The final week of the MLB regular season is here. Milwaukee remains my No. 1 team, but the Dodgers are closing in. The top five stay in the same order, while the gap between third and fifth is down to just 0.24 rating points. These rankings use stats through September 20, with comparisons to last week’s update.
Team Rankings
The Brewers went 5-1 for a second consecutive week, improving to 98-58 and pushing their run differential from +195 to +202. Their rating rises from 125.26 to 126.12, keeping them first as they approach the 100-win mark.
Los Angeles had an even stronger week at 6-1, outscoring opponents 39-16. The Dodgers improve to 96-60, with a +193 run differential and a 124.49 rating. Milwaukee’s lead shrinks from 2.93 points to 1.63, making the race for the top spot worth watching through the final games.
Atlanta remains third after a 4-2 week. The Yankees hold fourth despite going 3-3, while Tampa Bay’s 5-1 week brings the Rays within 0.04 rating points of New York. The Cubs stay sixth after going 4-2 and increasing their run differential to +152.
| Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Runs | Runs Allowed | Run Differential | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee Brewers | 98 | 58 | 802 | 600 | 202 | 126.12 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 96 | 60 | 780 | 587 | 193 | 124.49 |
| 3 | Atlanta Braves | 92 | 64 | 722 | 602 | 120 | 117.29 |
| 4 | New York Yankees | 89 | 66 | 713 | 576 | 137 | 117.09 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Rays | 95 | 60 | 707 | 624 | 83 | 117.05 |
| 6 | Chicago Cubs | 87 | 69 | 835 | 683 | 152 | 115.30 |
| 7 | Boston Red Sox | 84 | 72 | 678 | 598 | 80 | 109.56 |
| 8 | San Diego Padres | 87 | 69 | 690 | 649 | 41 | 108.60 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Phillies | 86 | 70 | 697 | 668 | 29 | 107.11 |
| 10 | Chicago White Sox | 80 | 76 | 733 | 691 | 42 | 104.06 |
San Diego moves ahead of Philadelphia into eighth after a 6-1 week. The Padres scored 51 runs and allowed 32, improving their run differential from +22 to +41. Boston remains seventh, but a 2-4 week drops its rating from 111.15 to 109.56, leaving less than a point between the Red Sox and Padres.
Outside the top 10, Texas makes the biggest climb, moving four places to No. 16. Detroit falls two spots to No. 14 after last week’s four-place rise. The Tigers still illustrate why these ratings differ from the standings: they are 73-83, yet have a +68 run differential and the fifth-ranked pitching staff by TOP allowed.
Milwaukee and Los Angeles continue to offer balanced profiles. The Brewers rank fourth in batting TOP and second in pitching TOP; the Dodgers rank third in both. The Yankees pair the fifth-ranked offense with the best pitching TOP in the league. Those strengths help explain why all three remain near the top of the overall ratings.
Batting
The Cubs remain first in team batting TOP, improving from .510 to .512. Washington stays second, followed by the Dodgers, Brewers, and Yankees. Pittsburgh moves from seventh to sixth, Colorado rises to seventh, and Miami drops from sixth to eighth. San Diego enters the top 10 at ninth, while Tampa Bay slips from ninth to 11th.
Top Ten teams by TOP
| Rank | Team | Games | PA | Runs | TBA | Expected Runs | TOP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Cubs | 156 | 6148 | 835 | 3140 | 785.0 | 0.512 |
| 2 | Washington Nationals | 156 | 5986 | 798 | 3000 | 750.0 | 0.503 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 156 | 5983 | 780 | 2953 | 738.2 | 0.495 |
| 4 | Milwaukee Brewers | 156 | 6077 | 802 | 2930 | 732.5 | 0.486 |
| 5 | New York Yankees | 155 | 5784 | 713 | 2795 | 698.8 | 0.484 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 156 | 6042 | 748 | 2909 | 727.2 | 0.483 |
| 7 | Colorado Rockies | 156 | 5951 | 727 | 2848 | 712.0 | 0.480 |
| 8 | Miami Marlins | 156 | 5900 | 692 | 2822 | 705.5 | 0.480 |
| 9 | San Diego Padres | 156 | 5841 | 690 | 2779 | 694.8 | 0.478 |
| 10 | Chicago White Sox | 156 | 5948 | 733 | 2819 | 704.8 | 0.476 |
Pete Crow-Armstrong remains the top qualified hitter, raising his TOP from .660 to .673. Yordan Alvarez also improves, from .657 to .664, but Crow-Armstrong expands his lead from .003 to .009. James Wood and Shohei Ohtani remain third and fourth.
