Every week, the Pitcher List team will publish an update to our power rankings, highlighting three teams among the different tiers of contention. As always, the full rankings can be found at the bottom of this article, but where’s the fun in that?
Contender
No. 6 – Los Angeles Dodgers (79-64, +95)
For a long time, it seemed that the plan for the Dodgers was clear: nothing was relevant until the postseason rolled around. With a team so stacked with former MVPs and an endless line of quality pitchers, it almost did not matter how LA would get there, as it was almost inevitable. The inevitable end of the bargain has held up, with the Dodgers having playoff odds around 95%, with Shohei Ohtani again being the MVP frontrunner and Will Smith becoming a Mike Piazza-lite force at the catcher position.
On the other hand, a slow trade deadline and a slew of pitching injuries have slowly turned the Dodgers from surefire title contenders to a vulnerable version of themselves, as they must now close the season in strong form if they want to avoid the fate of entering October through the back door of a wild card berth. With the team sporting a losing record since late June, it is clear that things haven’t clicked for a while in Southern California, as evidenced by the tough week just experienced by the defending champs.
It all started with a three-game sweep in Pittsburgh, which included a bullpen implosion, a shutout, and the unenviable task of facing Paul Skenes. While that series could have been seen as an aberration, the next set in Baltimore raised the alarms on many fronts. The opener was a nice pitchers’ duel that ended on a walk-off homer from uber-prospect Samuel Basallo, but game two may end up becoming the most traumatic loss for any team this season in MLB. After Yoshinobu Yamamoto had tossed 8.2 hitless innings, it looked as if LA had its turning point to start a steamroll into October. It all went downhill from there, with Yamamoto losing the no-hitter to a solo homer, and the bullpen somehow coughing up three more runs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The Dodgers were up 3-0 and one out from a no-hitter by Yoshinobu Yamamoto … and they lost. pic.twitter.com/KXYfQ1XvPZ
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 7, 2025
Even as the Dodgers salvaged the finale to keep a one-game lead over the Padres in the NL West, which is essentially a two-game lead as they hold the tiebreaker, things have taken a dark turn as LA prepares for yet another playoff run. Yamamoto may be the team’s only surefire ace, with Ohtani being on a pitch count and the likes of Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow being their usual mercurial selves. Franchise legend Clayton Kershaw remains reliable, but with a checkered playoff history, and the bullpen has failed time and again to ease the fan base’s concerns when it comes to hold late leads.
In the end, this could all be a massive overreaction, as the Dodgers showed just last year how good they can be in October without a clear and established pitching staff. However, it is also true that manager Dave Roberts and his veteran players have to start pulling their weight to secure the division and try to earn a first-round bye. A home series with the Rockies should serve as a nice reprieve, but LA’s schedule closes with seven games against the resurging Giants, a home set versus Philadelphia, and a season-ending roadtrip in Arizona and Seattle, which may still be playing for something. It will definitely be an interesting September near Chavez Ravine.
The Middle
No. 16 – Arizona Diamondbacks (72-72, +25)
The Mets and their recent funk have created a scenario where several teams can at least dream of overtaking them and sneak into the final wild card spot. Chief among them, the Arizona Diamondbacks may be playing relevant games for the rest of the calendar, which is something that did not seem likely a few weeks ago.
After a discouraging 9-16 July that followed the loss of their ace to Tommy John surgery, the team’s front office made the tough decision to sell at the deadline and hope that their core would be enough to warrant a quick retool. Sluggers Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez took their combined 47 homers to Seattle, creating an opening for younger players while remaining a competitive team that could at least spoil the aspirations of other squads that remained in the race.
The Diamondbacks are a game over .500 for the first time since July 1 and are now 21-13 since the trade deadline 👀
They continue to fight in the NL Wild Card race. pic.twitter.com/RKpRvv1MYF
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 7, 2025
Surprisingly, the Dbacks played a strong August and have started September in similar fashion. Despite a rough loss in the series finale against the Red Sox, Arizona managed to finish a difficult homestand against the Rangers and Boston with a 4-2 mark, and now stands four games back of the final NL playoff berth, with 18 games to play. This recent run of solid play has reminded the baseball world that the D-backs remain one of the hardest teams to understand and project, as they have top-level talent but also suffer from inconsistency and a bullpen with no clear pecking order.
