Los Angeles Dodgers take over MLB power rankings lead
By Matt Veasey
JULY 2017 MLB POWER RANKING: 30-21
30. Philadelphia Phillies
29. San Diego Padres
28. Oakland Athletics
27. Miami Marlins
26. San Francisco Giants
25. Chicago White Sox
24. Cincinnati Reds
23. Pittsburgh Pirates
22. Toronto Blue Jays
21. Detroit Tigers
The Phillies are at the bottom of the ranking for a second consecutive month. It’s going to take some doing for them to find their way out of the basement. Fans of the Fightin’ Phils have nothing more to look forward to than the possibility of more young position prospects such as Nick Williams making an appearance in the second half.
GIANTS AND JAYS HAVE STRUGGLED
In what has been a surprisingly miserable season thus far, the Giants have strung together five consecutive wins heading into Sunday action. Perhaps it is the start of a turnaround for the club that I predicted would win the NL West. But it is clearly too little, too late.
The Blue Jays have dropped the furthest over the last month. The June rankings had Toronto in the #12 position. But the Jays went 11-15 in June, and have now lost three in a row and eight of their last 11 games.
Toronto is now 4.5 games out in the American League Wildcard race. Detroit is 5.5 games back. Those two clubs have about three weeks left to make a serious move. Otherwise, both could be sellers come the MLB trade deadline. They are the only two clubs in this section of the rankings with even a remote shot at a postseason berth.