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Ranking Every MLB Team's Starting 9 After 1st Full Month of 2026 Season
While insatiable offense has propelled the Braves, Dodgers and Yankees across the 20-win plateau, hapless bats are largely to blame for the early disasters known as the Mets and Phillies.
How do Major League Baseball's 30 lineups stack 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. We'll list out each team's primary(ish) starting lineup, but full-season, full-roster numbers are the driving force here.
Rather, the "Starting 9" is the nine-word summary that we'll provide for each team's season to date.
For the most part, this ranking is rooted in offensive production, with batting average, runs per game, home runs, stolen bases, OPS and Fangraphs' wRC+ among the ingredients in our statistical gumbo. But defense was also a factor that bumped some teams up and others down a couple of spots.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics are current through the start of play on Thursday, April 30.
30. New York Mets
1 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Worst lineup that half a billion dollars can buy.
Starting Nine: C Francisco Alvarez, 1B Mark Vientos, 2B Marcus Semien, SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Bo Bichette, LF Juan Soto, CF Luis Robert Jr., RF Carson Benge, DH Brett Baty (IL Jorge Polanco)
MVP: Juan Soto
He missed the entirety of their 12-game losing streak while on the IL, but at least the $765M man has been productive when available, doing his usual "greater than .400 OBP" thing. It almost feels like Soto has to be the Lassie who saves this Timmy of a team from the well into which it has fallen.
LVP: Marcus Semien
New York has plenty of players who were supposed to be major contributors who have struggled mightily out of the gates. But Semien is the only one that they gave up Brandon Nimmo to acquire in the name of "run prevention." And at the start of play on Thursday, Nimmo had a 144 OPS+ in Texas while Semien had a 67 for the Mets.
29. San Francisco Giants
2 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Oracle is a pitcher's park, but come on already.
Starting Nine: C Patrick Bailey, 1B Rafael Devers, 2B Luis Arraez, SS Willy Adames, 3B Matt Chapman, LF Heliot Ramos, CF Harrison Bader, RF Jung Hoo Lee, DH Casey Schmitt
MVP: Casey Schmitt
If you want to put a little extra emphasis on defense, Matt Chapman would get the nod here over the primary designated hitter. But while the platinum glover has one home run and a barely league-average OPS+, Schmitt has been the surprise leader of this team with four dingers and a 143 OPS+. In fact, when he gets an RBI, the Giants are 9-1, compared to 4-15 when he doesn't.
LVP: Rafael Devers
Again, the choice here hinges on how much you care about defense, with Patrick Bailey (.396 OPS, but with elite framing, which still matters even in the ABS era) avoiding our wrath while Rafael Devers (.548 OPS, but with two errors already this season at first base) secures the LVP. Suffice it to say, Devers hasn't had the bat the Giants thought they were trading for last June.
28. Philadelphia Phillies
3 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Perhaps running it back again wasn't the greatest idea.
Starting Nine: C JT Realmuto, 1B Bryce Harper, 2B Bryson Stott, SS Trea Turner, 3B Alec Bohm, LF Brandon Marsh, CF Justin Crawford, RF Adolis García, DH Kyle Schwarber
MVP: Bryce Harper
Kyle Schwarber has a few more home runs, but Harper is leading the Phillies in RBI, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, hitting better this April than he did in any of the previous four. The team has been wildly disappointing as a whole, but Harper is proving that "not elite" stuff from GM Dave Dombrowski during the offseason was a clown comment, bro.
LVP: Alec Bohm
Bohm eventually rallied from an equally horrid start to last year, triple-slashing .309/.358/.447 over his final 101 games played in 2025. But if you thought "last season before free agency" would be the motivation necessary for a great 2026, it appears you thought wrong. The third baseman who had been Philadelphia's clean-up hitter for the first 10 games had a .412 OPS during the team's 9-19 start.
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27. Boston Red Sox
4 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Can they bring Alex Cora back as a hitter?
Starting Nine: C Carlos Narváez, 1B Willson Contreras, 2B Marcelo Mayer, SS Trevor Story, 3B Caleb Durbin, LF Jarren Duran, CF Ceddanne Rafaela, RF Wilyer Abreu, DH Roman Anthony
MVP: Willson Contreras
A tip of the cap to Wilyer Abreu, too, as that duo is on the short list of things that haven't gone awry for the Red Sox. Contreras gets the edge, though, for leading the team in both home runs and RBI—improving to seven and 20, respectively, with a solo shot on Wednesday—while also supplying Gold Glove caliber defense at first base.
