The roller coaster ride of the 162 game MLB schedule can be a brutal task for any team around the Majors to accomplish, including the top teams in both the American League and National League. The same can be said for the 2021 MLB schedule where some teams start fast while others struggle but by the hunt for October in 2021, a rebound and/or hot streak could flip the script for any team around Major League Baseball. 

Currently as MLB play begins in September the quest to crown the top team has arrived. Through the first five months of the 2021 MLB season we have seen the San Francisco Giants jump into a hot start and continue to strive while teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have gotten red hot over July and August to entrench themselves into the playoff picture.

Now the debate can be made about who is the best team in all of Major League Baseball and what ten teams deserve to be on the Top 10 MLB Teams in 2021 list.

With that said, here is our list of the Top 10 MLB Teams in 2021.

Top 10 MLB Teams

10. San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres enter the first few days of September sitting at 71-63 on the season while positioning the team in third place in the NL West and holding one of the two NL wild card spots.

The team is led by a powerful talented offensive lineup and a strong pitching staff that has helped them to compete in the NL.

At the top of the list is All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis who is hitting .282 this season with 36 home runs and 81 runs batted in. In addition the team has Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth and Will Myers to anchor the lineup.

Meanwhile Joe Musgrave is as strong as any starter in MLB posting a 2.85 earned run average and 169 strikeouts over 148.1 innings of work. 

9. Boston Red Sox

After dominating the AL East to begin the season the Boston Red Sox slowly fell from atop and now see themselves in third place within the division after the recent success of the New York Yankees.

Despite the recent play that has seen the Red Sox still has one of the more talented teams in all of baseball. The Red Sox offense has been paced by Rafael Devers, Hunter Renfroe and J.D. Martinez.

The three have led the Red Sox to the third highest batting average (.259), fifth in runs batted in (643) and second in runs batted in 1,188. In addition to their lineup the team has recently had former AL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale to their rotation while holding one of the stronger bullpens in all of baseball. 

8. Atlanta Braves

One team that has been on that roller coaster of a ride is the Atlanta Braves who struggled at times this season before electing to go all in with multiple trade acquisitions before the 2021 MLB trade deadline.

Since the start of August, the Braves have posted one of the hottest records in all of baseball in August winning 18 of 26 games while positioning the team atop the NL East despite losing Ronald Acuna for the remainder of the 2021 MLB season.

The Braves offense has produced the third most home runs in all of baseball (195) led by Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley who both have 28 home runs on the season.

On the mound, Charlie Morton, Drew Smyly and Max Fried have anchored a strong starting rotation. The three have combined to go 32-16 on the season helping the Braves to compete. 

7. New York Yankees

Possibly one of the hottest teams over the past month is the New York Yankees who have positioned themselves into the playoff picture atop the wild card position in the American League.

A stretch that saw the team win 13 straight games including a three game sweep over the Boston Red Sox and a two game sweep over the Braves. Leading that charge has the recent surge of Gerrit Cole who has gone 3-0 over his last three starts and just one earned run over 19 innings of work.

In addition to Cole, the Yankees have had strong play from the bullpen including the play of Jonathan Loaisiga. At the plate the team continues to get strong play from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as well as both Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo who the team has acquired before the trade deadline.

6. Chicago White Sox 

After electing to hire Tony Larussa to head the Chicago White Sox as the manager many questioned the decision of the White Sox front office.

However after the first five months, those doubters have proven to be wrong as the White Sox sit with the best record in the American League Central with a 78-56 record to start the season.

The White Sox are one of the most well rounded teams in all of baseball. At the plate the White Sox are led by Jose Abreu who is hitting .263 with 28 home runs and 102 runs batted in while Dylan Cease, Carlos Rodon and Lance Lynn have combined to go 32-14 on the season. 

5. Milwaukee Brewers

One team that might have little to zero flaws in their lineup as well as on the mound is the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers rank third in team earned run average (3.35), first in strikeouts (1,352) while their offense when healthy has some of the game’s top hitters.

At the front of their success is Corbin Burnes who has pitched to a 9-4 record on the year with a 2.27 earned run average while other starters Brent Suter, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta have helped position the Brewers for a playoff run.

At the plate Avisail Garcia has hit a team high 24 home runs to go along with 77 runs batted in. Despite their struggles and injuries of stars such as Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, the Brewers continue to take a stranglehold of the NL Central. 

4. Houston Astros

The former World Series Champions, the Houston Astros have played themselves into the playoff picture and a contender to compete for a trip to the World Series. The Astros are led by a very strong lineup that includes future free agent Carlos Correa as well as Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez.

Their success has come without a key member of their team for most of the season in Alex Bregman who has just returned from an injury. The Astros rank 1st in all of baseball in team batting average .267 and first in runs batted in (672).

Meanwhile their pitching has the fifth lowest earned run average in all of baseball with a 3.66 over the season. That success includes watching Zack Greinke, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers lead the team with a 31-15 record.

3. San Francisco Giants

A solid team on paper but possibly the biggest surprise of the season has been the San Francisco Giants who came out red hot and took the NL West by storm. While the team was to compete in the NL, not many experts saw the team being as dominant as they have this season.

The team is well balanced leading all of baseball with 201 home runs while sitting second in team earned run average at 3.29 on the year. On the year the team has 10 different players with at least 10 home runs and 11 different players with at least an on base percentage of .300 or above.

At the front of their success Brandon Crawford has batted .286 with 19 home runs and 74 runs batted in while Mike Yastrzemski leads the team in home runs with 21. 

2. Tampa Bay Rays

Coming in at number two is the top team in the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays who have picked up 84 wins over their first 134 games this season while posting the best record in the American League.

That success has shown up of late as they rank third in all of baseball in run differential (+166) while posting an impressive 43-25 record at home. At the front of their success Brandon Lowe has turned into a team leader and one of the best second baseman in all of baseball hitting 31 home runs over his first 126 games this season.

The team ranks fifth in doubles (240), seven in home runs (180) and first in runs scored (672) at the plate while ranking sixth in earned run average (3.67) and fourth in team WHIP (1.18). 

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

Coming in as the top team in all of baseball is the Los Angeles Dodgers who have been the best team on both sides of the diamond after struggling to start the 2021 MLB season.

Since starting the second half of the season, the Dodgers have won 28 games and have been one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. The Dodgers offense ranks fourth in home runs (188), third in runs batted in (654) and fourth in team on base percentage (.330). With their success at the plate they are loaded with talent that includes Max Muncy who leads the team in home runs (30) and runs batted in (78).

In addition the team has a talented cast that includes Will Smith, Justin Turner, Albert Pujols, Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts. On the mound the Dodgers added to their staff by adding former Cy Young winner Max Scherzer who will pair with Walker Buehler to form possibly the best 1-2 punch in all of baseball.

Buehler is 13-2 on the year with a 2.05 earned run average. In addition to those two arms, the team has young star Julio Urias who has gone 15-3 on the year with a 3.17 earned run average. On paper the Dodgers are as good as any team in all of baseball.

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Related Links: 

• Top 10 Left Fielders
• Top 10 Right Fielders
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• Top 10 Shortstops
• Top 10 First Basemen
• Top 10 Second Basemen
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