MLB report card grades for all 30 teams in April 2026

The first month of the Major League Baseball season is in the books, and while it’s still early, April tells us a lot. Some contenders look like contenders. Some pretenders are already showing cracks. There are a few teams that have completely flipped expectations, and some that have already fired their managers. Here are the full April report cards for every MLB team, broken down by division:

MORE: 2026 MLB power rankings as April comes to an end

AL East

New York Yankees: A
Strong start powered by elite starting pitching and excellent offense from their biggest stars, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice. Some roster questions remain, but they’ve looked like one of the best teams in the American League. The one weakness for the Yankees right now might be their bullpen. Fernando Cruz has been alright, and Bednar has locked down saves; he rarely does it cleanly, though. Other than those two arms, there is work to be done.

Baltimore Orioles: B–
They have handled key injuries to their offense well and should be getting those offensive reinforcements back soon. The pitching is still an issue, though. They have given up the most runs in the entire division and rank in the bottom third of the American League in runs against. Ryan Helsley has done a good job at the back end of the bullpen.

Toronto Blue Jays: C
They haven’t gotten off to the best of starts this season; however, some of their injured players are back, and they have finally figured out the back end of the bullpen after Jeff Hoffman’s disastrous start to the season. They are finishing the month strong. With Yesavage back in the rotation, Varland looking sharp in the 9th inning, and Springer back in the lineup, things could be looking up for Toronto.

Tampa Bay Rays: A-
The Rays finished the month as one of the hottest teams in the American League and with the second most wins in the American League, trailing only the Yankees. Despite their strong record, their run differential is actually negative one. Their starting pitching has surprised for sure, especially Steven Matz and Nick Martinez, who were essentially castaways from other organizations.

Boston Red Sox: D
They have already fired their manager, Alex Cora, and have ended April with one of the worst winning percentages in all of MLB. They also just placed their ace, Garrett Crochet, on the injured list and have scored the fewest runs in the American League. The Red Sox seem to be a mess right now, and frankly, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel in 2026.

AL Central

Detroit Tigers: B+
They finished the month at .500 and tied atop the division with Cleveland. The most interesting thing about the Tigers is that they ended April 6-14 on the road, but 10-2 at home. I don’t expect either one of those trends to continue, but it was something that stood out. As long as they have a healthy Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez, this Tigers team is going to be solid.

Minnesota Twins: C-
The Twins started the season playing pretty good baseball; however, they finished the month of April 2-8, which is the second-worst in the American League. Their pitching staff has been one of the worst in all of MLB, although they surprisingly allow the second least amount of home runs.

Cleveland Guardians: B
They finished the month at .500, tied with the Tigers at the top of the division; however, they had a negative 8 run differential at the end of April and have scored the least amount of runs of any team in the division. Although they are contending with the Tigers right now, if their offense continues to struggle, the Tigers will pull away as the season progresses.

Kansas City Royals: D
They have the worst record in the division, and a lot of it has to do with starting pitching. It was solid early in the season, but has recently fallen apart. Ragans is back on track, while Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha struggled to end the month. Bobby Witt Jr. hadn’t hit a home run until the final week of the month, but perhaps he is getting on track now, which could help this team get on track.

Chicago White Sox: C
They have played better than expected to begin the season and have gotten excellent production from Munetaka Murakami, who is one of the best power hitters in baseball so far. Top pitching prospect Noah Schultz has fared well for them, too, thus far in his short sample size, and he looks very much like a possible ace.

AL West

Yordan Alvarez

Houston Astros: D-
The pitching staff remains a major issue. Spencer Arrighetti has only been with the team for about two weeks and already leads the staff in wins, which says everything about where things stand. As a group, they own the worst ERA in the league, hovering near six runs per game. The offense, at least, is doing its part to keep things competitive. Led by Yordan Álvarez, they rank in the top five in batting average, runs scored, on-base percentage, and slugging.

Texas Rangers: C+
They can pitch, yet their offense currently leaves a lot to be desired. The lineup has clear holes, and the numbers reflect it—they rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in batting average, runs scored, slugging, and on-base percentage.

Seattle Mariners: B-
They began the season slowly, and their MVP, Cal Raleigh, had early struggles at the plate, which was part of the reason why. He has begun to swing it better lately, so has Julio Rodriguez, and suddenly, they are one of the better teams in the league over the past two weeks to close out the month. They have an excellent starting rotation, and their closer, Andres Munoz, is one of the best around.

Los Angeles Angels: D
They finished the month of April going 1-9 in their final 10 games, and it is already looking like “maybe next season” for the Angels. The bullpen is in complete disarray, and other than Mike Trout and Jose Soriano, there is nothing positive to say about this team or the organization as a whole. No one would be surprised if they ended the season with the worst winning percentage in the American League, if not all of MLB.

Athletics: B+
Rebuild continues and is happening even faster than expected. Despite playing in a minor league ballpark and not being called Oakland, Sacramento, or Las Vegas yet, the A’s finished April above .500 and in first place in the AL West division. They have a good young core of players and should be able to play competitive baseball for most of the season. Their starting rotation has no depth, and the back end of their bullpen is a mess, which could be their eventual downfall.

NL East

Atlanta Braves: A
Atlanta is loaded with potential MVP-caliber talent—guys like catcher Drake Baldwin and center fielder Michael Harris II could easily find themselves in the top 10 of the voting by season’s end. But the constant remains Matt Olson. They have a solid bullpen and strong rotation, too. They look like the team to beat in the early going in the division.