Elly De La Cruz continues his climb, moving from seventh to fifth after jumping six places last week. His TOP rises from .590 to .601. Ben Rice and Jake Bauers each move down one place, while Willson Contreras passes Kyle Schwarber for eighth. Junior Caminero holds tenth.
Top Twenty hitters by TOP
| Rank | Player | Team | Bats | G | PA | Runs | TBA | Expected Runs | TOP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | CHC | L | 156 | 702 | 118 | 472 | 118.0 | 0.673 |
| 2 | Yordan Alvarez | HOU | L | 152 | 663 | 98 | 440 | 110.0 | 0.664 |
| 3 | James Wood | WSN | L | 129 | 598 | 103 | 373 | 93.2 | 0.624 |
| 4 | Shohei Ohtani | LAD | L | 130 | 596 | 89 | 357 | 89.2 | 0.601 |
| 5 | Elly De La Cruz | CIN | B | 137 | 609 | 96 | 366 | 91.5 | 0.601 |
| 6 | Ben Rice | NYY | L | 148 | 641 | 100 | 381 | 95.2 | 0.594 |
| 7 | Jake Bauers | MIL | L | 138 | 552 | 90 | 327 | 81.8 | 0.592 |
| 8 | Willson Contreras | BOS | R | 129 | 533 | 68 | 314 | 78.5 | 0.590 |
| 9 | Kyle Schwarber | PHI | L | 150 | 674 | 93 | 396 | 99.0 | 0.588 |
| 10 | Junior Caminero | TBR | R | 155 | 677 | 96 | 395 | 98.8 | 0.583 |
| 11 | Miguel Vargas | CHW | R | 154 | 680 | 101 | 396 | 99.0 | 0.583 |
| 12 | CJ Abrams | WSN | L | 146 | 631 | 90 | 368 | 92.0 | 0.583 |
| 13 | Rafael Devers | SFG | L | 148 | 633 | 88 | 364 | 91.0 | 0.575 |
| 14 | Randy Arozarena | SEA | R | 148 | 643 | 106 | 368 | 92.0 | 0.572 |
| 15 | Hunter Goodman | COL | R | 132 | 548 | 81 | 312 | 78.0 | 0.569 |
| 16 | Max Muncy | LAD | L | 144 | 543 | 80 | 309 | 77.2 | 0.569 |
| 17 | Pete Alonso | BAL | R | 156 | 678 | 92 | 385 | 96.2 | 0.568 |
| 18 | Bryce Harper | PHI | L | 156 | 667 | 92 | 378 | 94.5 | 0.567 |
| 19 | Jake McCarthy | COL | L | 141 | 572 | 78 | 320 | 80.0 | 0.564 |
| 20 | Corbin Carroll | ARI | L | 150 | 646 | 90 | 361 | 90.2 | 0.559 |
Pitching
The top five pitching staffs stay in the same order: the Yankees, Brewers, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Tigers. New York improves its TOP allowed from .431 to .430, while Milwaukee holds at .433. Los Angeles closes some ground on the leaders, improving from .443 to .440.
Tampa Bay moves ahead of Toronto into sixth, improving its TOP allowed from .452 to .450. Atlanta remains eighth. Cleveland enters the top 10 at ninth, Pittsburgh holds tenth, and San Diego falls from ninth to 11th. The Padres’ big week in the overall ratings came alongside stronger offensive production, even as their season-long pitching TOP moved from .457 to .461.
