MLB Midseason Rankings For the Top 10 Offenses in 2023

Offense is only part of the baseball equation, but it's hardly a coincidence that the three teams leading Major League Baseball in runs scored—Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Texas—are also leading the way in total wins.

In this ranking of the 10 best offenses, the four primary statistics we looked at are wRC+, home runs, on-base percentage and FanGraphs' "Offense Rating," the latter of which is essentially wins above replacement minus defense. Batting average, slugging percentage, total runs and stolen bases are also listed and factored into the ranking equation, but they were less heavily weighted.

It's also worth noting that while we are mainly focused on full-season numbers, we're not exactly going to ignore recent performance.

For example, Atlanta and Tampa Bay are basically tied for first from a year-to-date perspective, with the Rays, arguably, slightly ahead. Since Memorial Day, though, Atlanta is No. 1 in the majors in seven of the eight categories mentioned above while the Rays have been a league-average offense for more than a month. Kind of hard to not let that serve as a tiebreaker.

For each team, we've also included our ranking and the year-to-date statistics for the top five hitters, but the team rankings are based on the entire team's offensive impact, not just its most valuable quintet.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics current through the start of play on July 4.

Baltimore Orioles

Early on, Baltimore was both drawing walks and stealing bases at MLB-best paces. But the O's have grown more aggressive at the plate and less aggressive on the basepaths, resulting in a steep decline on offense dating back to the beginning of June. Their year-to-date numbers still look solid, but at this point, they don't rank in the top 30 percent of the league in any major category.

Houston Astros

Thanks in large part to both Alex Bregman and José Abreu snapping out of their rough starts, Houston has pulled a reverse Baltimore, getting markedly better as the season has progressed. The Astros' OPS has increased from .697 in March/April to .718 in May, .761 in June and now .840 in a small July sample size. They are right on the cusp of a top 10 offense, most honorable among these honorable mentions.

New York Mets

For as woefully disappointing as the Mets have been, they rank ninth in home runs (105) and have been slightly better than average in wRC+ (102). The problem (aside from the pitching) is that 64 of those 105 home runs have come with the bases empty, as both their batting average (.240) and OBP (.317) are below average.

New York Yankees

Like the Mets, the Yankees can crush the ball, presently fifth in the majors with 120 home runs. But they have been even worse about getting runners on base, batting .232 with a .301 OBP that very nearly ranks dead last. At least they have capitalized on the biggest opportunities, batting .392/.400/.529 in their 60 plate appearances with the bases loaded.

Philadelphia Phillies

There's certainly no shortage of talent in the Phillies lineup, as they are paying five hitters at least $20 million just this season. However, Kyle Schwarber is somewhat negating his 22 home runs by batting .188, while both Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are slugging below .400. As a result, they've spent a whole lot of money for a lineup that has been marginally better than average.

San Francisco Giants

Save for stolen bases—where the Giants have been one of the least aggressive teams in the majors with just 41 swipes—San Francisco has been darn near identical to Baltimore in overall offensive impact. They are neck-and-neck in wRC+, Offense Rating and all three portions of the teamwide triple-slash. The Giants only hit 23 home runs in June, yet ranked fourth in the majors at 5.35 runs scored per game.

2023 Stats: .260/.329/.424, 90 HR, 414 R, 55 SB, 103 wRC+, 9.4 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Masataka Yoshida (.305/.377/.477, 9 HR, 41 R, 41 RBI, 4 SB)
2. Alex Verdugo (.295/.363/.464, 6 HR, 53 R, 34 RBI, 3 SB)
3. Rafael Devers (.256/.326/.505, 20 HR, 46 R, 66 RBI)
4. Jarren Duran (.305/.356/.479, 4 HR, 25 R, 29 RBI, 15 SB)
5. Justin Turner (.277/.350/.460, 13 HR, 52 R, 46 RBI, 4 SB)

Did you know Boston ranks fourth in the American League in runs scored? Or that of the 10 teams that have scored at least 400 runs this season, the 43-42 Red Sox are the only one that hasn't won at least 45 games?

