MLB Midseason Rankings For the Top 10 Lineups and Pitching Staffs in 2025
When we rank MLB lineups and pitching staffs, we usually do them separately and typically rank all 30 of them.
With the All-Star Game just around the corner, though, we're switching things up a little and only focusing on the upper third of each department, ranking the top 10 bat brigades and the top 10 arsenals of arms.
And since the trade deadline is only slightly more around the corner than the All-Star Game, we'll offer up a spot where each of these units may look to change things up via external means in a few weeks' time.
References to previous rankings within are from our late-May lineups rankings and our mid-June pitching staff rankings.
Plenty has changed since then, of course, including Tampa Bay's lineup skyrocketing from barely top-20 and into the top five, as well as Pittsburgh's pitching staff showing it's a whole lot more than just one mustachioed machine who gets no run support.
We'll go through all 10 offenses, followed by all 10 pitching staffs.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics are current through the start of play on Tuesday.
10th-Best Lineup: Seattle Mariners
1 of 20
Previous Rank: 9
Recent Synopsis: Still trying to ride the Big Dumper wave
While five Mariners hit at least eight home runs in their first 53 games, only three have managed more than three round-trippers over the last 37: Dominic Canzone with six out of nowhere, Randy Arozarena with a respectable eight and Cal Raleigh lapping the field with 16. They've only gone 18-19 during that stretch, though, even with the pitching getting healthier and better.
MVP: Cal Raleigh
With an MLB-best 35 home runs through 90 team games, Raleigh is on pace for 63 dingers, which would best Aaron Judge's AL-record mark of 62 from three years ago. We shall see if he keeps getting opportunities to swing the bat, though, as six of his 11 intentional walks on the season have come in the past two weeks—none of which resulted in runs.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: First base
The Donovan Solano and Luke Raley platoon has been serviceable in recent weeks, but the corner infield spots are the low-hanging fruit where Seattle can make some major strides. If Arizona drops far enough out of contention to sell, the M's ought to be targeting a Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez package.
9th-Best Lineup: Arizona Diamondbacks
2 of 20
Previous Rank: 4
Recent Synopsis: Still not potent enough to make up for the poor pitching
Eugenio Suárez just keeps mashing home runs while Ketel Marte is doing everything in his power to get the Diamondbacks over the hump, but some lot of good it's doing for their record, still slightly below .500 as they were six weeks ago. Losing Corbin Carroll for a few weeks did little to slow down this offense, but it does need Gabriel Moreno back from his hand injury as soon as possible.
MVP: Ketel Marte
Carroll went on an MVP-caliber tear while Marte was sidelined for nearly a month early in the year. However, the three-time All-Star second baseman is having a ridiculous year, even by his standards, with 19 home runs and a .982 OPS in 63 games played. That's a 162-game pace of 49 round-trippers.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Center field
At this point, selling might be more likely for Arizona than buying. But if the Snakes are still in it to win it, upgrading in center is a near-must. Alek Thomas was a highly touted prospect, but it's pretty clear four years into that experiment that he's not the answer. Overall, Arizona has gotten a .603 OPS from its "as CF" splits this season.
8th-Best Lineup: Boston Red Sox
3 of 20
Previous Rank: 6
Recent Synopsis: Kind of inexplicably doing just fine
Through late May, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman were Boston's two most valuable offensive weapons, and it wasn't even close. They were slugging .419 as a team with that duo combining for 485 plate appearances. Since then, Bregman hasn't played, Devers lasted 75 more PAs before getting traded and Boston is slugging... .448. Ceddanne Rafaela and Trevor Story have been massive lately.
MVP: Ceddanne Rafaela
If Bregman hadn't gotten injured, this is probably a different story. Same goes for if they hadn't traded away Devers. But Rafaela has blossomed into a slugger out of nowhere, going from a .602 OPS through May 26 to a .636 slugging percentage since then.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Second base
The Red Sox demoted Kristian Campbell a month ago with a .664 OPS, and it has been mostly David Hamilton's .500 OPS in his place since then. If the Twins give up on the season, though, Willi Castro could be one heck of a two-month rental.
