With July and then the All-Star break just around the bend, we're now roughly halfway through the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season. Every team has played at least 81 games and roughly three months of play are behind us, which means it's time to check in on all of MLB's 30 teams. Specifically, we're here to hand out grades to each team based on how the first half of the season has gone to date.
It's not a simple matter of eyeballing the standings. Rather, the grades to come are informed by the standings, the team's underlying performance, and how those two measures compare with reasonable expectations entering the 2026 season. There's no such thing as a good team with a bad grade, but teams that were expected to be good won't be graded as highly as those teams that qualify as "pleasant surprises." The same principle applies to the other, uglier end of the continuum.
We've already graded the National League at the midpoint, and now it's the American League's turn.
MLB halfway grades for every National League team: Dodgers, Braves ace first half, Mets score easy 'F' Dayn Perry
Athletics: C-
The A's are within hailing distance of first place in the AL West, but that says more about the (very low) quality of the competition. Stated another way, the A's are in contention for the division title despite a sub-.500 record and the second-worst run differential in the AL. The lineup lacks depth, and only the Rockies have a worse team ERA. Still, they're contenders, as absurd as that sounds. Injury concerns are mounting, though. -- Dayn Perry
Baltimore Orioles: D
They've waffled between a D and an F all season. They haven't won more than three straight games all year and they've lost as many as four straight games only twice. No extended runs in either direction to fully establish them as pretenders or contenders. The American League is mediocrity defined, so the O's are still in the wild-card race, but they didn't sign Pete Alonso to only be on the fringes of contention going into July. The rotation has been much, much better over the last month or so. The offense has been inconsistent at best. Alonso is carrying them and their second most reliable hitter the last few weeks has been No. 9 hitter Blaze Alexander. -- Mike Axisa
Boston Red Sox: D
The good news is that BaseRuns and regular old run differential both say the Red Sox should have a much better record than they have. The bad news is "much better record than they have" means they should be around .500, not much further up the standings. To call this a disappointment after last year's return to the postseason and the active winter would be an understatement. A trendy World Series pick coming into 2026, the Red Sox are more likely to sell at the deadline than not. Is the organization in a better place right now than it was when they fired Chaim Bloom and replaced him with Craig Breslow three years ago? That this is even a fair question is not great. -- Axisa
Chicago White Sox: A
After losing 121 games two years ago and 102 last season, the White Sox are not only above .500 but are fighting for a division title. That's a monster victory for the franchise. Speaking of victories, landing Munetaka Murakami was an utter coup, Miguel Vargas is blossoming into a star and Colson Montgomery has already hit 20 home runs. There remain questions in the rotation, but this White Sox bunch is clearly ahead of schedule. -- Matt Snyder
Cleveland Guardians: B
It's simply business as usual for this franchise to be over .500 and in the mix for a division title. This alone means they will not receive a grade worse than a B, and the pitching staff has been worthy of perhaps a better grade. Offensively, though, there's a lot left to be desired here. The Guardians are among the worst in baseball in batting average and OPS. They put the ball in play and steal bases, sure, but they don't generally hit the ball with authority and it's a major concern moving forward. José Ramírez will be back at some point and can move the proverbial needle, but until then, the offense is anemic and holds the team back. -- Snyder
Detroit Tigers: F
Much of the talk this past offseason was about whether or not the Tigers would trade two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Not only did they hold onto him, but they also signed Framber Valdez, seemingly a clear sign they were going all in for the season. And they've been atrocious. A good rookie season from Kevin McGonigle is one of the few bright spots. Overall, this is a well-below-average offense backed by a bullpen with a penchant for giving up leads: the Tigers lead the majors with 26 losses during which they had a lead. As they slip further back in the playoff race, a trade of Skubal now looms. -- Snyder
Houston Astros: C