LVP: Caleb Durbin
The first baseman the Red Sox traded for has been a great success. The third baseman...not so much. Durbin did finally get on the board with a home run in the ninth inning of that 17-1 rout of Baltimore on Saturday, but he had a .452 OPS through Boston's first 26 games. He's far from the only reason this offense has struggled, but Boston's decision to settle for Durbin instead of re-signing Alex Bregman or nabbing any of the other options available in free agency did rather cement Durbin as the poster boy of this rough start.
26. Cleveland Guardians
5 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: There's a reason that Travis Bazzana got the call.
Starting Nine: C Bo Naylor, 1B Rhys Hoskins, 2B Travis Bazzana*, SS Brayan Rocchio, 3B José Ramírez, LF Angel Martínez, CF Steven Kwan, RF Chase DeLauter, DH Kyle Manzardo
*made MLB debut on Tuesday, replacing Juan Brito on the roster
MVP: Daniel Schneemann
Cleveland's position-player MVP isn't even listed among its "Starting Nine", since he's a utilityman who has bounced all over the field while averaging fewer than three plate appearances per team game. But just like last year when he had an OPS north of .900 into mid-May, Schneeman has gotten out to a hot start, batting .321 and delivering seemingly every time they do find a spot for him in the lineup.
LVP: Bo Naylor
A poor batting average unfortunately comes with the territory with Naylor, entering 2026 with a .205 AVG in 315 games played. This year, though, he isn't even slugging .200 (.176), and he doesn't add nearly enough value with his glove to excuse that complete lack of contribution with his bat.
25. Texas Rangers
6 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Hitting better than last year, though not by much.
Starting Nine: C Danny Jansen, 1B Jake Burger, 2B Josh Smith, SS Corey Seager, 3B Josh Jung, LF Wyatt Langford, CF Evan Carter, RF Brandon Nimmo, DH Joc Pederson
MVP: Josh Jung
Staying healthy has been more than half the battle for Jung thus far in his MLB career, but April has been very good to him this year. Take out the 0-for-17 start in March and he's at a .381 batting average and a 1.103 OPS for the year. Now 28 years of age, this might be the season he starts to really live up to the hype as a top 10 draft pick.
LVP: Josh Smith
Over the past two seasons, Smith had been a wildly valuable super utilityman, making multiple appearances at every position except for pitcher and catcher in 2025. But now that he has a steady home at second base, he suddenly can't hit water in the ocean, slugging .217 through 28 games played. Maybe he just hits better when he doesn't know where he'll be playing from one game to the next?
24. Toronto Blue Jays
7 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Injury bug has been quite cruel to this lineup.
Starting Nine: C Tyler Heineman, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2B Ernie Clement, SS Andrés Giménez, 3B Kazuma Okamoto, LF Jesús Sánchez, CF Daulton Varsho, RF Nathan Lukes, DH George Springer (IL Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger)
MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The home runs haven't been there yet, on pace to finish the year with around 12 round-trippers. While we wait for the power surge, though, Guerrero is getting on base at the most impressive rates of his career, batting .358 with a .444 OBP. He already has nine games with at least three hits/walks, and has even stolen two bags.
LVP: The Six Hole
Rather than call out a specific underwhelming player from this injury-riddled roster, how about the fact that the No. 6 spot in the Blue Jays order has a .428 OPS with no home runs? The next-worst OPS in that spot belongs to the Phillies at .558. And Toronto's five hole hasn't been much better, with a .485 OPS from that slot in the order. Kirk, Springer and Barger cannot possibly return from the IL soon enough.
23. Chicago White Sox
8 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Surprisingly top 10 in home runs and stolen bases.
