1. New York Yankees (77-54, No. 2 last week): The Yankees have a bunch of flaws, but who doesn’t? So long as opponents keep pitching to Aaron Judge, he keeps delivering at such an enormous success rate that he singlehandedly wipes away an awful lot of flaws.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (78-53, No. 5): I can’t quite wrap my arms around how a team with such big challenges in the starting pitching department keeps winning, but the reality is the Dodgers have more wins than any other team in MLB.
3. Philadelphia Phillies (76-54, No. 1): At the break, the Phillies had a solid eight-game lead over the Braves. Since then, there has been a bit of slippage and the lead has dropped to six games. Philly’s biggest issue seems to be the tale of two seasons for Bryce Harper. Through his first 76 games, he was hitting .303/.399/.582 with 20 homers and 58 RBIs. He then went on the IL with a strained left hamstring on June 28. Since returning on July 9, he is batting .219/.289/.404 with six homers and 17 RBIs.
4. Baltimore Orioles (76-56, No. 4): The Orioles trail the Yankees by two in the loss column as they head to LA for a three-game series against the Dodgers. Meanwhile, the Yankees head to D.C. to play the Nats for three. Can the O’s stay within earshot of the Bronx Bombers? Right now, that seems like a tall order.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (75-56, No. 11): Since the break, the D-Backs are 26-8 and as such are keeping the Dodgers on their toes. Jordan Montgomery, one of the top free agents available last offseason, was moved to the bullpen after posting a 6.44 ERA in 19 starts. The lefty recently said his former agent Scott Boras “kind of butchered” his free agency. No accountability on his part that it was a horrible idea to sign on March 29 and miss spring training.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (75-55, No. 2): The Brewers are baseball’s little engine that could. Frankie Montas has proven to be a nice deadline addition for the rotation. He has posted a 3.33 ERA in 27 innings (five starts). More importantly, the Brewers have won four of his five starts.
7. Cleveland Guardians (75-55, No. 6): Rookie corner bat Jhonkensy Noel not only has an unusual first name, he is batting .268/.331/.685 with 12 homers and 23 RBIs in his first 124 plate appearances. Play that man.
8. San Diego Padres (74-58, No. 9): Never a fan of GM A.J. Preller, always a big fan of skipper Mike Shildt. Together they have a very dangerous team. In fact, if Yu Darvish comes back in the next week or so and Fernando Tatis Jr. gets back for the last three weeks of the regular season, the Padres might be as dangerous a team as imaginable come October.
9. Minnesota Twins (72-58, No. 7): The Twins, Royals and Guardians have made the AL Central a much more formidable division than anyone thought possible. With the Tigers making late strides, the ALC could be the deepest division in baseball in 2025. Maybe by 2035, the White Sox could even be respectable.
10. Kansas City Royals (72-58, No. 8): GM J.J. Picollo has made plenty of solid moves in moving the Royals forward, but one I am sure he regrets is signing Chris Stratton to be a lynchpin of the bullpen. In 51.2 innings, he has a 5.23 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. He had one bad appearance in late April that ballooned his ERA to 6.23. He battled for nearly four months to bring his ERA down to 4.34, only to explode by giving up seven earned runs in last four innings. Myth of Sisyphus season.
11. Houston Astros (70-60, No. 10)
12. Atlanta Braves (70-60, No. 13)
13. Boston Red Sox (67-62, No. 12)
14. New York Mets (68-63, No. 14)
15. St. Louis Cardinals (65-65, No. 18)
16. Seattle Mariners (66-65, No. 15)
17. San Francisco Giants (66-66, No. 17)
18. Detroit Tigers (65-66, No. 20)
19. Chicago Cubs (65-66, No. 21)
20. Tampa Bay Rays (65-66, No. 16)
21. Toronto Blue Jays (63-68, No. 23)
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (62-68, No. 22)
23. Cincinnati Reds (63-68, No. 19)
24. Texas Rangers (60-71, No. 24)
25. Washington Nationals (59-72, No. 25)
26. Oakland Athletics (56-75, No. 27)
27. Los Angeles Angels (54-77, No. 26)
28. Colorado Rockies (48-83, No. 29)
29. Miami Marlins (47-83, No. 28)
30. Chicago White Sox (31-100, No. 30)