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?
The middle part is still all over the place, but for the vast majority, both the top and lower end of the Power Rankings seem to already be settling in. While we could reasonably expect some ups and downs from teams like the Dodgers, Padres, and Mets in short samples, they’re standing out significantly. At the same time, a similar point could be said about the bottom of this list with the likes of the Rockies, White Sox, Marlins, and Pirates.
In the middle of all of those powerhouses in the National League, it’s easier for rather solid but perhaps not as flashy teams to go under the radar. This week, we’ll focus on a couple of intriguing NL clubs that deserve a closer look. Not to mention a third club that is currently wasting exciting, affordable talent without the proper foundation around it to succeed.
Contender
This is a completely random thought, but when we think of early 00’s AL West teams, we often think of the Moneyball era A’s and the Mariners team that won 116 games, but the ultimate success for that division in that period came when the Angels won it all in 2002. The 2025 San Francisco Giants team reminds me a lot of that Angels club, not the flashiest, not the most star-studded in a division particularly filled with stars, but a complete and competitive ball club. One who might surprise a few people when it’s all said and done.
Looking at recent improvements, the one thing that stands out about the Giants as of late is Robbie Ray finding himself once again. Nick Pollack has been begging us to be patient when it comes to Ray ever since the start of the year when he was walking everyone, and that patience might be paying off. The former Cy Young winner is coming off two outstanding performances and looks poised to take off and eventually earn the illustrious AGA tag. The Padres might be rolling pitching-wise, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a favorite for the NL Cy Young, but few duos are as reliable right now as Logan Webb and Ray atop that Giants rotation.
Offensively, this team isn’t a murderer’s row by any stretch of the imagination, but its buildup has shades of the more successful Rays teams of recent years. The point of strength for the Giants’ offense is that it minimizes liabilities as a whole. Other than catcher, a position in which Patrick Bailey brings a world of value defensively, there’s an argument to be made that San Francisco has a decently reliable bat at every spot. Now, sure, early on some of them are struggling, which is the case for LaMonte Wade Jr., Willy Adames, and even Heliot Ramos, if you want to go off exclusively what he did last year. That being said, there is enough of a track record from these guys to expect improvement. Furthermore, with a flourishing bullpen and an improving starting rotation, there is a lot to like about this team, even as it navigates a torturous road having to compete with the Dodgers and Padres, not to mention the Diamondbacks.
The middle
If he will win the Cy Young or not, who knows, but finding a more dominant starter in the National League right now than Hunter Greene is quite the task. Similar to the Rockies and Coors, any talk of the Reds’ outlook in a given season starts with some predetermined thoughts regarding their position in such a hitter-friendly park. Taking that into consideration, there is real talent in this pitching staff to lead us to believe in the Reds as a potential playoff contender.
Despite the limitations imposed by their ballpark, the Reds’ starting rotation currently has a top 10 ERA in baseball, coming in at 3.72, right in line with the San Diego Padres, one of the strongest teams in the sport. Now, some level of skepticism is warranted and even encouraged when it comes to all of the non-Hunter Greene names in this rotation, but this group has potential. Brady Singer was a very productive starter in two of the last three seasons and seems to be adjusting well to life in Cincinnati, while Nick Lodolo is finally healthy and living up to his promise, even if the strikeouts aren’t fully here yet.
Offensively, the lack of depth is a real problem for this team. However, between Tyler Stephenson’s return and Noelvi Marte potentially finding his groove one year after serving that long suspension, that problem seems to be at least partially mitigated as of late.
While Greene is living up to all his hype, the same cannot be said for the leaders of this offense, with Elly De La Cruz boasting only a .771 OPS and Matt McLain struggling heavily a year removed from shoulder surgery. If those two can perform up to expectations, this Reds team has another gear in them, which they’ll need to fight for the division title with how well the Cubs are playing.
Wait ’til 2026
It takes a decent amount of effort to have such a poor record with arguably the most fun starter-position player duo in the sport right now. Paul Skenes is performing at a high level, Oneil Cruz is performing at a high level, and yet the Pittsburgh Pirates are entirely uninteresting for the average fan in 2025.
Coming off three series against the Dodgers, Cubs, and Padres, about as close as you get to facing the absolute class of the sport in a specific period, the Pirates were no match for these playoff contenders. Pittsburgh lost six different games throughout this period by at least four runs, including getting shut out by Stephen Kolek and the Friars this past Sunday.
Perhaps more damning than the fact that the Pirates aren’t doing so well, it’s that you can’t even look at obvious underwhelming points that could or should get better. Outside of Bryan Reynolds, who is performing well below his career norm and qualifies as one of the more disappointing players in baseball this season, this is kind of what everyone expected. Sure, Jared Jones is out, and that hurts a lot, but Andrew Heaney was a surprising name early on before coming back to earth with a couple of rough starts against the Cubs and Padres.
There’s some buzz about Bubba Chandler’s eventual call-up as one of the more exciting pitching prospects in baseball, but this team is still far away from competing for even a Wild Card spot in the National League.
Full Week 6 Power Rankings
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