Final MLB Power Rankings of 2023 Regular Season

The 2023 MLB regular season has come to a close, and it's time for one final edition of our weekly power rankings, this time focusing on the season as a whole.

For context, we have provided a look back at where each team fell in our Opening Day power rankings to help illustrate which teams exceeded expectations, which lived up to the hype and which fell short. Also included is a look at each team's high and low point in the rankings over the course of the year.

The 12-team postseason field is set, and the 12 teams headed for the playoffs appropriately occupy the top 12 spots in our rankings.

Once the postseason wraps up, we'll reset everything with our first power rankings of the offseason, taking into account free agency, roster needs and future outlook.

For now, let's put a bow on another exciting regular season before we turn our attention to playoff baseball.

Opening Day: 30; High: 27; Low: 30

The Athletics had just 25 wins and a minus-248 run differential at the All-Star break, and it looked like they might be headed for "worst team in MLB history" territory.

They matched those 25 wins in 22 fewer games during the second half of the season to avoid challenging the 1962 New York Mets record of 120 losses, but this was still one of the worst teams we've seen in years.

Rookie Zack Gelof posted an .841 OPS with 20 doubles, 14 home runs and 14 steals in 69 games, outperforming arguably everyone on the Oakland roster in roughly half a season.

Opening Day: 28; High: 20; Low: 29

Another year, another directionless stumble through 162 games for a Colorado Rockies team in desperate need of change from the top down, starting with new ownership and fresh voices in the front office.

The Rockies finished last in the majors with a 5.67 ERA and allowed a staggering .287 average to opposing hitters, while Kyle Freeland (155.2 IP, 5.03 ERA) and Austin Gomber (139.0 IP, 5.50 ERA) were the only pitchers on the roster to reach 100 innings.

The under-the-radar deal to acquire former top prospect Nolan Jones from Cleveland prior to the start of the season proved to be one of the few positives. The 25-year-old hit .297/.389/.542 with 22 doubles, 20 home runs, 62 RBI in 106 games and looks like a long-term building block.

Opening Day: 18; High: 18; Low: 29

It's almost impossible to believe it was 2021 when the Chicago White Sox finished 93-69, won the AL Central title and looked poised to be perennial contenders for the foreseeable future with a dynamic young core.

Just two years later, this looks like a complete teardown and rebuild, and the first step in that process will be deciding what to do with longtime shortstop Tim Anderson and his $14 million club option coming off the worst season of his career.

A healthy Luis Robert Jr. finally turned his vast potential into full-season production with an .857 OPS and 38 home runs in 145 games.

Opening Day: 25; High: 24; Low: 30

It's tough to sugarcoat the fact that the Kansas City Royals tied a franchise record with 106 losses in a season when some expected them to take another step forward in the rebuilding process, but things at least ended on a positive note.

They went 12-5 over their final 17 games, picking up a pair of series wins over a Houston Astros team fighting for a postseason berth, and that is the type of finish that could serve as a springboard to bigger and better things in 2024.

Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was far and away the team's best player, but trade pickup Cole Ragans also deserves a mention for going 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 71.2 innings over 12 starts after he was acquired in the June deal that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers.

Opening Day: 13; High: 6; Low: 26

A 10-3 stretch of games to close out July convinced the Los Angeles Angels to hold onto free-agent-to-be Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline in favor of making an all-in push to contend.

They won just 17 more games the rest of the year.

With Ohtani headed out the door and the future of fellow superstar Mike Trout seemingly uncertain, the Angels could be headed for a major rebuilding effort this offseason that puts the idea of contending on hold for the foreseeable future.

Opening Day: 29; High: 19; Low: 29

A year after trading Juan Soto and essentially stripping the roster to the studs for a full-scale rebuild, the Washington Nationals ended up being better than expected, adding 16 wins to their total from the previous year.

Young pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray both look like long-term building blocks in the starting rotation, outfielder Lane Thomas was a hot commodity at the trade deadline thanks to a breakout season, and the farm system has some exciting potential impact talent.

Shortstop CJ Abrams also looks like a keeper after posting a .733 OPS with 11 home runs and 33 steals in 70 games after the All-Star break, and that uptick in production should make him a popular breakout pick heading into 2024.

Opening Day: 12; High: 12; Low: 28

For the first time since 2007, the St. Louis Cardinals finished the season with a losing record, and a starting rotation that ranked 26th in the majors with a 5.07 ERA is largely to blame for the disappointing finish.

Offensively, young players like Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar provide plenty of hope for the future, and a changing of the guard is coming with Paul Goldschmidt entering the final season of his contract in 2024.

The Adam Wainwright farewell tour was one memorable takeaway from the season, and while it wasn't a great overall final season for the franchise icon, he ended on a high note with seven shutout innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in his final start to reach an even 200 wins.