7th-Best Lineup: Houston Astros
4 of 20
Previous Rank: 16
Recent Synopsis: Making the most of that Kyle Tucker trade
Isaac Paredes is leading the Astros in home runs, hitting his 19th on Monday. And since going 2-for-18 to start the season, Cam Smith is batting just a shade under .300 over the past three-plus months. As good as Kyle Tucker has been in Chicago, what a win-win trade that has become for both teams.
MVP: Jeremy Peña
Currently on the IL with a rib fracture, Peña could return to the Astros before or shortly after the All-Star break. And they're hoping he does so as the offensive machine he has been up to this point in the season. He was a .261 hitter with a .707 OPS over the previous three seasons, but he's at .322 and .867, respectively, this year, making up for the lack of production from Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Left-handed bats
With Tucker in Chicago and Alvarez struggling mightily before spending the past two months on the IL, Houston has had no left-handed hitting worth mentioning this season. They've gotten by just fine without it, but adding a lefty-hitting left fielder would be clutch—especially if it's Jarren Duran.
6th-Best Lineup: New York Yankees
5 of 20
Previous Rank: 3
Recent Synopsis: Down, but far from out
On the pitching front, things have definitely taken a turn for the worse in the Bronx. However, the offense remains (aside from that infamous 29-inning scoreless drought) rather potent. Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice have both cooled off big time from their hot starts, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. has become one heck of a second fiddle to Aaron Judge, while the great promise of Jasson Domínguez is finally starting to materialize, batting well north of .300 over the past four weeks.
MVP: Aaron Judge
Dreams of batting .400 went up in smoke as Judge hit just .253 in June. That said, it's comical to point to what was a 27-game stretch with nine home runs and a .967 OPS and say "That's the part where the wheels came off the track." He was still one of the best hitters in the majors during that time, with 60-plus home runs still a very real possibility.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Second or third base
Chisholm can handle one or the other, but not both at the same time. And DJ LeMahieu hasn't been "playable on a daily basis" good in a number of years. Starting pitching is the much bigger concern, but an infield upgrade is surely on New York's deadline wish list.
5th-Best Lineup: Toronto Blue Jays
6 of 20
Previous Rank: 15
Recent Synopsis: Blistering
After scoring a modest 207 runs in their first 54 games (3.8 per contest), the Blue Jays have improved their scoring by 50 percent to 213 runs over their last 37 games (5.7 per contest). And rather than their $500 million man leading the way, it's been George Springer, Addison Barger and Bo Bichette doing most of the heavy lifting with at least eight home runs apiece.
MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Though Springer has been the rejuvenated hero in recent days, Guerrero is still the cream of this Canadian crop. His slugging is down about 100 points from last year, but he ranks among the MLB leaders in on-base percentage.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Left field
Toronto has been churning through options in left field, eight different players making multiple starts there. And save for Davis Schneider's two-homer special last week against the Yankees, none of it has been working. Getting, say, Kyle Stowers from Miami or Taylor Ward from the Angels could be a real game-changer.
4th-Best Lineup: Tampa Bay Rays
7 of 20
Previous Rank: 19
Recent Synopsis: Hitting and running like there's no tomorrow
From May 28 through Monday morning, Tampa Bay had the best batting average (.282), best slugging percentage (.461), most runs (210) and most stolen bases (44) in the majors. Previous speculation of trading away Yandy Díaz or Brandon Lowe to save a few bucks now seems ridiculous, each slugging north of .560 during that stretch (along with Junior Caminero).
