Here are my MLB power rankings.
1. Atlanta Braves (80-43, No. 1 last week): The Braves have the NL East on lockdown and they’ll almost certainly secure one of the two first-round byes in the NL. There is a lot of runway until a World Series champion is crowned, but they have to be solid favorites to run the gauntlet.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (76-47, No. 2): Of all my 2023 predictions, I have to admit the Dodgers were an amazing miss. So much of what I foresaw just hasn’t come to pass. Max Muncy will never win a Gold Glove, J.D. Martinez isn’t quite the stud he was three years ago, and they don’t have a big-time shutdown closer. Nevertheless, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and GM Brandon Gomes painstakingly added pieces throughout the season and they are now just a tad behind the Braves. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman form an incomparable duo.
3. Baltimore Orioles (77-47, No. 3): The Orioles are back from a 6-3 West Coast swing. They won a tough series against the Mariners, dropped two of three to the Padres and then took it all out on the hapless Athletics. Now they come home for three apiece against the Jays, Rockies and White Sox. That’s six of nine against two of the worst teams in baseball. That’s a chance to really take hold of the AL East.
4. Seattle Mariners (69-55, No. 9): Right now, the Mariners are riding the coattails of Julio Rodríguez, who is on an otherworldly type of run. Seattle is 23-9 across the past five weeks and still has 18 more games against teams below .500, including six this week against the White Sox and Royals.
5. Texas Rangers (72-52, No. 4): The Rangers are just 13-11 in the past four weeks, all without Nathan Eovaldi (forearm strain). He is back on a mound and could be nearing a rehab assignment. This club invested a load of money in Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and Eovaldi, but it’s been a mixed bag with only Eovaldi stepping up prior to his injury. They have just 12 games remaining against teams below .500.
6. Houston Astros (70-55, No. 5): The Astros are 2.5 games behind Texas for the AL West lead, but red-hot Seattle is just a half-game behind Houston. The Mariners have manhandled the Astros head-to-head and still have three more with them in Seattle during the last week of the regular season. Important point: The ‘Stros have 18 more games against teams below .500.
7. Toronto Blue Jays (69-56, No. 7): The Jays are in a pitched battle with Seattle for the third and final AL wild-card seat. The leading AL wild-card team if the season ended today would be Tampa Bay, but I don’t see how the Rays hold on against those three West teams (Texas, Houston and Seattle) as well as Toronto. The Jays need to have their Mariners moment and get hot to earn a place in the postseason.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (67-57, No. 6): Though they’re holding the first NL wild-card spot, the Phillies don’t exactly have a playoff spot nailed down. They are just two games in front of San Francisco, 2.5 in front of Chicago and 3.5 in front of Arizona, Cincinnati and Miami. Still, the Phillies should be able to punch their ticket to the postseason.
9. Milwaukee Brewers (68-57, No. 8): The NL Central has turned into a real taffy pool, much like the AL West. The Brewers look like they may have the staying power after sweeping a three-game series in Arlington against the Rangers. The Reds look like they stalled out three or four weeks ago but are just one game behind the Cubs for second place and four behind the Brewers.
10. Tampa Bay Rays (75-51, No. 10): While it was bad enough to have lost three of their top starting pitchers due to injury, it looks like Wander Franco’s season could be over as there is an investigation in the Dominican Republic regarding an inappropriate relationship with an underaged girl. While I dropped them in the top 10 recently, the Rays haven’t exactly fallen off the map, going 11-7 amid all the turmoil.
11. Minnesota Twins (65-60, No. 11)
12. Boston Red Sox (66-58, No. 12)
13. Arizona Diamondbacks (64-61, No. 17)
14. Cincinnati Reds (64-61, No. 15)
15. Chicago Cubs (64-59, No. 16)
16. San Francisco Giants (65-59, No. 13)
17. Miami Marlins (64-61, No. 16)
18. Los Angeles Angels (60-65, No. 19)
19. Cleveland Guardians (59-66, No. 20)
20. New York Yankees (60-64, No. 18)
21. San Diego Padres (59-66, No. 21)
22. Detroit Tigers (57-67, No. 22)
23. Washington Nationals (57-68, No. 23)
24. New York Mets (58-67, No. 25)
25. Pittsburgh Pirates (55-69, No. 24)
26. St. Louis Cardinals (55-70, No. 26)
27. Chicago White Sox (49-75, No. 27)
28. Colorado Rockies (48-76, No. 28)
29. Kansas City Royals (48-76, No. 29)
30. Oakland Athletics (34-90, No. 30)