Philadelphia Phillies: D
The Phillies fired their manager, Rob Thompson, have appointed Don Mattingly as the interim guy, and sit toward the bottom of the league standings. No one could have seen this coming when the season began, considering the star power on this roster, yet here we are at the end of April. They finished the month with a few wins after Mattingly took over, but this team ended April with a negative 40-something run differential. That is just unacceptable.

Miami Marlins: C+
Miami is sticking around for the moment; however, they have not been able to take advantage of the slow starts from both the Phillies and the Mets. While their pitching has been quite good, especially Sandy Alcantara, their offense is in the middle of the pack in the National League, and they finished the month of April sitting below .500 after starting the season hot.

Washington Nationals: C
The Nats have an exciting young core and finished April as one of the top-scoring teams in the National League. Still, they are under .500, and that’s because they have allowed more runs than any other team in MLB. I want to give their offense an A, and their pitching an F, so it made sense to meet right in the middle with a C. It won’t be long before the Phillies pass them, and maybe even the Mets if they ever get things figured out.

New York Mets: D-
A complete disaster. High payroll, low production, and no clear direction. The Mets have dealt with key injuries, poor attitudes, and underperforming stars. Their manager, Carlos Mendoza, is likely the next manager to be fired, even though the team’s struggles are hardly his fault. They are currently without Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert in the lineup, and prior to that, they were without Juan Soto. They lost 17 of 20 games to close out the month.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs: B+
Strong start and showing real balance across the roster. They surged out to one of the best records in baseball, but sustaining that pace will be a challenge given the state of their pitching staff. Injuries have taken a major toll, with 10 pitchers currently on the IL, including seven relievers and three starters, leaving the staff severely depleted moving forward. The offense carried them, scoring the second-most runs in the National League through April, trailing only the Dodgers.

St. Louis Cardinals: B
The Cardinals have gotten off to a much better start to the season than most people would have expected. 2026 was supposed to be a transition year; however, thanks to the insanely hot start of Jordan Walker at the plate and a lockdown closer in Riley O’Brien, St. Louis finds themselves competing in the NL Central. Their pitching ranks toward the bottom of the league, though, and at some point, the wheels are likely to fall off for this team.

Milwaukee Brewers: B-
The Brew Crew has been without their star player, Jackson Chourio, for the entire season so far; however, he is expected back in the first 7-10 days of May. That will be a big boost for this team, which has also been without Andrew Vaughn since the first week of the season. The offense hasn’t been bad by any means; there is just the potential for a lot more juice when they are at full strength. They have the 4th-best run differential in the National League, despite having the 7th-best record, so expect things to get better for them.

Cincinnati Reds: A-
They sit in first place in the division at the end of April, and a lot of it has to do with their success in one-run games. The Reds bullpen has been a revelation, carrying the best ERA in the majors, which is certainly a contributing factor to the early success. Sal Stewart has emerged as an early NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner, and Elly De La Cruz is one of the best and most dynamic players in MLB. This team should only get better once Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene make their season debuts.

Pittsburgh Pirates: B
Paul Skenes is pitching like a Cy Young award winner again; however, this season, he is actually getting run support. The Pirates as a team end the month of April with a plus-17 run differential, and although they end the month in last place in the Central, they are playing .500 baseball, and for the first time in many years, there is actual optimism surrounding this team.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers: A
As expected, this team is elite. They have star power, young talent, and depth, and they are all delivering. Even after losing Mookie Betts to an early-season injury and losing their high-priced closer Edwin Diaz, the Dodgers are still the most complete team in MLB and will likely get a grade of A every month this season. This team hasn’t even come close to playing their best baseball yet. Dalton Rushing has been a great story, and Shohei Ohtani is an early Cy Young candidate.

San Diego Padres: A
It is impressive what the Padres have done so far this season. Mason Miller is the best closer in baseball, and that helps, yet this team has actually dealt with plenty of adversity, and to be playing this well despite it says a lot about them. Fernando Tatis and Jackson Merril have both struggled offensively, and their starting rotation has been a big mess, yet they have the 4th most wins in all of MLB at the end of April.

Arizona Diamondbacks: B
The D-Backs offense has had key guys struggle, and unexpected guys like Nolan Arenado, Ildemaro Vargas, and Jose Fernandez pick up the slack. Their pitching has been an issue, though, as they have given up the most runs in the division and the 4th most in the National League. To be fair, they do play in a division with two of the best teams in baseball, so by comparison, they are rarely going to look good.

San Francisco Giants: D+
No team has scored fewer runs than the Giants, and if not for their solid pitching, this team would be a complete disaster. Even as things stand now at the end of April, the Giants are already 6+ games out of first place and have the same number of wins as the Rockies. If guys like Rafael Devers and Willy Adames don’t start producing at the dish, it is going to be a very long season for San Fran.

Colorado Rockies: C+
This team has played much better than expected through the month of April. Chase Dollander has been a pleasant surprise for them on the mound, and the offense has been led by Mickey Moniak, Edouard Julien, TJ Rumfield, and Hunter Goodman. They are not a good team and will likely finish last; however, because they have exceeded all expectations so far, they deserve an average grade.

Heading Into May

April doesn’t define a season, but it sets the tone. Some teams look like they will be playing later into October. Others already look like they’re playing for the future, and with five months still to go, these grades are just the beginning. We will see how things play out as the calendar has now turned to May.

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