They have scored at least five runs in 41 games, going 35-6 in those contests.

It's really just a daily question of whether the offense will do enough to quite overcome the mediocre pitching.

Leading the charge is their 29-year-old Rookie of the Year candidate, Masataka Yoshida. It took a couple of weeks for him to adjust to MLB pitching, as he was hitting .167 through April 18. Since then, though, he's batting .333/.392/.524, tied with both Yandy Diaz and Josh Naylor for the AL lead (among qualified hitters) in batting average during that two-and-a-half-month stretch.

A close runner-up to Yoshida for best Boston hitter is Alex Verdugo, who is quietly halfway through what would be his fifth consecutive season batting at least .280. He got a few AL MVP votes in 2020, but he has never been named an All-Star and has to be rapidly approaching the top of the list of most valuable active players yet to partake in a midsummer classic.

Unsurprisingly, Rafael Devers has been Boston's top slugger, swatting his 20th homer of the year this past Saturday. His batting average is well behind what it has been throughout his career, but he still has a solid .831 OPS.

What is a surprise, though, is how much pop remains in 38-year-old Justin Turner's bat. He has already matched his home run total from last season, getting there in 200 fewer trips to the plate.

He's already on pace to set a new career high in stolen bases (seven), and if he picks up the pace a bit in the second half, he could also post a new personal record for home runs (27).

2023 Stats: .255/.334/.412, 89 HR, 421 R, 95 SB, 98 wRC+, -3.7 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Matt McLain (.305/.366/.535, 7 HR, 34 R, 28 RBI, 4 SB)
2. T.J. Friedl (.309/.378/.477, 6 HR, 31 R, 31 RBI, 14 SB)
3. Spencer Steer (.282/.372/.498, 14 HR, 43 R, 50 RBI, 9 SB)
4. Jake Fraley (.274/.354/.474, 11 HR, 30 R, 50 RBI, 13 SB)
   
5. Elly De La Cruz (.280/.327/.470, 3 HR, 22 R, 12 RBI, 9 SB)

Cincinnati's full-season numbers are lacking compared to the rest of our top 10. In both wRC+ and Offense Rating, the Reds have been slightly below average.

But that's because it took them a while to get going.

Through their first 36 games, they were 15-21, averaging a mediocre-at-best 4.2 runs per game. But since May 11—just a few days before they called up Matt McLain to start leading the way—they've gone 31-18 while averaging 5.5 runs per game.

Only Texas and Atlanta have been more potent over the course of the past eight-ish weeks, as Cincinnati has racked up 62 home runs and 71 stolen bases with the best on-base percentage (.345) in the majors.

What's most intriguing is how young this team is.

Arizona's Corbin Carroll is going to win NL Rookie of the Year, but it's feasible that Reds will finish second through fifth in that vote, with pitcher Andrew Abbott and hitters Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer and McLain all thriving.

In the "slightly older but still in their 20s" division, both Jake Fraley (11 HR, 13 SB) and Jonathan India (11 HR, 12 SB) are on pace for 20/20 seasons. Cincinnati hasn't had a 20/20 player since Todd Frazier in 2014, and the last double dip was when Barry Larkin and Eric Davis pulled it off in 1996.

And let's not forget about the veteran presence in the clubhouse.

Joey Votto, 39, didn't make his season debut until June 19, but he has hit four massive home runs since his return, each coming in a game that the Reds won by one run.

Watching youngsters De La Cruz and McLain carry the Reds to an NL Central title would be great, but watching Votto legitimately contribute to that run could be even better.

