MLB Power Rankings
We are quickly approaching the “dog days” of summer, and health will play a huge factor in this team’s success. We have already seen teams drop in not just these rankings, but in the MLB standings due to injuries and I fear it will only get worse. We have seen a steady increase in injuries year over year and the issue only seems to be getting worse. Now, I’m not a doctor and don’t play one on television, but there must be an explanation. The issue is, that no one seems to have one.
Whether or not your team has struggled with injuries, this season has been brutal on just about everyone at some point or another. But then again, that’s why baseball is so fun. It’s the only game where you have to give your opponent a chance to beat you. You can’t “milk the clock” or “park the bus”. You have to grease a ball in the strike zone and hope that your stuff is better than theirs. Some teams have been better at this than others and it’s reflected in this week’s power rankings.
Biggest Riser: Washington Nationals (+9), Biggest Faller: Detroit Tigers (-10)
1. New York Yankees – In the words of the Harbaugh family, “Who has it better than us? Nobody.” The Yankees are cruising. They may be ranked 19th and 15th in AVG and OPS, respectively, over the last 2 weeks, but they are finding ways to win. That’s all that matters.
2. Philadelphia Phillies – Currently tied for the second-best record in Major League Baseball, the Phillies are a modest 4-6 over their last 10 games. What once was a strength seems to be a possible downfall as they are touting a 4.42 ERA (20th) and 1.35 WHIP (23rd) over the last two weeks.
3. Baltimore Orioles – Has there been a more consistent baseball team this season than Baltimore? They have never been out of the top 5 in these power rankings and are top 5 in AVG, OPS, and ERA over the last 2 weeks. They’re top 10 in WHIP as well. This is a fun team.
4. Cleveland Guardians – It’s time to put some respect on the Guardians. I have been calling for it every time these rankings come out. They sport the 4th best record across Major League Baseball and are 6-4 over their last 10 games. They’re also ranked 1st in WHIP and 4th in ERA over the previous 2 weeks.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers – Losing Mookie Betts is a massive blow for this team. Not to mention all of the other injuries and depressed stats this team has faced. Los Angeles traded for Cavan Biggio about a week ago as a low-risk, low-reward move, but time will tell if this team is deep enough to overcome these obstacles.
6. Seattle Mariners ⬆️ – 6 weeks ago, I told you this team would come on in a big way. Holding a 7 game lead in the AL West, the Mariners have exploded as of late. The offense can remain a bit streaky, but ranking 10th in ERA and 2nd in WHIP over the last 2 weeks will win you games.
7. Milwaukee Brewers – Milwaukee continues to be a force in the National League, with the third-best record and a six-game lead in the NL Central. This team has survived all obstacles thus far, but we aren’t even halfway through the season. Time will tell if their luck can hold out.
8. Kansas City Royals – Kansas City has sputtered a bit as of late going 3-7 over their last 10 games. They rank 27th in AVG and 26th in WHIP over the last 2 weeks. Starters Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Maikel Garcia are batting .205, .186, and .137, respectively, over that time frame. Not a winning formula.
9. Boston Red Sox – Boston is 11th in win percentage, but deserves to be in the top 10 here. They are 5th in AVG and 7th in OPS, while the pitching is slowly returning to the mean. The Red Sox continue to have one facet play lights out and that seems to be working.
10. Minnesota Twins – Say hello to the hottest-hitting team in the MLB. The Twins have 5 players with an OPS over 1.000 and an AVG over .300 (Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Carlos Santana, Willi Castro, and Kyle Farmer). To put this into perspective, only 3 players are averaging this production on the year.
11. St. Louis Cardinals 🚀 The Cardinals may have started rocky, but you’d never know it by the way they are playing now. It’s not like they are doing anything super special, but fundamentally sound baseball will win games and that’s what we see here.
12. Atlanta Braves – They have finally dropped out of the top 10 and it’s disappointing to see, but it was bound to happen. Sure, Atlanta has won 7 of their last 10 games in part to their 7th-ranked ERA (3.62) and 10th-ranked WHIP (1.22). However, this offense is middle of the pack at best.