Starting Nine: C Edgar Quero, 1B Munetaka Murakami, 2B Chase Meidroth, SS Colson Montgomery, 3B Miguel Vargas, LF Tristan Peters, CF Luisangel Acuña, RF Everson Pereira, DH Andrew Benintendi
MVP: Munetaka Murakami
As expected, his "three true outcomes" percentage is quite high, either walking, whiffing or homering in 83 (61 percent) of his 136 plate appearances. But if Murakami manages to maintain this ratio of roughly four whiffs and two walks per home run, he may well win AL Rookie of the Year while shattering the MLB record for strikeouts in a season—223 by Mark Reynolds in 2009.
LVP: Luisangel Acuña
Ronald Acuña Jr.'s younger brother has a much more intriguing transaction log than game log to this point in his career. He was traded to the Mets for Max Scherzer in 2023 and then traded from the Mets for Luis Robert Jr. this past winter. But he has three errors in center field and a .181 batting average thus far in this chapter. He's still just 24 years old, though, so maybe he'll turn things around.
22. Cincinnati Reds
9 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: A two man show can only go so far.
Starting Nine: C Tyler Stephenson, 1B Sal Stewart, 2B Matt McLain, SS Elly De La Cruz, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, LF Spencer Steer, CF TJ Friedl, RF Revolving Door, DH Eugenio Suárez
MVP: Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart
At this juncture, I refuse to pick between the duo that has combined for 19 home runs, 45 runs, 53 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Both have an OPS well north of .900 and both are roughly on pace to join the 40/40 club. That would be absolutely insane, since only six players—never two in the same year, let alone from the same team in the same year—have ever hit both of those plateaus in a single season.
LVP: Right Fielder
Two thirds of this lineup has ample room for improvement, but right field is where the Reds are really sputtering. Noelvi Marté has been crushing at Triple-A Louisville, but he's there because of a .331 OPS through his 11 MLB games this season. Will Benson and Rece Hinds haven't been much better at a position where the Reds are triple-slashing .168/.231/.242.
21. Kansas City Royals
10 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Recent sweep of Angels gave Royals a nice boost.
Starting Nine: C Salvador Perez, 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, 2B Michael Massey, SS Bobby Witt Jr., 3B Maikel Garcia, LF Isaac Collins, CF Kyle Isbel, RF Jac Caglianone, DH Carter Jensen (IL Jonathan India)
MVP: Bobby Witt Jr.
It took a full month for Witt to finally hit his first home run of 2026, but he has been racking up both hits and stolen bases in spite of that power outage. And after winning Gold Gloves in each of the past two seasons, his defense at shortstop might be platinum this year, yet to commit an error in 114 chances. Needless to say, he wasn't the reason the Royals started out 8-17.
LVP: Isaac Collins
It was a head scratcher when Milwaukee gave up not only Collins after a solid rookie season but also Nick Mears to get Angel Zerpa from the Royals. Perhaps the Brewers knew regression was coming for him? Even after a few multi-hit efforts in the past 10 days, Collins has a .644 OPS and has been a mess on defense in left field.
20. Colorado Rockies
11 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Who would've guessed pitching would be Colorado's bigger strength?
Starting Nine: C Hunter Goodman, 1B TJ Rumfield, 2B Edouard Julien, SS Ezequiel Tovar, 3B Kyle Karros, LF Mickey Moniak, CF Brenton Doyle, RF Troy Johnston, DH Tyler Freeman (UTIL Willi Castro)
MVP: Mickey Moniak
The 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick entered 2026 with two multi-HR games in 410 games played in the majors, but he has had three such performances already this season. (Incredibly, three of those five individual feats came in losses to the Padres.) He undeniably hits better at Coors Field than he does on the road, and also hits righties a whole lot better than he hits lefties. But, all told, hard to argue with a 1.013 OPS.
LVP: Kris Bryant
Force us to pick an active player here and it's probably Ezequiel Tovar, averaging about nine strikeouts per walk and struggling to hit like he did in 2024. But while the 13 position players on Colorado's active roster will make a combined sum of $26.18175M in cash salary in 2026, Bryant is making $26M and there's no telling whether he'll play again, this season or otherwise.
19. Milwaukee Brewers
12 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Hanging in there despite injuries and forever minimal budget.
