Well, we are about to finish up the 12th iteration of my MLB power rankings. I have to admit that this year by far has been the wildest. Not just because the local favorites played at such a high level, but because this was a season of many, many surprises.
Two of the highest spenders in the game — the Mets and Padres — both repeatedly sprung leaks in the early going and neither could ever get the traction needed to seriously make a run. Two teams in the powerful AL East — the Yankees and Red Sox, both perennial contenders — are in a pitched battle they never could envision, for fourth place in the division.
We are now a week away from the postseason. Who are the real contenders and who are the pretenders?
I believe the National League has four clubs that can get to the World Series in the Braves, Dodgers, Brewers and last year’s pennant winner, the Phillies.
Then, there is the American League. Believe it or not, I see three teams capable of getting to the World Series. Yes, the Orioles are atop the list. I also believe the Rangers and the Blue Jays could become more dangerous the longer they survive. I don’t see the Twins, Rays and the other survivor out of the West — the Astros or Mariners — capable of making it to the Series.
We’ll wrap up the season next week with one more of these power rankings. I’ll still cover each round of the playoffs as well.
1. Atlanta Braves (100-56, No. 1 last week): There’s no question the Braves have been the best team throughout the regular season. Their daily lineup is deadly and dangerous. But with Charlie Morton on the injured list and missing the NLDS and Max Fried dealing with blister issues, the Braves have to hope that Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Kyle Wright and Jared Shuster will be good enough if necessary.
2. Baltimore Orioles (97-59, No. 2): No team will enter the postseason without blemishes. The O’s have an iffy situation at closer, but they do have Tyler Wells back and DL Hall gaining some traction. They’ll also have an extra starter or two who can pivot to the ‘pen and minimize the amount of innings needed by the true relievers.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (96-59, No. 5): The division hasn’t been in question for more than three months, but the quality of the Dodgers’ starting pitching has been for a while. An 8-2 mark in their past 10 games has calmed those fears a bit.
4. Milwaukee Brewers (88-68, No. 4): Is this about to be manager Craig Counsell’s last ride with the Brew Crew? Or can his players make a gallant run to convince the pending free agent to stay?
5. Tampa Bay Rays (95-62, No. 3): It’s been a gallant effort, but with the latest round of injuries, it now feels like this team is running in quicksand. Brandon Lowe (kneecap fracture) is out for four to six weeks. Reliable setup man Jason Adam is down for the count as well with the same oblique issue cropping up again.
6. Philadelphia Phillies (87-69, No. 6): The Phillies will not go quietly, and if their starting pitching steps up, they could knock off at least one of the big boys.
7. Texas Rangers (87-68, No. 9): Until this 5-1 week, the Rangers had gone 12-19 in their previous 31 games. This offense is looking dangerous again, but I have no idea how they’d get enough quality innings to make a deep run.
8. Houston Astros (85-71, No. 7): Not sure anything is more stunning than how Dusty Baker’s Guys recently managed to go 1-5 against the 102-loss Royals with so much on the line. The Astros’ last two series are against teams vying for playoff spots in the Mariners and Diamondbacks. No shocker now if they are left out of the dance.
9. Seattle Mariners (84-71, No. 8): While I’m an Orioles fan, I had a crush on the Mariners from late July to late August as my surprise team. However, in their last 10 games against the big boys, the Mariners went 1-3 against the Rays, 0-3 against the Dodgers and 0-3 against the Rangers. They made their bed.
10. Toronto Blue Jays (87-69, No. 11): Looks like the Jays could well benefit from AL West’s three teams still being alive and playing each other. If they get in and build a head of steam, they still could be a tough out.
11. Minnesota Twins (83-73, No. 10)
12. Arizona Diamondbacks (82-73, No. 12)
13. Miami Marlins (81-75, No. 13)
14. Chicago Cubs (82-74, No. 14)
15. San Diego Padres (77-79, No. 18)
16. Cincinnati Reds (80-77, No. 15)
17. New York Yankees (78-77, No. 17)
18. San Francisco Giants (77-79, No. 16)
19. Cleveland Guardians (74-83, No. 19)
20. Pittsburgh Pirates (74-82, No. 22)
21. Boston Red Sox (76-80, No. 20)
22. Detroit Tigers (73-83, No. 21)
23. New York Mets (71-85, No. 23)
24. Los Angeles Angels (70-86, No. 24)
25. Washington Nationals (69-88, No. 26)
26. St. Louis Cardinals (68-88, No. 25)
27. Chicago White Sox (60-96, No. 28)
28. Kansas City Royals (54-102, No. 29)
29. Colorado Rockies (56-99, No. 27)
30. Oakland Athletics (48-108, No. 30)