13. San Diego Padres – Should the Padres be higher on this list? You could argue that. They’re 5-5 in their last 10 games and they have been knocking the cover off the baseball, but lord their pitching is a hindrance at times.
14. New York Mets 🚀 I have mentioned this before, but this team has the highest payroll in Major League Baseball for the 2024 season and it’s finally starting to show. They are 8-2 across their last 10 contests and are 6th in AVG and 5th in OPS. The question is whether or not they can capitalize on their star power this year before they lose it.
15. Washington Nationals 🚀 Surprise, surprise. 7th in AVG and 11th in WHIP across the last 2 weeks placing the Nationals 10 spots higher and firmly in contention for the National League Wild Card. They are currently 1 game back in the race and have been shockingly stable this year.
16. Arizona Diamondbacks 🚀 Welcome back, Corbin Carroll. Carroll is slashing .283/.400/.457 over the last 2 weeks with 4 stolen bases. A much-needed injection of production to this D-Backs lineup. Oh! Joc Pederson and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. have also been stellar as of late.
17. Houston Astros ⬆️ The rumors of Houston’s demise may have been exaggerated. They are winners of 7 of their last 10 and sport a potent offense even with the absence of Kyle Tucker. Their pitching could get them in trouble though.
18. Cincinnati Reds – Yes, they are last in the NL Central by 0.5 a game to Chicago and 1 game to Pittsburgh. However, they are 9th in ERA and 11th in WHIP over the last 2 weeks. Yes, their offense is abysmal (27th in AVG and 26th in OPS) but defense wins championships.
19. Tampa Bay Rays ⬇️ I, unfortunately, don’t think Tampa Bay has much of a hope in the AL East this season which stinks because they are currently playing some of their best baseball. The stats aren’t eye-popping, but they’re .500 across their last 10.
20. Pittsburgh Pirates – You have to believe that an innings cap is in store for both Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, but man has it been fun so far. Skenes has registered 5 quality starts while Jones has recorded 9. To say the Pirates are set up well for the future is an understatement.
21. Chicago Cubs ⬇️ The Cubs have had a much-needed resurgence over the last week to help. Believe it or not, both Chicago teams held the worst records in their leagues a little more than a week ago. Since then? Chicago is 10th in ERA (3.71) and 9th in WHIP (1.19). That’s one way to turn your fortunes around.
22. Texas Rangers ⬇️ Max Scherzer is finally making his season debut for a Rangers team that is flailing. They own a 5.19 ERA (26th) and 1.34 WHIP (23rd) over the last 2 weeks. Hopefully, he can provide a much-needed spark to the pitching staff. The 28th-ranked AVG and OPS are a different story, though.
23. Detroit Tigers 📉 In an even worse stretch of games, Detroit has gone from pushing for a possible AL Central title to reminding us about what we’ve seen before. They boast a legit AL Cy Young candidate in Tarik Skubal but he can’t do it all. Riley Greene is doing his best, but this offense misses Kerry Carpenter.
24. San Francisco Giants – I don’t know if there has been a more hot and cold team in the MLB than San Francisco. All of those free-agent acquisitions were supposed to reignite this team, but it isn’t coming to fruition. They’ve won 3 of their last 10 games and Blake Snell’s injury isn’t making things much easier.
25. Toronto Blue Jays – Just when I thought we were seeing life from the Jays they folded like a bad poker hand. Winners of just 3 of their last 10 games, they sport 25th AVG (.221) and 27th OPS (.632) across the last 2 weeks. I don’t know what’s going on with this team anymore.
26. Los Angeles Angels – They are 16 games under .500 in an AL West with two of the hottest teams in baseball. When do we see a retooling of this team?
27. Oakland Athletics – High hopes aren’t exactly what I had for this Oakland team, but man I was rooting for them. Maybe Sacramento will treat them better.
28. Colorado Rockies – I’ll give Colorado credit, they aren’t going down without a fight. They gave the Dodgers a run for their money a series ago behind the big bats of Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar.
29. Miami Marlins – The worst record in the National League and it isn’t looking up. When is it time to make a change?
30. Chicago White Sox – I’m interested to see what return they get at the trade deadline and how much they are going to sell.