MVP: Jonathan Aranda
Aaron Judge was the only qualified hitter with at least a .300/.400/.500 triple-slash last season, but Aranda is flirting with joining that club this season. The slugging has dipped slightly to .478, but he's hitting .319 for the year with a .396 on-base percentage, basically doing for Tampa Bay what Yandy Díaz did two years ago.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Outfield
The Rays have a bunch of OK outfield options, but nothing worth writing home about, especially in center field. Not an easy spot for a low-budget team to make an upgrade via trade, but there do figure to be a few decent center fielders available this summer. Trading for Luis Robert Jr., having him transform back into a star and then trading him away in the offseason would be such a classic Tampa Bay coup.
3rd-Best Lineup: Detroit Tigers
8 of 20
Previous Rank: 5
Recent Synopsis: Showing no signs of wilting
If you thought during those torrid first two months that the Tigers were eventually going to cool off, well, they haven't. If anything, they've been more relentless, with Wenceel Pérez OPSing .851 since making his season debut in late May and Colt Keith slugging north of .500 over his last 41 games. If and when Parker Meadows starts to come around, they'll be even more slump-proof.
MVP: Riley Greene
Could go any number of directions here, as the Tigers are loaded with above-average bats. Greene is the big one, though, leading the team in hits (99), home runs (22), RBI (72), batting average (.285) and OPS (.876). Granted, he's also leading the majors in strikeouts (118), but in a Kyle Schwarber/Shohei Ohtani/Aaron Judge sort of way where a high whiff rate just comes with what is otherwise great territory.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Base-stealing threat
The Tigers take extra bases better than anyone, leading the majors in number of times going first to third on a single (75) as well as number of times scoring from first on a double (29). But that's at least partially because they've only attempted 40 stolen bases in the entire season, fewest in the majors by a wide margin. They don't need to do much at the deadline, but adding one of those token pinch runners for the late innings in the playoffs would be a nice touch.
2nd-Best Lineup: Los Angeles Dodgers
9 of 20
Previous Rank: 2
Recent Synopsis: Still thriving, even while partially slumping
The beauty of Los Angeles' stacked lineup is that guys can go through rough patches and the runs just keep rolling in. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Kike Hernández and Michael Conforto have all been replacement-level or worse over the past six weeks. Mookie Betts hasn't been his usual self, either. Nevertheless, they've scored the third-most runs during that stretch, thanks to Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages, Will Smith, Hyeseong Kim and Max Muncy (before his knee injury) all producing at a high level.
MVP: Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith
As of Tuesday morning, Ohtani and Smith are tied for the NL lead in OPS with a mark of .991. The latter is leading the league in both batting average (.332) and on-base percentage (.434) while the former is leading the league in home runs (30) and runs scored (87).
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Left field
With a $17 million salary or not, it's truly staggering that Michael Conforto continues to start on a regular basis. He hit .156 in March/April, .194 in May and .175 in June. If they manage to replace him with someone like Byron Buxton, Steven Kwan, Kyle Stowers or one of Boston's outfielders, there goes the only weak link in this lineup.
Best Lineup: Chicago Cubs
10 of 20
Previous Rank: 1
Recent Synopsis: Can't stop, won't stop
They've cooled off a bit from what was a 1,000-run pace early in the year, but not enough to lose their spot atop the offensive rankings. In fact, after slugging .451 through their first 55 games, they've slugged .452 in the last 35. Michael Busch, though, went from slugging .450 through May 27 to an Aaron Judge-like .750 mark over the past six weeks.
MVP: Pete Crow-Armstrong
Busch, Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki and the overall impact of the three catchers the Cubs have used would all be solid MVP options in most lineups, but PCA may well be the MVP of the entire NL. We already knew from last season that he was an impeccable asset on defense, but the 23 home runs and .859 OPS have been quite the leveling up from the 23-year-old.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Third base
There was a 10-game stretch after Matt Shaw was called back up in mid-May where he went 14-for-37 (.378 AVG) with a .939 OPS. Take out those 10 games, though, and he's sitting at 27-for-161 (.168 AVG) with an OPS that barely cracks .500. He's their future at the hot corner, but surely they can find someone better suited to helping them win right now.
