Baseball’s report card day has arrived, and the American League’s first trimester has been anything but predictable. As we sit here, roughly 60 games into the 2025 season, it’s time to grade each team based on how they’ve measured up against our preseason crystal ball gazing. From cellar-dwellers playing like contenders to preseason favorites searching for answers, this season has reminded us why baseball remains the most beautifully unpredictable sport. These grades aren’t just about wins and losses – they’re about measuring reality against expectations. Some teams are earning straight A’s while others might need summer school to salvage their season. Let’s dive into who’s making the honor roll and who’s getting detention in the American League.
AL East
Red Sox: D
The AL East was supposed to be a three horse race. The Red Sox were one of those horses in that race & they have been no stallion out of the gate to say the least. Devers’ season started disastrously before he got it back on track, the pitching has been inconsistent at best (16th in team ERA) & the same can be said for their young lineup. Off-season acquisition Alex Bregman has been sidelined now & although there is a lot of baseball left to be played, this has all the makings of a lost season in Boston at the moment.
Baltimore Orioles: F
It is difficult to believe a team who had slowly built up into a competitor for their division crown has watched it crash and burn so quickly. Or is it? The ownership made it clear the team would not improve much over the offseason when they failed to go after their ace Corbin Burnes in free agency (given Burnes’ recent injury it’s looking like a better move). Who did they fill his role with? Nobody. Which is why it is unsurprising that the Orioles are 28th in the league in team ERA at the moment.
New York Yankees: A
The Yankees lost their 1B player this offseason (Aaron Judge is now and will always be their 1A) to their crosstown rivals in Queens and I’m sure for many Yankee fans it felt like the sky was falling. Brian Cashman (who I’m typically not a fan of) quickly got to work to fill the void Juan Soto left. And he did not disappoint. Paul Goldschmidt is batting .323. Cody Bellinger has a .770 OPS & is playing a stellar left field every night. Devin Williams, after starting off as a massive disappointment, has recovered and is settling in nicely into a set-up man role.
Lastly, and most impressively, we introduce Max Fried. He currently sports a 1.92 ERA and has been one of the leagues most dominant pitchers. Losing Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, & Gerrit Cole could have been enough to make this team pack it in and prep for next season, but they’ve been excellent every step of the way so far.
Tampa Bay Rays: A
These rankings are based on how I thought a team would be before the season. The Rays have this way about them where there roster on paper is mostly “no-name” players. But the reality is, they’re just a pretty solid team. The pitching has been very impressive, as they own the 7th best team ERA in baseball. Most of that success can be attributed to their starting rotation, as they have 4 starters with ERA’s under 4.00. People will be slow to call Drew Rasmussen an ace, but his 2.14 ERA (9th in MLB) & 0.87 WHIP (3rd in MLB) would say otherwise. Guy is the real deal. Parlay that with a deep bullpen (typical Rays) and a lineup that can do enough to get the job done and you’ll find a team that, once again, is exceeding expectations and hanging around not too far below the division leading Yanks.
Toronto Blue Jays: B
The Blue Jays have had success with their current core. Vlad, Bichette, Gausman, etc. 2021-2023 they were playoff regulars, coming in North of 88 wins each time. In 2024 they took a massive step back, Bo Bichette had a really rough season, & with Vlad in a contract year in 2025 it could’ve been easy to see this core turn to dust at the trade deadline. The Blue Jays get a B grade because they haven’t allowed that to happen just yet.
After a hot start the Jays started to look like they’d let it slip away but they’re currently 8 for their last 10 & remaining 5 games off the division leading Yankees. Bichette, Vlad, & Springer have done a solid job carrying the offensive load, while Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, & Chris Bassitt have led a decent rotation. It’s yet to be seen if the Jays will remain competitive given their up and down start, but we’re comfortable giving them the B for now.
third in the al east is crazy work because i know we can get back to the top again. we are hands down one of the best teams in our league so 🥱 pic.twitter.com/XBEqutso54
— Kat ❥ (@NYL4NDXR) June 7, 2025
The Guardians have played a division leader in 4 of their last 5 series…
— DollarDog Nick (@DollarDogNick) June 7, 2025
So far they are 5-6 in those games:
3-1 vs AL Central leading Tigers
1-2 vs NL West leading Dodgers
1-2 vs AL East leading Yankees
0-1 vs AL West leading Astros pic.twitter.com/qoN0CKxK5x
AL Central
Detroit Tigers: A
Not much bad to say about the Tigers so far. The resurgence of Javier Baez has been a treat to watch. Pair him with Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, & Kerry Carpenter (all OPS over .800) & you’ve got a solid lineup. Now throw in a really good rotation led by Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (who has been every bit as good as advertised) & you can understand why this team has the best record in the MLB.
Minnesota Twins: B
I don’t have a ton of faith in the Twins. Their lineup isn’t too loaded (16th in runs scored), but it has enough pieces to get the job done on some days. The pitching has been impressive on the other hand, as they’re 7th in team ERA & all but one of their starters have sub 4.00 ERA’s. It’s a bit of a high benchmark, but you know you’re going to get a decent outing from them night in and night out. Whether it’s sexy or not, the Twins are currently 6 games over .500 & in 2nd place in the Central. Hard to ask for more than that.
