the-table splitters have been missed.
2. Detroit Tigers
Record: 50-30
Are vibes visible? Some would say no, but anyone who's grown to love watching the Tigers in 2025 would beg to differ.
They are a good team that makes being a good team look like tons of fun. And their offense has truly been a pleasant surprise that has comeback stories galore. It's frankly awesome to see Javier Báez, Gleyber Torres and Spencer Torkelson redeeming themselves all at the same time.
Plus, there's the chance to see Tarik Skubal pitch every fifth day. It's becoming akin to a religious experience, as the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has already struck out 105 more batters than he has walked.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 49-31
The Dodgers may not have the best record in the league, but they have been baseball's most impossible-to-look-away-from team since Day 1.
They are the reigning World Series champions, after all, and their $400 million payroll is mostly being put to good use. Particularly on the offensive side, where Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández have all contributed to MLB-leading totals for runs and home runs.
It also helps to have the best player in baseball doing best-player-in-baseball things. Shohei Ohtani is on track for yet another 50-homer season, and now he's helping to redeem the Dodgers' disappointing mound attack, even if it is just one inning at a time.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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