MLB playoffs: Ranking the offenses of every postseason team, from small ball Guardians to power-hungry Yankees

After a grueling 162-game marathon of a regular season, we're now ready for the relative sprint that is the 2025 Major League Baseball postseason. We have 12 entrants into the tournament for the piece of metal and we're going to rank all 12 here in order of how good their offenses are. 

Could this age poorly? Of course. Baseball in small samples can be fluky and that's what makes it the playoffs so exciting. We could well see the No. 12 team outhit the top-ranked team and it wouldn't be all that shocking.

2025 MLB playoff bracket: Schedule, scores as Mariners take ALCS lead over Blue Jays, Dodgers-Brewers up next

Kate Feldman

12. Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians finished 29th in OPS in the majors, better only than the Pirates. They scored more runs than just the Pirates and Rockies. They only have two above-average hitters by OPS+ (Kyle Manzardo and José Ramírez). Only two players hit more than 14 home runs and they really only have two legitimate base-stealing threats. They hit .226 as a team for the season and didn't even post a .300 on-base percentage. 

Now, they were better late in the season, sitting middle of the pack in OPS in September, but this is not a formidable bunch. They'll need to see overperformance from a handful of players to make a deep playoff run. It's possible, it just isn't overly likely. 

11. Cincinnati Reds

The Reds finished 19th in OPS this season and, despite playing their home games in a very hitter-friendly yard, were 21st in home runs. Elly De La Cruz led the team with 22 home runs. Given the Reds' late comeback to make the playoffs, one might think maybe they closed the season on a high note. One would be wrong. The Reds hit .235/.301/.393 in September, 21st in the majors in OPS and tied for 20th in runs scored. 

It's just not a very good offense.  

10. Detroit Tigers

Overall, the Tigers were 11th in runs and 12th in OPS this season, but we have to account for them being a totally different team after early July. Remember, they had the best record in baseball through some of the first half. After July 8, the Tigers went 28-41 and averaged only 4.25 runs per game (they averaged exactly 5 runs per game before that). If we isolated the second half of the season, the Tigers were 19th in OPS and 21st in runs scored. The vibes are pretty terrible too. That is to say, when you just glance at the offenses in the playoffs, which teams give you a good feeling and which give you a bad feeling? The Tigers feel pretty bad right now. 

There's a path to getting it all back on track. First off, they enter the playoffs with a clean slate instead of feeling the pressure of a historically huge blown division lead. Maybe that helps mentally. They have some dudes too, like Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter (against righties) and 31-homer Spencer Torkelson. Seeing things click for them to make a deep playoff run isn't a huge leap.

9. San Diego Padres

Slam Diego? Not so much for a lot of the 2025 season. No Padres player hit 30 home runs and only two went over 20 (Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.). They finished 16th in OPS and 18th in runs scored. 

Now, there's always the possibility that players like Jake Cronenworth and Xander Bogaerts play back to previously established ceilings while Jackson Merrill in the last three weeks appears to have snapped out of his sophomore slump. Further, Tatis went through a major power outage through the middle of the season, but he's swinging a big stick recently with home runs in three straight games and seven in September. 

The most likely scenario here is the Padres offense resembling what it did in the regular season, but you could squint your way to seeing them being a strong group in the playoffs. There's good potential upside, especially with Machado and Tatis having the ability to carry a team. Merrill is an X-factor type.

8. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox finished seventh in runs scored and ninth in OPS in the regular season. They have a balanced offensive attack with seven players having between 15 and 25 home runs and none having more. The Roman Anthony injury hurts here, but the Red Sox have a diversified attack with Jarren Duran (41 doubles, 13 triples, 16 homers, 24 steals) at the top of the order and a rejuvenated Trevor Story coming off a big second half. There's also Alex Bregman's postseason pedigree from his Astros years and some young and exciting players. If the Red Sox are missing something here, it's a superstar in the middle of the order like Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz once were.

7. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers were incredible all season at getting runners home without hitting for a ton of power. They finished third in the majors in runs scored despite being 12th in slugging percentage and 11th in OPS. How? Well, they hit for roughly 30 points better in batting average with runners in scoring position than with no runners on base. They elevated their game when it mattered most situationally. Is this something that is predictive? Nope. It is sustainable? It's certainly possible in short spurts and that's all they'll need in the playoffs. 

