MLB Power Rankings
As the season moves on, we see highs and lows for each team. Whether it be a streak of good (8 multi-hit games in a row) or a streak of bad (superstars tearing their ACL), most of these teams are beginning to settle into a groove and it’s generally where we thought they would be. Regression to the mean can go both ways whether a team is overperforming or underperforming and this is generally when we start to see those types of shifts happen. Now, there will be teams who just stay the course of what they are doing and prove us all wrong, but that is more of an anomaly than the rule. Is your team where you thought they would be at the start of the season?
Biggest Riser: San Francisco Giants (+9), Biggest Faller: Texas Rangers (-11)
1. Philadelphia Phillies (2): Our newest top-ranked team, Philadelphia has earned it. Their pitching has been stellar and their offense is showing what it is to be one of the best in the league. We might be looking at our NL representative in the Fall Classic.
2. New York Yankees (4): I’ll keep it short and sweet. Scoring 92 more runs than your opponent is astounding. They are 1 game back from the best record in the majors. This team is good.
3. Cleveland Guardians (5): I have consistently waited and waited for this team to falter and it hasn’t happened. I have to accept now that they are as good as they are showing. They hold a 2.5 game lead in the AL Central and might hold onto it for the rest of the year.
4. Kansas City Royals (8): It’s astonishing to me that a team in the AL Central has won 34 games, has a run differential of +69, and is 8-2 over their last 10 games and STILL isn’t the best team in their division. Stay the course and good things will come.
5. Baltimore Orioles (3): The Orioles are doing exactly what we thought they would do: win. While these last 2 weeks, statistically, have not been the greatest, a win is a win and that’s just what the O’s keep doing.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (9): The NL Central is truly wide open which is such an interesting thing to say given how the Brewers have dominated this season. A +49 run differential will certainly cover up some blemishes elsewhere, but have we seen the best from this team already? You know I’m gonna mention regression and I feel as though Milwaukee is heading that way.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (1): I mean, what do you expect? This team has everything you could want and STILL got swept by the Reds. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games, but I don’t think that spells disaster. Sure, this is reactionary but it kind of has to be when the unlikely happens.
8. Atlanta Braves (6): A devastating end to the season for Ronald Acuna Jr. after he suffered another torn ACL (his opposite leg). Injuries are beginning to pile up for the Braves and that’s never a good sign. This team is plenty deep to weather this storm they are in, but it will be much more challenging than before. Will this be the first time they have missed the playoffs since 2017?
9. Boston Red Sox (14): The Red Sox were always living on borrowed time, but they were making the most of it at the beginning of the season. They were routinely at the top of the league in pitching and doing just as well hitting. The last 2 weeks haven’t been kind and Boston is starting to show its cracks.
10. San Diego Padres (12): What a revelation Luis Arraez has been for this team. Since joining the Padres, Arraez has been hitting .391 and had multiple hits in 8 straight games. There are a lot of Tony Gwynn comparisons and buzz going around in San Diego and for good reason.
11. Seattle Mariners (13): What did I tell you? This team was plagued by injuries and now that they are getting healthy, they are an absolute force. Although Bryan Woo does not qualify due to only pitching 21.2 innings, he technically has the lowest ERA and WHIP (1.66 and 0.60) in the majors. The M’s are so back.
12. San Francisco Giants (21): Our biggest riser, this team is starting to look more and more cohesive as the games drudge on. It was to be expected for them to start slow with all the new faces coming in, but they seem to have found their groove. 8-2 over their last 10 games is only best by one other team. Expect to see a fun NL West race down the stretch.
13. Chicago Cubs (11): There is only one team that has a worse record over their last 10 games than the Cubs (2-8). A fall from grace for this team is quite an exaggeration, but they have declined as of late. They rank dead last in both AVG and OPS over the last 2 weeks sporting a .188 and .535 in both categories, respectively. Yikes.
14. Minnesota Twins (10): I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, regression to the mean is always going to happen. The Twins were flying high just a couple of weeks ago vaulting into the top 10 and looking like they may come back in the AL Central. While things have cooled down a bit, this is still a good team that will cause fits among others.
