Where the Cleveland Guardians rank in early 2026 MLB power rankings

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the World Series, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games. Now all the attention turns to free agency and the Winter Meetings. Before all of that, we in the media love to rank teams for next year based on this year and winter predictions.

ESPN released their ‘Way-too-early 2026 Power Rankings’ and, guess what? The Guardians are not in the top ten. In fact, they are not even in the top 15. The worldwide leader has the Guardians ranked at number 16. That seems a few notches too low.  Now this is a team that just won the AL Central and is seemingly a perennial playoff team. 

They have a great pitching staff, led by the likes of Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams. Their bullpen was one of the best in baseball, even after the scandal involving Cy Young candidate Emmanuel Clase. Sure, the offense was not great, but some young bats are likely to see action next season.

Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter are two names to keep your eyes on. Bazzana had a solid 2025 in the minors, hitting to a .813 OPS. He had just nine home runs and 39 RBI in 302 at-bats, but the potential for the 23-year-old is sky high, hence why he was drafted number one overall.

DeLauter had a slightly down 2025, but he still had an OPS of .852 with seven home runs but an average of .264. In his minor league career, DeLauter has a .302 average and an .888 OPS.

You also have two studs in Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan. Ramirez is on his way to yet another Silver Slugger award and was a Gold Glove finalist. Kwan just won his fourth Gold Glove in his fourth year. Not to mention, Kwan is one of the best contact hitters in the entire league.

ESPN made sure to highlight the abysmal offensive numbers the Guardians had in their blurb explaining their No. 16 ranking. They also note that you cannot trust the front office to go out in free agency or the trade market and bring in an extra big bat to add to this lineup. That is a valid point, as the team has a history of not spending for the bats that can make the difference come the playoffs. 

But what if they do sign one, two, or even three of the free agents listed in various reports? If they sign someone like Bellinger or bring back Josh Naylor, and add to their rotation with someone like a Shane Bieber reunion, there is no reason the Guardians cannot be a top ten team in all of baseball in 2026.