(9/5) Teams that Matter: Friday Power Rankings
With a couple important series wrapping up on Thursday involving 5-8 potential playoff teams, we needed to adjust the mid-week rankings to come out on Friday when the dust is settled. Last week, we lost our friends in Cleveland (will they be back?), and this week we lost the other half of Ohio with our friends in Cincinnati. They fought hard against the Blue Jays, but they’ve lost 7 out of 9 and got jumped in the wild card. So, they have left “mattering” territory.
We had some really solid matchups between playoff teams, so let’s see how that affected our rankings.
As a reminder, here are last week’s rankings (full breakdown here):
Brewers
Dodgers
Blue Jays
Tigers
Phillies
Cubs
Padres
Red Sox
Mets
Yankees
Astros
Mariners
Royals
Reds
Rangers
Here we go:
Milwaukee Brewers - 86-55 (.610), 5-5, L1; No change
The Brewers looked strong in Toronto against the Blue Jays, taking 2 out of 3. But against the Phillies they showed some signs of weakness. They lost trade acquisition Shelby Miller and Christian Yelich is now day-to-day with a lower back issue. The Brewers have only won 1 of their last 5 series. They may have entered coast mode as they still have a 5.5 game lead on the division and a strong positioning in the playoff picture for a bye.
2. Toronto Blue Jays - 81-59 (.579), 5-5, W2; up 1 spot
The Blue Jays had a tough go of it against Milwaukee over the weekend but bounced back with a strong series against the Reds. They got hit in the mouth in Cincinnati and stayed resilient, taking 2 out of 3. But they have some major bullpen issues. Daulton Varsho is homering at a crazy rate and hopefully Addison Barger can bounce back from a rough August. They go to New York for a huge series against the Yankees who are hot and breathing down their neck for the division.
3. Philadelphia Phillies - 81-59 (.579), 5-5, W1; up 2 spots
They bounced back from the Mets series by taking 3 out of 4 from Atlanta and 2 out of 3 from the Brewers. They had a gut check in game 1 against the crew as they came back twice to win the game. If they can figure out their righties in their rotation, they’ll continue to dominate the league’s best teams.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers - 78-62 (.557), 5-5, L3; down 2 spots
It was a tough past two series for the Dodgers. They dropped 2 of 3 to the Dbacks and got swept by the Pirates. To be fair, the Pirates have been no joke at home all year, but you’re still the Dodgers and you have to put out a better showing than that. They did get Hyeseong Kim back and will hopefully get Max Muncy back. They continue their road trip by going to Baltimore for 3 to see if they can fare better than the Padres did.
5. Chicago Cubs - 80-60 (.571), 5-5, L1; up 1 spot
Wow, how impressive has Cade Horton been? He’s been a revelation in that rotation. The Cubs keep plucking away, taking 2 out of 3 from the Rockies and 2 out of 3 from the Braves. Which PCA are we going to see this month? The Cubs are a different offense when he’s going. They’ve got 3 against Washington this weekend before going to Atlanta for 3 more.
6. Detroit Tigers - 81-60 (.574), 3-7, W1; down 2 spots
They had a tough showing against the Mets at home. Charlie Morton got roughed up and Sawyer Gipson-Long didn’t fare much better. Casey Mize had a nice outing to salvage the last game, but the Mets took it to them. Luckily, they’ve got the White Sox for 3 at home, but then go to New York to face the Yankees early next week. We’ll see how this turns out by the next power rankings. Wenceel Perez continues to be one of the most underrated players in that lineup.
7. New York Yankees - 78-62 (.557), 8-2, W1; up 3 spots
They got 3 out of 4 from the White Sox and 2 out of 3 from the Astros. The Yankees are catching fire at the right time. Their offense has been unstoppable, with Trent Grisham being an absolute menace at the plate. They did have another Devin Williams/Camilo Doval meltdown that caused the loss in game 2 against Houston, but they bounced back big on Thursday. They’ll host the Blue Jays over the weekend for 3 games, as they sit 3 games back of them for the division lead. This will be a great series to watch.
