Tampa Bay Rays (77-85)
Junior Caminero. The 22 year old just hit 45 bombs in his first full season while hitting .264. The Rays need to lock him up ASAP.
Baltimore Orioles (75-87)
Youth. 2025 was no doubt a disappointment for Baltimore. The good news is they have multiple players from their young core returning and due to rebound in 2026.
Kansas City Royals (82-80)
Bobby Witt Jr. & Vinnie Pasquantino are now the 1-2 punch and will be back with Kansas City in 2026. Witt Jr. is one of the best baseball players in the world and Pasquantino finally had that full season of health in which he hit 32 home runs. Look for the Royals to build around these two studs.
Minnesota Twins (70-92)
The farm system. Minnesota has a ton of talent coming up to the bigs across the next couple of years, including four players (Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, Eduardo Tait, and Emmanuel Rodriguez) currently ranked in the top-100 according to MLB Pipeline.
Chicago White Sox (60-102)
Shane Smith. The twenty-five year old starter was nothing short of impressive in 2025. Smith pitched to a 3.81 ERA across 146.1 innings. The White Sox have plenty of holes, but Shane Smith is not one of them.
Houston Astros (87-75)
Health. Houston was injury prone all season long. Yordan Alvarez missed way too many games. Missing his bat in the middle of the Houston lineup was too much to overcome and be a real threat this past season.
Texas Rangers (81-81)
The Rangers are now a full two years removed from their World Series title and can now approach the 2026 season with a clearer mind on their needs to compete next season. The good news is this is not a rebuild, it’s a reload with players like Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien returning to the fold in 2026.
Athletics (76-86)
Nick Kurtz. ThIs was the easiest bright spot to identify on this list. Kurtz was an animal in 2025 (36 HR & .290 BA) and looks like he is going to be a problem for opposing pitching for many years to come.
Los Angeles Angels (72-90)
Jo Adell’s breakout season. Adell has been hyped up for several years now and finally put up the monster season everyone was hoping for! The Angels can focus on building up the rotation in the offseason to pair with Mike Trout, Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, and others to compete in 2026.
New York Mets (83-79)
No shortage of resources tied with a young crop of talented pitchers. Uncle Stevie is no doubt going to continue to be aggressive in free agency to add to this team’s core. On top of that Nolan McLean looks like a future stud for this rotation.
Miami Marlins (79-83)
The Peter Bendix Experiment is already showing positive payoff. Miami was able to put forth a formidable team in 2025. Peter Bendix is already showing signs of what he was able to do in Tampa and that is a great sign as it is easier to lure players to Miami over Tampa Bay.
Atlanta Braves (76-86)
The core remains stable. The baseball world has been utterly let down by this Atlanta team the last two seasons as hopes have been high for the Braves. In 2026, Atlanta will have Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Austin Riley, among others returning, giving Atlanta high hopes again as the team is full of talent. They just need to put it together.
Washington Nationals (66-96)
James Wood. Wood seems to be a big piece of the puzzle that Washington is looking to solve for in their current rebuild. Wood hit 31 bombs this past season while hitting at a productive .256 batting average. If Washington can start to build around the 23 year old, they can show signs of life in 2026.
St. Louis Cardinals (78-84)
A new regime. Chaim Bloom is now officially the President of Baseball Operations, taking over for John Mozeliak. The Cardinals have not been relevant since 2022 and it’s time for a face lift.
Pittsburgh Pirates (71-91)
Paul Skenes. Pittsburgh might have to ultimately move Skenes, if they decide they cannot afford to pay him. Even so, they will get a haul of assets in exchange for Skenes, especially if they move him at the right time to build a foundation. As good as Skenes is, Pittsburgh needs to build a team and right now they need multiple talented players to add to the current roster.
San Francisco Giants (81-81)
Rafael Devers is signed through 2033. San Francisco went out and acquired their guy via trade earlier this season in a blockbuster with the Boston Red Sox. The Giants can further build around Devers who will be locking down the hot corner for the foreseeable future.
Arizona Diamondbacks (80-82)
Corbin Carroll is a stud. The young outfielder is one of the most talented players in the game and they have him signed through 2031. For a year where they couldn’t stay healthy whatsoever, the Diamondbacks put up a respectable record finishing just two games under .500. Look for Arizona to be aggressive in the offseason.
Colorado Rockies (43-119)
The best for last. As I write this I sit in my company office in Denver, Colorado so this felt harsher than it should have to put into words. Colorado is far away from being a contender but they have a couple of brights spots. Hunter Goodman is very good and should be the piece that Colorado builds around for the foreseeable future.