(9/19) Friday Power Rankings: Teams that Matter
Things have changed since last week. I’ve officially scratched spot #15 from our rankings, leaving our playoff teams, plus two teams pushing for the last spots. We had a huge Astros/Rangers series. We had the Phillies go to LA to face the Dodgers. We had the Mets and the Padres square off, plus the Diamondbacks and the Giants. These rankings are being done Thursday evening before the conclusions/beginnings of the following series: Angels vs. Brewers, Yankees vs. Orioles, Cubs vs. Reds, and Giants vs. Dodgers.
As a reminder, here’s last week’s rankings:
Brewers
Phillies
Tigers
Blue Jays
Cubs
Dodgers
Yankees
Red Sox
Mariners
Padres
Astros
Mets
Rangers
Giants
Reds
Let’s get to it:
Milwaukee Brewers - 93-59 (.612), 6-4, W2; No change
Clinched playoff berth. The Brewers remain at the top. Two out of three from the Cardinals and two out of two (so far) at home vs. the Angels. The division is in sight, as is the top seed.
2. Philadelphia Phillies - 91-62 (.595), 8-2, L1; No change
Clinched NL East (playoff berth). The Phillies are rolling. They went into LA and took two out of three from the Dodgers. Their three lefties are a playoff nightmare and lining them up for a divisional round after (hopefully) clinching a first round bye will be even scarier.
3. Toronto Blue Jays - 89-64 (.582), 7-3, L2; up 1 spot
Clinched playoff berth. Losing two out of three to the Rays is not ideal, but they swept the Orioles in impressive fashion and this is as complete of a team as you’ll find. If the Yankees weren’t so hot right now, they’d have the division locked up.
4. Chicago Cubs - 88-64 (.579), 7-3, W4; up 1 spot
Clinched playoff berth. The Cubs have been steadily cruising. Cade Horton is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now, which the Cubs need to set up their playoff rotation. They seem to be settled into the top wild card spot and will most likely host the Padres, who do not look consistent at all.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers - 85-67 (.559), 7-3, W1; up 1 spot
The Dodgers have some serious bullpen issues. The Blake Treinen/Tanner Scott thing is not working right now, and Wrobleski just got blown up by the Phillies. They still have 3 MVPs at the top of their lineup and a playoff rotation, they just need to figure out how they want to close out games.
6. New York Yankees - 85-67 (.559), 6-4, W2; up 1 spot
The Yankees dominated the Red Sox and took care of the Twins. If they can avoid having a disaster inning, they are a very complete team. They have 4 in Baltimore, then 3 at home against the White Sox, then at home against the Orioles again. They’re still looking to push for the division.
7. Seattle Mariners - 84-69 (.549), 9-1, W1; up 2 spots
They did finally lose, but they took the series on the road against the Royals. They are tied with the Astros for the AL West/Wild Card, as well as tied 5-5 with them for the tiebreaker. They enter a three-game series against each other in Houston over the weekend, which is a must-watch. Eugenio Suarez broke out of his slump and it looks like the pitching is back on track.
8. Detroit Tigers - 85-68 (.556), 3-7, L3; down 5 spots
They’ve lost 6 of 7 since taking the first two games against the Yankees. They struggled against the Marlins and got swept by the surging Guardians. Their division lead is down to 3.5 games as no one can argue they’ve played .500 ball over the past couple months. Their pitching situation is rough and trending in the wrong direction.
9. Houston Astros - 84-69 (.549), 6-4, W3; up 2 spots
The Astros turned it around quickly. They took two of three from the Braves and swept the Rangers convincingly to put them in their place and establish themselves back at the top of the AL West. They have the (aforementioned) huge 3-game series at home against the Mariners this weekend.
10. San Diego Padres - 83-70 (.542), 5-5, L1; No change
The Padres should be good. They’re so inconsistent right now. They are banged up a bit, but this is the playoff run. They just lost two of three to the Mets on the road. The Padres are still within 2.5 games of the NL West and 4 games up on the Mets for the second wild card spot. So the most likely scenario is they will visit the Cubs for a best-of-3. But I wouldn’t feel too strong about that matchup if I were a Padres fan.
11. New York Mets - 79-74 (.516), 3-7, W1; up 1 spot
The Mets showed out and got two of three from the Padres. Pete Alonso is blazing hot right now and Jonah Tong had a nice start. They still have some pitching issues but they are holding steady in that final wild card spot. They sit 2 games up on the Diamondbacks right now.
12. Boston Red Sox - 83-70 (.542), 5-5, L1; down 4 spots
This team is in shambles. They got handled at home by the Yankees first, and then the Athletics. Bello and Giolito got banged around, and they simply cannot hit with runners in scoring position. They dropped from the 5th seed to the 6th seed and are in a dangerous spot. They’re only 1.5 games up on the Guardians who cannot be stopped right now. They have a much harder schedule coming up, with 3 at the Rays, 3 at the Blue Jays, and 3 at home vs. the Tigers.
13. Cleveland Guardians - 81-71 (.533), 9-1, W7; New to the rankings
The Guardians are 13-4 in September and have won 7 in a row. They just swept the division-leading Tigers on the road and are about to head to Minnesota for 4 games against a sad organization. They’re 1.5 games back of the final wild card spot and 3.5 games back of the division. They face the Tigers again at home after the Twins’ series, and who knows, maybe it’s for the division?
14. Arizona Diamondbacks - 77-76 (.503), 5-5, L1; New to the rankings
I don’t love having them on the rankings, but they still matter since they’re 2 games back of the Mets for the final wild card spot. I love what Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo have been doing all season. Zac Gallen has been looking great lately and Brandon Pfaadt impressively shut down the Giants. But the Arizona bullpen is gross and there’s a small chance they can pull it together in a playoff stretch. Between them, the Giants, and the Reds, these are 3 teams I’d like to forget about unless they run the table. Being so close to .500 kills me.
That’s a wrap. We’ll see you next week.
