May 7, 2026
·Brandon Gustafson
There are plenty of beauties to behold in baseball. We have a 162-game gauntlet, so there’s constant reshuffling in the standings and among rosters. Additionally, while 12 teams make the postseason each year and some stand in a different stratosphere than other clubs, no team is perfect.
Every team has its warts, including the top World Series contenders. With SeatGeek serving as the Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, we closely monitor all things baseball at all 30 MLB clubs. In this post, we take a look at the biggest issue plaguing each team that would make the postseason if the season ended today, per MLB’s official website and standings. Records and standings are as of the end of Wednesday, May 6.
Biggest question marks facing 2026 MLB playoff contenders
These aren’t fatal flaws, at least not yet. But for every team in the current postseason picture, there’s one concern that could loom larger as the playoff race heats up.
American League division leaders
AL East: New York Yankees (25-12): Lineup is top heavy
The Yankees have a fantastic roster. The rotation has been incredible to begin the year, and the nearing returns of Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole make New York truly dangerous. The offense has been incredible, too, ranking first in home runs and second in runs scored. The issue with the lineup, however, is the overall depth.
Aaron Judge is mashing again and looks like he’s about to win his fourth MVP award. Ben Rice is arguably a top-5 hitter in baseball right now, and Cody Bellinger, while not homering a ton, has been flirting with a .900 OPS for most of the year. There’s a big drop off from there, though.
Trent Grisham, New York’s top leadoff option, is hitting under .200. Jazz Chisholm is off to a slow start and has an OPS in the .600s. Ryan McMahon hasn’t done much at the dish this year, either. And Giancarlo Stanton was a fringe-average hitter before landing on the injured list, and it’s unclear when he’ll return.
Judge, Rice and Bellinger have carried this lineup, and the pitching has more than done its share of heavy lifting in the early stages of the season. But the Yankees need more than three bats to be good if they want to win their first world title since 2009.
AL Central: Cleveland Guardians (19-19): Lineup depth and a cold J-Ram
The American League is a bit of a disaster right now, as the AL Central, AL West and the Wild Card races and records show. Cleveland is doing what it always seems to do under Steven Vogt, and that’s pitch well across the board and score just enough to win. Add in that the rest of the Central is struggling and the Guardians are in the early driver’s seat to win the division for the third year in a row.
The Guardians have some intriguing young arms who are doing a great job in the rotation, and they always seem to find relievers who can eat innings and get outs. The problem, as was the case last year, is whether they can score enough runs on a consistent basis. The Guardians are in the bottom half of baseball in runs scored and are in the bottom five in team batting average. Rookie Chase DeLauter has gotten off to a great start, as have Angel Martinez, Daniel Schneemann and David Fry. But Mr. Consistent Jose Ramirez is essentially a league average hitter right now in terms of OPS while hitting just over .200. He’ll turn things around because he always does, but will the list of aforementioned names be able to help out long term? And will Steven Kwan – a sub-.600 OPS – figure it out?
I’ve learned enough to not bet against the Guardians’ pitching development, but I will continue to question the lineup.
AL West: Athletics (18-18): Pitching in general
The Athletics have gotten off to the best start in the AL West this year and are the only team at .500 right now. They’ve actually sat atop the standings for a while now as the Mariners, Rangers, Astros and Angels have all fought and failed to get to and above .500 thus far.
I love the Athletics’ lineup, and I’m hardly the only one. Nick Kurtz is a stud, Jacob Wilson is a contact machine and Shea Langeliers is baseball’s top slugging catcher right now after years of flying under the radar. Add in that Brent Rooker is too good to play this poorly for much longer and Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler are both incredibly talented as well, and you have to feel good about the state of the lineup – even with some big names scuffling.
At some point one – or more – of the other four AL West teams will get rolling and start fighting the A’s atop the standings. When that happens, they desperately need more from their pitching staff, especially the bullpen.
The rotation features some veteran names who post and are solid on a consistent basis like Luis Severino, Aaron Civale and Jeffrey Springs, but the back of the rotation is suspect. The bullpen is even more suspect and is the biggest reason the team is bottom five in team ERA right now. At some point, that has to get better, otherwise it will be clear that the Athletics didn’t take advantage of some early stumbles from their division counterparts.
