1. Boston Red Sox (65-29) | Last week: 1
The Red Sox have extended their winning streak to a season-high nine games, so they are squarely in the top spot of the power rankings as the All-Star break approaches. Chris Sale was again dominant last night, making it five straight games with at least 11 strikeouts.
2. Houston Astros (62-33) | Last week: 3 (+1)
Houston is tied with Boston for an MLB-best 22-8 record over their last 30 games. They fell to the surging Athletics in a three-game series, but the Astros remain in control of the AL West.
3. New York Yankees (60-31) | Last week: 2 (-1)
Surprisingly, the Yanks only split their four-game series against the Orioles, but it’s interesting to hear of their apparent interest in Baltimore shortstop Manny Machado; especially because Machado wants to play shortstop, which might not be an option on the Yankees.
4. Seattle Mariners (58-35) | Last week: 4
A few teams didn’t move much over the last week, playing .500 baseball, and the Mariners were one of them. Perhaps this should be getting talked about more, but closer Edwin Diaz has 36 saves this season and looks to have a chance to break the record for saves in a season.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (50-42) | Last week: 5
The Dodgers also played .500 baseball in the last week, but they’re still right there near the top of their division and remain in the top five of the power rankings. Clayton Kershaw staying healthy is a good sign, now we just need to see him go deeper into games.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (55-38) | Last week: 7 (+1)
The Brewers have the best record in the National League by three games, and the surprising pitching this season has been a big part of their success. New outfielder Christian Yelich is going to his first All-Star game in his first season in Milwaukee.
7. Chicago Cubs (52-38) | Last week: 6 (-1)
Three games behind the Brewers are the Cubs. The offense struggled in a series loss to the Giants, but they’ll look to get things going heading into the All-Star break with a three-game series against the Padres coming up.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (51-40) | Last week: 10 (+2)
They’re only 2-3 in their last five games, but the Phillies have played well enough recently (7-3 in their last ten) that they’ve gotten into a tie for first place in the NL East with the Braves. Four winnable games heading into the break could build momentum toward the second half.
9. Cleveland Indians (50-41) | Last week: 9
There are two teams with 50 wins but a record of less than .500 against teams over .500, and the Indians are one of them. The good news is they are in command in the AL Central.
10. Oakland Athletics (52-41) | Last week: 12 (+2)
The Athletics are the other team that has hit the 50-win mark despite a losing record against teams over .500, but they’ve been great the last few weeks, with a 15-5 record in their last 20 games.
11. Atlanta Braves (51-40) | Last week: 8 (-3)
A 2-4 week sends the Braves down a few spots in the power rankings, and they’ve been in a decline longer than the last week. However, they are still in a tie for first place in the division, and they scored nine runs in last night’s win.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks (51-42) | Last week: 11 (-1)
The Diamondbacks were hot, but they’ve cooled off and suffered a demoralizing loss last night to the Rockies, who scored all 19 of their runs in the first five innings. After today’s game against Colorado, a weekend series versus Atlanta could be big.
13. Washington Nationals (46-46) | Last week: 13
The Nationals are 10-20 in the last 30, and superstar Bryce Harper isn’t showing signs of a potential turnaround from a low-.200 average quite yet. Despite the struggles, they are only 5.5 games back in the NL East.
14. San Francisco Giants (49-46) | Last week: 15 (+1)
With the last seven games coming at home, the Giants went 4-3 and gained a game on the Diamondbacks in the division. They sit a three games back with a tough series against Oakland before the break.
15. Colorado Rockies (47-45) | Last week: 16 (+1)
Last night, the Rockies scored 18 runs in the first four innings versus Arizona, forcing Diamondbacks second baseman Daniel Descalso into the game, making it the earliest a position player has pitched in a game since 1979. Maybe the Rockies can take a lot of momentum from the crazy win.
16. St. Louis Cardinals (47-44) | Last week: 14 (-2)
Yet another .500 team over the last week, the Cardinals are now seven games back in the NL Central. Miles Mikolas making the NL All-Star team is a good story after he played a few years in Japan, but he won’t be able to pitch in the Midsummer Classic because he’ll be on the mound for the Cards on Sunday.
17. Tampa Bay Rays (48-44) | Last week: 18 (+1)
After a series loss to the Marlins, the Rays bounced back with a 5-1 record against the Mets and Tigers. Now they’ll face a Twins team that’s been just as hot for a four-game series before the All-Star break.
18. Los Angeles Angels (47-46) | Last week: 17 (-1)
The Angels are one of two teams with a winning record overall but a losing record in the last 30 games (12-18). With Shohei Ohtani back, they’ve gone 4-4 the last eight games against a couple of tough opponents in the Mariners and the Dodgers. The Angels finish the first half with four more games against those two teams.
19. Pittsburgh Pirates (43-49) | Last week: 19
Because of a double-header schedule for Saturday, the Pirates have a rare opportunity to play five straight games against a division leader (the Brewers). Opportunities like this must be taken advantage of to get back into the playoff race.
20. Cincinnati Reds (41-52) | Last week: 21 (+1)
The NL Central’s best record in the last 30 games belongs to the Reds, who are 19-11 in that stretch. The two losses over the weekend against the Cubs were tough, but Cincinnati bounced back with a series win against Cleveland.
21. Minnesota Twins (41-49) | Last week: (+5)
After a 6-1 week, the Twins worked their way to 8.5 games back in the AL Central. Now they face the Rays in a very important series before the break.
22. Toronto Blue Jays (42-49) | Last week: 22
The Blue Jays were playing well, but the Braves beat them both games in a two-game series, and now they must contend with the Red Sox in Boston.
23. Texas Rangers (40-54) | Last week: 20 (-3)
The Rangers had to take on the Red Sox the last three days, and it equated to three losses. Texas might be dealing Cole Hamels and Adrian Beltre at some point.
24. San Diego Padres (40-55) | Last week: 23 (-1)
There had been talk of the Padres potentially being buyers at the trade deadline, but the chances of that seem to be declining by the day.
25. Detroit Tigers (40-55) | Last week: 27 (-2)
Offensively, the Tigers have been hot and cold recently, with too many games of three or fewer runs.
26. Miami Marlins (39-56) | Last week: 24 (-2)
The Marlins are coming off a series win against the NL’s best team, and they’ll now have a shot at a Phillies team tied for first in the NL East.
27. New York Mets (37-53) | Last week: 25 (-2)
Jacob deGrom had yet another superb outing last night against Philadelphia, throwing eight scoreless innings, but his offense didn’t come through with any runs until the bottom of the 10th. His 1.68 ERA equating to just five wins indicates how bad the Mets are.
28. Chicago White Sox (31-61) | Last week: 28
The White Sox are a young team, so you just want to see them complete and play hard in a season that isn’t going into October.
29. Baltimore Orioles (26-67) | Last week: 30 (+1)
A four-game split with the Yankees gets the Orioles out of the basement in this week’s power rankings.
30. Kansas City Royals (26-66) | Last week: 29 (-1)
As the trade deadline nears, the Royals have some trade pieces like Mike Moustakas and Whit Merrifield.
Crazy season