The Yankees need to get out of their slump soon...
The Major League Baseball season has officially passed its halfway point. We know the MLB All-Star rosters. We have standings that matter. And every team is soon going to have to decide what to do at the all-important trade deadline.
Needless to say, it's a big week for the MLB Power Rankings. And we saw much less movement than in prior weeks, as no team rose or fell more than three spots. The big picture appears to be coming into focus, as teams across the league are finding out what they're truly made of at the moment.
Where did your team land in this week's MLB Power Rankings? Read on to find out!
1. Philadelphia Phillies (no change)
The All-Star break is coming at a fantastic time for the Phillies, who seem to be running on fumes at the moment. They've been the most consistent team in baseball for most of the season, but injuries and fatigue take their toll on every team. With Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper due to return this week, the Phils should be the healthiest they've been and ready to hit the ground running after the Midsummer Classic.
2. Baltimore Orioles (no change)
In a week where they played two West Coast series, the Orioles simply took care of business. Taking two of three from Seattle and Oakland is the expectation when you're one of baseball's best teams. And thanks to a stinker of a week from the Yankees, the O's have opened up a season-high three-game lead atop the American League East. It's a good time to be a bird, folks.
3. Cleveland Guardians (no change)
The Guardians did what the Guardians usually do this week–win series. First, the White Sox came to Progressive Field, then came the Giants, and both were sent packing with frowns on their faces. With robust representation at the All-Star Game and a jumpstart on the AL's top seed, being a Clevelander must feel pretty good right about now.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (no change)
It was an up-and-down week for the Dodgers, who decided to keep pitching to Christian Walker until he had completed his own Fourth of July fireworks show. Winning two of three against the Brewers was a nice bounce-back, especially considering Will Smith briefly turned into prime Barry Bonds. And who knows, maybe we'll see L.A. play both the D-Backs and Brewers again in October.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)
Nobody on the Brewers is thrilled with a 3-4 West Coast road trip, but they've built a nice buffer to play with atop the NL Central. There were some good moments, highlighted by Rhys Hoskins' go-ahead hit-by-pitch and Christian Yelich's weekend power outburst. This is another team for whom the All-Star break probably comes at a solid time, as the pitching staff has had to work overtime all season to cover for injuries.
6. Atlanta Braves (+1)
Though losing a home series to the Giants was far from ideal, the Braves salvaged the week in a major way by winning the final two games of their showdown with the Phillies. Atlanta remains eight games behind Philadelphia in the standings, but they've seen firsthand how regular season standings can flip when it comes to October. And shutdown performances from Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Reynaldo López are all great omens.
Well, this is getting tough to watch. The Yankees haven't won back-to-back games in 25 days. They haven't won any of their last seven series. And if it weren't for a blowup inning from former Yankee Greg Weissert, they might have been swept for an entire homestand. This is the first time it's even looked like a remote possibility the Yankees could miss the playoffs, but you've got to trust a team anchored by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to eventually right the ship.
8. Minnesota Twins (no change)
Even in a season where his numbers at the plate look pretty pitcher-ish, Christian Vázquez can still deliver in the clutch. His walk-off home run Sunday against Josh Hader gave the Twins a huge series win over the Astros, against whom they secured a season series win and playoff tiebreaker advantage. With 51 wins on the season, the Twins are also quietly sneaking up on the Yankees for the four-seed in the AL, which could be a big first round matchup advantage.
It was unbelievably tempting to put the Red Sox above the Yankees this week. If the playoffs started today, we'd pick Boston over New York in a heartbeat. But the body of work matters too, and the Red Sox played .500 baseball for 70 games this year. If they continue on their current trajectory, though, this could be remembered as the year that reinvigorated the morale surrounding Boston baseball.