Opening Day: 4; High: 2; Low: 26

With a record-setting $353.5 million payroll on Opening Day, it was World Series or bust for the New York Mets, and they busted in spectacular fashion with an 87-loss season and a fire sale no one could have predicted along the way.

Credit the front office for being proactive and restocking the farm system by cutting ties with high-priced veterans Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline. The question now is whether the Mets will spend the next couple years rebuilding, or if they'll make the same mistakes trying to buy a contender.

On a positive note, rookies Francisco Álvarez (25 HR, 63 RBI) and Kodai Senga (29 GS, 12-7, 2.98 ERA, 202 K 166.1 IP) both had strong seasons, and there are plenty more exciting young players in the pipeline.

Opening Day: 20; High: 6; Low: 22

The Red Sox used 17 different starting pitchers in 2023, and rebuilding the starting rotation around Nick Pivetta and rising star Brayan Bello figures to be a top priority during the offseason.

Offensively, Triston Casas, Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida all emerged as impact contributors, and a healthy Trevor Story will almost function as an offseason addition next year after missing almost the entire 2023 campaign.

This team was 69-65 in the thick of the AL wild-card race heading into September before a 9-19 final month erased any hopes of playing in October.

Opening Day: 23; High: 5; Low: 27

The Giants were 74-70 and just 1.5 games out of the third NL wild-card spot before going 5-13 over their final 18 games to slip below .500 on the year and finish a distant seventh in the wild-card race.

The offense averaged just 3.36 runs per game during that late-season swoon, and finding a consistent middle-of-the-order producer will again be high on the offseason shopping list this winter.

Tip of the cap to ace Logan Webb on a fantastic season. The 26-year-old tied with Gerrit Cole for the MLB lead with 24 quality starts while posting a 3.25 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 194 strikeouts in an MLB-high 216 innings.

Opening Day: 8; High: 3; Low: 28

Expectations soared for the Cleveland Guardians after they won 92 games and took the New York Yankees to Game 5 in the ALDS as the youngest team in baseball during the 2022 season.

However, an offense that ranked near the bottom of the league in OPS (.694, 27th), home runs (124, 30th) and runs scored (662, 27th) kept them from contending, and they finished 11 games back behind a rebuilding Detroit Tigers team in the AL Central.

The young trio of Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams all pitching well in their first taste of the big leagues could open the door for offseason trades of Shane Bieber and Cal Quantrill to help upgrade the offense.

Opening Day: 24; High: 3; Low: 27

A 20-8 start to the season saw the Pittsburgh Pirates climb as high as No. 3 in these power rankings, but they eventually crashed back to earth.

There were some lean months in the middle of the season, but they went 29-28 over the final two months of the season, and the collective experience gained by the young up-and-comers who debuted in 2023 will be invaluable going forward.

Starter Mitch Keller (13-9, 4.21 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 210 K, 194.1 IP) and closer David Bednar (66 G, 39/42 SV, 2.00 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 10.7 K/9) were both All-Stars and will be counted on to anchor a young pitching staff going forward.

Opening Day: 27; High: 29; Low: 18

The Tigers went 18-10 with a plus-45 run differential over the final month of the season to climb into second in the AL Central standings and lay the foundation for a potential push for wild-card contention in 2024.

Starting pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Reese Olson and Alex Faedo all showed promise at various points throughout the season, and if they can all put it together at once, the Tigers could have a standout rotation. Will E-Rod opt into the final three years of his contract?

The offense is still very much a work-in-progress, though a 34-double, 31-homer, 94-RBI season from 2020 No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson has him looking more like a potential foundational piece of the puzzle.

Opening Day: 10; High: 5; Low: 22

The Yankees went 57-49 (.538) when Aaron Judge was healthy and penciled into the lineup, compared to just 25-31 (.446) without him. And while one player's health can't be pointed to as the sole reason for a disappointing season, it was a major factor.

The starting rotation also struggled to find any semblance of consistency behind AL Cy Young front-runner Gerrit Cole, including a disappointing 6.85 ERA in 14 starts from Carlos Rodón after he signed a six-year, $162 million deal during the offseason.

With 21 home runs and 24 steals, Anthony Volpe joined Nomar Garciaparra (1997) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2022) as the only rookie shortstops in MLB history with a 20/20 season.

Opening Day: 26; High: 3; Low: 27

The Cincinnati Reds received a combined 13.6 WAR from rookies Matt McLain, Andrew Abbott, Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Brandon Williamson and Daniel Duarte in 2023.

That group will form the core of the roster in the years to come, though sorting out the starting rotation is still the missing piece in getting over the hump. Can Hunter Greene take the next step forward? Can Nick Lodolo put an injury-plagued season in the rearview?

After a 100-loss season in 2022, the Reds were unquestionably one of baseball's most improved teams, but there is still significant work to be done by the front office during the offseason.