10th-Best Pitching Staff: Seattle Mariners
11 of 20
Previous Rank: 19
Recent Synopsis: Starting to look like they did last year
After a rough start at least partially fueled by injuries to both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, Seattle's pitching staff has turned a serious corner. The M's allowed 4.5 runs per game through their first 56 contests, but they've trimmed that to 3.8 dating back to May 30—plus a bit of recent addition by subtraction in shipping Emerson Hancock's 5.47 ERA back to Triple-A a week ago.
MVP: Bryan Woo
Had Kirby been healthy on Opening Day, Seattle would have needed to make a tough call between Woo and Hancock as the No. 5 starter. Half a season later, though, it'll be Woo representing this rotation in the All-Star Game. He has lasted at least six innings in all 17 of his starts this season—an exceptionally rare feat in today's era of pitching—with 13 of those resulting in quality starts.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Middle relief
The starting quartet of Woo, Kirby, Gilbert and Luis Castillo is right up there with the best in the majors, as is the one-two punch of Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz in the eighth and ninth innings. But improving the list of options in the sixth and seventh innings would be fantastic, as Gabe Speier is presently both the only southpaw on the roster and the only middle reliever worth trusting in a tight game.
9th-Best Pitching Staff: New York Mets
12 of 20
Previous Rank: 1
Recent Synopsis: Regression to the mean is a real son of a gun
During their 45-24 start, the Mets' pitching staff drastically defied expectations, leading the majors in runs allowed (3.25 per game) despite not having their two highest-paid starters, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. But in losing 15 of their last 22 games, they've allowed 6.1 runs on average, everyone except for a few relievers coming crashing back to earth.
MVP: Kodai Senga
It's hardly a coincidence that the Mets' regression began when it did. Senga went 5.2 scoreless IP in what was their 45th win of the season, lowering his ERA to 1.47, but suffering a significant hamstring strain in the process. He can't return to their rotation soon enough.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Health?
Everyone knows about the Dodgers' season-long battle with the injury bug, but it sure has ravaged the Mets, too, with 13 pitchers presently on the IL. At least Senga, Manaea and Tylor Megill ought to return to the rotation in the next couple of weeks, but AJ Minter is out for the year and the Mets have struggled to establish a reliable set-up guy (or left-handed reliever, in general) in his absence.
8th-Best Pitching Staff: San Diego Padres
13 of 20
Previous Rank: 6
Recent Synopsis: Starting to get healthy, continuing to tread water
Yu Darvish made his 2025 debut on Monday. He only went 3.2 IP in a loss, but it felt like a win for a Padres staff that had been trying to hold it together for more than a month sans all of Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Michael King. Ryan Bergert ought to return from his forearm contusion this weekend, too, as he looks to resume a fringe NL ROY campaign with a 2.67 ERA in nine appearances.
MVP: Nick Pivetta
He sputtered through a few tough outings in June, but Pivetta has allowed just one run with 16 strikeouts over his last two starts, bringing his ERA back down to 3.25. Between the aforementioned injuries and Dylan Cease's season-long struggles (4.62 ERA), the 32-year-old has often felt like the one thing holding this staff together.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Back of the rotation
If Darvish can get back to his usual self and King can get back on the mound any time soon, maybe the Padres can just focus all of their deadline efforts on improving a lineup that has been held to six runs or fewer in 20 consecutive games. But adding one more starter wouldn't be a bad idea, if only because Randy Vásquez's combination of a 3.79 ERA and 5.32 FIP (not to mention his 4.87 ERA last season) looms ominously.
7th-Best Pitching Staff: San Francisco Giants
14 of 20
Previous Rank: 5
Recent Synopsis: Starting to show cracks in the armor
Logan Webb and Robbie Ray are continuing to dominate every fifth day, and Randy Rodríguez has an extremely nice 0.69 ERA on his way to the All-Star Game. But, as a whole, the Giants have unraveled over the past month, allowing 4.84 runs per game while losing 14 of their last 25. Once an impenetrable fortress, the non-Rodríguez portion of the bullpen has been more like Swiss cheese lately, especially closer Camilo Doval.