2023 Stats: .252/.327/.424, 114 HR, 387 R, 55 SB, 108 wRC+, 23.4 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Paul Goldschmidt (.288/.375/.491, 15 HR, 51 R, 46 RBI, 8 SB)
2. Nolan Arenado (.277/.324/.490, 16 HR, 37 R, 55 RBI, 2 SB)
3. Nolan Gorman (.231/.317/.459, 16 HR, 31 R, 49 RBI, 4 SB)
   
4. Jordan Walker (.294/.358/.450, 6 HR, 17 R, 22 RBI, 3 SB)
5. Brendan Donovan (.280/.372/.413, 9 HR, 37 R, 26 RBI, 4 SB)
   

Here's your understatement of the day: 2023 has not gone according to plan for the St. Louis Cardinals. It has been over a century since the last time they finished a season with a winning percentage of .420 or worse, but they were sitting at .415 through 82 games.

However, that is largely the product of a pitching staff that has allowed the seventh-most runs in the majors, as the Cardinals have collectively hit the ball pretty well.

Among National League teams, only Atlanta and Los Angeles have hit more home runs than the Cardinals, who have had a dozen different players hit at least five four-baggers. As a result, St. Louis is comfortably in the top 10 in slugging percentage and just barely outside it in on-base percentage.

Leading that charge is NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt. You mostly hear about him these days in hypothetical trades, but he is having yet another great season, roughly on pace for what would be the eighth 30 HR season of his career. Across the board, his average, OBP, slugging and OPS are marginally below his career norms. Plenty left in this 35-year-old's tank.

Nolan Arenado started slow, but in 40 games played from May 12 through June 28, he hit .311 with 13 home runs and 35 RBI, good for a 162-game pace of 53 and 142, respectively. Goldy probably should have been St. Louis' ASG representative, but Arenado is certainly worthy of heading to the eighth Midsummer Classic of his career.

The silver lining on this disastrous season in St. Louis has been rookie Jordan Walker, who started his career with a 12-game hitting streak, got demoted back to Memphis for about six weeks and came back even stronger, batting .338/.427/.529 in June.

The 21-year-old has a negative WAR on both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference, but that's because of his defense. At the plate, he has lived up to the hype.

2023 Stats: .261/.327/.418, 95 HR, 379 R, 66 SB, 108 wRC+, 28.4 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Bo Bichette (.317/.346/.507, 15 HR, 43 R, 51 RBI, 3 SB)
2. Matt Chapman (.262/.340/.459, 11 HR, 42 R, 38 RBI, 3 SB)
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.274/.347/.445, 12 HR, 37 R, 52 RBI, 4 SB)
4. George Springer (.270/.332/.420, 12 HR, 49 R, 35 RBI, 13 SB)
5. Kevin Kiermaier (.272/.330/.436, 4 HR, 33 R, 18 RBI, 9 SB)

What Toronto needs in the second half of the year is for Alejandro Kirk to snap out of his funk.

The biggest reason the Blue Jays were willing to trade away prized catching prospect Gabriel Moreno during the offseason was that they were banking on Kirk being an everyday contributor after he hit .285 and was named an All-Star and a Silver Slugger last season. But his OPS has dropped more than 100 points, and he has become somewhat of a liability in the lineup.

Despite the 24-year-old's drop in production, the Blue Jays are having a solid overall season.

Bo Bichette is well on pace to lead the AL in hits for what would be the third consecutive season. He's also leading the Blue Jays in home runs, slugging and OPS and was undeniably their most deserved All-Star Game representative.

Matt Chapman is also having a great year, although he has come crashing back to earth in a big way after ending April with a triple-slash of .384/.465/.687. He's still second on the team in OPS, thanks in large part to his league-leading 27 doubles.

And then there's 2023 Home Run Derby participant Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He's not hitting at anywhere near the same level as he did in 2021, when he led the majors with 48 home runs and led the AL in both on-base percentage and slugging. But he's still putting up respectable numbers, and maybe the derby will provide the jolt he needs to turn a corner.

But the surprise contributor here has been Kevin Kiermaier, who had hit .232/.296/.382 over his final five seasons in Tampa Bay. The Blue Jays signed him for his defense, but he has been a surprisingly legitimate (and uncommonly healthy) asset on offense. Only four home runs, but batting .272 mostly from the bottom of the order has been a treat.

