Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani bats during the ninth inning of Los Angeles’s 6–3 win over the Cubs on March 19. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Grab your peanuts and Cracker Jacks. It’s finally baseball season, folks.
Every baseball fan knows the big teams to pay attention to this season—the Los Angeles Dodgers look to defend their 2024 World Series title, and the New York Yankees are hoping to get back to baseball’s biggest stage. But what about the surprises? What about those teams that nobody is talking about but will be a fun watch throughout the summer?
We’re here to help. Sports Illustrated is bringing back our watchability rankings for 2025, ranking teams in tiers based on how fun the product will be to watch—which doesn’t always correlate with wins and losses.
Harper has long been one of MLB’s most watchable players. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Dodgers: What more needs to be said? The defending champions won the 2024 World Series in five games and then went out and spent more in free agency than every team in baseball not named the New York Mets. The top of the lineup—Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández—might be the top four hitters in the NL All-Star lineup this summer in Atlanta.
Atlanta Braves: No team sustained more injuries to key players in 2024 than the Braves, and they still went out and won 89 games and made the postseason. Once Ronald Acuña Jr. returns to the lineup this spring, you’re not going to want to turn off your television.
Philadelphia Phillies: Come for Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, stay for the Phillie Phanatic’s shenanigans.
New York Mets: In case you haven’t heard, Juan Soto switched teams in the Big Apple. That man would make the 2024 White Sox must-see TV. O.K., maybe not, but still.
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Carroll, the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year, is primed for a big bounce-back season. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
New York Yankees: Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt at the heart of a lineup would’ve been frightening five or six years ago. In 2025? Maybe not so much. New York is still expected to be one of the best teams in the AL—even with Gerrit Cole’s season-ending Tommy John surgery. That’s a very negative blurb for a team expected to contend for a World Series title in 2025, but that’s what happens when you lose Soto to a crosstown rival.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Corbin Carroll is a 30–30 threat in his third full season in the big leagues, and Corbin Burnes bolsters an already exciting rotation. Hopefully the D-Backs get off to a better start than they did last season, when they Corbin Bleu it.
Seattle Mariners: Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller rolling into your town to start a three-game series will terrify any opposing lineup. And when George Kirby returns, put the kids to bed.
Baltimore Orioles: Like the Mariners, the Orioles could’ve shot up to Tier 1 with a signature offseason signing. But they chose to stay rather quiet, leaving it up to an exciting young core to challenge the Yanks in the AL East. Hopefully Jackson Holliday figures it out this year.
Crow-Armstrong, right, ranks in the 96th percentile or better in arm strength, sprint speed and range. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Boston Red Sox: The boys of Fenway Park should be, at the very least, a bit frisky this year in the AL East, which hasn’t been the case since they traded away Mookie Betts. Bringing in Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler was enough to earn a spot on our list of the best MLB offseasons this winter. Plus, highly anticipated prospects Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer should all arrive in the bigs at some point in 2025.
Chicago Cubs: If you haven’t heard yet, the mom from Little Big League (Ashley Crow) has a son. His name? Pete Crow-Armstrong. He is not a kid manager like Billy Heywood, but he is a 23-year-old who runs the bases like a maniac. If Crow-Armstrong can get on base enough and rookie Matt Shaw holds down the hot corner, the Cubbies should be a fun offense to watch.
Texas Rangers: The Rangers missed the playoffs last year after winning the 2023 World Series. This year’s roster should be competing for a postseason spot, at the very least, with veterans Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia back in Texas and Wyatt Langford expected to take another leap. Plus, Jacob deGrom’s return to the rotation will be fun to watch as he tries to pitch his first full season since 2019.
Correa, right, has averaged 119 games played during his three seasons with the Twins. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis have the potential to be one of the most electric trios in all of baseball. Unfortunately, none of them can stay healthy at the same time—and Lewis already tweaked his hamstring in spring training. Sigh. We can only hope.
San Francisco Giants: Even if the Giants struggle in 2025, they will always be watchable thanks to beautiful Oracle Park and their elite All-Star roster of broadcasters led by Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow.
Detroit Tigers: The biggest surprise in baseball last season returns for an encore, with AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty leading the way. Detroit should compete in the AL Central—and perhaps the Tigers will find that late summer magic again in ‘25.