Starting Nine: C William Contreras, 1B Jake Bauers, 2B Brice Turang, SS Joey Ortiz, 3B Luis Rengifo, LF Brandon Lockridge, CF Garrett Mitchell, RF Sal Frelick, DH Gary Sánchez (UTIL David Hamilton) (IL Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn)
MVP: Brice Turang
Turang was already quietly a top 25 type of player in all of baseball in total value added over the past two seasons thanks to his defense and his base running. But now he also has an OPS of .907 and should at least be headed for the first All-Star Game of his career. He is leading the Brewers in runs, stolen bases and total bases.
LVP: Luis Rengifo
After the thoroughly underwhelming walk year he had with the Angels, the Brewers bought low on Rengifo, hoping he would bounce back to the infielder who had a .754 OPS from 2022-24, averaging close to 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases per 162 games played. Instead, he has gotten worse, yet to homer and sitting on a .533 OPS. Once any of Jett Williams, Cooper Pratt or Jesús Made is ready for the big leagues, Rengifo may be out of a job.
18. Athletics
13 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Started out slow, but red hot as of late.
Starting Nine: C Shea Langeliers, 1B Nick Kurtz, 2B Jeff McNeil, SS Jacob Wilson, 3B Max Muncy, LF Tyler Soderstrom, CF Lawrence Butler, RF Carlos Cortes, DH Brent Rooker (IL Denzel Clarke)
MVP: Shea Langeliers
Over the past 15 games or so, the A's offense has been one heck of a three-man show of Langeliers, Nick Kurtz and Carlos Cortes. But while Kurtz and Cortes have come on strong recently to make that a reality, Langeliers has been hitting well all season long, already boasting four home runs before the calendar flipped to April. This catcher reasonably could reach 40 home runs, which would be a remarkable feat by non-Cal Raleigh standards.
LVP: Brent Rooker
Take out the two-homer, six-RBI game on April 5 and Rooker is batting .080 with no extra-base hits. He missed two weeks on the IL with an oblique strain, but he was struggling before that injury. From the "glass half full" perspective, though, it's wild that the A's are alone in first place in the AL West while getting virtually nothing out of the slugger who hit at least 30 home runs in each of the past three years. If Rooker ever wakes up, they become even more dangerous.
17. Seattle Mariners
14 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Could be top five...if ignoring first 21 games.
Starting Nine: C Cal Raleigh, 1B Josh Naylor, 2B Cole Young, SS J.P. Crawford, 3B Leo Rivas, LF Randy Arozarena, CF Julio Rodríguez, RF Luke Raley, DH Dominic Canzone (IL Brendan Donovan)
MVP: Cal Raleigh
Could easily make the case for Randy Arozarena, Luke Raley or Cole Young here instead of the catcher who struck out in 20 of his first 43 homer-less trips to the plate this season. In lieu of an obvious choice, though, give us the surging Big Dumper, who has five homers in the past 10 days, snapping out of his early funk in a loud way.
LVP: J.P. Crawford
Crawford missed the first week of the season with a shoulder injury and (prior to a home run on Wednesday night) has struggled to get hits since his return. He is, however, seeing the ball well, both drawing walks and barreling balls at the highest rates of his career. Unfortunately, 10 of the 13 balls that he has hit at least 340 feet have gone for outs, as Crawford is hard hitting his way to an unlucky .313 slugging percentage.
16. San Diego Padres
15 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: No clear All-Stars, but almost every Padre is contributing.
Starting Nine: C Freddy Fermin, 1B Gavin Sheets, 2B Jake Cronenworth, SS Xander Bogaerts, 3B Manny Machado, LF Ramón Laureano, CF Jackson Merrill, RF Fernando Tatis Jr., DH Miguel Andujar
MVP: Xander Bogaerts
Bogey still isn't hitting quite as well as he did over his final five seasons with the Red Sox, but he hasn't been this productive with San Diego since the first few weeks of the 2023 campaign. It was his 12th inning, walk-off grand slam against the Rockies in early April that jump-started the Padres' surge from 6-6 to 19-9—a stretch in which he had a .929 OPS.
LVP: Jake Cronenworth
Cronenworth has never had a particularly great batting average, hitting below .250 in each of the past four years. But he has been terribly unlucky this season with one of the worst BABIPs (.179) in all of baseball. That worm will eventually turn to some extent, but poor BABIP doesn't explain why a guy who used to homer once for every 40 trips to the plate has just one dinger in more than 100 PAs so far this year.
