Father’s Day loosely marks the midway point of the Major League Baseball season. Standings are real. Fans can separate the great from the good, and the good from the bad. Plus, it’s never too early to check the postseason picture.
Here are the 10 best teams in baseball following game No. 81.
10. Miami Marlins
Watch out for the fish.
No team in MLB has put together a better month of June than the Miami Marlins. They’ve gone 17-5 and only lost one series, propelling them within close reach of a playoff spot.
All year, Miami has been a headache for good teams. The Marlins have a better record against clubs over .500 than the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. They’re staying hungry and competitive in the only division right now with four teams above .500.
Starting pitching will be the biggest linchpin for this team moving forward. Sandy Alcantara has been a pure horse, but it’s been Max Meyer at center stage with a 2.60 ERA and no decision losses. That pair will need more support as the Marlins enter a vital stretch before the All-Star break, playing three consecutive intraleague series.
9. Chicago White Sox
Amid the upcoming tense offseason negotiations over a salary cap, a handful of low-market teams in the basement of total payroll are winning like their opposites. The Marlins (29th overall) are one of those teams, but a more exciting and unexpected one is the Chicago White Sox (28th).
Just two seasons removed from being the worst team in baseball history, the White Sox are now competing for a division title. Chicago officially took sole possession of the American League Central on June 23, but has been squabbling with the Cleveland Guardians all year.
It’s very dangerous when a talented roster is playing with nothing to lose. Chicago came 33-30 into a stretch against the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees and left 39-34, having made up 2.5 games. They’re not just young core with aspirations; they’re a young core competing for a pennant.
Their analytics should get a huge boost too, as they stomped the Royals 22-1 in Friday’s contest.
8. Chicago Cubs
It’s difficult to analyze a team that’s been up 3.5 games and down eight games in the same division since May 10. The Chicago Cubs went on a 10-game winning streak in mid-April, set off on another 10-gamer to open May, then lost 10 consecutive all in the span of 42 days.
June has been more stable for the stock market Cubs, yet still generally underwhelming. They’ve gone 14-11 since the 10-game skid, but still stare down a near-impossible task of passing the Milwaukee Brewers for the division, currently seven games back.
The Cubs have the sixth-worst starting pitching ERA in the MLB, with the sixth-most runs per game. As of June 24, all five of the Cubs’ starting pitchers have combined for -2.2 WAR. The unit has put together the third-worst starting pitching ERA in the National League.
The Cubs are a postseason team. Amongst their rollercoaster of 2026, they sit in the bracket as of game No. 80 with just a half-game lead for the final Wild Card spot. Although the playoffs are an expectation, the Cubs will need to improve greatly to have a shot at the World Series.
7. St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals should not be in this position at the mid-way point of 2026. The front office traded a four-headed clover of franchise cornerstones last winter to begin a new era of St. Louis baseball. The new era has started pretty well.
Since a 9-7 win on Opening Day, the Cardinals have not once fallen under .500. All season, they’ve stayed one of the most unwavering clubs, living four to six games in the green since March.
They were 15-11 in April, 13-13 in May and 11-11 so far in June. They’re 22-20 at home, 20-17 on the road and 22-22 against teams over .500. The Cardinals do nothing spectacular, but nothing poor. The only thing they do is win.
There are a couple of question marks around how long this roster can sustain success.
St. Louis is the youngest team in the majors, with their youngest players, JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker, producing the most. The approaching trade deadline could determine how 2026 turns out for the Cardinals, whether the management turns this team into a true threat or commits even more to the future.
6. Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay has been the clear-cut second-best team in the American League all year. While it partially says something about how deficient the AL has been, the Rays are still very dangerous.
This team is performing exceptional small-ball. They’re second in batting average, seventh in steals and dead last in strikeouts and home runs. Starting pitching has been superb as well, with Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen keeping their ERA’s in the twos.
June hasn’t been nice, although, with a 9-13 record so far. It’s been the biggest test for this fast team, which came into the month 16 games above .500 and leading the AL East. The Rays will need to put it all on the line in their final homestand before the All-Star break, hosting four against the Yankees, then three against the Seattle Mariners.