Just in this past week, Arizona won four straight on the strength of winning efforts from Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, and Eduardo Rodriguez, but then failed to gain ground on the Mets by blowing a 3-1 late lead over Boston, as the relief corps allowed six runs over the final three innings. This lack of reliability with the bullpen has pained the D-backs for a while now, as the offense has remained a constant, even as some of their best players were shipped away. Arizona will again finish among the league’s best offenses, with Corbin Carroll still being one of MLB’s best players, along with the always underrated Ketel Marte and the emergence of Geraldo Perdomo, who should receive some MVP votes.
However, an 18-26 mark in one-run games will probably be the factor that keeps Arizona on the outside looking in. The good news for the team’s fans and the front office is that a bullpen may be the easiest thing to fix when you have such a strong offensive core, while the rotation has at least some solid building blocks to compete in the crowded NL West. Even as the Dbacks will most likely miss the playoffs, they have the chance of going on a run, or at least decide the West’s division winner, with upcoming series against the Giants, Dodgers, and Padres to close out 2025. The decision to punt on this season and focus on 2026 and beyond was probably for the best, though we are left to wonder what could have happened with more firepower.
Wait ‘Til 2026
No. 23 – Athletics (66-78, -70)
In the bottom tier of the standings, most teams have been planning for next season and beyond for a while now, and it is fair to say that most of them may not be particularly hopeful for 2026. Outside of Atlanta and Baltimore, things are not looking rosy for most of the rebuilding squads, but the Athletics are presenting a case of a possible return to relevance. Outside of a brutal 7-21 May that sunk any chance of contention this season, the A’s have remained a steady, fun presence in the AL West. posting three separate winning months and starting September on the right track.
It has been no secret that A’s pitchers have struggled to adapt to their minor league stadium, leading to plenty of home blowouts and frustration. At the same time, a clear offensive core has emerged to make the few A’s faithful remaining hopeful for nicer days ahead. The top six WAR totals for the A’s are comprised of position players, with Brent Rooker being the only one on the wrong side of 30. Nick Kurtz is on his way to winning Rookie of the Year, while the likes of Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langeliers, and Jacob Wilson have looked the part of legitimate weapons for the offense. The Athletics have a chance of finishing as a top-10 unit in OPS, homers, and doubles, all while having an intact core for 2026.
The rookie season of Nick Kurtz continues to blow us away 💪
He mashes his 29th homer of the season 447 feet 😳 pic.twitter.com/f8XC6GfR2b
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2025
However, the pitching is another story. The A’s are doomed to finish as a bottom-five staff when it comes to run prevention, with a team home ERA that is only better than the Nationals’ and the Rockies’ marks. Outside of isolated flashes from youngsters like Luis Morales (1.59 ERA in five starts) and veteran presence from the likes of Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, the franchise is in clear need of a rotation overhaul, with even third-starter types becoming valuable in free agency or via trade. The departure of Mason Miller did not derail the bullpen completely, so at least there’s a silver lining in the team’s staff looking forward.
The A’s own some of the most extreme splits in the league, with 60 of their games having been decided by five or more runs, while also carrying the worst home winning percentage in the AL. The team’s respectable road record has kept them afloat and with a chance to overtake the Angels for fourth place in their division, and so this offseason will be key towards shaping the team’s roster to make the most of their short stint in Sacramento. The most recent week saw the A’s at their quintessential self, going a mere 3-3 despite outscoring their opposition by a remarkable 43-22 combined score.
With the announcement that the team will play a handful of games in Las Vegas in 2026, there is even more incentive to generate excitement and start creating new fans in the process. Ownership and the front office have the challenge of putting together a competitive staff that holds up to the many runs the offense will produce. Regardless, any success this franchise experiences will remain bittersweet for a long time.