Cleveland Guardians: C+
The Guardians are in a similar position to the Twins, but given their success in recent years we will hold them to a higher standard. Their top 3 (Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, & Carlos Santana) have been the ones doing most of the damage on offense, but the help has been pretty brutal as most of the supporting cast has OPS below .700. The starting pitching has been average, no true standout ace, but that could change with the return of Shane Bieber scheduled for the end of June. Overall they’ve just been a little underwhelming, but at the end of the day they’re in the mix for a wild card spot, and we’ll see if Bieber can put them over the top and land them back in the playoffs.
Kansas City Royals: C
The Royals are very lucky they can pitch. Because they do not score. Good for 27th in the MLB in runs scored & dead last in homers the offense hasn’t done much so far this season. Bobby Witt, Markel Garcia, & Vinny Pasquantino are the only names in the lineup that haven’t been terrible. On the flip side Kris Bubic, Michael Lorenzen, & Seth Lugo have all put their best foot forward in the starting rotation & it has really helped keep this team afloat. Cole Ragans, the teams expected ace, has been pretty bad this season unfortunately, but getting him back on track would help this team in a big way. The bullpen has also been lockdown as their 3.27 ERA is good for 5th best in the bigs. Sadly unless the bats heat up this team can’t be taken too seriously.
Chicago White Sox: D+
You’d think a 20-43 team would receive an F grade, but luckily the White Sox pulled a George Costanza last season & set expectations so low that anything besides worst team in the league is a win! On offense the only true bright spot has been Chase Meidroth. The 23 year old rookie holds a .312 batting average and despite his poor slugging numbers still holds a .770 OPS. Picture a young Luis Arraez with more defensive and baserunning upside. The pitching isn’t great as the bullpen ranks in the lower half of the league, but both Davis Martin and Shane Smith have caused reason for White Sox fans to be somewhat optimistic about the future. It’s bad don’t get me wrong, but it’s not as bad as they used to be.
It is fun to look at the MLB standings and see the Tigers at the top every day.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 7, 2025
They beat the Cubs Friday, and have a seven-game lead in the AL Central pic.twitter.com/MlBOTt301j
Every year it’s the same song and dance
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) May 31, 2025
Step 1: I pick the Astros to win the AL West
Step 2: People talk trash about me and the Astros
Step 3: They start slow and people say their time is over
Step 4: They take over 1st place way faster than people thought
Inevitable. pic.twitter.com/MeaTpgX4DX
AL West
Houston Astros: A
This team over the last few years has exploded their core. Yet it’s a testament to the organization (& Jose Altuve) that they continue to compete year in year out. The beginning of the season started rocky, Bregman was gone, Tucker was gone, Yordano was injured, Arrighetti and McCullers both hurt. Yet somehow the Astros have overcome all the roster turnover and all the adversity (so far) to sit atop the AL West.
Jose Altuve has been the rock of this franchise and his stats haven’t been incredible, but he remains a steady hand in the clubhouse. Jeremy Pena is turning into everything the organization had hoped he would be, batting .318 with a .869 OPS. Isaac Paredes has replaced Alex Bregman at the hot corner quite nicely as his 2.0 WAR is good for 2nd on the team. The pitching comes in at 10th in the league with a 3.56 team ERA, & has done enough to support the efforts of the bats (mainly carried by Framber Valdez & Hunter Brown). Thru the first third of the season the Astros remain the class of the West.
Seattle Mariners: B
Much like the Royals (on a less grand scale) this grade could be way higher if they would just hit the baseball. However, it could be lower if they had the same record without facing the injury difficulties they have. Logan Gilbert & George Kirby have been injured for a good chunk of the year and that’s tough to overcome.
The pitching, as it always does in Seattle (even despite injury) has held up well. The hitting runs through one man and that is Cal Raleigh. They go as he goes. The rest of the lineup has been underwhelming but Raleigh leads the league in homers & is having a crazy season. Aaron Judge is certainly the MVP favorite but Cal has played well enough to hang around that conversation for the time being. If the pitching gets healthy and the lineup (that means you Julio Rodriguez!) could ever get going they could be legitimate contenders.
Texas Rangers: D
I really thought the Texas Rangers were going to take control of this division & not look back, but they have let things get away from them. Seager has been hurt for a good chunk of the season. Marcus Semien has been putrid, Adolis Garcia isn’t much better, & Joc Pederson is unplayable. The sad thing is the pitching has been very stellar and they can still turn things around, but the pieces are in place they just need guys to wake up. Frustrating start for the Rangers.
Los Angeles Angels: C
The Angels for some time were a team that would start the year with high expectations & always disappoint. Nowadays nobody expects anything from them anymore, so their below average start to the season is about on par with what we thought they would do. This team has some fun pieces. Taylor Ward has crushed some clutch home runs, Logan O’Hoppe has some exciting pop for a catcher, & Zach Neto is quietly one of the better shortstops in the league. I enjoy the Angels and think they’re a team that might just be some pitching away from competing again. Hopefully it happens before Mike Trout’s career comes to an end.
Sacramento A’s: F
The A’s are a sad case because they can hit. But boy can they give up runs. Their -117 run differential is one of the worst in the league, so when they lose they do so badly. Their minor league ballpark is a hitters heaven which worsens the situation for them. They’re fresh off a 10 game losing streak & despite their offense showing signs of life it’s a tough time to root for this team right now.
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