Hop On the Bandwagon of These 6 MLB Teams Before It's Too Late
Whether you're a new fan of Major League Baseball searching for a franchise to call your own or you just need a team to pull for temporarily to help you forget that you're a fan of a basement-dwelling club going nowhere fast, we're here to help with some bandwagon suggestions.
There are three simple rules when choosing a bandwagon team.
First, it cannot be one of the five most recent World Series champions, which rules out the Braves, Astros, Rangers and Dodgers (twice).
Second, unless you live in New York City, it cannot be the Yankees. Don't be that person.
The third rule is much more subjective than the first two, but it should be a team that is fun to watch and that has a prayer of making the postseason.
There's also a fourth, unspoken rule that your bandwagon team cannot play in the same division as your primary rooting interest. However, we cannot exactly account for that with each reader, so you'll have to figure out which of these teams are options to become your secondary club for 2026.
We'll be identifying the top bandwagon option from each of the six divisions, so at least five of the six could appeal to you.
American League East: Tampa Bay Rays
1 of 6
Record: 5-7
Postseason Potential: Not Great, But Plausible
Despite opening the season with nine consecutive road games, Tampa Bay has held its own out of the gates. The Rays have lost their last two games, but during their 5-5 start, their "to make the playoffs" line improved from +340 to more like +250. That's still only about a 30 percent chance, but it's light-years ahead of where the Nationals, Rockies and White Sox find themselves amid their rebuilding years. At least there's a pulse here.
What Makes Them Fun: Not Like the Others
Now that the Orioles have at least temporarily become a big spender, the non-Tampa Bay members of the AL East have an average tax payroll of around $282M. Then there's the Rays, almost dead last in the majors, down at $107M. Especially this year, they shouldn't have any business competing with their deep-pocketed brethren. But they steal bags, they hit for average and they always seem to find a guy who becomes a top-of-the-rotation arm out of nowhere.
Jersey to Buy: Junior Caminero
Caminero was the breakout star of 2025, who mashed 45 home runs in his age-21 season. And though he did a lot of his slugging damage at Tampa Bay's temporary Triple-A home at Steinbrenner Park, he got out to a promising start with a home run in his second plate appearance at Tropicana Field this year. You never quite know when Tampa Bay will trade away a star player, but this young third baseman is under team control through at least 2030 and should be in a Rays uniform for a few more years.
American League Central: Kansas City Royals
2 of 6
Record: 5-7
Postseason Potential: 50/50
Kansas City won 82 games last year, missing the postseason by five games. It won 86 games the previous season, sneaking in as the AL's No. 5 seed. And all signs point toward something similar in 2026, FanGraphs projecting the Royals for 81.6 wins with a 42.2 percent chance of making the postseason, while Baseball-Reference puts them at 83.7 and 56.0, respectively. In other words: It should be an entertaining ride in this wide-open division.
What Makes Them Fun: Underrated Rotation
Most would agree that the Royals have a starting rotation that ranks in the top half of the league, probably even the top 10. But while few would go so far as to say it's the best in the majors right now, it legitimately might be. They don't have anything close to a Tarik Skubal or a Paul Skenes up top, but it's pretty darn hard to argue with Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron at the back of this rotation. At any rate, there's not a night when fans are walking into Kauffman Stadium already fearing the worst because of the pitching matchup.
Jersey to Buy: Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt finally got an extra-base hit on Wednesday. That RBI double was his first multi-bagger of the 2026 campaign. However, after back-to-back seasons of leading the majors in hits while racking up a combined total of 164 XBH, we trust that many are coming soon. In the meantime, he has an MLB high of seven stolen bases, very much on his way to a fifth consecutive year with at least 30 in that department. And he won't be going anywhere anytime soon, signed through at least 2030, possibly through 2037 if all options are exercised.
American League West: Los Angeles Angels
3 of 6
Record: 6-7
Postseason Potential: Slim to None, But Never Say Never
MLB's schedule makers saw fit to start the Angels out with four consecutive series against likely playoff teams, as well as 29 straight games against teams with a preseason win total of at least 80.5. Given how low the expectations were for this club, they easily could've been something like 3-10 right now and a solid dozen games below .500 by the end of April. Yet, they are more than hanging in there, splitting in Houston, winning the home series against Seattle and literally fighting unlike anything we've seen from them in more than a decade.
What Makes Them Fun: Mike Trout Might Be Back
Midway through the second game of the year, Trout was 4-for-5 with two home runs and three walks. Maintaining that type of pace was, of course, never going to be possible. In fact, he has triple-slashed .111/.289/.139 over his last 10 games. But in year No. 16 of the Trout Experience, he does seem to be seeing the ball better than he did over the past few seasons. He already survived his first injury scare of the year (HBP on hand). It'd be fun if he is at the forefront of the Angels' first postseason run since 2014.
