MLB Power Rankings as Phillies Catch Fire, Braves Cool Off and Tigers Season Slips Away
With five full weeks of the regular season remaining, a staggering 20 of the league's 30 teams are still within five games of a playoff spot.
That includes 12 of the 15 American League teams, as the AL Central title, AL West title and final wild-card berth are all truly wide open entering the stretch run of the season.
Even the teams that have fallen out of the race are still capable of making noise, as the Kansas City Royals have shown with eight straight wins out of the AL Central cellar.
While everyone is still chasing the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, it does feel like the parity across Major League Baseball is at an all-time high behind that budding dynasty.
In case you missed it, B/R's MLB Power Rankings from last week and every fresh power rankings throughout the season can be found at the new MLB Power Rankings hub.
Nos. 30-23: Is It 2027 Yet?
1 of 10
30. Colorado Rockies (50-80)
29. San Francisco Giants (52-78)
28. Los Angeles Angels (52-79)
27. Athletics (51-80)
26. Washington Nationals (61-71)
25. Cincinnati Reds (62-69)
24. Kansas City Royals (58-74)
23. New York Mets (59-72)
Notes
-The longest winning streak in baseball right now belongs to the Phillies at nine in a row, but the Royals are right behind them as winners of eight straight after sweeping the Athletics and Tigers. Their reward? The club's playoff odds at FanGraphs have climbed from 0.0 to 0.1 percent.
-The Angels and Athletics both took two of three from the Astros in Houston, and with that there are now zero teams in the AL West with a winning record. Shortstop Zach Neto went 14-for-28 with seven extra-base hits in six games for the Angels last week.
-The Mets have baseball's fifth-toughest remaining schedule with one series each against the Brewers, Marlins, Phillies, Rays and Yankees. After picking up a series win over the Padres last week, they could continue to play spoiler throughout September.
Nos. 22-19: Still Alive...Technically
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22. Detroit Tigers (61-69)
21. Pittsburgh Pirates (63-69)
20. Minnesota Twins (63-68)
19. St. Louis Cardinals (66-66)
Notes
-With a 1-5 week, the Tigers tumbled from second to fourth in the AL Central standings, and their longshot playoff hopes were dealt a major blow. Zooming out, they are 2-9 in their last 11 games and could fall to the bottom group as early as next week.
-The Twins (7-13) and Pirates (8-13) have been two of the worst teams in baseball in August, and what were legitimate wild-card aspirations at the beginning of the month have faded into the background.
-The Cardinals have been the definition of middling this season, with a .500 record, a negative-two run differential, a 32-34 record at home and a 34-32 record on the road. They also rank 16th in runs scored and 17th in team ERA.
Nos. 18-15: Facing an Uphill Battle
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18. Seattle Mariners (62-69)
17. Toronto Blue Jays (64-68)
16. Baltimore Orioles (63-68)
15. Houston Astros (65-66)
Notes
-The Mariners have the easiest remaining schedule of any team in baseball based on the combined winning percentage of the opposition, while the Blue Jays are a close second and do not play another game against a team that currently has a winning record.
-Slugger Pete Alonso is hitting .321/.399/.573 with nine home runs and 20 RBI in 34 games since the All-Star break. He officially logged his sixth straight 30-homer season with a long ball on Friday, and he has done exactly what was expected when he inked a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles during the offseason.
-A 16-6 stretch of games helped the Astros build a season-high three-game lead in the AL West standings entering play on Aug. 15, but three straight series losses at home to the Mariners, Angels and Athletics have brought that momentum to a screeching halt.
Nos. 14-11: The Fringe Contenders
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14. Miami Marlins (67-64)
13. Cleveland Guardians (65-66)
12. Texas Rangers (65-66)
11. Chicago White Sox (68-62)
Notes
-The Marlins continue to hang around in the wild-card picture thanks to a stellar 41-25 record at home this season, and they padded those numbers with a three-game sweep of the Nationals last week. The flip side of that is a 26-39 mark on the road, and those struggles were perfectly illustrated when they were swept by the Phillies prior to that Nationals series.
-The Guardians (2-1 vs. SF, 3-0 @ COL) and Rangers (2-1 vs. WAS, 2-1 vs. LAA) were the biggest risers in this week's rankings, with both jumping up from the "Facing an Uphill Battle" tier. The two clubs are currently tied for the third AL wild-card spot, while the Rangers also share the AL West lead with the Astros.
-The White Sox entered last week with a season-high 5.5-game lead in the AL Central race, but a 3-4 week that included a series loss to the crosstown rival Cubs has narrowed that advantage to 3.5 games. Rising star Miguel Vargas had eight hits and 10 walks in seven games.
Nos. 10-9
5 of 10
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (69-62)
Previous Rank: No. 9
Last Week: 1-2 @ BOS, 2-1 vs. CIN
Arizona has remained in the wild-card hunt amid an off-field development involving Ketel Marte. Beyond Corbin Carroll and Nolan Arenado, the D-backs may not have much name recognition among casual fans, but they are very much alive in the playoff race.