15. Detroit Tigers (15): The Tigers’ record is misleading. This team has been a top-10 team in ERA, WHIP, AVG, and OPS over the last 2 weeks yet is just 5-5 in their last 10 games. Pitching is a huge strength for this club and the bats are starting to level out. A tough AL Central will be hard to navigate, but a Wild Card spot is still a playoff berth.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (23): The combo of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, and Mitch Keller might be the best 1-2-3 punch in baseball. The Pirates seem to be in as good a place as any when it comes to pitching and their hitting has come back to life in recent weeks. A wide-open NL Central is key to the Pirates pushing for a division title and playoff appearance.
17. St. Louis Cardinals (25): Yes, they just lost to Cincinnati, but this team is 7-3 over their last 10 games. They are 4th in AVG and 5th in OPS over the last 2 weeks which has been a much-needed boost for a team that has struggled on the mound this year.
18. Texas Rangers (7): Our biggest faller, this season is nothing short of a letdown for the Rangers. They committed a season-high 4 errors in a recent game and boy was it ugly. There may only be one team below the Rangers that I feel confident can turn around a season, but it’s going to take a lot of work. Luckily, the AL West seems very much open for the taking.
19. Tampa Bay Rays (18): Earlier this year I said that the Rays were the pinnacle of consistency and goodness have I been right? Consistently average that is. They have hovered around this mark for roughly the entire season and are showing no signs of rising or falling. They have the lowest run differential in the league (-47) yet find ways to persevere.
20. Arizona Diamondbacks (20): What is wrong with this team? A positive run differential yet you are still 3 games below .500? I don’t know what the issue is but something just isn’t cutting it. Are there radical changes to come in Arizona? Probably not, but I hope they figure something out soon.
21. Houston Astros (27): The rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated! Well, it was over a month into the season so I think the assumptions were justified, but the Astros are coming to life. They are still one of the better teams offensively sporting a .265 AVG (5th) and a .772 OPS (6th) over the last two weeks. The pitching is getting healthier so returning to the mean is certainly a possibility.
22. Cincinnati Reds (24): Sigh, what can I say about this Cincinnati team? They swept the Dodgers and took game 1 against the Cardinals, but outside of that, things haven’t been good. Maybe this is the turnaround they have been looking for, but I don’t want to get any hopes up. Consistency is the name of the game and the Reds do NOT have it. Thankfully, they are just 3.5 games out of the NL Central lead which is certainly an attainable window.
23. New York Mets (16): You know that part of All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled where he just keeps saying “up, down, up, down”? That’s what the Mets’ season is. They started slow and then they got hot and now they are cooling off. This trend is likely to continue from one of the more inconsistent teams in the majors.
24. Oakland Athletics (17): I was really pulling for the A’s to show their fortitude and make all of the haters go quiet, but that doesn’t seem to be a reality of late. They are 3-7 over their last 10 games and are in the bottom third of the league offensively. This is more like what we thought the A’s were going to look like at the beginning of the year.
25. Toronto Blue Jays (26): Bad luck. That’s all I have to say about this Toronto season. Go look at any highlights and you’ll see just what I mean. They are in a bad spot with little hope of turning it around.
26. Washington Nationals (19): A surprise team that moved within the top 20 a couple of weeks ago, regression has finally set in and this is the Nats team we all expected to see. They are 4-6 over their last 10 games and are hitting a paltry .234 (20th) with a .638 OPS (25th). The clock seems to have struck midnight.
27. Los Angeles Angels (22): Over the last 2 weeks, the Angels have been one of the hottest-hitting teams ranking 4th and 7th in AVG and OPS, respectively. Pitching is another story altogether. This team has exceeded expectations for the entire season and since injuries marred another Mike Trout season. Regression is coming fast.
28. Colorado Rockies (29): Are we on the cusp of seeing Colorado actually turn things around and return to relevancy? Time will tell, but over the last 2 weeks, they sport a .708 OPS (15th) and a .252 AVG (11th). Pitching at Coors Field is always going to be an issue, but if this team gets the bats going we might just have a surprise on our hands.
29. Miami Marlins (28): Unfortunately, this type of team is what happens when you continually sell off your prospects for performing veterans and then proceed to sell off those veterans for promising prospects. Rinse and repeat. This sounds a lot like another team just a couple of spots ahead of them as well.
30. Chicago White Sox (30): The White Sox would not be doing as “well” as they are without the breakout of Garett Crochet (3.68 ERA, 0.93 WHIP) and the revival of Erick Fedde (2.80 ERA, 1.07 WHIP). Still, this team is going to have to do a lot more to help themselves if they want to set this franchise up for future success.
