Ranking the AL Central Teams as May Turns to June

The AL Central has been widely regarded as a poor overall division in the past. 2021 through 2023 saw the division champion be the only team above .500, while 2024 and 2025 had four and three teams respectively. The Guardians are the hottest as of late, winning three out of the last four division championships and have established themselves as the team to beat in the division, despite significantly better efforts from the Tigers and Royals in recent years.

Now, shifting focus to 2026, the Guardians lead the way in the standings once again. The other clubs trail behind, searching for consistency in a wide-open American League this year. With the season beginning to take shape with the summer months upon us, here is how the A.L. Central teams stack up so far this year, and maybe a thing of two the Twins can learn from their competitors.

No. 1 - Cleveland Guardians (34-26)
Pythagorean Record- 31-29 (+3)
RS/G – 4.08, RA/G – 3.98
The Guardians currently lead the division by two games. While two-time All-Star Steven Kwan (71 OPS+) is struggling, young players such as Travis Bazzana, Brayan Rocchio, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martinez have all stepped up, each with above average OPS marks. Cleveland made a notable trade already as well, acquiring Patrick Bailey from San Francisco for his defensive ability behind the plate. Gavin Williams (3.07 ERA, 3.31 FIP) and Parker Messick (2.24 ERA, 3.03 FIP) are the key arms in the rotation, while the ever-reliable Cade Smith leads MLB in saves with a 2.70 ERA (1.19 FIP).

Cleveland has something that the Twins currently don’t: young hitters performing at the MLB level. Bazzana, Rocchio, DeLauter, and Martinez have provided energy into a Cleveland lineup that desperately needed it, and the Twins could use that from Kaelen Culpepper, Walker Jenkins, Gabriel Gonzalez, and more of their in the lower ranks. Nevertheless, expect Cleveland to be in the hunt for the division title once again if they aren’t already leading come the later months.

No. 2 – Chicago White Sox (31-27)
Pythagorean Record – 30-28 (+1)
RS/G – 4.71, RA/G – 4.59
One of the great surprises in baseball this year, the White Sox currently hold the second wild card spot. Free agent signee Munetaka Murakami leads the way with a .947 OPS, good for fifth in the league. The slugger is in the 93rd percentile or above in xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel percentage, hard hit percentage, and walk percentage, while being in the 5th percentile in strikeout rate. Murakami is a Three True Outcome hitter and the deal he signed this past offseason is only looking better as the season progresses. However, Murakami could miss the next four-to-six weeks with a hamstring injury. Miguel Vargas’ presence as an offensive contributor has been welcomed as well after a few down years, rocking a 133 OPS+ going into Friday’s action.

The Twins could learn something from Murakami and the White Sox in that it is okay to spend a little money in free agency and take a chance. Players such as Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are pretty known commodities at this point in their careers, and a bat like Murakami would be nice to slot in at first base daily.

On the pitching side, Davis Martin is off to a great start with a 2.00 ERA (2.30 FIP) over 67 2/3 innings of work while striking out 71. These excellent results are largely due to three pitches: his changeup, sinker, and slider, each of which have a run value of 4. Left-handed reliever Bryan Hudson (1.37 ERA, 2.57 FIP) and 26-year-old starter Sean Burke (3.90 ERA, 3.40 FIP) have been good as well.

The White Sox could be a formidable force by the end of the year; however, they’ll likely need to work on their walk problems (pitchers have walked 215 batters so far, sixth worst in the league) and perhaps another bat to replace Andrew Benintendi in the DH spot (77 OPS+ so far in 2026). Still, Murakami has made the White Sox a fun team to watch so far in 2026, and they’ll hope to catch the Guardians to win their first division title since 2021.

