1. Boston Red Sox (39-17) | Last week: 1
The Red Sox continue to rack up series victories, including a sweep of the Blue Jays over the last three days. The move to release Hanley Ramirez was a bit of a stunner, but it seemingly hasn’t effected team chemistry. Boston is now 22 games over .500 with the best record in baseball.
2. New York Yankees (35-17) | Last week: 2
Their rivals have the best record in baseball, but the Yankees are even with them in the loss column. The Yankees had a tough couple of series against the Angels and Astros, but they came out on top with series wins in both potential playoff previews.
3. Houston Astros (35-22) | Last week: 3
While the Astros are falling behind the Red Sox and Yankees in standings, the defending champs have the best run differential in baseball—thanks in large part to their amazing 2.8 runs allowed per game. Justin Verlander continues to have the best season of his great career.
4. Washington Nationals (32-22) | Last week: 5 (+1)
Last night, Max Scherzer picked up his 150th career victory in another spectacular effort which has basically become the norm for him. The Nats are 6-0 since last week’s power rankings, and they are in a good spot in an improved NL East.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (36-21) | Last week: 4 (-1)
The Brewers continued their best 50-game start in franchise history with a 5-2 effort over the last seven games. Milwaukee is an MLB-best 15-5 in their last 20 games.
6. Los Angeles Angels (30-26) | Last week: 6
The Angels have lost two series in a row, including one to the Tigers, but it’s not time to panic yet. It was a lot of fun seeing Mike Trout rip five hits against the Yankees over the weekend, and they’ll be in every game as long as he’s in the lineup.
7. Chicago Cubs (29-23) | Last week: 9 (+2)
Yesterday’s 2-1 loss was the lone exception, but the Cubs offense has been hot lately. Apparently Yu Darvish, who thankfully has no structural damage in his arm after an MRI, thinks the Cubs fans “hate” him for being injured a couple of times. Hopefully Darvish can just block that all out, especially when it matters most in October.
8.Philadelphia Phillies (30-23) | Last week: 7 (-1)
Rhys Hoskins suffered an ugly fractured jaw against the Dodgers, and he’s likely headed to the DL. The Phillies are fortunate to have depth in the outfield, though, as Nick Williams can slide right in, and Scott Kingery and other can also contribute there. Hoskins was struggling a bit before the injury, so maybe this will give him a chance to reset.
9. Atlanta Braves (32-23) | Last week: 8 (-1)
After series losses to the Red Sox and Phillies, the Braves split a four-game series with the Mets. Now they face a first-place Nationals team with an opportunity to again seize control of first place in the division.
10. Seattle Mariners (33-22) | Last week: 10
The Mariners continue to be the hottest team in the majors after Robinson Cano’s PED suspension and Dee Gordon’s injury. And Gordon is expected to be back soon, which is a major plus. If Seattle keeps it up, they’ll vault up he power ranking soon.
11. Cleveland Indians (29-25) | Last week: 11
The Indians dropped two straight to the Astros toward the end of last week, but then they took the next two including a thrilling 14-inning victory in which they pulled off an epic 9th-inning comeback. They’ve remained on-fire offensively since then, and they appear to be getting their mojo back.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (26-29) | Last week: 13 (+1)
The turnaround for the Dodgers continues with a big-time reinforcement on the way, as Clayton Kershaw will return to the mound tonight for the first time since May 1. LA is in a good spot in their division.
13. St. Louis Cardinals (29-24) | Last week: 12 (-1)
For the last few weeks, the Cardinals have been playing around .500 baseball, but it’s been enough to remain in contention in the NL Central and NL Wild Card races. St. Louis has about the same run-differential as the Milwaukee, so perhaps their fortunes will switch at some point.
14. Colorado Rockies (30-26) | Last week: 14
Somehow, despite giving up 0.3 more runs per game than they’ve scored themselves, the Rockies remain four games over .500. The Dodgers are quickly on their heels, so Colorado needs to pick it up.
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (28-27) | Last week: 15
Slowly, Paul Goldschmidt appears to be getting back to his normal self at the plate. He has a hit in five of his last six games, and he’s the key to Arizona remaining in the NL West race throughout the season. The D’Backs need a series win or two against the Marlins and Giants over the next week.
16. Tampa Bay Rays (28-26) | Last week: 21 (+5)
The Rays have won five straight games, which is tied with the Indians for the best current mark in the American League. Tampa Bay just always seems to find a way to stick around, as they are right now.
17. Pittsburgh Pirates (29-26) | Last week: 16 (-1)
The Pirates are struggling, but they were able to avoid a three-game sweep against the Cubs with a win last night. Two important series against the Cardinals and Dodgers loom for Pittsburgh.
18. San Francisco Giants (26-30) | Last week: 18
After a long road trip, the Giants return home for two home series against the Phillies and the Diamondbacks. With Philadelphia and Arizona both ahead of them in the NL standings, the Giants have a chance to make a climb here.
19. Oakland Athletics (28-28) | Last week: 19
The Athletics ran into the wrong team at the wrong time, as the Rays have taken three straight games to drop them to .500. The A’s will attempt to avoid a four-game sweep this afternoon.
20. New York Mets (27-26) | Last week: 20
As the Nationals continue to rise in the standings, things become less optimistic for the Mets. Getting past the Phillies and Braves might be hard enough, but the Nats clicking is going to be tough to overcome in the NL East race. The pitching staff is again dealing with injuries, so things don’t look good for the Mets.
21. Minnesota Twins (22-29) | Last week: 17 (-4)
The Twins were swept by the Mariners then lost two-of-three to the Royals, and now they host one of the hottest teams in the league as the Indians come to town for a four-game series. Minnesota is going to need to score some runs against Cleveland.
22. Toronto Blue Jays (25-31) | Last week: 22
Toronto had a chance to climb back into the AL East race, but instead the Red Sox swept them to push their division lead to 14 games. Former AL MVP Josh Donaldson looks like he’ll be on the move at some point this season.
23. Texas Rangers (24-34) | Last week: 24 (+1)
With their backs against the wall, the Rangers took two straight against the red-hot Mariners and will look to make it three straight and a series win tonight. Then they’ll go to Anaheim with a chance to face another AL West team.
24. San Diego Padres (24-33) | Last week: 23 (-1)
The Padres have too many games where they only score a run or two, which obviously makes it difficult to consistently win games. They have another matchup versus the Marlins tonight before they continue their long home-stretch.
25. Detroit Tigers (25-30) | Last week: 25
If the Indians weren’t back to looking like the team from the past couple of seasons, the Tigers would be higher than this. Detroit is playing well without Miguel Cabrera.
26. Kansas City Royals (20-36) | Last week: 29 (+3)
The Royals had a winning record over the past week, and they just need to keep focusing on trying to win series and hope to eventually get back into things.
27. Cincinnati Reds (20-37) | Last week: 27
The outfield rotation for the Reds is over, as Jesse Winker is headed to the bench, which must be frustrating on a team that doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere this season.
28. Miami Marlins (20-35) | Last week: 26 (-2)
The Marlins are competing, but their offense remains the worst in the majors, which makes it tough to win games.
29. Chicago White Sox (16-37) | Last week: 28 (-1)
The White Sox are an MLB-worst 9-21 over their last 30 games, and now they must face the Brewers for a three-game series.
30. Baltimore Orioles (17-39) | Last week: 30
The Orioles have been just a touch better over the last 30 games (10-20), but they have the most losses in the majors and are not poised to climb out of the basement.
This season is so weird to me. Seems like a bunch of good teams will be left out of the postseason.
Those Darvish comments are…… interesting.