The backlash to CBS Sports handing out so many failing grades across the American League was immediate, and the reaction may have proved the article’s bigger point. The AL is stuck in a strange middle where underachieving contenders are still alive because almost nobody has separated from the pack.
That is why fans pushed back at teams like the Mariners getting an F after two months. Seattle entered May 27 at 27-29, a half-game out of first in the AL West despite sitting below .500, and is the only team in the division with a positive run differential.
CBS was not grading on current position alone. The framework was built around expectations, which is where the league-wide frustration takes shape.
The Mariners’ case explains the whole debate
Seattle became the lightning rod because the numbers support both sides. The Mariners are hovering near first in a division where every team is below .500, and their positive run differential suggests they have played better than their record, with a tiny gap between them and the Athletics at the top.
This was also supposed to be a legitimate contender. Seattle reached Game 7 of the ALCS last season and entered 2026 expecting to win the division comfortably. Instead, the offense has stalled for long stretches, the rotation has not dominated as expected, and the club has drifted for two months in a weak division. That tension is the grading argument in one team: current playoff positioning versus whether a roster is living up to what it was built to be.
The AL’s biggest brands have left it wide open
Plenty of expected contenders have failed to create separation. The Tigers are 21-34 and last in the AL Central after entering the year with major expectations. The Orioles are 25-30 with one of the worst run differentials in the league despite adding veteran talent. The Royals are 22-33 after many analysts picked them to contend.
Even the Blue Jays, hit by major rotation and lineup injuries, sit under .500 after an aggressive offseason. A few of these clubs would normally be buried by Memorial Day, and the league-wide weakness has kept almost everybody hanging around the wild-card race.
The AL West is baseball’s strangest division
The Athletics lead the division below .500. Seattle sits right behind with a losing record. Texas and Houston have both underperformed enough that nobody has created distance. It has become a survival contest where nobody has collapsed, and nobody has looked dominant.
That split is why fan reaction to the grades has divided. Some look at the standings and see a live playoff race. Others look at preseason expectations and see organizations wasting chances in one of the weakest AL environments in years.
The surprise teams sharpen the contrast
A handful of teams are doing the opposite. The Rays own the best record in the AL at 34-18 despite modest expectations. The Guardians lead the AL Central again with a roster many viewed as limited offensively. The White Sox have clawed back to .500 after years near the bottom of the sport. Even the Athletics have stayed competitive after entering the season as one of the least respected teams in the league.
Those clubs are outperforming projections and exposing how many better-funded or more talented rosters have failed to take control.
Harsh grades, hard-to-deny point
Fans can argue over whether Seattle deserves an F instead of a C, or whether Baltimore should be graded differently given injuries and roster instability. Those debates are fair.
The larger conclusion holds up. Too many AL contenders have spent two months playing mediocre baseball while waiting for someone else to collapse first. The standings stay crowded, the frustration runs louder than usual, and the league is wide open with plenty of teams built to seize it falling short.
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