This edition of the Power Rankings is created by Gus Livaditis and me. Our first update since the trade deadline, let’s see how much movement has occurred since the last update. The number in parentheses is the team’s ranking in our last segment. On to the list!
T1. Baltimore Orioles (T2)– Deadline-acquisition Eloy Jimenez is off to a great start for Baltimore, with a 1.125 OPS in five games. Top prospect Jackson Holliday was promoted around the same time and in seven games has a 1.361 OPS. A talented team just got deeper.
T1. Philadelphia Phillies (1) – Built themselves a big cushion in their division that allows them to weather the downturn of most of their lineup going cold at the same time, but this roster will not be stopped for long. (Gus)
T3. Cleveland Guardians (4) – Have gone 6-7 since our last rankings, they have lost five straight and were just swept at home by the Diamondbacks. We talked about their weaker schedule in the first half, it is brutal schedule with only quality teams until mid-September. They are a half game out of the best record in the American League, but how do you explain 12th in offensive fWAR and 17th in pitching? Manager of the Year for sure!!!! (Gus)
T3. New York Yankees (9) – Newly acquired Jazz Chisholm has grabbed the headlines with his home runs but the Yankees also got Giancarlo Stanton back from the IL. They’re now 8-2 in their last 10 games.
T3. San Diego Padres (11) – A balanced and potent offense, the best bullpen in baseball, and a solid starting pitching staff. And, they are healthy! (Gus)
6. Los Angeles Dodgers (T2) – With the surprising play by both the D’Backs and Padres, the Dodgers find themselves in a much-tighter race for the division than they anticipated. Deadline-pickup Jack Flaherty tossed a game in his first start with his new team and the club also got Freddie Freeman back from personal time off. Still a bunch of walking wounded to return for the stretch run.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (5) – They are just 6-6 since Christian Yelich went on the IL with back trouble. The plan for now is rest and rehab and his return is uncertain. Yelich has had back issues for years and surgery is a possibility, with the unknown of now or in the offseason.
8. Minnesota Twins (6) – Royce Lewis is back from the IL – stop me if you’ve heard that one before – and has a 1.030 OPS in 11 games since being activated. How good is Lewis? His season-long OPS went down since his return. He only has 143 PA this year and you just wonder what kind of numbers he could put up over 150 games.
T9. Arizona Diamondbacks (17) – Like the Yankees and the Padres ranked above them, the D’Backs have won eight of their last 10 games. Deadline-pickup Josh Bell has hit 4 HR in 6 G. And they just got Eduardo Rodriguez back from the IL.
T9. Houston Astros (T11) – They’re leading their division and still boast a formidable offensive lineup. But they’ll only go so far as their pitching takes them.
11. New York Mets (T7) – The offense, which was so good for so long, has gone into a mini-funk after the All-Star break. But the bullpen has stabilized and they get decent starting pitching more times than not. They’re treading water on this four-city road trip and remain in the playoff hunt.
12. Kansas City Royals (T11) – Seth Lugo is returning back to earth but Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Michael Wacha are a combined 12-4 with a 2.90 ERA since the beginning of July.
T13. Atlanta Braves (T7) – Decimated by injuries, the Braves are trying to keep themselves in contention with a patchwork lineup, a top-heavy starting staff, and a great bullpen, but they are holding onto a playoff spot by their fingernails. (Gus)
T13. Seattle Mariners (T11) – Victor Robles is hitting .288 for them with a .785 OPS; yes, that Victor Robles. Randy Arozarena is third in OPS with .731 and Justin Turner is fourth with .725 – and they just got there! That explains the offensive ineptitude and injuries they have in their lineup. That best pitching staff in the AL will get tested by an offense that may be awakening just as they land in Seattle. (Gus)
15. Boston Red Sox (14) – Old pal Dominic Smith has landed with the Red Sox and given them league-average production over 258 PA. If that isn’t surprising enough, Smith has also taken the mound twice and has allowed just 1 H and 0 R in 2 IP.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (16) – Made some upside acquisitions at the deadline outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins and utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Blue Jays to help a bleeding offense, and will lean on their exciting young starting pitching to keep in contention. (Gus)
17. St. Louis Cardinals (15) – They’ve managed to stay relevant in a year where Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt both have sub-100 OPS+ numbers and Willson Contreras has missed a good chunk of the year with an injury. And now Tommy Pham’s back in town!
18. Texas Rangers (18) – Baseball-Reference gives them just a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs.
19. Tampa Bay Rays (21) – At 57-56, the Rays’ streak of six-straight seasons of finishing with an above-.500 record is in jeopardy.
20. Cincinnati Reds (19) – The best run differential of the NL teams not qualifying for the playoffs, the Reds were rumored to be sellers but wound up only selling off Frankie Montas but not adding. Had the Reds achieved their expected record for their run differential, they would over Atlanta in the third spot. (Gus)
21. Detroit Tigers (20) – Yesterday’s lineup featured four hitters batting below .200 but they still managed to win because Tarik Skubal started. Yeah, rumors of him on the trading block were vastly overstated.
22. San Francisco Giants (24) – In two games since the trade deadline, Blake Snell has 15 IP with 19 Ks and has a no-hitter to his credit. How many teams will kick themselves for not picking up the reigning CY Award winner?
23. Chicago Cubs (23) – Want to win a bar bet? Ask your favorite drunk who has the best ERA since the beginning of July. Chances are he won’t guess the Cubs, who have a league-best 3.11 ERA in the last 32 games, a stretch that comes with an 18-14 record.
24. Washington Nationals (22) – Outside of C.J. Abrams, most of the Nats’ hitters have done a good job recently. But the pitching has been a different story. After a five start stretch where he wasn’t awful, Patrick Corbin is 1-4 with a 7.33 ERA in his last five games.
T25. Oakland A’s (25) – You could forgive Brent Rooker if he hoped to be on a different team after the trade deadline. But he’s still in Oakland and still mashing, with 3 HR in 8 G since the deadline passed.
T25. Toronto Blue Jays (26) – They’re only five games under .500 yet they seem like the most-disappointing team in MLB. Can you imagine how Toronto fans would have felt if they traded Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his 161 OPS+?
27. Los Angeles Angels (27) – It feels like there are some nice young hitters on this team. Too bad the veterans are all injured. And, generally, the less said about their pitching, the better. But Ben Joyce can throw a ball through a brick wall.
28. Miami Marlins (28) – They sold their bullpen, the mascot, the marina, and sand on the beach, but they are 4-5 since the trade deadline, including splitting four games with the Braves in Atlanta (doing to the Braves what the Braves did to the Mets: losing the first two and then winning the last two) and not giving up. Skip Schumacher may not have a contract for next year, but he isn’t letting his team feel sorry for themselves and the other teams are sure to notice.
29. Colorado Rockies (29) – It amazes me that they’ve been an MLB franchise since 1993 and haven’t figured out how to build a team with their challenging location. Is it front office incompetence or just an impossible situation? Maybe they should build an indoor park and see if that helps. I like to think that here lately, it’s the gods’ way of punishing them for abandoning the 4-man rotation.
30. Chicago White Sox (30) – After ending their 21-game losing streak, the White Sox celebrated by … losing their next game. The Sox have 13 players with at least 100 PA this season and among that lucky group, the highest OPS+ belongs to the since-traded Pham with a 101 mark.
Why are the Mets so low?