Baseball Games Today: Preseason power rankings turn opening day into a test of expectation

The first pitches of baseball games today carry more than routine excitement: they carry the weight of a preseason pecking order that tells fans who is supposed to lead, who is supposed to chase, and who is supposed to surprise. The 2026 MLB season opens with the Los Angeles Dodgers placed first in a preseason power rankings list assembled weekly by a group of baseball writers, setting a baseline that will be challenged, reshaped, and argued over as soon as the regular season begins.

What do the preseason rankings say about Baseball Games Today?

The preseason power rankings begin with the Dodgers, described as the reigning champions and the team sitting atop the list. The rankings are presented as a collective result from a selected group of baseball writers who regularly rank teams from first to worst, with the preseason edition serving as a starting point for the year.

Even inside that confidence, the framing is cautious: “Much will change between now and October, ” and the rankings “will surely fluctuate in ways we cannot predict. ” That tension—certainty on paper, uncertainty on the field—is what gives baseball games today their sharper edge. A list can crown a favorite, but only the daily grind can defend it.

Why are the Dodgers the team to beat as the 2026 season starts?

The case for Los Angeles is built on star power, depth, and resources. The Dodgers still have Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to be a full-time two-way player this season for the first time since 2023. They still have Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. They are also described as having an “absurd amount of pitching depth, ” enough that the organization does not appear particularly concerned about Blake Snell being “bound for the injured list again. ”

Financial strength is part of the story, too. The Dodgers are described as having more money at their disposal than any team not owned by Steve Cohen, and they are also described as having the ability to convince players to join them rather than the team owned by Steve Cohen. Two specific signings are cited: closer Edwin Díaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker.

For fans, that collection of names is not abstract. It becomes personal in the way expectations settle into a season: the feeling that every early win is “supposed to happen, ” and every early loss is treated like a warning. The rankings do not just forecast performance; they shape the emotional temperature in the stands and on couches, pitch by pitch.

Which teams are rising, and what are their key storylines?

The preseason list highlights movement beyond the top spot. The Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs began last year’s rankings “in the middle of the pack, ” and the Toronto Blue Jays were “near the bottom third. ” In the new preseason edition, all three are described as sitting “inside our top eight spots heading into the regular season. ” That shift signals a wider league story: teams can remake how they are perceived before a single regular-season inning is played, and then must live with the consequences once the games start.

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners are framed through a winter of targeted moves. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is described as keeping it simple after what is called “the most successful season in Mariners’ franchise history. ” Seattle re-signed first baseman Josh Naylor to a five-year, $92. 5 million contract. Later, Dipoto won the bidding for utility player Brendan Donovan, who “figures to aid the team all around the diamond. ” The starting rotation is described as still intact for a team that finished “eight outs away from the American League pennant. ” One notable human note is that Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena are described as having “squashed their beef” after a handshake imbroglio at the World Baseball Classic.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs are described as having executed a “Plan A” offseason. The outline is clear: they pursued a superstar free agent and signed them to a multi-year deal; they traded prospect depth to land a starter with top-of-the-rotation potential and multiple years of club control; and they reconfigured the bullpen so manager Craig Counsell has multiple “out-getters” to deploy behind closer Daniel Palencia. The Cubs also secured a multiyear extension for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. Coming a season after an NLDS appearance, the Cubs are described as primed for their first consecutive postseason berths since 2015–18.

New York Yankees: In a “tightly packed American League, ” the Yankees are described as a “high-floor team. ” The description centers on superstar Aaron Judge, competent bats around him, and “the chance to field a better defense this season than last. ” The rotation’s early-season health is a key variable: it will still miss Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón early, while counting on Cam Schlittler and Ryan Weathers to help in the meantime.

Across all these snapshots is a common human reality: a front office makes decisions in winter, but players and fans carry those decisions into spring, where a single night can make a smart plan look inevitable or fragile.

How should fans read early results without overreacting?

The rankings themselves offer the caution: everyone has to start somewhere, and change is expected. Still, the power rankings also create a public map of expectation. For a team like the Dodgers, early games can feel like a referendum on whether “reigning champions” still look like it. For teams that have climbed—like the Mariners, Cubs, and Blue Jays—early games become a chance to prove that a rise in perception reflects something real.

In practice, opening weeks can be loud with meaning: the Yankees’ early rotation absences are not a storyline fans can ignore; the Mariners’ continuity and additions are not just roster notes but daily pressure points; the Cubs’ bullpen design is not a theory but a nightly test of whether those “out-getters” can hold leads behind Daniel Palencia.

And because the list is built to be updated, every series becomes a potential argument for movement—up, down, or sideways—well before October turns predictions into verdicts.

Where does the season go from here?

Preseason rankings welcome readers to the 2026 MLB season with a promise and a warning: the story will not sit still. The Dodgers start on top, framed by Ohtani’s two-way return to a full-time role, established stars, and deep pitching. The Mariners, Cubs, and Blue Jays begin the year with elevated expectations compared to last season’s starting point, and the Yankees are positioned as steady, with their upside tied largely to health in the rotation.

The first days of the schedule are where all of that meets the ordinary drama of the sport—at-bats that don’t care about predictions, and innings that don’t respect rankings. That is the quiet truth inside baseball games today: they are both the smallest unit of a long season and the first place where a preseason story can begin to fall apart—or finally begin to look right.