Jersey to Buy: José Soriano
More often than not, you want a position player's jersey, seeing as how they play almost every day. But Soriano has stormed out of the gates looking like the best pitcher (aside from Shohei Ohtani) that the Angels have had since the days of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana back in the 2010 timeframe. Through three quality starts, he has 21 strikeouts with just one run allowed on a Drake Baldwin solo shot. His knuckle curve is one of the deadliest pitches in baseball right now.
National League East: Miami Marlins
4 of 6
Record: 7-5
Postseason Potential: Better Than Two Weeks Ago
When Miami shockingly made the playoffs in 2023, going 33-14 in one-run games was a colossal part of the equation. Well, thus far in 2026, the Marlins are 4-0 in that department. Granted, one could argue that thrice beating the Rockies by one run is more cause for concern than confidence. After bringing in a legitimate closer in Pete Fairbanks, though, this team should be solid in close games. That might be enough, even in this loaded division.
What Makes Them Fun: Youth Movement
There are 20 position players on Miami's 40-man roster. With the exception of Austin Slater, they are all in their age-28 or younger season. That includes NL ROY hopeful Owen Caissie, speedster Jakob Marsee—who stole four bases on Tuesday alone—and currently injured 2025 All-Star Kyle Stowers. And when it comes to the prospect of NL East bandwagoning, it's just more fun to roll with the young'uns, as opposed to the much more established lineups in New York or Philadelphia. (Of note, Washington's lineup is even younger than Miami's. However, you want to give yourself at least some hope of still rooting for something in October.)
Jersey to Buy: Owen Caissie
2022 NL Cy Young Sandy Alcantara is also very much on the table here, already tossing one complete-game shutout and coming two outs away from a second. Caissie is the future, though; the highly touted outfield prospect who the Marlins gave up Edward Cabrera to acquire back in January. Thus far, they've been platooning him with Slater in right field. He'll be an everyday staple, though, if and when he starts hitting southpaws better.
National League Central: Pittsburgh Pirates
5 of 6
Record: 7-5
Postseason Potential: Best It's Been in a Decade
We've seen this team jump out to hot starts in recent years, only to crater in spectacular fashion. A 9-2 start in 2024 turned into a last-place finish in the NL Central. Similar story in 2023, when a 20-8 start gave way to a 56-78 finish. But the Pirates had a busy offseason in hopes of entering September with a playoff pulse for a change. So far, so good on that front.
What Makes Them Fun: They're Trying for Once
The NL Central actually has three great candidates here. If you love stolen bases and dominant pitching on a budget, go with the Brewers. Or if you prefer rooting for a team that hasn't won a postseason series in more than three decades, the Reds might finally end that drought. But the Pirates are at the beginning of what could be a special window on par with their run from 2013-15, monetarily invested in winning like never before and anchored by young sensations Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin. If only their outfield defense wasn't a travesty...
Jersey to Buy: Konnor Griffin
Pittsburgh jumped aboard the recent trend of signing a player to a massive extension either before or shortly after his MLB debut, inking Griffin to a nine-year, $140M deal on Wednesday morning. He's played just six games. He doesn't even turn 20 for another two weeks. But, hey, if the Nationals had locked in Juan Soto for nine years when he was a teenager, he'd still be in the nation's capital on a preposterously team-friendly deal today. That's what the Pirates are hoping for in securing this top prospect through 2034.
National League West: Arizona Diamondbacks
6 of 6
Record: 6-6
Postseason Potential: Good Not Great
It rather feels like the Dodgers have already wrapped up first place in the NL West, FanGraphs projecting them to win the division by a 17.7-game margin. But there are three wild card spots in each league, and Arizona reasonably could secure one of them. Let's not forget that the Snakes are hoping to get Corbin Burnes back from Tommy John surgery somewhere around the trade deadline. That could be one heck of a boost if they're still in the postseason conversation by that point.
What Makes Them Fun: The Reclamation Project Pitching
Zac Gallen had the worst season of his career in 2025. Eduardo Rodriguez had been a disaster in his first two years with Arizona. Michael Soroka looked unlikely to ever reharness his 2019 form after all of those injuries. And putting 36-year-old Paul Sewald back in a closer role was quite the risky proposition as they wait for Justin Martinez and AJ Puk to recover from Tommy John surgeries. But all four have been and will continue to be massive in determining this team's ceiling.
Jersey to Buy: Corbin Carroll
He was one of several marquee players who showed up for spring training with a broken hamate bone. He proceeded to post a .454 OPS over the seven games he was able to play. But Arizona's two-time All-Star and 2023 NL ROY has been even better than usual out of the gates with eight extra-base hits (two home runs, three triples and three doubles) in his first 12 games, good for an NL-best .690 slugging percentage. Carroll is signed through 2031, too, so you'll get plenty of use out of this jersey.
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