While we're discussing splits, it should be noted that the Brewers were exponentially better with the bats in the second half than the first, but there was a significant decline from August to September. They were only 17th in OPS in September and that has to be a concern heading in -- that is, were they just playing too far over their heads in August and came back to their actual true talent level in September? The OPS by month certainly shows an outlier: .702, .662, .748, .744, .839, .707. 

6. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs had arguably the best offense in baseball in the first half and then fell apart after the All-Star break. Kyle Tucker had the worst slump of his career while Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki were awful. Almost as soon as Tucker started to hit again, he went down with a calf injury. 

During the last week or two, though, Tucker returned, PCA started to hit for power again and Suzuki hit five home runs in his last four games. Michael Busch closed the season incredibly hot as well. 

The Cubs finished the season fifth in runs and seventh in OPS. Was the resurrection of their big guns just some temporary noise or leading toward a special October? Time will tell. 

5. Philadelphia Phillies

We've seen plenty of the Phillies in the playoffs by now. We know what we're going to get. They can be all-or-nothing, crushing home run after home run and then completely shut down the following night. Remember the home run barrage in Game 3 of the 2022 World Series followed by a no-hitter in Game 4? Remember Citizens Bank Park being Vibe Central in the 2023 NLCS before the offense just folded for the last few games? How about how the Phillies were mostly dormant last season in an NLDS loss to the Mets?

Getting Trea Turner back certainly helps matters. The Phillies have serious thunder in Kyle Schwarber (56 HR, 132 RBI) and Bryce Harper. They have 10 players with double-digit home runs and a few stolen base threats. They were eighth in runs scored this season and fourth in OPS. They can hit, other than when they can't.

4. Seattle Mariners

If anything, the Mariners are low here. This is a formidable group. Sure, they finished in 10th in OPS this season and ninth in runs, but they play home games in the most oppressive offensive environment in baseball. They were second in the majors in OPS on the road. Also, keep in mind the Mariners added beef at the trade deadline in the form of Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor. They also saw Julio Rodríguez post a huge second half. Randy Arozarena finished with 27 home runs and 31 steals. And, of course, there's the switch-hitting catcher who clubbed 60 home runs. You might have heard of Cal Raleigh. The Mariners can steal bases, hit for power and get on base at a quality clip. 

They closed on a positive note, too, leading the majors in runs scored in September. There's a lot to love here.

3. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have a bye and should get Bo Bichette back for the ALDS round, so we're counting him. He had a great bounce-back year and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was again a nice presence in the middle of the order, but where things changed this season was the supporting cast. We can start with George Springer, who discovered the fountain of youth and posted the second-best season of his career at age 35. Addison Barger and Daulton Varsho (in only 71 games) went for 20+ home runs. All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk had a good season at the dish. The Jays finished with five players recording at least a 120 OPS+. They can power up or beat you with a series of base hits, as the Jays led the majors in batting average by seven points and were seventh in slugging percentage. They finished fourth in runs scored. 

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

When you start the batting order with three MVPs, it's probably going to be a pretty good offense. Sure enough, the Dodgers finished second in runs, sixth in average and second in OPS. They have the NL MVP in Shohei Ohtani, who finished with 55 home runs and scored 146 times. He even drove in 102 from the leadoff spot. Freddie Freeman is still a great hitter and Mookie Betts looked like his old self in the last six weeks after a terrible slump. Will Smith had a career year and is the best hitting catcher not named Cal (though a hand injury has his Wild Card Series status up in the air). Andy Pages, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández had good power seasons too. 

The defending champs will be a very tough out this postseason. They have a stellar offense that has both elite-level talents and depth.

1. New York Yankees

While some other playoff teams are missing a superstar centerpiece, the Yankees have the best one. Yes, I'm declaring Aaron Judge the best hitter in baseball, with all due respect to Ohtani and what Raleigh has done this year. Judge led the majors in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457) and slugging percentage (.688). He homered 53 times, drove home 114 and scored 137 runs. 

It isn't just Judge, though. Cody Bellinger had a big year. Trent Grisham had probably the most unlikely breakout season of anyone, finishing with 34 home runs. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was a 30-30 guy. Ben Rice and Austin Wells both topped 20 home runs. And a now-healthy Giancarlo Stanton hit .273/.350/.594 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI in only 77 games. 

The Yankees led the majors with 849 runs scored, topping the second-place Dodgers by 24 runs. They were also first in slugging percentage and OPS. Even in the first year post-Juan Soto, the Yankees had the best offense in baseball.