⚾ MLB Watchability Index: Baseball's fun teams

06.04.2026, 22:29 espn.com

We're back with our third annual MLB Watchability Index -- and it couldn't come at a better time.

MLB is coming off a smashing success of a postseason with maybe the greatest World Series ever played and the highest ratings in years. The World Baseball Classic helped build momentum and excitement heading into this campaign. Two of the biggest stars in the history of the game in Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge continue to do miraculous things for the two biggest franchises in the sport. And to top it all off, baseball has what could be one of the best rookie classes in a long time, including a teenage sensation who is making the Pittsburgh Pirates relevant again.

Thank goodness baseball would never do anything to derail all these positive trends, like go into a potential lockout this winter that would threaten the 2027 season.

We've tweaked our formula just a bit this year after paying a large consulting fee to a research firm that promised no AI was involved. The formula remains on a 40-point maximum scale with the following categories, all fitting into the general idea of "What makes baseball exciting?"

Star power (15-point scale): Stars win games. Winning games is exciting! Each team is awarded anywhere from 0 to 15 points based on its total points from our MLB Rank top 100 list. (Ohtani, as the top player, was worth 100 points and so on down to one point for the 100th player.)

Young talent (10-point scale): We love young players. This category focuses on players in their first or second seasons in the majors plus potential call-ups from the minors. Konnor Griffin, we want to see what you have for those Pirates.

Baseball stuff (10-point scale): We've consolidated and expanded this category to include all those things that make baseball more watchable in 2026: stealing bases, running the bases, good defense, not striking out on offense and having starters who pitch deeper into games. We don't like strikeouts, station-to-station baseball and excessive bullpen usage. We ranked all 30 teams in each category -- based on 2025 results with some adjustments for personnel changes for 2026 -- and then gave an overall score from 1 to 10.

Bonus (5-point scale): Anything else we want to reward, from good uniforms to ballpark atmosphere to specific player traits.

In general, good teams are more fun to watch than bad teams, so we should expect the best teams to rank high. Let's get to it, starting with the least watchable team.

Jump to team:

American LeagueATH | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLEDET | HOU | KC | LAA | MINNYY | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR

National LeagueARI | ATL | CHC | CIN | COLLAD | MIA | MIL | NYM | PHIPIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH

Star power: 0 | Young talent: 1 | Baseball stuff: 1

Bonus (2): +1 since it can't be worse than last year, +1 for fans still showing up to the park

Welcome back to baseball, Paul DePodesta. And welcome to ... Rockies baseball. In their home opener, the Rockies allowed seven runs in the top of the first inning. If Rockies fans had hopes for a more positive outlook for 2026, that was extinguished before the first round of craft beers was consumed. What kind of future is in store? The Rockies' initial five-man rotation included four starters age 33 or older.

Star power: 1 | Young talent: 1 | Baseball stuff: 3

Bonus (3): +1 for Mike Trout homering in the first two games to give us hope of a vintage Trout season, +1 for that goofy artificial rock formation and waterfall behind the outfield fence, +1 for potential Jo Adell home run robberies

The Angels don't score well in any category. Heck, even Trout didn't crack our list of the top 100 players in 2026 (Zach Neto was the only Angel who made it), which is sad, but that's the unfortunate reality of what we saw from Trout in 2025. The Angels led the majors in strikeouts last season and are running back most of the same roster. There aren't any likely impact rookies, and the bench includes Jeimer Candelario and Adam Frazier.

Star power: 2 | Young talent: 3 | Baseball stuff: 4

Bonus (1): +1 for the 0.0001% chance Joey Wiemer turns into the MVP

The Nationals placed two players in the top 100 in James Wood and CJ Abrams; but there are concerns about Wood given his second-half struggles last year and strikeout-prone start to 2026, and Abrams is a strong trade candidate come July. Dylan Crews was so bad in spring training that he started the year in Triple-A. The Nationals were so desperate for help in the rotation that they signed Miles Mikolas, who has allowed 17 runs in his first two starts, including a club-record 11 earned runs in his second outing.

Star power: 0 | Young talent: 8 | Baseball stuff: 2

Bonus (2): +1 for Grant Taylor's fastball, +1 for Colson Montgomery potentially becoming just the second White Sox middle infielder with 30 home runs (Jose Valentin had 30 in 2004)

You could make the argument that the White Sox should be rated a little higher based on all the young talent plus new slugger Munetaka Murakami. But the point system is the point system -- and the White Sox didn't land anyone in the top 100 and weren't very good at playing baseball in 2025. It will be interesting to see how last year's rookie class grows this season, and we might also see starters Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith and Tanner McDougal all reach the majors. Indeed, the Triple-A Charlotte rotation is probably more intriguing than the big league rotation.