15. Tampa Bay Rays
16 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Not many teams generate more hits and stolen bases.
Starting Nine: C Nick Fortes, 1B Jonathan Aranda, 2B Ben Williamson, SS Taylor Walls, 3B Junior Caminero, LF Chandler Simpson, CF Cedric Mullins, RF Jake Fraley, DH Yandy Díaz
MVP: Yandy Díaz
Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda have combined for 15 home runs and 40 RBI, but Díaz is the Energizer Bunny who just keeps hitting into his mid-30s. After two more singles on Wednesday, he's up to a .330 batting average and a .900 OPS. Could be headed for the second batting title of his career and just might keep these low-budget Rays in the mix for a playoff spot.
LVP: Cedric Mullins
After hitting uncommonly well last April, Mullins had a .197 batting average and .610 OPS over his final 107 games played. That somehow didn't stop the Rays from giving him $7M this winter, though, followed by a .126/.184/.232 triple-slash through his first 30 games. Center fielder Jacob Melton is 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts this season at Triple-A Durham and might be coming soon.
14. Minnesota Twins
17 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Hit well out of gates, but major regression since.
Starting Nine: C Ryan Jeffers, 1B Kody Clemens, 2B Luke Keaschall, SS Brooks Lee, 3B Royce Lewis, LF Trevor Larnach, CF Byron Buxton, RF Matt Wallner, DH Josh Bell
MVP: Austin Martin
The utility outfielder has only started in 18 of their 31 games and doesn't quite crack the Starting Nine above. But with a .476 on-base percentage and very similar RHP/LHP splits, it's weird that this No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft isn't getting more starts on a team that is trying to identify its long-term assets ahead of what might be another summer fire sale.
LVP: Matt Wallner
Wallner has undeniable power, especially against right-handed pitching. He entered the year with an .829 OPS in the majors over the past four seasons. But he is flailing up there this year with 41 strikeouts in his 109 trips to the plate, batting .114/.264/.136 with men on base.
13. Baltimore Orioles
18 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Impressively a league-average offense, given the litany of injuries
Starting Nine: C Adley Rutschman, 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jeremiah Jackson, SS Gunnar Henderson, 3B Coby Mayo, LF Taylor Ward, CF Leody Taveras, RF Dylan Beavers, DH Samuel Basallo (IL Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad and Ryan Mountcastle; Tyler O'Neill missed several weeks, too)
MVP: Taylor Ward
Adley Rutschman has an OPS north of 1.000 and has been great when healthy, but Ward has been one of Baltimore's few everyday rocks with an MLB-leading 13 doubles among his 35 hits. He only has one home run compared to 36 a year ago with the Angels, but it's hard to argue with his career-best .426 on-base percentage and .882 OPS—especially while Grayson Rodriguez (whom the O's traded to get Ward) is indefinitely on the IL yet again.
LVP: Third Base
It has been about a 70/30 split between Coby Mayo and Blaze Alexander, but neither once-tantalizing prospect has been able to do much at the dish as the O's are barely getting a .500 OPS from the hot corner. Unfortunately, the injury bug has left them with minimal options, as would-be starting infielders Jordan Westburg (UCL) and Jackson Holliday (hamate) are out indefinitely.
12. Detroit Tigers
19 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Tigers hit well, but neither run nor defend well.
Starting Nine: C Dillon Dingler, 1B Spencer Torkelson, 2B Gleyber Torres, SS Javier Báez, 3B Kevin McGonigle, LF Riley Greene, CF Matt Vierling, RF Kerry Carpenter, DH Colt Keith (IL Zach McKinstry and Parker Meadows)
MVP: Kevin McGonigle
McGonigle blazed through the minors last season with a .991 OPS and has rewarded Detroit's faith in putting him in the starting lineup on Opening Day. He went for four hits that day, his first of nine multi-hit performances in just 31 games played. It's plausible he'll join Ichiro Suzuki as the only rookie to ever lead the majors in hits—and let the record show that McGonigle is 21 while Ichiro was a 27-year-old with nine years of professional experience in Japan before signing with the Mariners.
LVP: The Expensive Middle Infield
In addition to McGonigle at north of .900, the Tigers have Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Dillon Dingler all with an OPS of .785 or better. If only the $22M second baseman and $25M shortstop were contributing like that, but both Gleyber Torres and Javier Báez have struggled at the plate, each with an OPS below .700. (And Báez just landed on the IL.)
