As I watch along with all of you in Baltimore to see if the Orioles can sweep past Colorado and get over .500 and stay there, I will say as frustrating as the team has been, I think the club has done a good job keeping its fan base entertained and engaged.
No matter whether or not the O’s pull a rabbit out of the multitude of hats they wear, there will be plenty of intrigue on how president of baseball operations Mike Elias will put together a better team in 2027.
For now, we have the playoff chase to command our attention for the next four weeks and the postseason after that.
Here are my latest MLB power rankings along with comments on the top 10.
1. Milwaukee Brewers (85-52, No. 1 last week): The Dodgers held down the No. 1 spot for 15 weeks of the 2026 season, but the Brewers have held it for four weeks in a row now. More and more this team looks like the real deal. If they can keep The Miz healthy and fresh, the Brewers just might give Milwaukee fans their first World Series visit since all the way back in 1982.
2. Tampa Bay Rays (82-54, No. 3): So much is made of the pitching genius of the Rays. While I am not taking a thing away from that aspect of what they have built, but the top four of their lineup present opposing staffs with a difficult gauntlet to navigate. Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Liam Hicks are all having huge seasons.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (82-55, No. 2): If you Google the date Shohei Ohtani hurt his knee, it comes up June 11. The Dodgers are just 34-29 since then, with nothing coming as easy as it did before. Ohtani has hit 17 homers and driven in 40 runs since hurting his knee, but he isn’t stealing bases and he isn’t pitching at all. Surefire free-agent signings Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker have not come close to what the club had hoped for. Díaz has mostly been hurt. Mookie Betts missed time and is not producing like he can. The calculation must be that Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow will pitch them to victory in October.
4. Atlanta Braves (82-55, No. 7): The Braves put together a big home sweep of the Dodgers this past week, punctuated by a complete game shutout from Chris Sale. After a makeup game this week at home against the Giants and two in D.C., the Braves have six games against the Phillies, three against the Rays, three against the Astros and three against the Cubs. That’s 15 in a row against teams well over .500.
5. New York Yankees (78-59, No. 6): The Yankees just had a nice week, capped off by taking three of four against the Red Sox. Now they have a six-game West Coast trip to Anaheim and San Diego. In two weeks, the Yankees have a weird six-game trip to Minnesota and Arizona.
6. Chicago Cubs (77-60, No. 4): The Brewers hold an eight-game lead over Craig Counsell’s squad in the NL Central. The teams have seven games remaining against one another, but I don’t see the Cubs catching the Brewers. Those are still important games for the Cubs, who have work to do to ensure a playoff spot and could use the confidence boost of playing well against the Brewers.
7. Philadelphia Phillies (77-60, No. 8): The Phillies are finishing up a nine-game West Coast swing with three in Arizona. Then they come home for four against the Braves and three against the Astros before heading back on the road for three more in Atlanta. The Phillies have to keep playing well to fend off the Padres and Diamondbacks.
8. Boston Red Sox (74-63, No. 5): The Red Sox are just 10-10 since that great 40-game run. Their next 16 are against teams under .500, although seven of those are against teams fighting for their playoff lives in the Orioles and Rangers.
9. Chicago White Sox (72-64, No. 10): Davis Martin had an 8-1 record and a 2.00 ERA after an outing on May 28, but he has a 7.06 ERA with a hideous 1.72 WHIP in his last 13 starts since then. Sean Burke was fabulous for a time, but he has a 4.74 ERA in August. Anthony Kay is now their leader in wins. GM Chris Getz thought Luis Castillo was the answer. They’ll hold on to win the AL Central but nothing else this year.
10. Houston Astros (69-68, No. 13): The Astros have a two-game lead over the Rangers in the AL West, and the two teams don’t play each other the rest of the way. But get a load of the Astros’ next two weeks: four at home against the White Sox, three at home against the Diamondbacks, three in Philadelphia and three in St. Petersburg. That’s 13 games in a row against teams well over .500.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (73-65, No. 11)
12. Cleveland Guardians (69-68, No. 15)
13. San Diego Padres (72-65, No. 9)
14. Baltimore Orioles (68-69, No. 18)
15. Toronto Blue Jays (68-70, No. 16)
16. Texas Rangers (67-70, No. 12)
17. Miami Marlins (69-68, No. 14)
18. Minnesota Twins (65-72, No. 17)
19. St. Louis Cardinals (68-70, No. 19)
20. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-71, No. 22)
21. Detroit Tigers (63-73, No. 21)
22. Washington Nationals (65-74, No. 24)
23. Seattle Mariners (64-73, No. 20)
24. Cincinnati Reds (65-72, No. 23)
25. Kansas City Royals (62-76, No. 25)
26. New York Mets (61-76, No. 26)
27. San Francisco Giants (56-81, No. 28)
28. Colorado Rockies (52-85, No. 29)
29. Los Angeles Angels (52-85, No. 27)
30. Athletics (53-84, No. 30)