American League Wild Card teams
Tampa Bay Rays (24-12): Lineup depth
The Rays have returned to Tropicana Field and look like those dangerous Tampa teams of the 2010s and early 2020s. Like those years, the Rays have gotten great results on the mound, with the quartet of Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez, Steven Matz and the now-healthy Shane McLanahan all putting up excellent numbers through seven starts each.
If there’s anything you look at with Tampa’s roster construction right now, it’s that the lineup is top heavy. The Rays have a killer trio of Yandy Diaz (.874 OPS), Jonathan Aranda (.854 OPS) and Junior Caminero (.816 OPS, nine home runs) who do most of the heavy lifting. Chandler Simpson is also a fun bat who doesn’t slug a ton but is fast (12 steals) and is hitting over .300. There are some big questions behind those four, though.
Jake Fraley (.744 OPS) is solid as a platoon bat focusing on hitting right-handers and Jonny DeLuca has a good but not great .742 OPS. The drop off after those two is massive. The Rays always seem to figure it out, though, but if enough of those top-end bats start to cool off, it could be hard for Tampa to manufacture runs.
Seattle Mariners (18-20): Big bats aren’t doing enough
Despite being two games under .500 after a poor start, the Mariners currently hold a Wild Card spot. They’re also the first team to beat the Braves in a series this season and are one of just four teams in the American League with a positive run differential.
Seattle’s biggest issue is with its best hitters. Cal Raleigh is banged up and has just a .616 OPS. Josh Naylor’s OPS is only .641, and while he’s been better of late, Julio Rodriguez’s .734 OPS signifies another slow start. Randy Arozarena has been the best of Seattle’s core slugging bats with a .766 OPS, but he has just three homers and 12 RBIs. Big offseason addition Brendan Donovan is off to a nice start – .955 OPS, three home runs and eight RBIs – but he’s on the injured list.
If there’s another area of concern for the Mariners, it’d be that the bullpen is down two key arms in Gabe Speier and Matt Brash. But the collective slow start from the middle of the Mariners’ lineup is issue No. 1, with the team ranking in the bottom half of baseball in runs scored and sitting sixth in team ERA.
Detroit Tigers (18-20): Life without Skubal
The Tigers were already off to a disappointing start to the year before they suffered a massive blow with the news that two-time reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will miss roughly two months due to elbow surgery to remove bone chips. Detroit has some notable pieces across the board, and the lineup is in much better shape than last year, especially with youngsters Kevin McGonigle and Colt Keith off to great starts. The rotation looks awfully different with Skubal out of action, though, and Detroit has lost three straight since his injury was reported.
The Tigers signed Framber Valdez to help anchor the rotation, but he owns a 4.57 ERA and is facing a suspension after he hit Trevor Story after allowing three homers and seven runs to Boston in his most recent start. Casey Mize is hurt, as is Justin Verlander, and Jack Flaherty has a 5.56 ERA across eight starts. Losing Skubal would hurt any team, but the Tigers’ rotation and bullpen simply aren’t good enough to weather that kind of storm right now. And with Skubal being a pending free agent, it will be interesting if he returns before the trade deadline and whether the Tigers make a move there if out of contention.
National League division leaders
NL East: Atlanta Braves (26-12): Two big bats struggling
No team in baseball has been better than Atlanta to begin 2026, with the Braves ranking at or near the top of MLB in a ton of categories, be it pitching or offensively. In fact, they’ve only lost one series this year, and that was their most recent one against the Mariners.
There’s not a ton to pinpoint here as Atlanta’s rotation is excellent, the bullpen is potent and the lineup is dangerous. The easiest thing to look at is two big bats who have struggled out of the gate – Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley. Acuna is slightly above league average in OPS at .740, but the former MVP had just two homers before landing on the injured list. Riley, a three-time top-10 MVP finisher, is OPSing in the .600s with 11 extra-base hits and too many strikeouts.
The good news for Atlanta is that even with those two struggling, the lineup has been excellent with Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin all off to excellent starts. If even one of Acuna or Riley returns to form, the Braves may well be the team to beat in all of MLB.
NL Central: Chicago Cubs (25-12): Rotation’s depth
The Cubs are off to a great start and have been getting some great contributions across the board. If there’s any issue, it’s the depth of the rotation.
Shota Imanaga has looked like a Cy Young contender, Edward Cabrera has dazzled with a 3.27 ERA and Jameson Taillon has been a solid mid-level starter with a 4.24 ERA and .215 opponent average. The dropoff from there is a bit steep, especially with Cade Horton out for the year.