2023 Stats: .261/.329/.433, 98 HR, 431 R, 82 SB, 105 wRC+, 28.7 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Corbin Carroll (.289/.365/.557, 17 HR, 60 R, 44 RBI, 24 SB)
2. Ketel Marte (.285/.365/.502, 15 HR, 61 R, 44 RBI, 6 SB)
3. Christian Walker (.269/.334/.506, 16 HR, 44 R, 54 RBI, 4 SB)
4. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (.270/.321/.489, 13 HR, 35 R, 49 RBI)
5. Geraldo Perdomo (.284/.389/.433, 5 HR, 37 R, 33 RBI, 9 SB)

In addition to the core five who lead the team in plate appearances, both Dominic Fletcher and Emmanuel Rivera are batting north of .300, while 37-year-old Evan Longoria inexplicably has the highest slugging percentage of his entire career (.553). Can't very well complain about rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno batting .271, either.

Simply put, easy outs have been hard to come by against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona doesn't homer at anywhere near the rate of our top five offenses, but it does rank top five in both batting average and stolen bases to make up for the relative lack of blasts.

The brightest shining Diamondback is clearly Carroll. The 22-year-old rookie is leading the team in both home runs and stolen bases, and he has both the highest batting average and slugging percentage among the team's qualified hitters. He has basically already won NL Rookie of the Year, barring either an epic collapse or Elly De La Cruz playing out of his mind in the second half of the season.

Ketel Marte is also enjoying quite the throwback to 2019, when he batted .329, hit 32 home runs and finished fourth in the NL MVP vote. His batting average isn't nearly that high, but he sure has bounced back from batting .240 with 12 home runs in 558 plate appearances last season.

And for a guy who everyone suggested was on the trade block both at last year's deadline and heading into this season, Christian Walker has been quite the indispensable asset for the Snakes. He batted .347 with a 1.026 OPS in June. He's hitting .280 against righties and slugging .556 against lefties, thriving as the cleanup hitter regardless of who's on the mound.

2023 Stats: .257/.332/.444, 130 HR, 426 R, 44 SB, 113 wRC+, 45.1 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Shohei Ohtani (.303/.390/.664, 31 HR, 61 R, 68 RBI, 11 SB)
2. Mike Trout (.263/.369/.493, 18 HR, 54 R, 44 RBI, 2 SB)
3. Brandon Drury (.277/.322/.500, 14 HR, 36 R, 45 RBI)
4. Mickey Moniak (.307/.336/.658, 9 HR, 18 R, 24 RBI, 2 SB)
5. Zach Neto (.259/.338/.431, 6 HR, 24 R, 22 RBI, 5 SB)

As you may have heard, Shohei Ohtani is having a decent season.

If it was even possible for him to increase his impending free-agency value, he has surely done so by leading the majors in both home runs and RBI. You could completely disregard the pitching half of his season and he would still be running away with the AL MVP award, as he threatens to immediately break the AL home run record that Aaron Judge set last season.

Mike Trout is also having a solid campaign, albeit nowhere near his career norms. The three-time AL MVP entered his age-31 season batting .303 with a 1.002 OPS for his career, making his current marks of .263 and .862, respectively, look downright mortal. But he's still a deserving All-Star, as 85 percent of Peak Trout is still damn good.

Beyond that dynamic duo, Brandon Drury has recovered nicely from his awful start to the year. He was batting .179 with one home run through his first 20 games with the Halos, but he is batting .307 with 13 dingers since.

Mickey Moniak—the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft who went to L.A. in last year's Noah Syndergaard trade—has also impressed, albeit in just 33 games played since getting called up in mid-May. With nine home runs in 119 trips to the plate, he is finally living up to the hype from many moons ago.

It's just too bad Jared Walsh has been a shell of the star he was in 2021 and that Anthony Rendon continues to be one of the worst signings in MLB history. If either of those guys were delivering, the Angels might be winning the AL West.

