MLB Power Rankings: Phillies, Red Sox or Yankees? Who Sits Atop the Heap?

With a little more than a month left in the 2011 regular season, three teams have pulled ahead of the pack as potential World Series favorites: the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.

Although it comes as no surprise that these three teams also have the top three payrolls in MLB, an NL East vs. AL East World Series could prove to be one of the greatest best-of-seven game series of all time. Matchups such as C.C. Sabathia against Roy Halladay, or even Jon Lester against Cliff Lee, would make the Fall Classic one of the best in history.

But first, the three high-spending teams must make it through the regular season. That being said, here is a brief recap of the three teams' seasons, as well as a numerical ranking, based on their performance so far in 2011.

3) New York Yankees

The New York Yankees (72-46) currently sit a half-game out of first place in the AL East, and have a comfortable 8.5 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the league's Wild Card. The team has had a magical season so far, the highlight of which was Derek Jeter's 3,000 career hit last month.

Strong pitching performances from former stars Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia have kept the team in contention, even despite losing Alex Rodriguez to injury. Outfielder Curtis Granderson is having a career year power-wise and is one of the front-runners for AL Most Valuable Player, while Robinson Cano has stayed hot all season.

However, good pitching wins games in the postseason, and the Yankees have several question marks surrounding their pitchers, especially their starters. What can they expect from A.J. Burnett? Can both Colon and Garcia stay healthy and continue to be effective as their inning-count rises? Can closer Mariano Rivera rebound after a rough couple of outings this month?

These questions place the Yankees third on this list, even with A-Rod due back any day now and the veteran leadership of this dominant, but aging, team.

2) Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox (73-46) have had their fair share of ups and downs this season. After acquiring former All-Stars Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez during the offseason, they lost their first six games of the season. But now, the team appears to be on a role, as Crawford has rebounded from a horrid start and both Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury have made strong cases for AL Most Valuable Player. Even John Lackey, who has been a thorn in the Red Sox side since they signed him before the 2010 season, has heated up, winning six of his last seven starts.

Although the Red Sox starting five are stronger than those of their division rivals, they cannot best the Phillies' aces in a best-of-seven series. In fact, during the Sox's three-game interleague series with the Phillies in June, both Lackey and Josh Beckett were defeated. During Beckett's start, Phillies starter Cliff Lee even took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before giving up a single to Marco Scutaro.

The Red Sox are good, but they'll need to catch fire, just as the San Francisco Giants did last year, to beat the Phillies this postseason.

1) Philadelphia Phillies

When the Philadelphia Phillies (78-41) scooped in and signed then-free agent Cliff Lee when it looked as though the New York Yankees were going to get him, they immediately became favorites to reach the World Series. Even with the added pressure to perform, they haven't disappointed yet. Reigning Cy Young Award Winner Roy Halladay has been dominant in almost every start, and the team's other four starters have been unhittable at times. Even Vance Worley, a relative no-namer thrust into the team's starting rotation this year, has been dominant. As of August 13, Worley is 8-1 with a sub-3.00 ERA.

The only knock on the Phillies this year is, like the Yankees, they are showing signs of old age. Jimmy Rollins has been hit-or-miss at times this year and Ryan Howard still swings and misses a lot. The team was struggling offensively until acquiring Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros right at the July 31 trade deadline, but now the Phillies seemed to have turned a corner and rediscovered their swings at the right time.

If the Phillies' bats can stay hot and they can give their starters two or three runs to work with during the postseason, I don't think that there is anyone who can catch them. Whoever finds themselves matched up with the Phillies in the postseason will have to beat Halladay and Lee twice, in likely consecutive starts, to advance, and I just don't see that happening, not unless they're riding a major, record-breaking hot streak at least.