MLB Power Rankings: Cubs, Cubs, Cubs!
As we reach Labor Day and the unofficial start of fall, here is this week’s MLB Power Rankings! Safe to say that a good time is being had on Chicago’s North Side.
Another week has come and gone. With Labor Day here, it is time once again to look at the MLB Power Rankings.
We are now under 30 games to go in the regular season. Tight races in the American League East and both the AL and National League Wild Card races will jumble things around a bit, but by now teams are stable.
With the rosters expanded to 40 players, those at the bottom of the list now get a fresh chance to watch the hopeful stars of tomorrow. Those contending teams will delight in deeper bullpens and everyday players getting a needed day off of rest as we hit the crunch time.
Now with three weeks left, the largest change in any one team is five spots. Although the worst teams in baseball are not historically bad, it is safe to say those at the top of these rankings will be a team that is talked about for years to come regardless of the final outcome.
With all that in mind, where does your favorite team rank through the first 23 weeks of the season? With 10 playoff spots, there is a good chance your club still has October on their minds.
If not, free agency is 10 weeks away.
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30. team. 2. Winners of two of their last 10, the Twins season cannot end fast enough. <a href=. . Previous: . Minnesota Twins 51-86
17. With <a href=. . Previous: . Atlanta Braves 54-83. 29. team
28. team. 8. A.J. Pollack is back and swatting home runs again. Winners of two straight and six of ten, this season needs to end on a positive note for a team suffering from a major case of dysfunction. <a href=. . Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks 58-78
. Previous: . Oakland Athletics 58-78. 27. team. 96. When the big story of the week is <a href=
61. The good news for the Reds came with two wins at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. The bad news, they were swept in Los Angeles by the Dodgers. Oh, yeah. They have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The first team this season to earn the distinction. Injuries are catching up with Cincy. So are the Bengals for attention.. . Previous: . Cincinnati Reds. 26. team
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team. 127. You would have hoped Hall of Fame broadcaster, and person, Dick Enberg would have had a better team to retire on. For all the well-deserved attention Vin Scully has received in Los Angeles, Enberg’s retirement is almost as big. On the field, the Padres are slumbering through the end of the season. Losers of seven out of ten, they better hope all those prospects they received during this year’s fire sale bear some fruit. With the big money players gone there has to be a reason, aside from the weather, to take in a game. . . Previous: . San Diego Padres 56-80. 25
Philadelphia Phillies 60-76. 24. team. 6. Along with the Braves, here is a team that has a lot of prospects right on the cusp of making an impact. For now, they are dealing with a brooding <a href=. . Previous:
Milwaukee Brewers 60-76. 23. team. 76. The good news for Milwaukee comes after a weekend sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even a four-game winning streak could not stave off the inevitable as they are eliminated from the playoffs. Before this mini-run, they lost six straight at home in the division. Not good. <a href=. . Previous:
team. 21. Now in the role of AL East spoilers, the Rays captured two out of three this weekend at home against Toronto. Surprisingly, they are still mathematically alive in the AL Wild Card hunt trailing that second spot by 15.5 games. Seriously, this team has more questions than answers going into next season. Do they move <a href=. . Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays 58-77. 22
21. team. 102. Whatever good things the Angels had going on this week was overshadowed Sunday when <a href=. . Previous: . Los Angeles Angels 61-75
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108. Although .500 baseball is an improvement for the season, it will not be enough now to put the Rockies into the Wild Card conversation. Dropping two straight to Arizona will not help their cause either. Not expected to contend this year, the stories coming out of Denver about manager <a href=. . Previous: . Colorado Rockies 65-71. 19. team
Previous: . Miami Marlins 68-69. 18. team. 82. When we dissect the 2016 Marlins season, this will be the weekend when they lost the playoffs. Swept in Cleveland, including a heartbreaking loss Sunday, the Marlins are heading south in a hurry. Now losers of six straight and eight of ten, they went from a Wild Card spot to four out of the race. A gutty team who have exceeded expectations, this is the wrong time of year to go backwards. A .500 record likely keeps them within a chance, but unless they find the magic, third in the NL East and home for October is their best bet..