The Astros were a season-worst 11 games under .500 on May 20, but they've played much better since then. The run differential is ugly, but they're very much in contention in both the AL West and the AL wild-card race, not to make too much of that subterranean bar. The rotation is healthier than it's been in some time, and Yordan Alvarez is still playing like an MVP. Houston to date has played the easiest schedule in all of MLB, as measured by opponents' average winning percentage. -- Perry
Kansas City Royals: F
Two years ago, the Royals made the playoffs. Last season, they had a winning record. This season, they are among the worst teams in baseball. The good signs (breakouts from Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone) are overshadowed, quite greatly, by the bad. Injury concerns with Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic linger and the bullpen is a complete mess. Injuries to Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia haven't helped matters, but the offense was lackluster even with them in the lineup. It's just been all kinds of bad in K.C. this season. -- Snyder
Los Angeles Angels: C
The Halos are in last place, as expected, but at the level of the run differential, they've been better than the A's and almost on a level with the Astros. They've played better than their record, in other words. General manager Perry Minasian is now former GM Perry Minasian, and long-time Cardinals top exec John Mozeliak is leading the team on an interim basis. How Mozeliak handles the deadline and which players owner Arte Moreno allows him to trade will be telling. Overall, the Angels have been about what they were expected to be. -- Perry
Minnesota Twins: C+
The expectations for the Twins this season were pretty low and kudos to them for slightly exceeding them to this point. Still, it's difficult to give any team a technically good grade when they sit several games below .500, especially in a weak division and league. The Twins have gotten hot a few times, but they almost immediately give it all back. To illustrate, they recently won six of seven and followed it up by losing four of five. It's a sub-par team overall, but, hey, they battle. They could be far worse. -- Snyder
New York Yankees: B
Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton are on the injured list and it has shown over the last week or so. The offense is struggling badly and the rotation has hit a rocky patch. Overall, though, the Yankees have scored the most runs in the AL and have allowed the fewest runs in the AL, and thus have the league's best run differential by 73 runs. The under-the-hood numbers and the names on the roster say they're the best team in the AL, even though they haven't played like it the last two weeks. I can't go with an A because the bullpen has been shaky and they haven't played to their full potential at any point this year, so a B it is. -- Axisa
Seattle Mariners: D
The Mariners had high expectations coming off a 2025 season that saw them make it as far as Game 7 of the ALCS. But they simply haven't found their level thus far in 2026. Not so long ago, they seemed primed to do just that, but a losing record in June put all of that on hold. Cal Raleigh's collapse is the leading subplot. Sure, the run-suppressing tendencies of T-Mobile Park are duly noted, but the M's offense must do better than their current SLG of .382, which ranks 27th in MLB. -- Perry
Tampa Bay Rays: A
The Rays are two different teams. They're world-beaters at home (31-12 and +39 run differential) and below-average on the road (17-21 and -15 run differential). Most teams are better at home, but that's extreme. Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, and Yandy Díaz are a three-man army on offense while Shane McClanahan, Nick Martinez, and Drew Rasmussen lead the rotation. The bullpen has been stout just about all season. The Rays have performed about as well as you could have expected them to perform three months into the season. Now they just need someone (or someones, plural) to chip in a little more offense. -- Axisa
Texas Rangers: B-
Texas is the only team above .500 in the division at this writing, although by the time you read these words, that may no longer be the case (such are the margins in the AL West). The Rangers haven't been good by any means, but they're on pace to equal last year's mark of 81-81. Josh Jung, Brandon Nimmo, and Joc Pederson have carried the offense thus far. -- Perry
Toronto Blue Jays: D
The defending AL champs climbed back to .500 last week and looked poised to go on the kind of run that carried them to the World Series last year ... then they lost six straight. The rotation injuries are catching up to them (though Shane Bieber returned last week) and there just isn't enough over-the-fence power in the lineup behind Kazuma Okamoto. Obvious statement is obvious: Toronto needs Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to start hitting like a $500 million player. I would expect the Blue Jays to be very active at the deadline. For now, though, the reigning pennant-winner had a busy offseason and came into the season with high expectations. I think a D is being generous. -- Axisa
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