2023 Stats: .242/.328/.444, 131 HR, 455 R, 52 SB, 110 wRC+, 51.0 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Freddie Freeman (.314/.395/.530, 14 HR, 66 R, 54 RBI, 11 SB)
2. Mookie Betts (.268/.371/.550, 22 HR, 64 R, 56 RBI, 7 SB)
3. Will Smith (.275/.394/.491, 12 HR, 40 R, 41 RBI)
4. J.D. Martinez (.255/.298/.554, 19 HR, 39 R, 56 RBI)
5. Max Muncy (.195/.322/.468, 19 HR, 43 R, 49 RBI)

One year removed from winning the National League by a 10-game margin, it hasn't exactly been a banner year for the Dodgers, who would be the NL's No. 5 seed if the season ended today.

The offense has more than held up its end of the bargain, though. At 455 runs scored through 84 games, they're on pace for 878—31 more than their MLB-best mark of 847 in 2022. (They're simply on pace to allow nearly 250 more runs than they did last year.)

Leading the charge is the two-headed monster of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

At the end of May, Freeman was batting .347 and was the lone NL player staying within shouting distance of Ronald Acuña Jr.

Since then, the 33-year-old has cooled off, but Betts caught fire in June for nine home runs and a 1.037 OPS in 24 games played.

June was also a big month for Los Angeles' seasoned veterans, as J.D. Martinez, Jason Heyward and David Peralta each slugged .516 or better while hitting a combined 12 home runs. Though he isn't quite slugging like he did in 2017 and 2018, Martinez has already hit three more home runs than he did last year with Boston.

Factor in Will Smith's nearly .900 OPS and Max Muncy's propensity for home runs, and it bears repeating that offense has not been the Dodgers' problem.

However, it sure would be nice if they could get more out of their middle infield, as Miguel Vargas and Miguel Rojas have provided next to nothing at the dish. Betts is still starting at second or short on a fairly regular basis as they continue trying to find a solution.

2023 Stats: .274/.342/.460, 117 HR, 505 R, 47 SB, 122 wRC+, 81.9 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Corey Seager (.349/.413/.604, 10 HR, 35 R, 50 RBI)
2. Marcus Semien (.283/.347/.456, 11 HR, 67 R, 56 RBI, 9 SB)
3. Ezequiel Duran (.308/.349/.537, 12 HR, 35 R, 34 RBI, 4 SB)
4. Adolis García (.262/.328/.511, 21 HR, 63 R, 69 RBI, 6 SB)
5. Josh Jung (.272/.324/.486, 17 HR, 58 R, 50 RBI)

Now that we're into the top three, what is staggering about these offenses is how many additional players can make an argument to be in their team's top five.

In Texas' case, Jonah Heim has had an incredible breakout season at catcher, Leody Taveras might mess around and bat .300 with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, Travis Jankowski has an outstanding .426 on-base percentage with 10 stolen bases, and Nathaniel Lowe as a team's ninth-most valuable hitter with nine home runs, a .272 average and a 122 wRC+ is patently absurd.

Every now and again, no one shows up. Texas has been shut out six times and held to just one run on two other occasions. But the Rangers have also scored at least 10 runs 19 times, catching fire at the plate seemingly twice per week.

In particular, what Corey Seager has done this season is nothing short of ridiculous.

The 29-year-old missed five weeks of action with a hamstring injury and is presently about 25 plate appearances shy of qualifying for the batting crown because of it. But if he was a qualified hitter, he would have a 30-point lead for the AL batting crown and would be trailing only Shohei Ohtani for the league lead in slugging.

Meanwhile, Marcus Semien had a 25-game hitting streak, Adolis García has hit 21 home runs, Josh Jung is on track for more than 30 home runs as a rookie and Ezequiel Durán is making a compelling case for one of the best utility seasons of all time.

If Texas is able to keep this lineup healthy into October, godspeed to any team trying to pitch its way through a best-of-seven series against this squad.

