MLB Power Rankings: Teams Trending in the Right Direction in September
There's nothing quite like September baseball, when it involves teams contending for a spot to play in the MLB postseason.
Some teams are slowly separating themselves from the pack, while others look to find themselves in a dogfight from here on out.
When taking a look at how your favorite team stacks up in this particular power ranking, there are a few things to keep in mind. Rankings will be based on the overall records of each team and how well or poorly they've been playing as of late, starting with the worst and moving to the best.
Some subjectivity will come into play as far as the order is concerned, but the main focus of decision-making is heavily weighted on a team's overall record because of where we currently stand in the regular season. For example, though the St. Louis Cardinals have lost their last three games, they still have the best record in baseball.
As far as records are concerned, the rankings are updated as of late Saturday night. The descriptions for each team won't be too long, but will include overall records, how many games back each team is in the division and/or wild card and a brief blurb on how they're doing. Though the list is slated to fluctuate slightly in the upcoming weeks, let's take a look at where things currently stand.
30. Philadelphia Phillies
1 of 30
Record: 55-88 (26.5 GB in the NL East)
It almost feels like Philadelphia Phillies fans have had just two games to smile about this entire season. That would be Opening Day and Cole Hamels' no-hitter (before promptly getting traded to the Texas Rangers). There's not much to smile about when you're having your worst season in 43 years.
September call-ups haven't helped much either, as the fightin' Phils have managed a 2-8 record in their last 10 games. However, if there was any dim light shining at the end of the very long tunnel of 2015, it comes in the form of a complete management fire sale.
The Phillies announced on Thursday that the club fired general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. The move follows the resignation of manager Ryne Sandberg earlier this year and Andy MacPhail being named a replacement for president Pat Gillick after the season.
29. Atlanta Braves
2 of 30
Record: 56-87 (25.5 GB in the NL East)
The Atlanta Braves have lost 23 of their last 26 games. Twenty-three of 26. Perhaps no one has told the Braves brass, but tanking is only a good strategy in the NBA.
There's been some fine play by a handful of younger prospects of late, but this is just one of those seasons that needed to be over three months ago.
28. Colorado Rockies
3 of 30
Record: 59-83 (22.5 GB in the NL West)
The Colorado Rockies have a stadium that's fun to hit in but they don't often have the pitching rotation to put a stop to that.
Speaking of hitting, Nolan Arenado set a franchise record by recently hitting a home run in six straight games. Oh, and Carlos Gonzalez has one less home run than his teammate with 36. It's a shame they both can't pitch, too.
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27. Cincinnati Reds
4 of 30
Record: 60-81 (27.5 GB in the NL Central)
It seems like the only highlight of this year for the Cincinnati Reds was hosting the 2015 All-Star Game.
Since that game, however, Joey Votto has been on a tear (aside from his recent two-game suspension). In 52 games since, he's hitting .392 and slugging .705 with a .568 on-base percentage. Yikes.
Unfortunately, other than Votto and the occasional Aroldis Chapman 100 mph fastball, there hasn't been much to cheer about.
26. Miami Marlins
5 of 30
Record: 61-81 (20 GB in the NL East)
There might be more fans at your local high school football games on Friday nights than there are at Miami Marlins games. Good thing that new stadium was built.
That's a shame on one hand, because fans should at least pack the park to watch Jose Fernandez pitch. He's still yet to lose at Marlins Park. But unfortunately for the Marlins, all the air of the season seemed to have been sucked from the season when Giancarlo Stanton went down with injury.
But, hey, Miami has won eight of its last 10. That's something.
25. Oakland Athletics
6 of 30
Record: 61-81 (15 GB in the AL West)
Josh Donaldson is on his way to winning an AL MVP, but isn't doing it in an Oakland Athletics uniform. The A's have dropped seven of their last 10 and just haven't had very exciting moments this season.
Oakland extended Bob Melvin's contract until 2018 and has had some good-looking prospects playing of late. Other than that it's been a forgettable year.
24. Milwaukee Brewers
7 of 30
Record: 62-80 (26 GB in the NL Central)
With Saturday's loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Milwaukee Brewers managed their third straight season with at least 80 losses. It was also their fifth loss in seven games.
It's not going to be an easy end to the Brewers season either. They've still got 14 more games this month against other division teams, three of which have 80-plus wins.
23. Detroit Tigers
8 of 30
Record: 64-76 (19.5 GB in the AL Central)
The Detroit Tigers entered the season as a proposed playoff contender but are leaving it in shambles.
George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reported that manager Brad Ausmus will most likely be fired at season's end. That's coming after Ausmus' rookie campaign that saw the Tigers win the division and sweep the Baltimore Orioles in the playoffs.
After trading David Price and Yoenis Cespedes, losing Miguel Cabrera for a good chunk of the season to injury and losing general manager Dave Dombrowski, there won't be many bright spots to focus on. The only way to go is up.
