The Mets are hot and the Twins are falling in our updated MLB power rankings with just three weeks until the postseason.
1. Philadelphia Phillies (85-58) | Last week: 1
Philadelphia getting blown out by the Marlins on Saturday and Sunday led to a four-game split, so hopefully that isn’t a sign they might cool off after catching fire. Philly will return home this week to take on the Rays before hosting the Mets in a huge series for playoff implications.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (86-57) | Last week: 2
As has been the case for the past two weeks, Los Angeles still holds a one-game lead over the Phillies in the NL—but the head-to-head success for Philly keeps them in the top spot. The 103-degree heat on Sunday wasn’t enough to slow down Shohei Ohtani as he looks to become the first player in MLB history to record 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season.
3. New York Yankees (82-61) | Last week: 4 (+1)
New York had a 3-3 week to remain atop the AL East, but Aaron Judge has cooled off considerably over the past two weeks—with some fans even concerned his appearance on Paw Patrol spinoff Rubbles & Crew has put a curse on the AL MVP favorite (.186 average with 17 strikeouts and zero home runs in 12 games since).
4. Milwaukee Brewers (82-61) | Last week: 3 (-1)
I mentioned the Brewers having a chance to leap to the top of the NL with a soft schedule last week, but they went 2-4 at home versus the Cardinals and Rockies to sit firmly behind Philadelphia and Los Angeles. We’ll see if Milwaukee can rebound for a trip to San Francisco before a tough stretch of Diamondbacks, Phillies, and Diamondbacks.
5. Baltimore Orioles (82-62) | Last week: 5
Baltimore was typically camped in the No. 2 spot in the first half of the season, but they’ve continued to hover around .500 since then and don’t feel like the squad we saw in the spring. If Corbin Burnes doesn’t reestablish himself as a dominant starter by October, the Orioles could face an early exit.
6. Cleveland Guardians (81-62) | Last week: 6
Although they lost a weekend series to the Dodgers, Cleveland went to Kansas City to take two of three versus the Royals before that—and a tough week for Minnesota suddenly has them 5.0 games behind in the division. After taking on the last-place White Sox starting tonight, the Guardians will only have one road series the rest of the way.
7. San Diego Padres (81-64) | Last week: 9 (+2)
San Diego was able to leap Arizona over the past week, so I have them moving up a couple of spots as the top wild card team in the NL with the Mets and Braves jockeying for position, too. The Dodgers likely won’t be caught, but baseball fans should already be looking ahead to the end of September when the Padres head to LA and Arizona for the final week.
8. Houston Astros (77-66) | Last week: 7 (-1)
Getting swept by Cincinnati was a missed opportunity for Houston, but they at least responded well by taking two of three games from Arizona with the lineup coming alive. Also, star slugger Kyle Tucker now has a few weeks to gear up for the playoffs after returning to the lineup on Friday.
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (80-64) | Last week: 8 (-1)
Arizona on fire in August and looked like the team that won the pennant in 2023, but they’ve gone 5-8 since August 27 with struggles versus a bunch of playoff-bound or playoff-hopeful opponents. After a two-game World Series rematch versus Texas, the D-Backs will host Milwaukee this weekend with just a 1.5-game cushion for a wild card spot.
10. Kansas City Royals (79-65) | Last week: 11 (+1)
Despite dropping a home series to Cleveland, the Royals responded with a sweep of the Twins to actually decrease the gap in the AL Central to 2.5 games compared to this time last week. Bobby Witt Jr. will have a tremendous opportunity to make his claim for AL MVP as Kansas City heads to the Bronx tonight.
11. New York Mets (78-65) | Last week: 13 (+2)
12. Atlanta Braves (78-65) | Last week: 12
13. Minnesota Twins (76-67) | Last week: 10 (-3)
14. Chicago Cubs (73-70) | Last week: 14
15. Seattle Mariners (73-71) | Last week: 17 (+2)
16. Detroit Tigers (73-71) | Last week: 16
17. Boston Red Sox (72-71) | Last week: 15 (-2)
18. St. Louis Cardinals (72-71) | Last week: 18
19. Tampa Bay Rays (71-72) | Last week: 20 (+1)
20. San Francisco Giants (71-73) | Last week: 19 (-1)
21. Texas Rangers (70-74) | Last week: 22 (+1)
22. Cincinnati Reds (69-75) | Last week: 23 (+1)
23. Toronto Blue Jays (68-76) | Last week: 21 (-2)
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-76) | Last week: 24
25. Washington Nationals (64-79) | Last week: 25
26. Oakland Athletics (62-82) | Last week: 26
27. Los Angeles Angels (59-84) | Last week: 27
28. Miami Marlins (54-89) | Last week: 28
29. Colorado Rockies (54-90) | Last week: 29
30. Chicago White Sox (33-111) | Last week: 30