5. Philadelphia Phillies
The Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies both fired their managers within the span of three days after very slow starts to the year. Since then, the Red Sox have gone 23-29, still searching for a spark. But, since the departure of Rob Thomson, the Phillies have ignited and gone 36-17, reminding the league of their authority.
All season, the Phillies have put their effort into climbing out of a hole. At the end of April, they stared down a 9.5-game deficit in the NL, having the fifth-worst record in baseball. They now have a top-five record and lead all of the NL Wildcard teams.
Cristopher Sanchez and Kyle Schwarber have put together tremendous seasons. Sanchez is in a Cy Young race with Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, keeping his ERA to 1.80 over his first 16 starts. Schwarber is on pace to break his career high in home runs – something he set at 52 last season – as the Phils’ offense has started to come into form.
This is still one of the most talented rosters in Major League Baseball. Philadelphia has been in a championship window since 2022, but continues to exit earlier and earlier. World Series contention is still entirely the case for this team; it’ll just come down to making it happen in October.
4. New York Yankees
As much as Tampa Bay’s been the clear-cut second-best team in the AL, the Yankees are the clear-cut first. Since retaking the AL East on June 13, New York has kept their foot on the pedal and now undoubtedly runs half of the league.
This team took a blow heading into June, learning that Aaron Judge suffered a stress fracture in his ribs. He is supposed to be reimaged in July, leaving the Yankees without their captain for a significant stretch of the season. So far, it hasn’t been a problem. New York’s win percentage has actually jumped from .571 in May to .600 in June, all of it without Judge.
The Yankees’ biggest strength remains in the starting rotation. The 25-year-old Cam Schlittler is a Cy Young candidate in just his second season, and Gerrit Cole is back making starts after recovering from Tommy John. New York has the lowest team ERA in the league as they continue to patrol the American League.
3. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves, now not entirely de-rooted by injury, were the best team in the league for the majority of 2026. Yet, just since June 7, Atlanta’s lost five games in the NL East and given up the top two spots in the National League.
The only reason this trivial slide is sticking out so much is just how good the Braves have been playing. It took them until May 6 to drop their first series of the year, and until June 24 to lose four straight for the first time.
Atlanta’s thriving against similar competition, currently 28-19 against teams above .500. There are minimal weak spots between the lineup, rotation and bullpen. The Braves are one of the most complete teams in 2026, yet not even the biggest threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in their own league.
2. Milwaukee Brewers
Folks, the Milwaukee Brewers are doing it again.
For every year since 2020, the Brewers have put a tremendous product on the field without a single player’s WAR going over 5.5 (Philadelphia’s Sanchez’s current WAR). The organization continues to steer away from how winning teams are built in today’s MLB, but prevails in being the most consistent.
This batting lineup has no superstars or OPS in the .900’s, but scores the most of any team in the National League. Nobody plays team baseball like the Brewers. Milwaukee’s average climbs from sixth to third when runners are in scoring position, and OPS from 10th to third. This team helps each other and thrives off production from all nine players each night.
This pitching room does have a superstar. Misiorowski – at age 24 – currently leads the majors in qualified ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and opponent average. He’s a homegrown talent that’s on pace to bring a Cy Young back to Milwaukee for the first time since 2021.
The Brewers seem to be following the same path as 2025. They finished with the most regular-season wins of anybody, but when it was time to really show up, they got swept in the NLCS. Besides 2022, Milwaukee’s made the postseason every year since 2018, yet have never played in a World Series. Everyone knows the Brewers’ capabilities through 162, but they might be a missing piece away from thoroughly competing for a Commissioner’s Trophy.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
There’s a scary secret about the Dodgers: they don’t entirely care about the regular season. Los Angeles is such a shoo-in for the postseason that the 162-game season is more like a placid road trip than a six-month marathon to the playoffs. Just enjoying the sights and sounds.
That said, when the Dodgers really click, they can show off what a bottomless checkbook can buy. Shohei Ohtani is swinging a .963 OPS while keeping himself in the heated NL Cy Young race with a 1.58 ERA. Nobody in their active bullpen has an ERA above 3.82. They’ve won 21 of their last 30 and were the first team to 50 wins. The list can go on and on.
This entire 1,700-word article could be about the Dodgers’ excellence, but nobody wants that. Los Angeles continues to be the best team in baseball, and in tandem, the narrative grows: Who can knock them out?
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