11. Pittsburgh Pirates
20 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: On pace for 55 more homers than last year.
Starting Nine: C Henry Davis, 1B Spencer Horwitz, 2B Brandon Lowe, SS Konnor Griffin, 3B Nick Gonzales, LF Bryan Reynolds, CF Oneil Cruz, RF Ryan O'Hearn, DH Marcell Ozuna
MVP: Oneil Cruz
The adventurous defense in center detracts from his overall WAR, but Cruz has nine home runs and 10 stolen bases in his early quest for a legendary campaign. The preposterous development, though, is how well he's seeing lefties. After going 11-for-108 with one home run and a .400 OPS against southpaws in 2025, he is 13-for-37 with four home runs and a 1.114 OPS this year.
LVP: Marcell Ozuna
Henry Davis and Joey Bart have given the Pirates a combined OPS of just under .500 from the catcher's spot, but at least they both provide some value behind the plate. Ozuna has a .466 OPS and he probably doesn't even bring a glove to the ballpark. He does at least have two home runs after hitting just one in his final 36 games of last season. But the Pirates were certainly expecting more when they cut ties with Andrew McCutchen to cut Ozuna an eight-figure check.
10. Los Angeles Angels
21 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Not winning often, but they sure can mash taters.
Starting Nine: C Logan O'Hoppe, 1B Nolan Schanuel, 2B Oswald Peraza, SS Zach Neto, 3B Yoán Moncada, LF Josh Lowe, CF Mike Trout, RF Jo Adell, DH Jorge Soler
MVP: Mike Trout
Trout hit his 10th home run of the season on Wednesday, furthering what has been a renaissance faire of a season for the 34-year-old. Despite whiffing in his other three plate appearances, his OPS ticked up to an even 1.000, thanks in large part to averaging better than one walk per game. Trout has even stolen five bases to show how spry he's feeling. He may well end up with more swipes than he had in the past six seasons combined (14)—and maybe even a career high in home runs if he stays healthy.
LVP: Yoán Moncada
Speaking of health, the good news here is that after four consecutive seasons in which he was on the IL in mid-April, Moncada has played in nearly every game for the Angels. The bad news is he's batting .183, slugging a career-worst .317 and striking out in one out of every three trips to the plate.
9. Miami Marlins
22 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Minimal home runs, but maybe the best baserunning team.
Starting Nine: C Agustín Ramírez, 1B Connor Norby, 2B Xavier Edwards, SS Otto Lopez, 3B Graham Pauley, LF Kyle Stowers*, CF Jakob Marsee, RF Owen Caissie, DH Liam Hicks
*missed first 21 games on IL
MVP: Liam Hicks
Props also to the middle infield duo of Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez, who are battling each other for the MLB lead in hits, each with 38 in the early going. Edwards even leads the NL in on-base percentage (.432). But Hicks is providing the pop for this lineup with seven home runs and 28 RBI. No other Marlin has more than three or 15, respectively. Hicks is triple-slashing .388/411/.796 in 56 plate appearances with men on base, which is almost the best OPS in the majors.
LVP: Outfield
Getting 2025 All-Star Kyle Stowers back into the mix should help matters soon. But between Jakob Marsee, Owen Caissie and Heriberto Hernández (filled in at LF while Stowers was out), the three outfielders who lead this team in games started have hit a combined .183 with three home runs in more than 300 trips to the plate. Marsee does at least steal a good number of bags, but it's honestly astounding that the Marlins have been league average in terms of runs scored while getting next to nothing from their outfield.
8. Washington Nationals
23 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Pitching is the reason this team will inevitably fade.
Starting Nine: C Keibert Ruiz, 1B Luis García Jr., 2B Nasim Nuñez, SS CJ Abrams, 3B Brady House, LF Daylen Lile, CF Jacob Young, RF James Wood, DH José Tena
MVP: James Wood
Wood entered play on Thursday either tied for or in sole possession of first place in the National League in home runs, walks, intentional walks, strikeouts and runs scored. He also has five stolen bases and an OPS of .959. And maybe this year, he'll keep it going for six months? Wood had a .958 OPS through 87 games played last season before sinking like a stone from July 4 onward.