Opening Day: 21; High: 8; Low: 28

This graph of the Chicago Cubs playoffs odds day-by-day from FanGraphs tells the whole story:

With a 5-12 record in their final 17 games, including three extra-inning losses and a pair of devastating series sweeps, they just wrapped up one of the wildest September collapses in MLB history.

There is a solid core to build around and money to spend, but shaking the sting of this final month won't be easy.

Opening Day: 3; High: 3; Low: 26

The San Diego Padres entered the 2023 season coming off a trip to the NLCS and with as much talent as any team in baseball.

With the addition of Xander Bogaerts and full seasons of 2022 deadline pickups Juan Soto and Josh Hader, they looked poised to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a run for their money in the NL West race, but they didn't hit their stride until a 20-7 final month and it was too little, too late by then.

Utility man Ha-Seong Kim had an under-the-radar 5.9-WAR season, making a major impact both offensively and defensively as one of the most underrated players in baseball.

Opening Day: 9; High: 5; Low: 28

The Seattle Mariners snapped a 21-year playoff drought in 2022, and with a terrific young pitching staff and a rising superstar in Julio Rodríguez, that looked like just the tip of the iceberg in their rise to relevance.

They were four games under .500 before sprinting up the standings with terrific months of July (17-9, +29 run differential) and August (21-6, +68 run differential), but they stumbled down the stretch to miss out on the third AL wild-card spot by a single game.

With Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo all set to return from a starting rotation that ranked fourth in the majors with a 3.89 ERA, they can focus on bolstering the offense during the winter.

Opening Day: 22; High: 4; Low: 29

The Miami Marlins went 19-32 in July and August, but they managed to flip the switch in September to overtake the Chicago Cubs and claim a wild-card berth for just the fourth postseason trip in franchise history.

The road ahead could be a tough one with Sandy Alcantara (elbow sprain) and Eury Pérez (shoulder inflammation) both sidelined for the rest of the season, though the emergence of left-hander Jesús Luzardo does give them a frontline arm.

After leaning heavily on NL batting champion Luis Arraez and slugger Jorge Soler offensively for much of the year, trade deadline pickup Jake Burger has made a huge impact. The 27-year-old hit .303/.355/.505 with nine home runs and 28 RBI in 53 games after coming over from the Chicago White Sox.

Opening Day: 17; High: 5; Low: 19

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the postseason for the first time since 2017, when they won the wild-card game and then were swept by the Dodgers. It looked like this year's talented group might squander the opportunity with a nine-game losing streak to open August, but they managed to hold on.

Rookie Corbin Carroll was one of baseball's biggest breakout stars, hitting .285/.362/.506 with 30 doubles, 10 triples, 25 home runs, 76 RBI, 116 runs scored and 54 steals in 59 attempts. He could be the face of the franchise for the next decade.

The question now is how far a rotation fronted by the terrific one-two punch of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly can carry this team in October.

Opening Day: 6; High: 5; Low: 13

With a starting rotation that ranks third in the majors with a 3.85 ERA, the Toronto Blue Jays are a potential sleeping giant in this year's playoff field, and a postseason rotation of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and either Hyun Jin Ryu or Yusei Kikuchi could be as good as any 1-4 in October.

Shortstop Bo Bichette hit .306/.339/.475 with 30 doubles and 20 home runs, but it's the strides he made defensively that were even more notable. The 25-year-old shortstop went from a liability in 2022 (-16 DRS, -27.6 UZR/150) to a legitimate plus defender in 2023 (4 DRS, 5.1 UZR/150).

The Minnesota Twins await in the AL Wild Card Round, and the two teams split the season series 3-3 during the regular season.

Opening Day: 16; High: 1; Low: 16

The Texas Rangers looked like they might run away with the AL West during an 18-9 month of May, when the pitching staff was firing on all cylinders and the offense was the best in baseball, but they have hit some bumps in the road the last few months.

During the 20-game stretch from Aug. 16 through Sept. 8, they went 4-16 and dropped from 3.5 games up in the AL West to three games back in third place in the division. They managed to right the ship in time to make the playoffs, but a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday cost them the division title.

Injuries limited shortstop Corey Seager to 119 games, but he still hit .327/.390/.623 for a 170 OPS+ with 42 doubles, 33 home runs, 96 RBI, 88 runs scored and 6.9 WAR. Two years into his 10-year, $325 million contract, he is one of baseball's most productive stars.

Opening Day: 14; High: 2; Low: 19

The Minnesota Twins led the American League with a 3.82 ERA from their starting rotation, and the one-two punch of Sonny Gray (32 GS, 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 183 K, 184.0 IP) and Pablo López (32 GS, 3.66 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 234 K, 194.0 IP) could be lethal in October.