No. 3 – Minnesota Twins (27-32)
Pythagorean Record – 28-31 (-1)
RS/G – 4.61, RA/G – 4.86
The Twins sit just a game back of a wild card spot entering Friday’s games, a spot most fans and analysts didn’t expect them to be. Performances from All-Stars Byron Buxton (147 OPS+) and Joe Ryan (2.94 ERA, 2.58 FIP) lead the way, while players such as Austin Martin (119 OPS+) and Taj Bradley (2.77 ERA, 3.26 FIP) have provided value where little was expected. Still, an injury to Ryan Jeffers and struggles and eventual demotions to Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner has left the lineup thin. Nevertheless, this team goes as Buxton and Ryan go, and if they are both still on the team after the trade deadline it wouldn’t be surprising to see this team in contention for a wild card spot come August, though it isn’t likely the postseason will be a part of the Twins’ season. Performances from the franchise players, as well as younger players like Martin and Brooks Lee (in the clutch), are making this team fun to watch at least.

No. 4 – Detroit Tigers (22-37)
Pythagorean Record – 25-34 (-3)
RS/G – 3.77, RA/G – 4.41
A playoff team last year, the Tigers spent big in the offseason, signing Framber Valdez to a three year, 115-million-dollar deal while bringing in other arms such as Justin Verlander, Kyle Finnegan, and Kenley Jansen. Gleyber Torres accepted his qualifying offer to come back to Detroit after being an All-Star in 2025.

Even with those additions, the Tigers haven’t performed up to par in 2026, currently second to last in all of MLB ahead of just the Rockies. 2025 Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is on the IL due to a surgery to get a loose body out of his elbow while Verlander had just one start before going to the IL as well. Valdez’s pitching has been mediocre, with a 4.28 ERA (4.08 FIP) and has spent more time in the news for hitting Trevor Story after giving up back-to-back homers than for the positives of his game. Casey Mize has been a bright spot for this pitching staff, worth 2.2 bWAR with a 2.27 ERA (2.37 FIP).

Offensively, injuries have continued to remove Tigers from the lineup, with Torres, Kerry Carpenter, and Javier Baez all on the injured list. Struggles from Spencer Torkelson (99 OPS+), Colt Keith, (96 OPS+) and Zach McKinstry (32 OPS+) haven’t helped either. Riley Greene leads the way with a 136 OPS+ for this group, though 21-year-old rookie Kevin McGonigle follows close behind (131 OPS+) and leads the team in bWAR currently.

The Tigers have a big decision to make. The way their season is going, they could sell off some or their larger pieces, such as Skubal, to get a haul at the deadline, or they could wait it out, get healthy, and try to make a playoff push later in the year. Detroit must hope they can find some of the magic they had last year soon, otherwise they could be a big seller come August 3rd.

No. 5 – Kansas City Royals (22-36)
Pythagorean Record – 23-35 (-2)
RS/G – 3.76, RA/G – 4.72
An above .500 team a year ago, the Royals sit second to last in the division. Only two of their qualified hitters have an OPS above .700, one of which being superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (137 OPS+) with the other being third baseman Maikel Garcia (100 OPS+). Besides those two, struggles to Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Isaac Collins, among others, has led to the 2nd lowest runs scored per game in MLB, better then only the Giants. On the mound, Seth Lugo (3.74 ERA, 3.07 FIP) and Michael Wacha (2.69 ERA, 3.90 FIP) have led the way for a rotation currently without lefties Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans.

The Royals should use this season as a reminder of how good their franchise shortstop is, and with their record well on the wrong side of .500, need to do everything in their power in building a competitive team around him in 2027.

The A.L. Central has been criticized over the years for being an overall bad division, but it has been more competitive as of late. Cleveland still leads the way, while Chicago and Minnesota follow closely in hopes of making it a race come August and September. Detroit and Kansas City sit at the bottom, both 10 or more games back from Cleveland entering June. As the summer unfolds, the hope is that the Twins can be competitive in this division, but only time will tell as they have overperformed expectations so far. With plenty of baseball still left to play, the AL Central remains a division filled with stars and teams searching for answers to how to move forward, and that likely won’t change at the end of this season.

So how would you rank the five AL Central teams?