MLB Power Rankings: Week 21
12. Chicago Cubs (64-59)
The Cubs enter this week sitting in the third wild card spot and only three games behind Milwaulkee for the division lead. Chicago is in the hunt for the postseason, which is a big win for this franchise who hasn’t done much since winning the World Series back in 2016. Cody Bellinger has found his swing again and is looking like an MVP. Justin Steele has had a great breakout season on the mound which has been a huge boost for an otherwise shaky pitching staff.
11. Minnesota Twins (65-60)
It’s easy to write off Minnesota as a good team because of the division they are in. They have difficulty scoring runs consistently but their pitching staff is one of the best in the game. The Twins can hang with the best in the game come postseason time.
10. Toronto Blue Jays (69-56)
The Blue Jays find themselves out of the postseason picture entering the week. This is mostly due to a red hot Seattle team that is bound to cool off a bit. Toronto does seem to lack the ability to go on a monster run, something that would really help them right now in a tight wild card race. They have great pitching and a lot of star power in the lineup and are well positioned for a postseason push.
9. Milwaukee Brewers (68-57)
The Brewers went on the road and got swept by the Dodgers, scoring just three runs in the three game set. Then they traveled to Texas and swept the Rangers, scoring 23 runs in three games. Finding consistency has been difficult for the Brew Crew all season but they have been better in the second half and have a three game lead in the NL Central entering the week.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (67-57)
The Phillies are another team that is struggling to find consistency and go on a big run. But as we saw last year, all you gotta do is get in the race and anything can happen. This is a scrappy team that knows how to win when it matters most. They are the top wild card team entering the week.
7. Seattle Mariners (69-55)
The Mariners have been winning a lot since they hosted the All Star Game. A 24-11 second half record has brought them all the way back into the postseason picture, as they enter the week with a 0.5 game lead over Toronto for the last wild card spot. Seattle has always had great pitching, they are 1st in MLB in WHIP and 2nd in ERA. Now, they have finally found a way to put runs together behind a historic run from Julio Rodriguez having set a new MLB record with 17 hits in his last 4 games (you read that right).
6. Houston Astros (70-55)
Houston missed a big opportunity to gain ground on the Rangers over the weekend. While the Rangers got swept, the Astros got swept themselves by the Mariners. Despite that, Houston is still in a great position. They are one of the most complete teams in baseball and will be a problem come postseason time, as always.
5. Texas Rangers (72-52)
The Rangers have managed to stay atop a very competitive AL West despite getting swept over the weekend. Enough isn’t said about how great Corey Seager is. He is the leader of one of the best offenses in the league with this impressive stat line - .346 AVG, 23 HR, 74 RBI, 1.072 OPS, 5.5 WAR. I know he has missed a good chunk of games due to injury but when he’s healthy, he’s an MVP caliber player that is very underrated.
4. Tampa Bay Rays (75-51)
The Rays got two hits of bad news last week, with their ace Shane McClanahan needing Tommy John surgery and young star Wander Franco getting suspended indefinitely due to sexual abuse investigation. Despite that, they had a good 4-2 west coast road trip in Anaheim and San Francisco. They have good depth that will keep them in the postseason race but those two players going down is a big blow to their World Series hopes.
3. Baltimore Orioles (77-47)
The Orioles have solidified themselves as the team to beat in the American League. As we enter the final stretch of the season, they just need to keep steady to earn the top seed entering the postseason, something that no one saw coming.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (76-47)
The Dodgers are red hot having won 17 of their last 19 games. The pitching is finally back in form, with Clayton Kershaw coming off the IL and Julio Urias finding his stuff again after a rough first half. The bullpen is back to shutting it down in the late innings and Bobby Miller is making a case for Rookie of the Year. Every move the Dodgers made at the trade deadline has worked out fantastically so far, with Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Kike Hernandez, and Amed Rosario all making huge contributions to the teams success.
1. Atlanta Braves (80-43)
Atlanta is making the case for putting together one of the best offensive seasons of all time. They lead MLB in pretty much every hitting category and have two MVP candidates in Ronald Acuna Jr and Matt Olson. It’s no surprise they hold the league’s best record by 4.5 games and will enter the postseason as the World Series favorite.