By John Curtis White
The 2026 MLB season has just begun, and a lot of teams have different goals. Teams would probably like to win 80 games, make the playoffs or even stay above .500. The main goal for all of these teams is the same – to win the World Series. In my opinion, these are the top 5 teams so far in the 2026 MLB season.
First, The Atlanta Braves have surprised a lot of people this year after a tough 2025 season where the team went 76-86 and struggled a lot with keeping players healthy; however, this year the Braves, at this time, are the best team in the MLB with a 37-19 record holding impressive titles like the first team to reach 30 wins! With stars like Matt Olson, Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies hitting the lights out. Pitchers like Chris Sale, and Spencer Strider have returned from injury, and Raisel Iglesias hasn’t blown a save all year! The Atlanta Braves are the best team in baseball right now with a lot of stars on the team.
Next, the Tampa Bay Rays have been one of the best surprises of the 2026 season. After having back-to-back under .500 seasons, the Rays are off to a great start in 2026. During the off season this year the Rays traded Shane Baz and Brandon Lowe and acquired Gavin Lux, and signed Cedric Mullins and Steven Matz, while adding veteran closer Craig Kimbrel. Those offseason moves have helped the Rays move to the 2nd best team in the MLB with a 34-19 record. The Rays have made one of the best comebacks after not having an over .500 season in the past 2 seasons.
After that, the reigning champion Dodgers are not really a surprise this year. The star- studded roster features Shohei Ohtani hitting home runs and striking out hitters while being backed up by a stacked offense and defense with Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and Mookie Betts. The Dodgers last season under .500 being in 2010. The Dodgers have not been under .500 in 15 years and are the 3rd best team in baseball so far this year.
Next up, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are currently the 4th best team in the MLB and had the best overall regular season record before getting swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS. During the off season the team traded their closer, Devin Williams, to the Yankees for Nestor Cortes and traded Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets for Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams. The teams hitting performances have been led by Wilson Conteras, Jake Bauers and Bryce Turang. The team’s pitching rotation has been led by Jacob Misiorowski, who is posting a 5-2 record with a MLB top 5 1.83 earned run average (ERA). The bullpen led by Trevor Megill has also been elite. The Milwaukee Brewers are a team to look out for this year, especially after losing in the NLCS last season.
Finally, the New York Yankees. This season the Yankees have been off to a pretty hot start sitting 11 games over .500 and are currently the 5th best team in the MLB. This off season, the Yankees traded away relief pitcher Nestor Cortes for Devin Williams. The team also signed former MVP winner outfielder Cody Bellenger, and the team re-signed 1st baseman Paul Goldschmidt. This year the Yankees offence has been led by Arron Judge and Cody Bellenger. The pitching rotation has been led by Cam Schlittler who has a league leading 1.50 ERA, 7-2 record, and 81 strikeouts on the season. I believe the Yankees are a top 5 team in the MLB lead by stars like Arron Judge, Cody Bellenger, and Cam Schlittler.
In conclusion, some teams have different goals. Whether the team’s goal be stay above to .500, win 80 games or make the postseason. The Braves, Rays, Dodgers, Brewers and Yankees all share the same goal – to win the World Series.