At 5.0 games out of the second Wild Card, it is not quite over for the Mariners, but another bad week like this and it will be. Seattle has dropped eight of ten, including two of three against the Angels at home. Our biggest mover in the rankings, you simply do not want to be going backwards right now. With the AL East in the process of beating each other up, there is hope if Seattle can get hot again, but they need the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals to stumble as well. The offense is there, but the pitching has to come through.. . Previous: . Seattle Mariners 69-67. 17. team. 62
16. team. 4. The great Wild Card run of the Pittsburgh Pirates is likely over. After three straight years, this August swoon is probably a deal breaker. You reach the point where you become dependant on bad things needing to happen with too many other teams to win. Losers of six straight, including a sweep by Milwaukee this weekend, push the Pirates back to .500 and 3.5 out of the second Wild Card. It is possible to come back, but their margin of error right now is zero.. . Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates 67-67
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team. 7. In a week where they could have made a major stand towards defending their World Championship, the Kansas City Royals fell short. At home against the Yankees and Tigers, the Royals won two and dropped four. If they are to threaten for a Wild Card spot, those numbers need to be reversed. Catching Cleveland is gone as the Royals are now 9.5 out in the AL Central. Their hopes are now on the Wild Card, and hey sit four back of the team that took two of three from the Royals this weekend. No team has played more meaningful baseball the last two seasons than the Royals. At some point, you have to think fatigue will catch up. Next up, the Twins.. . Previous: . Kansas City Royals 70-66. 15
New York Mets 71-66. 14. team. 3. How in the world are the Mets still alive? They have more injuries than a MASH unit, the offense cannot string hits together and <a href=. . Previous:
43. Our biggest gainer of the week, the New York Yankees come into the last month of the season young and hungry. If this weekend in Baltimore is any indication of how they will finish, then it will be a hair short. The Orioles pounded Yankee pitchers with long balls Friday and Saturday. But, a good midweek series in Kansas City and a win Sunday has New York 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. The first-place Blue Jays come to town next. The season rests on New York taking at least two.. . Previous: . New York Yankees 70-65. 13. team
. Previous: . Detroit Tigers 74-62. 12. team. 63. The Detroit Tigers control their own destiny. A far cry from where they were in May. Now owners of the second Wild Card, their big weekend in Kansas City boosted Detroit into a playoff spot. Winning seven of ten, they are getting hot at the right time. <a href=
Houston Astros 72-64. 11. team. 135. Another team getting hot at the right time, the Astros are within 2.0 games of the second Wild Card. Although they struggle with the Texas Rangers, earning their third victory of the season Sunday against their Lone Star foe, they swept the Athletics mid-week and now have seven of ten wins in their pocket. <a href=. . Previous:
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32. Another team in control of their own destiny, the Cardinals have the second Wild Card spot over the mets because they are two ahead in the loss column.They avoided an embarrassing sweep in Cincy Sunday with a win, but grabbed two of three in Milwaukee mid-week. Now, .500 baseball might get them in the playoffs. They have no shot at the division as they trail the Cubs by 16.5, but they are the second best team in the NL Central and can feast on the rest of the division to secure another red October.. . Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals 71-64. 10. team
team. 11. Tied with the Tigers for the second Wild Card, the Orioles pound the ball better than any team in baseball. What they cannot do, outside of <a href=. . Previous: . Baltimore Orioles 74-62. 9
8. team. 31. For all the chatter of having the worst record since the All-Star break, the Giants have righted the ship. Although they dropped two of three this weekend, it was in Chicago against the Cubs. They also played well. Three games behind the Dodgers and 1.5 ahead in the Wild Card chase, the Giants are playing .500 ball the last 10 games. If they are coming out of their prolonged slump, the division is still in reach. At worst, they host the Wild Card game. They just have to close the deal.. . Previous: . San Francisco Giants 73-63
Previous: . Texas Rangers 82-55. 7. team. 95. A 9.5 game lead in the AL West has the Rangers sitting very comfortably. Although they lost to Houston Sunday, they still have defeated the Astros 13 out of 16 this year. If you are wondering why this race is over, look no further. It also helps to be playing great baseball and the Rangers are 8-2 in their last 10, he best of any playoff team. They have reached the point where starters can be rested and pitchers can be set up for their postseason rotation if they feel comfortable. A nice luxury the first week of September..
6. team. 71. Los Angeles is a hard team to figure out. They took two of three at home over Arizona this weekend. They expect <a href=. . Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers 76-60
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90. With a 8.5 game lead in the NL East, it is time to give <a href=. . Previous: . Washington Nationals 79-57. 2. team
Previous: . Chicago Cubs 88-48. 1. team. 9. When you can claim the hitter of the month with Kris Bryant and the pitcher of the month with <a href=.