2027 MLB Team Hitting Power Rankings: All 30 Lineups

By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Aren’t Born. They’re Built… and Earned.

The Dodgers, Brewers and Cubs have the three best lineups in baseball heading into 2027. The Angels, Blue Jays and Reds are the most challenged.

We ranked all 30 teams on hitting only. Not pitching, not payroll. Three things decided it: how many runs a team scored in 2026 (with OPS as the check), how much of its core hitting returns, and which bats are walking out the door this winter. The full data for every team is in the table near the bottom.

One caution before you argue with us. The current CBA expires Dec. 1. A work stoppage is possible; if one occurs, it could pause major-league transactions. Any team that lands a big bat before then moves up.

1. Who has the best lineup in baseball for 2027?

Tier 1 is eight lineups with proven run production and a core that mostly stays together.

• 1. Dodgers. Second in MLB in OPS and fourth in runs, with Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Tucker, Smith and Muncy. No major hitter leaves. Age is the only worry.
• 2. Brewers. The World Series champs were second in runs and led the majors in average and on-base percentage. Chourio, Turang and William Contreras are young and under control.
• 3. Cubs. Led MLB in runs and OPS. Pete Crow-Armstrong went 40-40 with 45 homers and an MLB-best 119 runs. But Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ are both free agents.
• 4. Yankees. Second in homers with Aaron Judge out most of the year. A healthy Judge makes this a top-three offense. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is likely gone.
• 5. Nationals. 821 runs, third in MLB. James Wood hit 30 homers and CJ Abrams hit 33. The bats are fine; the pitching is the problem.
• 6. Padres. Dead last at the All-Star break, then best in average and third in runs after it, behind Tatis and a bounce-back from Merrill.
• 7. White Sox. A top-five run total and three 30-homer bats in Murakami, Montgomery and Vargas. A low average and lots of strikeouts make them streaky.
• 8. Pirates. Jumped from 30th to sixth in runs. Konnor Griffin keeps it rolling, but Brandon Lowe hits free agency.

The best lineup in baseball is not the one that hits the most home runs.

2. Which teams have good bats but real questions?

Tier 2 lineups each have a star or a strong core, plus one issue that could swing them a full tier either way.

• 9. Astros. Led MLB in homers but finished 13th in runs. Yordan Alvarez was the best hitter in baseball; everyone else hit .232.
• 10. Rays. American League champs and the hardest team in baseball to strike out. Junior Caminero is a star; Chandler Simpson led the AL in steals.
• 11. Cardinals. Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn give them a young core worth watching.
• 12. Braves. Top 10 in average and runs, but 16th in OPS. They need Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley to bounce back.
• 13. Red Sox. Ran well below league average in scoring at midseason, but Roman Anthony and Trevor Story are back healthy.
• 14. Mets. Six big offseason additions combined for negative WAR. The talent says higher; the results say lower.
• 15. Athletics. Fell from 12th to a tie for 20th in runs when Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson all got hurt. Healthy, they're a top-10 lineup.

3. Who is stuck in the middle?

Tier 3 is average-ish offenses where one signing, one healthy star or one breakout decides the year.

• 16. Mariners. A .693 team OPS, 27th in MLB, and Randy Arozarena can walk in free agency.
• 17. Phillies. 19th in runs. Outside Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, no regular posted an OPS+ above 91.
• 18. Guardians. 24th in runs, but rookies Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana give it real upside.
• 19. Diamondbacks. Added Nolan Arenado. Solid, not scary.
• 20. Orioles. Signed Pete Alonso and still sat under .500 from mid-April on.
• 21. Rangers. The bullpen, not the bats, was the story. A middle-of-the-pack lineup.
• 22. Tigers. A 6-22 May wrecked the year; they played .523 ball the rest of the way.
• 23. Twins. Faded after the deadline and could lose Ryan Jeffers, the best catcher on the market.
• 24. Marlins. A 20-6 June propped up a season led by pitching, not hitting.
• 25. Rockies. Seventh in MLB with 752 runs and fifth in OPS, so the numbers say middle of the pack, not last. We rank them at the low end of it because Coors Field boosts every Rockies hitting stat, and a fourth straight 100-loss season shows the run total hasn't turned into wins.

4. Which MLB offenses are in trouble for 2027?

Tier 4 lineups have a structural problem one offseason probably won't fix.

• 26. Royals. 22nd in runs. Bobby Witt Jr. produced about a quarter of the team's total WAR. One superstar, not enough support.
• 27. Giants. 26th in runs. By late September, none of their 10 Opening Day starters were on the active roster.
• 28. Reds. 27th in runs. Hit .218 with runners in scoring position, worst in baseball by a wide margin.
• 29. Blue Jays. Last in MLB in runs and homers one year after a World Series run. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit just nine.
• 30. Angels. 29th in runs and last in OPS (.679), in the worst season by winning percentage in franchise history.

Notice the pattern at the bottom: one or two stars carrying everyone else. That's the same trap we see in amateur lineups every summer.

5. Which free-agent hitters can change the rankings?

The Cubs, Yankees and Mariners have the most offense on the open market. Baseball America projects only a handful of hitters for nine-figure deals.

The Cubs are the team to watch. Keep Suzuki or Happ and they could be No. 1. Lose both and they slide.

6. What data are the 2027 rankings based on?

Here is the data behind every spot on the board. Runs and OPS are 2026 regular-season team totals from MLB. Returning core is each team's top three hitters by 2026 OPS (400+ plate appearances) who are not on the free-agent list. Notable free agents are hitters from that team in MLB.com's top 30 free agents.

Data current Oct. 29, 2026. Rosters will change once trades and signings start.

7. What should young hitters learn from the best lineups?

The champion Brewers scored the second-most runs in baseball while sitting near the bottom of the league in home runs. They hit for average, took walks, ran the bases and put pressure on the defense. We broke that down in why I love the 2026 Brewers.

Meanwhile the Astros led MLB in homers and finished 13th in runs. Power matters. Power alone does not guarantee consistent run scoring.

As I tell my hitters, "Hard, down the other way means we are on our way!" A hard ball to the opposite field can be a useful cue for timing and bat path. It isn't proof by itself that a hitter is right, but hitters who stay on time and through the ball are how the best lineups keep the line moving.

AHD • BACKSPIN2/2

THELESSON.

• Hit for average and get on base
• Use the whole field
• Run the bases with IQ
• Power is a bonus, not the plan

Complete Hitters Are Built…Earned.

AHDBackSpinAthletic Hitting Development

That's the Complete Hitter: a sound swing with Mechanically Advantaged Angles, strength and explosiveness, a Hitting Processor trained daily, and a mental approach that competes with two strikes. Not sure where to start? Take Lesson 1 free, then build the full plan in the AHD Academy.

Want to go deeper? Read I Love This 2026 Milwaukee Brewers Team! and 44 Homers—and Still Mad About the Strikeout.

Quick answers

Sources: MLB.com: 2026 team hitting stats · MLB.com: Ranking the free agents for the 2026-27 offseason · CBS Sports: Ranking the offenses of all 12 playoff teams · Bleacher Report: 1 stat that defines every MLB team's 2026 season · Baseball America: 2027 MLB free agent rankings, top 50 · CBS Sports: Key MLB offseason dates and the CBA · CBS Sports: Pete Crow-Armstrong's 2026 season · Boston Globe: The 2026 Red Sox offense

Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.

Complete Hitters Aren’t Born. They’re Built… and Earned.