LVP: Catcher
The Nationals have gone with an almost perfect 50/50 split between Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas at catcher, but certainly not because they're trying to maximize plate appearances for either. Ruiz's triple-slash dropped to .182/.207/.309 after an 0-for-5 performance on Wednesday night, but he's still faring better than Millas at .160/.222/.200.
7. Arizona Diamondbacks
24 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Bats have been hot early out in the desert.
Starting Nine: C Adrian Del Castillo, 1B Ildemaro Vargas, 2B Ketel Marte, SS Geraldo Perdomo, 3B Nolan Arenado, LF Revolving Door, CF Alek Thomas, RF Corbin Carroll, DH José Fernández (IL Gabriel Moreno, Pavin Smith and Jordan Lawlar)
MVP: Ildemaro Vargas
Had we been tasked in the preseason with ranking the likeliest candidates to be leading the NL in OPS at the end of April, Vargas would've landed, oh, somewhere around 400th on that list. The 34-year-old journeyman utilityman had a .633 OPS over the past six seasons, but he is slugging .698 as part of his 1.091 OPS. Vargas also hit .340 during spring training, so it has been a two-month breakout at this point.
LVP: Left Field
The original plan of putting Jordan Lawlar in left looked brilliant. For one week. Until he suffered a broken wrist. And since he landed on the IL, the trio of Tim Tawa, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jorge Barrosa has gone a homer-less 13-for-86 (.151) when playing in left field. Can they turn things around before Vargas regresses?
6. St. Louis Cardinals
25 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Cardinals are rebuilding, but offense might already be legit.
Starting Nine: C Pedro Pagés, 1B Alec Burleson, 2B JJ Wetherholt, SS Masyn Winn, 3B Nolan Gorman, LF Nathan Church, CF Victor Scott II, RF Jordan Walker, DH Iván Herrera (IL Lars Nootbaar)
MVP: Jordan Walker
He has more than cooled off over the past two weeks, going 13 games without homering before taking Paul Skenes deep on Thursday afternoon. But Walker was so scorching hot out of the gates with eight home runs and a 1.161 OPS through his first 16 games that he's still leading the Cardinals in (among other categories) home runs, RBI, batting average and slugging percentage. Let's see if he can lock back in.
LVP: Victor Scott II
Scott seemed to have a breakout through the first 40 games or so of last season. However, he triple-slashed .182/.281/.248 from May 12 onward, which is almost exactly where he's at thus far in 2026. He's a plus defender with elite speed on the basepaths. You have to be able to actually get to first base before you can steal second, though, and that's been a struggle for him.
5. Houston Astros
26 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: If only they weren't allowing six runs per game...
Starting Nine: C Yainer Diaz, 1B Christian Walker, 2B Jose Altuve, SS Carlos Correa, 3B Isaac Paredes, LF Joey Loperfido, CF Brice Matthews, RF Cam Smith, DH Yordan Alvarez (IL Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers)
MVP: Yordan Alvarez
If the Astros weren't in dead last in the AL standings, Alvarez would be more than just their MVP, possibly the frontrunner for AL MVP. He is leading the majors in hits, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and total bases. He's also striking out at one of the lowest rates among all qualified hitters, averaging 1.8 BB/K. Got to go back to peak Albert Pujols in the late 2000s to find the most recent ratio like that.
LVP: Yainer Diaz
No one in this lineup has been particularly bad, but Diaz certainly hasn't been himself. After a three-year stretch with an OPS of .761, he's not even at .600 in the early going. However, slow starts have been par for the course with Diaz, hitting much better after Memorial Day over the course of his career to date. Patience seems to be a virtue in this case.
4. New York Yankees
27 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Batting average isn't great, but 48 home runs is.
Starting Nine: C Austin Wells, 1B Ben Rice, 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., SS José Caballero, 3B Ryan McMahon, LF Cody Bellinger, CF Trent Grisham, RF Aaron Judge, DH Giancarlo Stanton (IL Anthony Volpe)
MVP: Ben Rice
Aaron Judge has been great as always, tied for the MLB lead with 12 home runs. But Rice has a 1.157 OPS that is 155 points ahead of Judge's, and he has recently blossomed into much more than just a destroyer of right-handed pitching. In fact, in 18 plate appearances against southpaws dating back to April 16, Rice has gone 7-for-15 with four home runs, two walks and a hit by pitch. That's a 1.822 OPS.