Top Ten teams by TOP
| Rank | Team | Games | Batters Faced | TBA | TOP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Yankees | 155 | 5738 | 2459.0 | 0.430 |
| 2 | Milwaukee Brewers | 156 | 5781 | 2493.0 | 0.433 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 156 | 5712 | 2504.0 | 0.440 |
| 4 | Boston Red Sox | 156 | 5803 | 2573.0 | 0.446 |
| 5 | Detroit Tigers | 156 | 5795 | 2581.0 | 0.448 |
| 6 | Tampa Bay Rays | 155 | 5689 | 2546.0 | 0.450 |
| 7 | Toronto Blue Jays | 156 | 5893 | 2649.0 | 0.452 |
| 8 | Atlanta Braves | 156 | 5821 | 2638.0 | 0.455 |
| 9 | Cleveland Guardians | 156 | 5862 | 2675.0 | 0.458 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 156 | 5970 | 2726.0 | 0.458 |
Jacob Misiorowski remains first among the pitchers, lowering his TOP allowed from .314 to .310. Cam Schlittler stays second at .354, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto improves from .360 to .355 and moves ahead of Chris Sale into third. Drew Rasmussen holds fifth.
Walbert Ureña makes the largest climb into the top 10, moving from 11th to sixth as his TOP allowed improves from .399 to .389. Dylan Cease and Parker Messick each slip one place, Jesús Luzardo remains ninth, and Tarik Skubal falls from eighth to tenth. Reid Detmers drops from tenth to 16th as his TOP allowed rises from .398 to .411.
Top Twenty pitchers by TOP
| Rank | Name | Team | G | Batters Faced | IP | TBA | TOP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Misiorowski | MIL | 29 | 646 | 169.1 | 200 | 0.310 |
| 2 | Cam Schlittler | NYY | 32 | 747 | 190.2 | 262 | 0.354 |
| 3 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | LAD | 27 | 682 | 179.0 | 242 | 0.355 |
| 4 | Chris Sale | ATL | 26 | 627 | 157.0 | 225 | 0.359 |
| 5 | Drew Rasmussen | TBR | 29 | 645 | 165.1 | 238 | 0.369 |
| 6 | Walbert Ureña | LAA | 28 | 605 | 144.1 | 235 | 0.389 |
| 7 | Dylan Cease | TOR | 29 | 685 | 169.0 | 270 | 0.395 |
| 8 | Parker Messick | CLE | 30 | 711 | 178.1 | 280 | 0.395 |
| 9 | Jesús Luzardo | PHI | 29 | 727 | 178.2 | 286 | 0.396 |
| 10 | Tarik Skubal | TOT | 25 | 597 | 151.2 | 235 | 0.397 |
| 11 | Jacob deGrom | TEX | 30 | 645 | 158.2 | 260 | 0.405 |
| 12 | Ranger Suarez | BOS | 27 | 593 | 143.1 | 240 | 0.405 |
| 13 | Keider Montero | DET | 31 | 611 | 151.0 | 248 | 0.409 |
| 14 | Shane McClanahan | TBR | 24 | 487 | 118.0 | 198 | 0.409 |
| 15 | Payton Tolle | BOS | 25 | 575 | 143.0 | 236 | 0.411 |
| 16 | Reid Detmers | LAA | 31 | 718 | 179.0 | 294 | 0.411 |
| 17 | José Soriano | TOT | 31 | 729 | 174.1 | 299 | 0.412 |
| 18 | Cristopher Sánchez | PHI | 32 | 830 | 200.0 | 340 | 0.412 |
| 19 | Bryan Woo | SEA | 29 | 684 | 167.2 | 282 | 0.412 |
| 20 | Michael King | SDP | 31 | 736 | 181.0 | 304 | 0.415 |
What I’m Watching in the Final Week
Milwaukee has the lead, but Los Angeles has made it a closer race. The Dodgers gained 1.30 rating points on the Brewers this week, and both clubs remain in the top four on each side of the ball. Atlanta, New York, and Tampa Bay are tightly grouped behind them, so even a small change could reshuffle the next three spots.
The individual leaders are worth following as well. Crow-Armstrong has widened his advantage over Alvarez at the top of the batting rankings, while Misiorowski has strengthened his pitching lead. With the regular season ending Sunday, this is the last stretch for teams and players to shape their final regular-season numbers.
Shoutout to Baseball Reference for providing the stats!
See all 30 teams and the complete batting and pitching reports on the 2026 MLB season page.