2023 Stats: .264/.336/.462, 131 HR, 488 R, 103 SB, 125 wRC+, 107.6 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Randy Arozarena (.287/.398/.488, 16 HR, 53 R, 58 RBI, 9 SB)
2. Yandy Díaz (.318/.403/.511, 12 HR, 55 R, 39 RBI)
3. Wander Franco (.283/.343/.459, 9 HR, 46 R, 42 RBI, 26 SB)
4. Luke Raley (.281/.363/.587, 14 HR, 44 R, 35 RBI, 9 SB)
5. Josh Lowe (.285/.327/.504, 12 HR, 36 R, 48 RBI, 19 SB)

June was a rough month by Tampa Bay's early standards.

The Rays had hit 61 home runs by the end of April and proceeded to rack up 42 home runs and 52 stolen bases in May. Compared to that, getting just 25 of each in June was a disappointment.

However, they still manufactured more than five runs per game and went 17-10 thanks to the sheer volume of productive hitters on the roster.

No Ray is anywhere close to Shohei Ohtani atop the AL leaderboard in home runs, but six Rays have hit at least a dozen round-trippers, and 11 Rays have hit at least seven home runs.

There's quite a bit of speed to go along with all that power, too, as 10 Rays have stolen multiple bases for the squad that leads the majors in swipes.

No team had more than three players with at least 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 2022, but Tampa Bay realistically could have six this year in Wander Franco, Josh Lowe, Taylor Walls, Randy Arozarena, Luke Raley and Jose Siri.

Siri (seven stolen bases) and Walls (seven home runs) both need to pick up the pace a bit, but the other four are well on their way in both categories and each entered play on Tuesday batting at least .280.

And then there's Yandy Díaz, leading all qualified AL hitters in batting average. He hit .296 with a .401 on-base percentage last season, but he has ratcheted up the slugging in a big way en route to being named the AL's starting first baseman for the All-Star Game.

[Franco not even being named a reserve for the All-Star Game was a traveshamockery, as he is one of the top challengers to Ohtani for AL MVP. A lot of his value is derived from his glovework, though, which is why we only have him listed as the third-best Rays hitter.]

2023 Stats: .271/.340/.497, 161 HR, 474 R, 68 SB, 123 wRC+, 92.1 Offense Rating

Top Five Hitters

1. Ronald Acuña Jr. (.335/.413/.599, 21 HR, 77 R, 54 RBI, 40 SB)
2. Matt Olson (.250/.354/.571, 28 HR, 65 R, 68 RBI)
3. Sean Murphy (.294/.389/.557, 14 HR, 37 R, 48 RBI)
4. Ozzie Albies (.260/.313/.505, 20 HR, 44 R, 60 RBI, 6 SB)
5. Michael Harris II (.269/.317/.453, 9 HR, 32 R, 24 RBI, 10 SB)

As far as year-to-date numbers go, Atlanta has better fifth-best options than Michael Harris II. Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley and Eddie Rosario have hit 17, 15 and 14 home runs, respectively, while Orlando Arcia was batting north of .300 when he was named the NL's starting shortstop for the All-Star Game.

However, Harris has been a walking inferno since June 7, batting .416 with a 1.166 OPS during a 24-game stretch in which Atlanta went 21-3.

Got to give the reigning NL Rookie of the Year some props for rallying from what had been a rough first two months of the year.

It's also mandatory to shout out Matt Olson, who merely clubbed 10 home runs in 13 games from June 15-30 to storm somewhat comfortably into the league lead in both dingers and RBI. (In fact, his closest challenger in runs batted in is teammate Ozzie Albies, with a gap of eight.)

But the real story here is, of course, Ronald Acuña Jr., who is running away with NL MVP, both literally and figuratively.

The 25-year-old stole two more bases in Sunday's victory over Miami and his 40th in Monday's win against Cleveland, further extending his already insurmountable lead in the NL in that department. He's also leading the majors in runs scored (by 10), trails only Luis Arraez for the MLB lead in batting average and is behind only Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead in slugging percentage.

If he stays healthy, Acuña is going to become the first player in MLB history with at least 30 home runs and 55 stolen bases in a single season, because he's actually on pace to leave both of those marks in the dust en route to a 40 HR / 77 SB campaign that barely seems possible even in a video game.