Colin Rea is a pretty average arm, and he’s bouncing between starting and pitching bulk innings behind an opener. Veteran lefty Matthew Boyd, Chicago’s top pitcher last year, has a whopping 6.00 ERA and hurt his meniscus in a freak injury when sitting down at home to play with his kids, and he’ll miss considerable time as the injury is severe enough to require surgery.
The good news for the Cubs is Boyd is expected back at some point this year, and they should also have All-Star southpaw Justin Steele return at some point this summer. Steele joining the fray would be a big boost for any team, but considering the rotation’s depth has taken a hit of late, Steele’s return will be especially well received.
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (23-14): Bullpen
What do you buy for your friend who seemingly has everything? The Dodgers, the two-time defending champs, not only added the biggest bat on the free-agent market in Kyle Tucker, but they bolstered their one weakness – their bullpen was 21st in ERA last year – with the signing of all-world closer Edwin Diaz.
The Dodgers are now in the top-10 of bullpen ERA, so why is this their listed issue? Well, for starters, Diaz is currently on the injured list, and he had a 10.50 ERA in seven appearances. The Dodgers also have blown five of their 13 save opportunities this season. Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott have been great to begin the year, but Blake Treinen has been closer to average.
This is a bit nitpicky because of how good top to bottom L.A. is, but if you’re going to raise your eyebrows at anything, it’s the bullpen.
National League Wild Card teams
San Diego Padres (22-14): The team’s biggest bats
The Padres are a weird team. They have one of baseball’s best records and they rank 14th in runs scored, but the lineup still feels really underwhelming.
The biggest issue for the Friars is their biggest and best bats aren’t living up to expectations. The ever-steady Manny Machado has an OPS under .700, as does Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis Jr. owns a lowly .606 OPS and hasn’t homered this year.
Xander Bogaerts appears to have returned to his Boston form with an .814 OPS and a team-leading seven homers and 22 RBIs, but the Padres have too many good hitters struggling right now. That, of course, could be seen as a positive as you could argue that if San Diego is this good with those three hitters struggling, then the Padres should be very dangerous if even one or two get hot in the coming weeks and months.
St. Louis Cardinals (21-15): Pitching in general
I didn’t see the Cardinals contending this year before the season began, and while they’re off to a great start at 21-15 through Wednesday, I do have some serious concerns about the team’s pitching.
A 4.54 team ERA – bottom 10 in baseball – is hardly a pretty sight, and outside of a standout stretch from Michael McGreevy – one of my breakout picks before the season – and his 2.52 ERA through seven starts, there’s little to like with this pitching staff. Andre Pallante has been the team’s next-best starter with a 4.34 ERA and Opening Day starter Matthew Liberatore owns a 4.50 mark thus far. Riley O’Brien has been excellent as the team’s closer, and George Soriano and Matt Svanson have been great in the early goings as well, but that trio doesn’t have the track record to suggest they’re all worth relying on moving forward – plus, the rest of the ‘pen is suspect.
The Cardinals have to feel good right now, especially offensively, but they need their rotation to really pick things up, especially in an incredibly competitive NL Central.
Milwaukee Brewers (19-16): Is there enough juice offensively?
This was a question the Brewers faced last year, and the simple answer was it didn’t really matter. Milwaukee ranked in the bottom 10 in home runs but were 12th in slugging percentage while also sitting third in batting average, second in on-base percentage, second in stolen bases and fourth in walks drawn. On the pitching side, the Brewers ranked second in ERA.
It’s been more of the same this year, but slightly worse. The Brewers are fifth in ERA, 29th in home runs, 27th in slugging percentage and 13th in batting average. With numbers down across the board and with the rest of the NL Central all over .500, can Milwaukee’s style of play net them another postseason berth?
The team just got 2025 breakout star Andrew Vaughn back and Christian Yelich is expected back soon. Additionally, Brice Turang, Jake Bauers, Gary Sanchez and William Contreras have all played well out of the gate. The team’s overall offensive ceiling feels limited, though, which could really hurt them as the season goes along or if they make the postseason once again. Even after trading Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee has the pitching to contend for a World Series. It’s just unclear whether this brand of offense can make the Brewers a legitimate World Series contender after falling in the NLCS last year, where they scored four total runs in a four-game sweep by the Dodgers.