San Diego Padres: When your franchise player is vocally expressing his disappointment in his team’s offseason, it’s usually not a sign for baseball fans to be locked in on that team. But watching Luis Arraez do his thing at the top of the lineup is always a treat, and Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado are all-around studs. Yeah, this team is still fun.
Kansas City Royals: Bobby Witt Jr. is going to torture AL Central teams for the next decade. If you’re not a fan of one of those teams, the Royals are a must-watch.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Try not to miss a Paul Skenes start. If you check in on the Bucs once every five days or so, you shouldn’t miss too much, although 6’7” center fielder Oneil Cruz is a fun watch, too.
Cincinnati Reds: Elly De La Cruz is a walking human highlight reel. Watch him steal second base … and then third … and then home. That is, if he doesn’t send the ball 400 feet out of the park with one flick of the wrists. With most of Cincinnati’s lineup and rotation under 30 years old, the Reds have a chance to be a young breakout team this year.
Washington Nationals: Remember the first Juan Soto trade? Three of the six players the Nats received have made the 2025 Opening Day roster in C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood. Plus, outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick of the 2023 MLB draft, is starting the year in the big leagues after making his debut last season.
Pat Murphy was named the 2024 NL Manager of the Year in his first year at the helm for the Brewers. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Milwaukee Brewers: The system works at American Family Field. Once again, the Brewers are projected to finish around .500, which means they will win at least 90 games and secure another NL Central title while starting Dudes You’ve Never Heard Of at the bottom of their lineup and some random journeyman will emerge as the best reliever in baseball by August. The Brewers’ brand of baseball isn’t always fun to watch (though Jackson Chourio is starting to change that), but they just win ballgames.
Cleveland Guardians: See Brewers, Milwaukee.
Altuve, left, and Alvarez are the two longest-tenured Astros hitters. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Houston Astros: Houston lost three key pieces of its dynastic core as Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly all found new homes for 2025, but look. It’s still Jose Altuve. It’s still Josh Hader out of the bullpen. It’s still Yordan Álvarez batting in the heart of the lineup.
St. Louis Cardinals: So, it turns out Nolan Arenado is returning for another year in St. Louis after all? Their will-they-won’t-they dance this offseason sounds like a soap opera, but don’t expect much playoff-chasing drama from the Cards later in the summer.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays enter the 2025 campaign yet again as runner-ups in the chases for baseball’s biggest free agents. Last year was Shohei Ohtani; this year was Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a stud, though, and backup free agent plan Anthony Santander should provide more pop to the lineup. The rotation is in good shape and it’ll be interesting to see if Max Scherzer still has something to offer.
Tampa Bay Rays: While The Trop undergoes reconstruction, the Rays will have to install their renowned pitching lab at George M. Steinbrenner Field—the spring training home of the division rival New York Yankees that will serve as their home park. To be more watchable this year, the Rays need to improve their offense, which ranked 29th in OPS (.668) last season.
Rooker inked a five-year, $60 million extension this offseason. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Athletics: In yet another middle finger to the city of Oakland, A’s owner John Fisher actually remembered he can spend money in the offseason by signing Luis Severino and inking Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler to contract extensions. The A’s could be scrappy and fun this year. It’s just a shame they won’t be playing to the sound of pounding drums at the Coliseum. And more docked watchability points for having “ATH” as the A’s abbreviation on the scorebug. (That’s right, they are not the Oakland Athletics, Sacramento Athletics or even Las Vegas Athletics. Booooo.)
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Angels: 2019 was a great year. The “Old Town Road” remix with Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus was a national phenomenon. Avengers: Endgame was in theaters. There was no global pandemic. The Angels loved that year so much they are fielding a roster of guys who peaked in 2019 … which does not make for great baseball in 2025.
Colorado Rockies: The Rockies’ front-office philosophy on signing guys just for the good vibes might result in a great clubhouse, but it hasn’t exactly translated to wins. Ezequiel Tovar should be a fun watch this year, at least. Kris Bryant, on the other hand…
Chicago White Sox: They lost a record-setting 121 games last season, and their return in the Garrett Crochet trade isn’t quite ready to make an impact yet. Take your servings of White Sox baseball with a side of a Campfire Milkshake, please.
Miami Marlins: It appears the Marlins plan to just tread water this season until they can acquire a haul at the trade deadline for right-handed ace Sandy Alcantara.