22. Chicago White Sox
9 of 30
Record: 67-73 (6.5 GB in the AL Wild Card)
The White Sox just haven't been able to find any consistency this season and are headed to their third straight losing season with Robin Ventura at the helm.
Starting pitcher Chris Sale has been one of the bright spots for the squad and has been consistent, at least as far as strikeouts are concerned. The southpaw has a career-high 247 Ks and is 22 shy of the franchise record.
21. San Diego Padres
10 of 30
Record: 67-76 (15 GB in the NL West)
After a slew of moves made before the season even started, the San Diego Padres looked like they were poised for a playoff run. Except none of those expectations ever came to light.
Instead, it's been a year of disappointment and lack of moves when those moves might have been a good idea. Losing three straight and seven of 10 hasn't been kind on the eyes, either.
20. Boston Red Sox
11 of 30
Record: 67-74 (7 GB in the AL Wild Card)
The Boston Red Sox entered this season with a lineup stacked with proven power and some young talent. Unfortunately, having a starting rotation littered with average talent came back to bite them.
Just when it looked like Boston would be turning things around, the Sox would go on a losing skid and were never able to take advantage of those opportunities. On the plus side, David Ortiz gave Boston fans something to cheer about on Saturday night with the 499th and 500th home runs of his career.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks
12 of 30
Record: 68-74 (13.5 GB in the NL West)
The Arizona Diamondbacks are out of it, but you wouldn't know it based on the number of fans that pack the ballpark for home games.
Maybe it's to watch Paul Goldschmidt, whose talent sometimes gets lost in the fact that Arizona has been on the lower end of the NL West for the past couple of years.
18. Seattle Mariners
13 of 30
Record: 69-74 (6 GB in the AL Wild Card)
The Seattle Mariners were another one of those sleeper teams who critics pegged to at least make the playoffs and possibly contend for a World Series.
Yet here we are. Seattle was never able to get hot for long stretches. The pitching was inconsistent at times and not enough names in the lineup were able to produce all at once.
However, the Mariners are hot of late and have put together seven wins in their last 10 games. It most likely will be too little, too late, but they've showed that the potential is there.
17. Tampa Bay Rays
14 of 30
Record: 69-72 (5 GB in the AL Wild Card)
There's been times the Tampa Bay Rays hitting and pitching have both looked solid this season. However, there's also been times that one, or both, have disappeared.
There's definitely some young talent on the Rays squad, but the team is usually unable to make a run when it counts late in the season.
16. Baltimore Orioles
15 of 30
Record: 68-73 (6 GB in the AL Wild Card)
The Baltimore Orioles have proven that they're not a team to be taken lightly in the AL East. But some shaky pitching and some untimely injuries put the O's in a hole that they just couldn't dig out of.
If Baltimore can stay healthy and figure out its pitching situation, we could be looking at an AL East with a comparable competition to this year's NL Central.
15. Washington Nationals
16 of 30
Record: 71-70 (9.5 GB in the NL East)
The Washington Nationals entered yet another season with praise from critics that this would be the year to turn things around. Unfortunately for Nats fans, there hasn't been much to cheer for since the All-Star break.
Washington hasn't seemed to show up on the big stage in the second half of the season. Whether that can be blamed on injuries, poor pitching or manager Matt Williams is up for discussion, but it certainly has been another disappointing year. Expect some changes this offseason.
14. San Francisco Giants
17 of 30
Record 74-68 (7.5 GB in the NL West)
It's a shame that a team with the record of the San Francisco Giants isn't further down this list, but such is the story of this year's National League.
The Giants have unfortunately been riddled with injuries this season and have had trouble finding consistency at the mound. San Francisco has been unable to get hot when it needed to and lost far too many games against beatable opponents. For a team that entered the season as the World Series champs, there's just too many games to make up in too short of time.
13. Cleveland Indians
18 of 30
Record: 69-70 (4 GB in the AL Wild Card)
Though the movie Major League wasn't based on a true story, the Cleveland Indians are hopeful that they can find a similar magic for this year's pennant race.
The Indians have won 11 of their last 15 and seem to be getting hot at just the right time. On top of that, reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is working his way back. He hasn't pitched since Aug. 29.
12. Minnesota Twins
19 of 30
Record: 73-68 (1 GB in the AL Wild Card)
The Minnesota Twins have managed to discover the perfect blend of young talent and veteran leadership this season. It's led to a team that finds a wild-card spot in its sights.
Can the hitting get hot? Can the pitching provide quality? If those answers are yes, the Twins might be a scary team to face in a short series, especially at their home ballpark.
11. Los Angeles Angels
20 of 30
Record: 72-69 (2 GB in the AL Wild Card)
When Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout hit a slump during the dog days of the season, so too did his team. Now that Trout appears to be back on track, so too do the Angels.