9. San Diego Padres (71-60)
Previous Rank: No. 7
Last Week: 1-2 @ NYM, 3-0 vs. MIN
The Padres suffered their first series loss since July 23 when they dropped two of three to the Mets last week, but they quickly rallied to sweep the Twins over the weekend. A red-hot Fernando Tatis Jr. went 12-for-25 with four home runs and 11 RBI last week, and he is now up to 17 long balls after not hitting his first of the year until May 30.
Nos. 8-7
6 of 10
8. Atlanta Braves (76-55)
Previous Rank: No. 5
Last Week: 0-3 @ MIN, 1-0 @ CWS, 1-2 @ MIL
The Braves have lost four of their last five series, going 6-11 during that stretch, and what was once a commanding 8.5-game lead in the NL East is now a mere three-game edge over the streaking Phillies. Things don't get any easier this week as they welcome the Dodgers to town on Tuesday.
7. Boston Red Sox (71-59)
Previous Rank: No. 10
Last Week: 2-1 vs. ARI, 3-0 vs. SF
After the Rays and Yankees, the Red Sox have the best odds to make the postseason of any AL team by a wide margin, despite currently sitting in the No. 2 wild-card spot. Deadline pickup Erik Miller has not allowed an earned run in 8.1 innings since joining the Red Sox, logging a 14-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio while emerging as the primary bridge to Aroldis Chapman.
Nos. 6-5
7 of 10
6. Tampa Bay Rays (77-53)
Previous Rank: No. 4
Last Week: 1-0 vs. BAL, 1-2 vs. TOR, 1-2 @ BAL
Despite some bumps along the way, the Rays have been atop the AL East standings since June 28, though a pair of series losses last week has the Yankees nipping at their heels just three games back. With five more home runs, Junior Caminero will become the first player in franchise history with multiple 40-homer campaigns.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (73-58)
Previous Rank: No. 8
Last Week: 3-0 vs. MIA, 3-0 vs. STL
The Phillies have outscored the opposition by 34 runs during their current nine-game winning streak, and they rank second in the majors with 122 runs scored over 21 games in August. A nine-game, West Coast road trip against the Mariners, Angels and Diamondbacks will put their momentum to the test, though they are a terrific 35-28 away from Citizens Bank Park this year.
Nos. 4-3
8 of 10
4. Chicago Cubs (75-56)
Previous Rank: No. 2
Last Week: 2-1 vs. CWS, 1-2 @ SEA
Another week, another impressive stat line from Pete Crow-Armstrong. The NL MVP candidate went 9-for-24 with five home runs, including a leadoff and walk-off blast in the same game on Monday when he also secured a second straight 30/30 season. The North Siders are now the highest-scoring team in baseball with 684 runs in 131 games.
3. New York Yankees (74-56)
Previous Rank: No. 6
Last Week: 3-0 @ BAL, 2-1 vs. TOR
The Yankees welcomed back Cody Bellinger on Sunday after he missed 25 games with a hamstring injury, and an MLB-best 2.75 ERA in August has helped prop up an offense that was without him and Aaron Judge. The rival Red Sox await for a huge three-game series at Yankee Stadium this weekend.
Nos. 2-1
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2. Los Angeles Dodgers (80-51)
Previous Rank: No. 3
Last Week: 3-0 @ COL, 3-0 vs. PIT
Blake Snell threw a gem on Sunday (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER), Tyler Glasnow is set to be activated from the injured list on Tuesday for his first start since May 6 and the Dodgers have won six in a row. They have seemingly weathered the storm of a seven-game losing streak earlier this month and come out the other side geared up for another deep October run.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (81-50)
Previous Rank: No. 1
Last Week: 2-1 vs. SEA, 2-1 vs. ATL
There was no letdown from the Brewers following their series win over the Dodgers, as they plated a season-high 22 runs against the Mariners last Tuesday and ultimately walked away with two more series wins. With six shutout innings on Friday, NL Cy Young front-runner Jacob Misiorowski now has a 1.68 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 145 innings, and he has allowed just 77 hits for a .152 opponents' batting average.
Complete Rankings
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Complete Rankings
1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. New York Yankees
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Philadelphia Phillies
6. Tampa Bay Rays
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Atlanta Braves
9. San Diego Padres
10. Arizona Diamondbacks
11. Chicago White Sox
12. Texas Rangers
13. Cleveland Guardians
14. Miami Marlins
15. Houston Astros
16. Baltimore Orioles
17. Toronto Blue Jays
18. Seattle Mariners
19. St. Louis Cardinals
20. Minnesota Twins
21. Pittsburgh Pirates
22. Detroit Tigers
23. New York Mets
24. Kansas City Royals
25. Cincinnati Reds
26. Washington Nationals
27. Athletics
28. Los Angeles Angels
29. San Francisco Giants
30. Colorado Rockies
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