8. New York Mets - 75-65 (.536), 6-4, L1; up 1 spot
The Mets are getting exciting. Juan Soto is one of the hottest players in baseball right now and putting together a very complete season. Nolan McLean is absolutely filthy and 4-0 in his MLB career. Jonah Tong is up. They just called up Brandon Sproat. They have a couple issues to address, particularly Sean Manaea and Ryan Helsley. But the lineup is rocking. They go to Cincinnati this weekend before they travel to Philly for a huge 4 game set early next week.
9. Boston Red Sox - 78-63 (.553), 7-3, L1; down 1 spot
Wednesday’s bullpen game didn’t exactly go as planned. I hope Jordan Hicks stays off social media. Roman Anthony has an oblique injury and is now on the IL with no exact timetable for return, so guys like Ceddanne Rafaela are going to have to step up. Aroldis Chapman is still unhittable, but Garrett Crochet had a rough outing against Cleveland, likely knocking him out of the Cy Young race. Boston goes to Arizona for 3 this weekend with big lefty Payton Tolle starting Friday night.
10. Houston Astros - 77-64 (.546), 5-5, L1; up 1 spot
Houston split 4 with the Angels and dropped 2 of 3 to the Yankees at home. They don’t look like the formidable franchise they have been over the years. Framber is crossing up his catcher and whether it’s the starters or the bullpen, they’re giving up crooked numbers every game. They will go and face the Rangers on the road for 3 games this weekend. The Rangers are chipping away as they sit 5 games back of Houston in the division. This is another important series to keep an eye on.
11. San Diego Padres - 76-64 (.543), 2-8, L4; down 4 spots
Things are bleak in San Diego. Three weeks ago the Padres were the 4th ranked team. But now they’re 2-8 in their last 10 and just got swept at home by Baltimore. Not only that, but they’ve now lost Xander Bogaerts to a broken foot and Jason Adam to a ruptured quad. Adam is out for a long time, and who knows when Bogaerts will be ready. Michael King should be back soon. Manny Machado had an August to forget and he’s looking to turn it around this month. They have 3 in Colorado to try to get right this weekend.
12. Seattle Mariners - 73-67 (.521), 4-6, L3; no change
The Mariners got handled by the Rays. There is a funk going on in that rotation. Luis Castillo is not right. George Kirby got lit up (and maybe hit Josh Lowe intentionally?). Bryan Woo gave up 3 ERs, which is out of the ordinary for him this season. Julio Rodriguez is producing, but guys like Randy Arozarena need to step up again if they’re going to get enough offense to offset their pitching issues. I do not feel good about this team going into the playoffs. If they make it, that is (don’t go on r/Mariners for positive vibes).
13. San Francisco Giants - 71-69 (.507), 9-1, W4; New to rankings
The Giants have won 4 in a row and 10 of their last 11. They jumped the Reds in the wild card race and now sit 4 games back of the Mets. It’s still a longshot, but there’s a chance. Their offense has been on fire. Your big name guys like Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, and Willy Adames are leading the way. They go to St. Louis for 3 this weekend. They need to continue to handle business if they want to make a last-ditch effort at the playoffs.
14. Texas Rangers - 72-69 (.511), 7-3, L2; up 1 spot
Texas was rolling. They ran into a hiccup with Arizona and dropped the last 2 out of 3 to them. No Eovaldi, Seager, or Semien, they’re doing it with guys like Wyatt Langford, Cody Freeman, and Alejandro Osuna instead. Jack Leiter had another good start and continued his stretch of quality outings. They sit 1.5 games back of Seattle for the last playoff spot and have 3 games at home against Houston this weekend. Now’s the time to prove it.
15. Tampa Bay Rays - 71-69 (.507), 8-2, W7; New to rankings
The Royals could have had this spot and do sit above the Rays in the wild card race (even though they have the same record), but the Rays have won 7 in a row and have been doing it against playoff-contending-ish teams. They swept the Nationals on the road and then swept the Mariners at home, absolutely obliterating the Seattle pitching staff. They’ve taken the first game from Cleveland in the 4-game series that will continue this weekend. Junior Caminero continues to slug, and the Rays are only 2 games out of the final wild card spot.