MVP: Logan Webb and Robbie Ray
Joining Rodríguez at the Midsummer Classic will be this pair of starters who each has at least 105 innings pitched and a sub-2.70 ERA. As of Tuesday morning, the only other members of that nine-man club are Garrett Crochet, Max Fried, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Jacob deGrom.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: The rest of the rotation
Landen Roupp has been...fine. And Justin Verlander does at least have five quality starts to show for his winless record. But it's a steep drop from Webb and Ray to that duo, and another steep drop to Hayden Birdsong as the No. 5 starter. If they don't add at least one starter, they may well miss the postseason, or might be using openers for any October game not started by Webb or Ray.
6th-Best Pitching Staff: Detroit Tigers
15 of 20
Previous Rank: 4
Recent Synopsis: Trying to withstand an injury-riddled stretch
Tarik Skubal has a 1.12 ERA over his last eight starts, while Casey Mize is at a "darn good if not compared against Skubal" 2.57 ERA in his last nine appearances. But with Jackson Jobe out for the year, Alex Cobb yet to make his 2025 debut and Reese Olson just last week returning from a six-week stint on the IL, Detroit has needed to revert to the frequent openers approach it used last fall—and hasn't been nearly as successful at it.
MVP: Tarik Skubal
Take out the first two starts of the year in which he allowed seven earned runs in 10.2 innings while saddled with a pair of losses, and Skubal is 10-0 in 16 starts with a 1.62 ERA and 138 strikeouts against 10 walks. In eight of those 16 starts, he didn't allow a single run, earned or unearned.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Bullpen strikeouts
Perhaps they also look to add another starter if Cobb is no closer to joining the rotation by the end of the month, but Detroit's World Series hopes would benefit from the addition of a single-inning strikeout machine. Will Vest is presently their only reliever with at least 11 innings of work and a FIP below 3.00, as he is one of the only Tigers relievers who can consistently generate whiffs.
5th-Best Pitching Staff: Kansas City Royals
16 of 20
Previous Rank: 8
Recent Synopsis: Pitching pretty well, hitting much less so
Burgeoning trade candidate Seth Lugo has been on fire lately while rookie Noah Cameron continues to make a good impression. As a whole, the Royals have a respectable 3.64 ERA over the past four weeks. And, for the year, only the Astros and Rangers have allowed fewer runs than Kansas City. Yet, they're four games below .500 thanks to the lowest-scoring offense in all the land.
MVP: Kris Bubic
As good as Lugo has been recently, Bubic is still the cream of the crop here with a 2.36 ERA and 2.78 FIP for the year. He has made 11 quality starts, a few of which even received some run support.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Run support
At five games back in the wild-card hunt with Cole Ragans among their several pitchers likely to return from the IL around the trade deadline, it's unclear whether the Royals will be buying or selling. But if they are buying, they don't particularly need any arms. Maybe a lefty reliever with a sub-1.35 WHIP would be nice.
4th-Best Pitching Staff: Texas Rangers
17 of 20
Previous Rank: 2
Recent Synopsis: Rotation is hurting/slipping, but still solid overall
Nathan Eovaldi missed a month of action, during which time the Rangers lost Tyler Mahle to the 60-day IL. Considering the former has a 1.75 ERA and the latter had a 2.34 ERA, that could have been a season-ending blow. But Jacob deGrom has continued to thrive, while Kumar Rocker is starting to make a legitimate impact with a 2.49 ERA over his last four starts.
