Five MLB teams who can take down the Dodgers, Braves in 2024 - ESPN

Entering the 2024 MLB season, two superteams have stood out from the crowd. In fact, the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers were in a tier of their own at the top of our initial MLB Power Rankings and arethe clear projected favorites to win it all when the postseason rolls around. But that doesn't mean the rest of the league is going to lie down and watch the Dodgers and Braves battle it out for supremacy this season.

We asked five of our ESPN MLB experts to each pick one team they think is best suited to take down the Dodgers and Braves in October, when it counts the most. While none of our experts necessarily expects this team to be better than L.A. and Atlanta for the 162-game long haul, they all made their strongest cases why their selection could be the team to knock L.A. and Atlanta out of the postseason. Just how strong were their cases? We left that for our resident judge — the honorable Jeff Passan — to decide with his ruling for each case.

The case for the Rangers: I already hear Judge Jeff: «No team has gone back-to-back since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000. It's impossible.» That just means we're due for a repeat champion — and this lineup can carry the Rangers to another title. You know this is true, Judge. After all, you wrote the story in spring training heralding the coming of Wyatt Langford. The Rangers are adding him plus a full season of Evan Carter to a lineup that already led the American League in runs scored a year ago. Yes, Josh Jung's broken wrist stinks, but that means the Rangers will have only eight good hitters instead of nine while he's out.

I'm less worried about Texas' pitching than most. Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Dane Dunning are good enough to keep the rotation