Here are my MLB power rankings. For my latest on the Orioles, click here.
1. Tampa Bay Rays (48-20, No. 1 last week): The Rays just keep going and going, and they just got back Tyler Glasnow. Guess manager Kevin Cash’s big decision is whether Glasnow or 10-1 Shane McClanahan starts the first playoff game.
2. Texas Rangers (41-23, No. 2): The big news out of Arlington this week is that free-agent signing Jacob deGrom is having a second Tommy John surgery and won’t pitch at all for the remainder of the season. But this team still has plenty of play in them and is the only American League team that is really close to Tampa Bay at the moment.
3. Atlanta Braves (40-25, No. 7): The Braves have won eight of ten. They have benefitted greatly from Mets and Phillies hitting multiple speed bumps. But hey, they may get some run from the Marlins.
4. Baltimore Orioles (41-24, No. 3): The rotation got a bit of a lift from lefty Cole Irvin finally fitting in. Gunnar Henderson is sizzling. Ryan Mountcastle is fizzling.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (40-25, No. 8): When I think how easily the Diamondbacks sailed past the Dodgers to grab a 3.5-game lead, all I could think of was the Road Runner cartoon character … and yes, he was honking at the Dodgers.
6. New York Yankees (38-29, No. 5): The Yankees may not have the most talent from No. 1 down to No. 26 on their roster, but there are not too many other teams that play with the kind of effort this club gives for manager Aaron Boone.
7. Houston Astros (37-29, No. 4): Manager Dusty Baker’s steady hand is a big plus. The Astros are first in the majors in team ERA (3.28) but have a middling offense (13th in the league in runs scored).
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (37-29, No. 6): Dodgers are kind of in a pickle. They didn’t extend themselves financially to make themselves better on offense and Gavin Lux’s season-ending injury early in camp was a huge setback. They have taken their share of hits in the pitching department, too, with an early-season injury to Tony Gonsolin and then more recently to Dustin May. As such, they have thrown three top pitching prospects into the deep water in Michael Grove, Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller. Only Miller has risen to the moment, with a 0.78 ERA in 23 innings.
9. Toronto Blue Jays (37-30, No. 9): I cannot put my finger on what is missing with this team. I do know that Alek Manoah’s miserable season was a pall over the entire team. It would be bad enough for an injury to force a pitcher to miss time, but Manoah’s lack of physical conditioning was a large part of his failed 2023 season.
10. Miami Marlins (37-29, No. 13): There’s a great story brewing in South Beach, one in which we could see National League Manager of the Year candidate Skip Schumaker and Executive of the Year candidate Kim Ng dusting off their trophy cases. This team has really dynamite starting pitching.
11. Los Angeles Angels (36-31, No. 19)
12. Minnesota Twins (33-33, No. 10)
13. Milwaukee Brewers (34-32, No. 11)
14. Pittsburgh Pirates (34-30, No. 14)
15. San Diego Padres (31-34, No. 16)
16. San Francisco Giants (33-32, No. 18)
17. Boston Red Sox (33-33, No. 15)
18. Cleveland Guardians (31-34, No. 20)
19. Seattle Mariners (31-33, No. 17)
20. Philadelphia Phillies (32-33, No. 22)
21. New York Mets (31-35, No. 15)
22. Chicago White Sox (29-38, No. 21)
23. Cincinnati Reds (31-35, No. 26)
24. Detroit Tigers (26-37, No. 23)
25. St. Louis Cardinals (27-39, No. 24)
26. Chicago Cubs (28-37, No. 25)
27. Washington Nationals (26-38, No. 28)
28. Colorado Rockies (27-40, No. 27)
29. Kansas City Royals (18-47, No. 29)
30. Oakland Athletics (17-50, No. 30)