With an AL-leading 18-10 record over the final month of the regular season and an impressive plus-73 run differential during that stretch, momentum is on their side heading into the playoffs.

The health of a number of key players will be the key to their postseason outlook, with Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis), Royce Lewis (strained hamstring) and Byron Buxton (strained hamstring) all working their way back from injuries.

Opening Day: 1; High: 1; Low: 18

The Houston Astros stumbled through a 3-9 stretch of games that almost cost them a spot in the postseason field before closing out the year with series wins over the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks on the road to their sixth AL West title in the last seven years.

The question now is which version of the team that we've seen during an up-and-down September will show up during the playoffs.

Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Justin Verlander have carried this team to a title on the mound before, and the offense was as potent as ever, ranking among the leaders in OPS (.768, fifth), runs scored (827, fifth) and home runs (222, seventh).

Opening Day: 5; High: 5; Low: 30

Following an unexpected trip to the World Series, the Phillies stumbled to a 4-9 start in 2023, but they quickly righted the ship and spent the entire season locked into a wild-card spot while looking up at the Atlanta Braves in the NL East race.

With a middling 41-40 record away from Citizens Bank Park, claiming the No. 1 wild-card spot and hosting the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card Round is huge.

On a roster loaded with high-priced stars, second baseman Bryson Stott was the team leader with 4.4 WAR, hitting .280/.329/.419 with 32 doubles, 15 home runs, 62 RBI, 78 runs scored and 31 steals while also playing standout defense.

Opening Day: 15; High: 2; Low: 17

Only the Atlanta Braves (55) and Los Angeles Dodgers (52) had more wins against teams above the .500 mark than the Milwaukee Brewers, which finished 51-38 in those games and spent most of the second half in control of the NL Central race.

The three-headed monster of Corbin Burnes (14 GS, 2.71 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 98 K, 86.1), Brandon Woodruff (9 GS, 2.59 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 62 K, 55.2 IP) and Freddy Peralta (13 GS, 2.81 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 103 K, 73.2 IP) all threw the ball extremely well during the second half.

Offensively, Mark Canha proved to be one of the best trade pickups of this year's deadline, hitting .287/.373/.427 for a 120 OPS+ with 15 extra-base hits and 33 RBI in 50 games.

Opening Day: 11; High: 1; Low: 11

The Rays spent the first nine weeks of the season in the No. 1 spot in these rankings before starting to show some cracks in late June and then kicking off July with a seven-game losing streak.

They managed to weather that bump in the road and went on to win 99 games while giving the upstart Baltimore Orioles everything they could handle in the AL East race, and they finished strong with a 17-11 record over the final month.

The offseason addition of Zach Eflin has proved to be huge, especially after Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen were all lost for the season. The 29-year-old went 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 186 strikeouts in 177.2 innings.

Opening Day: 7; High: 1; Low: 15

With a heavy reliance on young pitching and a significant question mark at shortstop following a season-ending injury to Gavin Lux, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season with more uncertainty than in recent years.

Six months later, they have a 100-win season and another NL West title, and they looked like the best team in baseball during a 24-5 month of August when the pitching staff allowed just 95 runs in 29 games.

This year's postseason run could hinge on the performance of Lance Lynn, Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot in the starting rotation behind longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, and manager Dave Roberts might have to get creative with how he uses a pitching staff that ranked 13th in the majors with a 4.06 ERA.

Opening Day: 19; High: 1; Low: 19

Just two years ago, the Baltimore Orioles lost 110 games on a team with little in the way of long-term pieces outside of Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and John Means.

Now they are the No. 1 seed in the AL bracket and have a roster loaded with young, controllable talent. That includes standout catcher Adley Rutschman and AL Rookie of the Year front-runner Gunnar Henderson, who had a 125 OPS+ and 28 home runs in a 6.3-WAR season.

While the young position-player group always looked promising, the pitching staff was still a question mark. However, the emergence of Kyle Bradish as a bona fide ace and top prospect Grayson Rodriguez—who has a 2.58 ERA in 76.2 innings since the All-Star break—has transformed their entire outlook.

Opening Day: 2; High: 1; Low: 7

The Atlanta Braves spent 11 of the final 14 weeks of the season locked into the No. 1 spot in these rankings, and they have looked like the team to beat throughout the second half thanks to an absolute juggernaut of an offense.

Ronald Acuña Jr. has dominated the headlines in a historic 41-homer, 73-steal season, while Matt Olson led the majors with 54 home runs and 139 RBI. Those two joined Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna and Austin Riley to give the team five 30-homer players, tying the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the most in a single season.

The health of Max Fried (blister) and Charlie Morton (finger inflammation) is the big question mark heading into the postseason. The former is expected to be ready to start the NLDS, while the latter is sidelined until at least the NLCS.

That puts a lot on the shoulders of Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder, though having such a potent offense helps take some pressure off their pitching staff as a whole.