10. Seattle Mariners (-1)
The Mariners don't really deserve to stay in the top 10 of these MLB Power Rankings. But fortunately, at least for their sake, no one other than Boston really seized the opportunity. So we're left with a downtrodden Seattle team clinging to the 10-spot despite two more series losses, with a razor-thin lead over the Astros that felt insurmountable just two weeks ago. And to rub things in, Jarred Kelenic is killing it in the leadoff spot for Atlanta and would be easily the best qualified hitter on this year's Mariners team.
11. San Diego Padres (no change)
Manny Machado's walk-off home run Friday night was a proper moment. The kind that finds its way onto all the season recap montages, although the editor will likely omit the crazed fan joining the celebration in front of the Padres dugout. However, the Friars then dropped the last two against their division rivals, ceding ground in the MLB Wild Card race in the process. Come on, Padres, let's not do the .500 dance for the rest of the season.
12. Kansas City Royals (-2)
On the whole, the first half of the season has still been a major success in Kansas City. But the Royals can't be feeling good about how quickly they fell out of playoff position. On June 11, they were 5.5 games clear of the Red Sox for a Wild Card spot. Twenty-six days later, they're a game and a half back. It will be a crucial series when the Royals head to Fenway Park at the end of this week, both teams' final test before the All-Star break.
13. St. Louis Cardinals (+1)
It defies logic, given the team's -39 run differential, but the Cardinals are starting to hit the gas pedal. They've steadily been climbing the MLB Power Rankings and have now reached a season-high ranking. If the playoffs started today, they'd be in. And with John Mozeliak potentially nearing the end of his tenure as general manager, it would make a ton of sense to buy big at this year's deadline.
14. Houston Astros (-1)
The Astros had built a lot of momentum before stumbling against the Twins over the weekend, and frankly, allowing a seven-run ninth inning in Friday night's 13-12 win may have been the catalyst. Though the Astros' arrow still looks to be pointing upward, the bullpen needs to be much, much better in the second half, and with all the money they've already spent on relievers, the improvements may need to happen internally.
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (+2)
This was the week where it felt like the Diamondbacks rejoined the party. It started with Christian Walker officially signing his lease on Dodger Stadium, where manager Dave Roberts fully admitted he's been better than Shohei Ohtani. Then, the D-Backs pulled off a gutsy weekend series win over the Padres after a heartbreaking walk-off loss Friday night. There's a lot of season left and Arizona is right where it likes to be: in the Wild Card hunt.
16. New York Mets (no change)
Francisco Lindor is worth every penny of his $341 million contract. He's up to 15 home runs and a .763 OPS on the season, and on Sunday, he turned in a signature moment with a two-out, go-ahead single against Aroldis Chapman. If the Mets have any hope of securing a Wild Card berth, a huge chunk of it rests on Lindor's capable shoulders. And yes, it's a travesty that didn't get selected in the MLB All-Star Game.
17. Tampa Bay Rays (-2)
There are sweeps that don't matter and then there are sweeps that really, really do. And the Rays suffered an absolute back-breaker in Arlington, Texas this weekend. At a time where ownership is likely leaning toward selling given the growing arbitration contracts of some of their brightest stars, the last thing you want is to fall back under .500. The Rays likely need a big week, or some of their key pieces will be headed out of town.
18. San Francisco Giants (no change)
Not too many teams have been more frustrating to follow this season than the Giants. They won three in a row this week to get to 44-45, oh-so-close to escaping the clutches of a losing record. But with their Saturday loss, San Francisco fell to an unbelievable 2-10 in games where a win would have put them at .500. There's still ample time for the Giants to get hot and make a Wild Card push this MLB season, but do they have the clutch gene that requires?
19. Texas Rangers (+1)
Teetering on the edge of becoming surefire sellers, the Rangers pulled out a monstrous sweep of the Rays this weekend, capped off by a 13-2 romp on Sunday. Wyatt Langford seems to be emerging as the star the Rangers always expected him to be, Corey Seager looks healthy and Jonah Heim is finally looking like his 2023 self. But with only two weeks of games to make up ground before the trade deadline, is it already too late?
