As we wind our way toward September, one thing is quite clear: The Milwaukee Brewers are significantly better than the rest. Everything just seems to work out for the Brewers, winners of 14 consecutive games before losing on Sunday in Cincinnati.
While Christian Yelich will never fully recapture his MVP form, this version of Yelich — .267/.345/.467, 25 homers and 86 RBIs with 15 steals in 20 attempts — is plenty good enough. As I wrote last week, Andrew Vaughn is helping make up for the loss of Rhys Hoskins.
They are also getting contributions from Jackson Chourio (IL), Isaac Collins, William Contreras, Sal Frelick, Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang.
Starters Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester and José Quintana are a combined 35-11. Trevor Megill has more than made up for the loss of Devin Williams. The rotation has received a huge boost from rookie Jacob Misiorowski and veteran Brandon Woodruff (8-1 combined).
After the Brewers, there clearly are seven to ten more teams that could put it all together, but at least for now, the Brewers are the cream of the crop.
Here are my latest power rankings:
1. Milwaukee Brewers (78-45, No. 1 last week): The 14-game winning streak came to an end Sunday against the Reds, but the Brewers are still holding a nine-game lead over the Cubs. A five-game series at Wrigley this week looks like the last chance for the Cubs to get back in the division race. When that win streak reached 12, it triggered a free hamburger giveaway for fans at the George Webb Restaurant chain.
2. Toronto Blue Jays (73-52, No. 7): The Jays have a chance to really put away the division this week. They play three in Pittsburgh and Miami, while the Yankees and Red Sox square off for four later this week.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (71-53, No. 2): The Padres showed up to Dodger Stadium on Aug. 15 tied for first place. Three days later, after being swept, the Padres leave Los Angeles wondering what hit them again.
4. Detroit Tigers (73-53, No. 4): A positive 5-2 week was very much needed for the Tigers. However, it came against the White Sox and Twins, the two weakest clubs in the AL Central. The competition is a step up this week. They’ll face the Astros and a red-hot Royals team.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (71-53, No. 3): In the span of 24 hours, the Phillies placed Zack Wheeler on the IL with a blood clot in his right shoulder and Aaron Nola (ankle, ribs) struggled in his return from a three-month absence. He was staked to a 6-0 lead but promptly coughed it up during a nightmarish third inning in D.C.
6. Seattle Mariners (68-57, No. 5): It seems the Mariners always go through a stretch like this, no matter who the players are. They traveled east to play two struggling teams and proceeded to go just 2-4 against the Orioles and Mets. The latter was just 2-13 in its previous 15 games. The Mariners start the week with three against the Phillies before heading home.
7. Boston Red Sox (68-57, No. 8): The Red Sox were dealt a bit of a blow with the news that rookie Marcelo Mayer will have season-ending wrist surgery. They’re continuing to get good work out of the top three in the rotation (Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello). They also recently got six shutout innings from former Dodger Dustin May. Alex Bregman and Trevor Story, both having great seasons, can opt out after the season.
8. San Diego Padres (69-55, No. 9): After making a big push to make up nine games and tie the slumping and beat-up Dodgers, the Padres suffered an embarrassing three-game sweep in Los Angeles. They now get a four-game series at home against the fading Giants before an intense weekend series against the Dodgers.
9. Chicago Cubs (70-53, No. 6): The Cubs are just 7-8 since the deadline. I’m beating a dead horse at this point, but they needed a much more significant starting pitching addition than Mike Soroka. However, their three big run producers have been awful since the All-Star break. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki haven’t been getting it done.
10. New York Yankees (67-57, No. 12): The Yankees followed up a 9-15 stretch with a 5-1 week. This week they have two in their spring home of Tampa and then host the rival Red Sox for four in the Bronx. Another 5-1 week would be huge for their confidence, because this team has been going through a crisis of confidence.
11. Houston Astros (69-55, No. 10)
12. New York Mets (66-58, No. 13)
13. Cincinnati Reds (65-60, No. 14)
14. Kansas City Royals (63-61, No. 16)
15. Cleveland Guardians (63-60, No. 11)
16. Texas Rangers (62-63, No. 15)
17. Los Angeles Angels (60-64, No. 21)
18. San Francisco Giants (60-64, No. 17)
19. St. Louis Cardinals (61-64, No. 18)
20. Tampa Bay Rays (61-64, No. 23)
21. Miami Marlins (59-65, No. 19)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (60-65, No. 20)
23. Baltimore Orioles (57-67, No. 24)
24. Athletics (56-70, No. 25)
25. Atlanta Braves (56-68, No. 27)
26. Minnesota Twins (58-66, No. 22)
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-73, No. 26)
28. Washington Nationals (50-74, No. 18)
29. Chicago White Sox (44-80, No. 29)
30. Colorado Rockies (35-89, No. 30)