It's a great time to start playing great baseball, and taking seven of their last 10 games has pulled the Angels to within two games of a wild-card spot and 3.5 games from first place in the AL West. The division isn't out of the question either, as Los Angeles plays the Houston Astros four more times this month.
10. Texas Rangers
21 of 30
Record: 74-67 (1-game lead for 2nd AL wild-card spot)
The Texas Rangers just need to hold on. Texas holds a one-game lead for the second wild-card spot in the AL and might be able to move up to the first spot if the New York Yankees continue to struggle.
The Rangers pitching, which has struggled for most of the season as far as team ERA is concerned, has slowly made some improvement. If the lineup can continue to remain consistent and the pitching can settle down, Texas could be on its way to the postseason.
9. New York Yankees
22 of 30
Record: 77-64 (3-game lead in AL Wild Card)
The New York Yankees are playing their worst baseball of the season at one of the worst times.
The Yanks have lost five straight games, including three straight to the Toronto Blue Jays, who extended their lead in the AL East to 4.5 games. Riddled with injuries, poor starting pitching, a short bullpen and a lineup that can sometimes lull you to sleep, New York is in trouble of missing the playoffs altogether.
8. Houston Astros
23 of 30
Record: 76-66 (1.5-game lead in the AL West)
Much like the Yankees, the Houston Astros picked a terrible time to hit a slump.
Houston has lost seven of its last 10 and is clinging to a 1.5-game lead in the AL West. A big problem for the Astros this season has been playing on the road. The team is just 28-42 away from home. It will be interesting to see if some of Houston's younger stars can handle the pressure of the rest of the season.
7. Kansas City Royals
24 of 30
Record: 84-57 (11-game lead in the AL Central)
A huge lead in the division for the Kansas City Royals might have caused the team to take things a little easy, which resulted in some poor play.
However, rest assured that the Royals will be ready to go when the postseason comes. Kansas City got back on track with a win on Saturday night after allowing two grand slams in one inning(!) the night before. If the pitching can work through this slump, things will be fine.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
25 of 30
Record: 81-60 (7.5-game lead in the AL West)
There's been times when the Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled this season. At this point, that seems like forever ago.
The Dodgers have won seven of their last 10 games, led by the dominant arms of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke and some powerful bats. If the bullpen can start working out its kinks in the remaining games, LA will be another feared team in the postseason.
5. St. Louis Cardinals
26 of 30
Record: 88-54 (2.5-game lead in the NL Central)
The St. Louis Cardinals are in this spot because they have the best record in baseball and not because they've managed to go 2-8 in their last 10 games.
There's still no reason to panic, but a pitching staff that had the best ERA in baseball contributed to four losses of six runs or more in a week's time. Ouch. On the plus side, the team is beginning to get healthy again. And, hey, better to get the losses out of the system now.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
27 of 30
Record: 85-56 (2.5 GB in the NL Central)
The Pittsburgh Pirates have played some great baseball this season and now have to find a way to bring everything together at the right time.
The only reason why the Buccos are ahead of the Cubs in this list is that they are ahead of the Cubs in the Wild Card. It's going to be quite the battle to see what team ends up being the home squad in a potential one-game playoff.
3. Chicago Cubs
28 of 30
Record: 82-59 (8.5-game lead in the NL Wild Card)
The Chicago Cubs are another team getting hot at the right time, winning seven of their last 10 games. Don't think they're not still trying to win the NL Central either.
Chicago trails the St. Louis Cardinals by 5.5 games and trails the Pittsburgh Pirates by three games for the first wild-card spot. The Cubs will play the Pirates seven more times this month and also play the Cards for a three-game set. Things are about to get a lot more fun in the National League.
2. New York Mets
29 of 30
Record: 81-61 (9.5-game lead in the NL East)
The New York Mets are the hottest team in baseball? Close, but the Mets will take that. New York has won eight of its last 10 games and has managed to separate itself from the Washington Nationals in the NL East by 9.5 games.
The Mets hit 77 home runs in their first 97 games, but have hit that same number in their last 45. Clutch hitting is coming in droves and the pitching has continued to be great, even in the bullpen. If New York can manage to remain consistent on the mound, it's going to be a fun postseason.
1. Toronto Blue Jays
30 of 30
Record: 82-60 (4.5-game lead in the AL East)
What can you say about the Toronto Blue Jays? Since the trade deadline, they've been playing like a real-life video game without the 10-year-old kid at the controls.
Toronto is poised to sweep the New York Yankees on Sunday and increase its lead in the AL East to 5.5 games. Even if they lose, the Jays managed to club the Yankees pitching staff for 30 runs in three games, showing everyone why they're the highest scoring team in the majors.
The only thing that seemingly can stop this team is a major injury, which unfortunately happened on Saturday. Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reported that Troy Tulowitzki suffered a crack in his shoulder blade and is out day-to-day. If the Jays manage to avoid further trouble with injury and don't hit a severe cold streak, Toronto should finally find itself back in the postseason.
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