MVP: Jacob deGrom
Eovaldi has been a bit better when healthy, but the fact that deGrom has pitched 29 more innings is a big deal. In fact, it's his first time reaching at least 100 innings since 2019. DeGrom is nowhere near the strikeout machine he used to be, but hard to argue with basically one K per inning instead of 1.5 when it comes alongside a 2.29 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and consistent availability to pitch.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Take your pick
While the overall state of this pitching staff has been far better than most, it's largely deGrom, Eovaldi and Mahle and a bunch of barely replacement-level production. They could use a legitimate closer, as well as a back-of-the-rotation starter or two...if they're even buying instead of selling, that is.
3rd-Best Pitching Staff: Pittsburgh Pirates
18 of 20
Previous Rank: 11
Recent Synopsis: Finding gems in unexpected places
Paul Skenes has, of course, been marvelous. But if it was just him pitching well, the Pirates wouldn't have a team-wide 3.09 ERA over the past 36 games. Rather, Mike Burrows has come out of nowhere with a 2.30 ERA in his last seven appearances, while the bullpen quartet of David Bednar, Dennis Santana, Caleb Ferguson and Isaac Mattison has combined to allow six earned runs in its last 59 innings of work.
MVP: Paul Skenes
In 13 starts since the beginning of May, Skenes has tossed 78.1 innings, making eight quality starts with a 1.72 ERA...and has a 1-5 record to show for it. He's arguably the best pitcher in baseball today, and he's well on his way to what might be the most impressive losing record in a single season in MLB history.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Payroll?
If they can trade away any combination of Mitch Keller, Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes, that's more money back in their pockets to tentatively throw in Skenes' direction for long-term extension negotiations. Beyond that, trading away the likes of Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter would open up some room in the rotation for Pittsburgh's many talented pitching prospects to potentially shine down the stretch of what will otherwise be another lost season.
2nd-Best Pitching Staff: Houston Astros
19 of 20
Previous Rank: 3
Recent Synopsis: Awesome bullpen carrying an ailing rotation
Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have been excellent, while Ryan Gusto, Colton Gordon and Brandon Walter have been, well, replacement-level players while Spencer Arrighetti, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier look to work their way back from the IL in the next month or so. Save for Kaleb Ort, though, all the bullpen regulars have a 3.00 ERA or better.
MVP: Hunter Brown
Tarik Skubal is running away with the AL Cy Young award, but Brown is certainly keeping things interesting. Among qualified starters, the 26-year-old leads the majors with a 1.82 ERA, with nearly twice as many strikeouts (126) as hits allowed (65). He has allowed more than two earned runs in a start just twice all season, and not once since May 21.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: Right-handed relievers
A complete 180 from two years ago when Valdez was the only southpaw who logged at least 15 innings pitched for the season, four of Houston's go-to relievers this season are lefties, with Bryan Abreu the lone exception to the rule. Could use another right-handed reliever or two to increase the odds of actually getting Aaron Judge out if they run into the Yankees in October.
Best Pitching Staff: Philadelphia Phillies
20 of 20
Previous Rank: 7
Recent Synopsis: No Nola, no problem
Most teams would have a hard time adjusting to losing a $172 million pitcher to the IL for at least two months. Most teams also don't have Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez, who have gone in 29 combined starts since Nola's injury: 188.2 IP, 1.72 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 9.5 K/9. Orion Kerkering also had a 0.77 ERA during a 26-appearance stretch from the beginning of May through this past weekend.
MVP: Zack Wheeler
All three of the aforementioned starters have been masterful, but Wheeler leads the NL in both WHIP (0.85) and K/9 (11.5) and has a good shot at a pitching triple crown. He's already No. 1 in strikeouts (148), only Freddy Peralta (10) has more wins than Wheeler's nine, and only Paul Skenes (1.94) has a better ERA than his 2.17.
Maybe Improve Via Trade: The bullpen
Kerkering has been solid lately, and both Tanner Banks and Matt Strahm have been reasonably reliable. Frankly, though, they could gut this whole bullpen and plan on entering October with a Frankenstein's monster of trade deadline acquisitions. At the very least, they better get a closer that almost anyone feels comfortable with in the ninth inning of a playoff game.
