Power Ranking Every Division in MLB Heading into the Home Stretch of 2020

The stretch run of the 2020 MLB season is upon us. The truncated 60-game sprint is coming to a head, and the 16-team postseason slate is nigh.

While we wait for this wild dance to play out, let's power-rank all six divisions based on where things stand as of Monday.

This is a subjective exercise, but here are the main factors we considered:

• Parity. The more legitimate contenders a division features, the higher it ranks.
• Clubs outside the bubble. Not many teams have given up altogether on making the playoffs in 2020, but some have. Divisions that host one or more such squads suffer accordingly.
• Title hopefuls. Conversely, divisions earn bonus points if they feature one or more legitimate World Series contenders.

No. 6: American League West

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

The Oakland Athletics are in command in the American League West with a 24-14 record and plus-37 run differential. They've lost five of their last 10, but they have the talent to win the division and make a deep postseason push.

The Athletics rotation, which ranks 16th with a 4.67 ERA, added southpaw Mike Minor in a deadline swap with the Texas Rangers. More essentially, they'll lean on young left-hander Jesus Luzardo, who has the potential to be an October breakout.

The beleaguered Houston Astros are locked into second place and a near-guaranteed postseason berth at 21-20 with a plus-14 run differential, but they lack the depth in either their starting rotation or bullpen—especially if Justin Verlander doesn't return from a forearm injury—to make a credible championship run.

After that, it's the rebuilding Seattle Mariners (19-22), the disappointing Los Angeles Angels (17-25) and Rangers (13-27), whose playoff chances are 6.8 percent, 5.9 percent and 0.1 percent.

That means, once again, we'll almost surely get another postseason without Halos outfielder Mike Trout, the best baseball player on the planet.

No. 5: National League East

John Minchillo/Associated Press

At 24-17, Atlanta leads the National League East and is the division's only club with a positive run differential at plus-40.

The team could have done more to upgrade a pitching staff that lost up-and-coming ace Mike Soroka to Achilles surgery. But it rates as a clear contender in the Senior Circuit with an offense fronted by outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., an experienced bullpen and a starting corps led by Max Fried.

The Philadelphia Phillies (20-17) bolstered their bullpen by acquiring closer Brandon Workman from the Boston Red Sox, among other pieces, and sit in second place in the division with an excellent chance of getting outfielder Bryce Harper onto the postseason stage.

The youthful Miami Marlins are holding on to .500 at 18-18 and could be the Cinderella of 2020. The New York Mets are also in the picture at 19-23 thanks to ace and two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and an offense that ranks third in the game with an .812 OPS.

The defending champion Washington Nationals take up the rear at 15-25, though Max Scherzer has fanned 69 in 50.1 innings and outfielder Juan Soto has swatted 11 home runs and posted a 1.211 OPS in 27 games.

No. 4: National League Central

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

The Chicago Cubs lead the NL Central with a 24-18 record and boast a plus-13 run differential. The St. Louis Cardinals are in second place with a 17-16 mark and a plus-22 run differential.

After that, no club in the division has a record above .500 or has scored more runs than it has allowed. The Milwaukee Brewers (18-21, minus-34 run differential) and Cincinnati Reds (18-23, minus-24 run differential) are on the postseason fringe, while the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates (13-26, minus-52 run differential) have waved the white flag.

The Cubs are the favorites thanks to a starting rotation that ranks 11th with a 4.14 ERA behind ace Yu Darvish and an offense that's tied for eighth with 59 home runs.

The Cards, Brewers and Reds have playoff chances of 76.9 percent, 45.3 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively.

Each club has enough pitching and offense to make noise heading into October. This is a flawed division with no slam-dunk favorite, but it's also a wide-open one where all but one team has legitimate playoff hopes.

No. 3: American League East

Adrian Kraus/Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Rays sit in first place in the American League East at 28-14 thanks to a balanced lineup and a deep pitching staff that ranks seventh with a 3.82 ERA.

The Toronto Blue Jays have crept into second place in the division behind a young core that could soon see the return of shortstop Bo Bichette and a plus-24 run differential.

The New York Yankees have been hit hard by injuries, including to key lineup cogs such as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and have sunk into third place. A postseason berth is likely, but unless the Bronx Bombers get healthy, a run for championship No. 28 is anything but assured.

The Baltimore Orioles are in the mix at 19-21, but their minus-eight run differential indicates a fourth-place finish is where the O's belong.

Taking up the rear, the Red Sox are 14-28 with a minus-67 run differential and wisely sold at the trade deadline as part of what should be an ongoing rebuild.

No. 2: American League Central

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Cleveland (26-15, plus-54 run differential), the Chicago White Sox (26-15, plus-53 run differential) and the Minnesota Twins (26-17, plus-38 run differential) are all playoff contenders with a decent shot at making a deep postseason run.

This should be baseball's most exciting division race down to the wire.

Cleveland leads both leagues with a 2.77 ERA. The up-and-coming ChiSox have an enviable mix of young talent (Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson) and established veterans (Jose Abreu, Yasmani Grandal, Edwin Encarnacion). The Twins are a mostly complete team that ranks fifth in ERA (3.49) and 10th in home runs (58).

The Detroit Tigers are also hanging around at 18-21, though their minus-19 run differential speaks to a club whose contention window has yet to open.

The Kansas City Royals, meanwhile, are the division doormat with a 14-28 record and minus-51 run differential.

No. 1: National League West

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Dodgers are on track to win their eighth straight NL West title with a 30-12 record and plus-98 run differential, both tops in baseball.

Mookie Betts leads an offense that ranks fourth with an .808 OPS, and L.A.'s pitching staff checks in at No. 2 with a 2.88 ERA.

The San Diego Padres may not catch the Dodgers in the division, but they will be an October force after making multiple additions before the trade deadline, including acquiring right-hander Mike Clevinger from Cleveland, late-inning reliever Trevor Rosenthal from Kansas City and slugger Mitch Moreland from Boston.

Toss them onto a roster already fronted by MVP candidate Fernando Tatis Jr. and you've got the makings of a real postseason threat.

The Colorado Rockies (20-21) and San Francisco Giants (21-21) are also on the postseason bubble and will likely fight to the end for a wild-card slot. Only the disappointing Arizona Diamondbacks (15-27) are virtually eliminated from contention out west.

All standings and statistics current as of Monday and courtesy of Baseball Reference and MLB.com.