LVP: Ryan McMahon
After Judge and Rice, this lineup starts getting mid in a hurry. But it's the third baseman who used to hit well at Coors Field who has been the biggest problem thus far. McMahon did recently have a string of five consecutive games with hits, but he is batting .167 and slugging .250. With Anthony Volpe on the brink of returning from his shoulder surgery, the Yankees may well slide José Caballero to third and McMahon to a reserve role.
3. Atlanta Braves
28 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Behold, Atlanta is the contender we expected last year.
Starting Nine: C Drake Baldwin, 1B Matt Olson, 2B Ozzie Albies, SS Mauricio Dubón, 3B Austin Riley, LF Mike Yastrzemski, CF Michael Harris II, RF Ronald Acuña Jr., DH Dominic Smith (IL Ha-Seong Kim and Sean Murphy)
MVP: Matt Olson
This was already going to be an easy choice, but Olson's walk-off home run against Kenley Jansen on Wednesday night was quite the cherry on top. That brought the modern-day Iron Man's OPS to what would be a career-best 1.018. He wasn't even slugging like this when he had 54 home runs and 139 RBI in 2023. And if forced to bet on someone other than Shohei Ohtani to win NL MVP, Olson might be the best option.
LVP: Mike Yastrzemski
Ha-Seong Kim is nearing a return from a torn tendon in his finger, at which point Atlanta could slide Mauricio Dubón from shortstop to left field. In the meantime, Yastrzemski has looked nothing like the guy who slugged .500 over the final two months of last season with the Royals, still searching for his first home run of 2026.
2. Chicago Cubs
29 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Cubs have clubbed their way back from rough start.
Starting Nine: C Carson Kelly, 1B Michael Busch, 2B Nico Hoerner, SS Dansby Swanson, 3B Alex Bregman, LF Ian Happ, CF Pete Crow-Armstrong, RF Seiya Suzuki, DH Moisés Ballesteros (UTIL Matt Shaw)
MVP: Nico Hoerner
Hoerner isn't the biggest slugger on the team. (That would be Moisés Ballesteros, who is pulverizing right-handed pitching.) But Hoerner is certainly homering more than usual, on pace for more than double his career high of 10 with 26 RBI, to boot. He also has seven stolen bases and is playing exceptional defense at second, well on his way to a possible third Gold Glove. Good thing Chicago didn't wait to get that six-year, $141M extension finalized.
LVP: Michael Busch
Now that PCA has started showing major signs of life with homers on both Tuesday and Wednesday, it's really just Busch who needs to get into a groove. In late April 2025, he had an OPS north of .900. But after a brutal 30-AB hitless streak early this April, he isn't even at .600 right now.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
30 of 30
Nine-Word Synopsis: Dodgers have more than enough offense to three peat.
Starting Nine: C Will Smith, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Alex Freeland, SS Hyeseong Kim, 3B Max Muncy, LF Teoscar Hernández, CF Andy Pages, RF Kyle Tucker, DH Shohei Ohtani (IL Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández)
MVP: Shohei Ohtani
Dalton Rushing (1.271 OPS in 52 plate appearances) isn't playing quite enough and Andy Pages (.479 OPS in last 12 games) has cooled off just enough that we might as well keep it simple and put the four-time league MVP in this spot. After a slow first week of the season, Ohtani has triple-slashed .293/.402/.554 with six home runs and four stolen bases over his last 23 games in the lineup. Nice little 40 HR / 30 SB 162-game pace there.
LVP: Alex Freeland
To be clear, Freeland has been a perfectly serviceable second baseman while the Dodgers wait for any of the three much more-established IL players above to return to action. But of the 13 Dodgers with at least 30 plate appearances, he's the only one with a sub-.700 OPS (.619). Could easily argue that Kyle Tucker should be here instead, as he has been pretty mediocre one month into his outlandish contract. But the moral of the story is this lineup doesn't have an Achilles' heel, at least at the moment.
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.jpg?w=600 "Biggest Winners and Losers After 30 Games ⚾")