Star power: 3 | Young talent: 5 | Baseball stuff: 3

Bonus (2): +1 for underrated uniform set, +1 for $2 beer days and $2 happy hour hot dogs

The Twins will be a lot more interesting when outfielders Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez and shortstop Kaelen Culpepper -- who all started the season in Triple-A -- get called up. Along with sophomore Luke Keaschall, who hit .302 as a rookie, the Twins can at least see a solid foundation rounding into form by the end of 2026. They landed Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan in the top 100, but Ryan will be one of the season's potentially hottest trade candidates.

Star power: 0 | Young talent: 6 | Baseball stuff: 5

Bonus (2.5): +1.5 for the classic birds-on-the-bat logo, +1 for believing that maybe Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman will put it together

The uniforms are great. The fans show up, although a little less often these days. The Cardinals at least have a clear and disciplined plan in place, with a young roster that features no position players or starting pitchers on the other side of 30. It's also a starless roster, with rookie JJ Wetherholt perhaps already the best player on the team after an exciting debut. Outfielder Joshua Baez and catcher Leo Bernal begin the year in Triple-A with eyes on reaching St. Louis this summer.

Star power: 0 | Young talent: 5 | Baseball stuff: 7

Bonus (3): +1 for Sandy Alcantara already throwing a complete game, +1 for Pete Fairbanks' postgame quotes, +1 for Eury Perez's potential

We rank and make predictions for the best players in baseball right now. MLB Rank 2026 »

The Marlins might be better than this ranking suggests, but they entered the season with no top-100 players -- and when you're short on stars, you're going to be short on watchability. Of course, it doesn't help when home games are played before a few thousand fans, creating a dreary viewing experience. If Alcantara reclaims his top-100 status and Perez climbs into it for the first time, maybe the fans will start showing up. Owen Caissie's power potential is fun to dream on, as well, as are lefty starters Robby Snelling and Thomas White, who might be up later this season.

Star power: 4 | Young talent: 3 | Baseball stuff: 8

Bonus (3): +1 for Shane McClanahan's return, +1 for Junior Caminero's exit velocities, +0.5 for Yandy Diaz's biceps, +0.5 for Chandler Simpson beating out infield singles

That star power is one guy: Caminero, who came in at an impressive 23rd in our top 100. Let's see if he can hit 50 home runs this year. McClanahan was a top-100 guy before missing the past two seasons, but the early returns are promising. While the Rays' talent pipeline has slowed up a bit, they still play the brand of baseball we're used to seeing from them, with speed and defense. Unfortunately, they're back indoors at Tropicana Field after a season in the sun playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in 2025.

Star power: 9 | Young talent: 2 | Baseball stuff: 3

Bonus (4): +1.5 for the intrigue in hiring Tony Vitello, +1 for McCovey Cove, +1 for Luis Arraez's contact skills, +0.5 for the new "Fiesta Gigantes" jerseys

The Giants placed four players in the top 100 in Logan Webb, Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames, so while perhaps they lack that superstar, MVP-type player, they're not lacking in big names. They also have a great ballpark, classic uniforms and a manager to watch. And yet, San Francisco still falls short in watchability. There isn't much youth here, at least until Bryce Eldridge appears on the scene, but the Giants also fared poorly in baseball stuff. They were a bad baserunning team a year ago and a mediocre defensive one. Let's see if Vitello can inject some life into those areas.

Star power: 7 | Young talent: 2 | Baseball stuff: 8

Bonus (1.5): +1 for Nolan Ryan bloody lip jersey giveaway (unfortunately, the Rangers apparently cancelled the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura bobblehead, which would have been the greatest bobblehead in history), +0.5 for signing Andrew McCutchen

Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi give the Rangers a solid core of star power. And they rated surprisingly well in the baseball stuff category, ranking as the top team in defensive runs saved in 2025 (although losing Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia drops that placement a bit in 2026). The addition of MacKenzie Gore and the continued development of Jack Leiter give Texas one of the more interesting rotations to watch. Heck, the Rangers even ditched those awful City Connect jerseys for a new one. But the sterile environment of Globe Life Field, at least on TV, is a big negative.

Star power: 5 |