20. Pittsburgh Pirates (-1)
Nearly everyone across baseball seems to be hoping the Pirates will make a splash at the trade deadline. They've got electric arms, a potential face of the sport in Paul Skenes, and are selling out night games at beautiful PNC Park. But they also aren't a very good offensive baseball team and have fallen five games out of the playoff race, raising the question of whether any additions would be enough to make this a real contender this year or anytime soon.
21. Detroit Tigers (+3)
The Tigers swept the Reds over the weekend, but that probably won't be enough to prevent the front office from. Which is just as well, because Detroit stands to get a serious hall for Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha, Gio Urshela, and perhaps others. Plus, Tarik Skubal may have earned himself a chance to start the All-Star Game with 13 strikeouts on Sunday.
22. Cincinnati Reds (-1)
It was a profoundly confusing week for the Reds, who swept the Yankees in the Bronx, then went home just to be swept by the reeling Tigers. The pitching staff has mostly done its job this season, which is a surprise given the offense-happy ballpark Cincy calls home, but the lineup has been wildly inconsistent. Once presumed to be playoff contenders, the Reds could be forced to sell if the next three weeks don't represent a major improvement.
23. Washington Nationals (no change)
It was very, very fun to see James Wood inject some life into the D.C. baseball scene this week. Given the odd schedule Monday night with every team playing on the fourth, Wood's MLB debut was basically the only game on television across the continent. Fans were rewarded with a great first at-bat, an excellent all-around week and a downright impressive first home run on Saturday. Wood is just the latest reason to buy lots of Nats stock for seasons to come.
24. Toronto Blue Jays (-2)
The Blue Jays came back strong with a series win in Seattle over the weekend, but losing three of four at home to Houston may have been the nail in the coffin. With the trade deadline looming, the Jays currently own the fourth-worst record in the AL and sixth-worst in all of baseball. Unloading some veterans could be a good way to kick-start the youth movement ahead of schedule.
25. Chicago Cubs (no change)
A .500 week is good for the 2024 Cubs, but it's bad for a team desperately trying to stop the front office from selling. And if there's one moment that sadly encapsulates the Cubs' season to this point, it's reliever Colten Brewer landing on the 60-day injured list after punching the dugout wall. At least he used his non-throwing hand, but yikes.
26. Los Angeles Angels (no change)
The Angels won six of seven games last week and had us singing their praises in the MLB Power Rankings. Then they went out and lost five of six this week and we're right back where we started. Obviously, this season isn't all about winning for the youthful Halos, but you'd like to see a team sustain some momentum, especially going up against the Cubs and Athletics.
27. Oakland Athletics (no change)
It's rare that the team with the fourth-worst record in the majors can have a gripe about not getting two All-Star selections, but Brent Rooker really did get snubbed. He's the only player of the current top 15 OPS leaders not to make it so far, and hopefully he will once replacements start trickling out.
28. Colorado Rockies (+1)
The Rockies played good baseball this week! They split a four-game set with the division-leading Brewers, then took two of three from the Royals, hurting Kansas City's playoff chances in the process. It would be lovely to see the Rockies make waves at the trade deadline for once, especially in a big-time seller's market, but we're not holding our breath.
29. Miami Marlins (-1)
If you weren't watching the series of the year this weekend, we'll fill you in. The Marlins seemed to be in trouble after dropping Friday night's opener, but stormed back to take down the vaunted White Sox with a three-run walk-off homer from Jake Burger. The vibes are high as the Marlins surge to within 15.5 games of a playoff spot… Sorry, can't keep doing this with a straight face.
30. Chicago White Sox (no change)
How much detail do you really want here? We know who the White Sox are at this point. The wins and losses don't mean much this month; it's all about who Chris Getz decides to trade and what kind of return he trades them for. That's why, amid all the losses on the field, the White Sox could end up being some of MLB's biggest winners by the end of the month.