Power Rankings: Top teams put to the test

It was a wild week for the top teams in baseball. The Yankees lost two of three to the Orioles and will be missing Giancarlo Stanton for a while. The Phillies welcomed the Diamondbacks, the team that destroyed their World Series hopes at Citizens Bank Park, back to the scene of the crime. The Orioles had a glorious series in the Bronx erased by a miserable weekend in Houston. The Dodgers spent their first week without Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. While all that was happening, the Guardians, of all teams, sneaked in from behind and won five of six … and now have the best record in the American League. Even when you’re a great team … there’s always some sort of drama going on.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from rankings from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Yankees (previously: 1)
Season high: 1 | Season low: 7
Ideally, you’d like the team atop your Power Rankings to either have the best record in the Majors or be on a hot streak right now. Neither is the case for the Yankees. They’ve actually lost their past three series -- they’d only lost two all season before this skid -- and now they’ve put Stanton on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, though manager Aaron Boone cautiously described the ailment as "mild." If the Orioles hadn’t been swept in Houston, they’d probably be in this spot. Of course, if they hadn’t been swept in Houston, they could've been in first place in the AL East. But they’re not. The Yankees still are. For now.

2. Phillies (previously: 2)
Season high: 1 | Season low: 8
Hardly anyone imagined a year ago that Cristopher Sánchez would be the type of pitcher the Phillies would be signing to an extension. If you don’t believe me, ask Dave Dombrowski.

“I wouldn't be telling you the truth if last year at this same time when he first came up -- even though we liked a lot of things about him -- I thought we'd be sitting here today and he would have enjoyed the success he's had over the past year,” Dombrowski said at this weekend’s press conference announcing Sánchez's four-year deal that could, with club options, last through 2030. “What he's accomplished has really been phenomenal.”

Sánchez celebrated by throwing seven shutout innings to secure a series win over the Diamondbacks on Sunday; he is now the first pitcher to allow one homer or fewer through his first 15 starts of a season since 2007.

3. Orioles (previously: 3)
Season high: 1 | Season low: 5
The Orioles followed the giddy highs of their series win in the Bronx -- which culminated in a 17-5 shellacking on Thursday -- by getting swept by the Astros, a team they probably wish they could have played a month ago rather than right now. They’re trying to wash away the bad vibes by bringing up a top prospect who was sent to the Minors after struggling earlier this season -- no, not that one, it’s Heston Kjerstad, who has been mashing for Triple-A Norfolk over the past month.

4. Dodgers (previously: 4)
Season high: 1 | Season low: 6
The Dodgers didn’t play on Sunday, oddly, so in case you may have forgotten about Shohei Ohtani during that brief siesta, it should be noted that he’s in the midst of one of the best months of his career. He has nine homers and 19 RBIs this month and is hitting .308. Three of the best four months of his career, by OPS, have been in June: June 2021 (1.312), June 2023 (1.444), July 2023 (1.152) and June 2024 (1.118).

5. Guardians (previously: 5)
Season high: 3 | Season low: 21
Of the four teams in Cleveland franchise history that have had a .636 winning percentage or better, three of them went to the World Series: The 1920 team, the 1954 team and the 1995 team. Guess who the fourth team is? It’s the 2024 Guardians, who, after a five-game winning streak, now have the best record in the AL.

6. Brewers (previously: 6)
Season high: 5 | Season low: 19
The Brewers lost three of four this weekend in San Diego, and their division lead is down to five games, the lowest it has been in three weeks. But they got some extremely welcome news this week: Devin Williams, their All-Star closer who hasn’t pitched yet this season, has a mound session scheduled for Wednesday. That puts him on track to return by the end of July, which is still a while away … but, as much as the Brewers have been putting on their bullpen of late, not a moment too soon.

7. Mariners (previously: 7)
Season high: 6 | Season low: 21
Will the Mariners regret not having taken out the Astros while they had the chance?  On May 8, the Astros were 12 games under .500 and in last place. On June 18, they were still 10 games behind Seattle. Fast forward to now: When the Mariners took their foot off the gas pedal this week, the Astros went out and won five in a row … and now that division lead is all the way down to six games. (And the Rangers are creeping back within 6 1/2 themselves.)

8. Braves (previously: 9)
Season high: 1 | Season low: 9
The Braves offense has awakened. After hitting just 66 homers in their first 65 games, they’ve hit 19 in their past 10 games.

This is how you know the Braves are back to looking like the Braves: Travis d’Arnaud said, “Now, we feel [being down] two or three runs, even four runs, isn’t a big deal because our offense can explode in the blink of an eye.”

They weren’t saying that two weeks ago. They’re saying it now. Again.

9. Royals (previously: 8)
Season high: 6 | Season low: 24
The wind has been taken out of the Royals’ sails considerably over the last fortnight. They’ve lost 11 of their last 14 games and they’ve fallen from a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL Wild Card race to … a half-game behind the Red Sox for the final spot. Getting back to Kauffman Stadium will have to help: They’re now 17-23 on the road this year, but 25-14 at home.

10. Twins (previously: 10)
Season high: 8 | Season low: 23
On Tuesday, Royce Lewis went 0-for-5. On Sunday, he went 0-for-4. In the other eight games of his past 10, he went 15-for-32 with six home runs. Royce Lewis is an extremely dangerous man right now.

11. Red Sox (previously: 13)
Season high: 11 | Season low: 22
Is Jarren Duran an All-Star? According to Baseball Reference WAR, he has been the best player on the Red Sox this year, and the team, which has begun to turn a corner after a long stretch bouncing around .500, has taken on his character: They’re now a speed team. Duran has stolen 20 bases and has hit a stunning 10 triples so far, and he has become one of the most purely exciting players to watch in the sport. The Red Sox have been looking for an identity for a few years now, and thanks to Duran, they may now have one.

12. Padres (previously: 11)
Season high: 11 | Season low: 21
I’ve written enough this year how different the vibes for this Padres team are from last year’s, so let’s take a break and shout out my colleague Matt Monagan for his fun trip to Alaska to write about the unveiling of a Dave Winfield statue. Winfield mentioned, randomly, a couple of years ago that he’d never had a statue, and the people of Fairbanks, Alaska (where Winfield once played summer league ball) found out and built him a statue. It looks great, and long overdue.

13. Cardinals (previously: 23)
Season high: 13 | Season low: 27
Quick: Who has been the Cardinals’ best hitter this year? Not Paul Goldschmidt. Not Nolan Arenado. Not Nolan Gorman. Not even electric rookie Masyn Winn. It has been Alec Burleson, who, only 25 years old, has a team-high .788 OPS and turned in a two-homer, 5-RBI (and one stolen base) performance in a win over the Giants on Saturday. Burleson’s name isn’t often mentioned when people talk about promising young hitters, but perhaps it is time.

14. Diamondbacks (previously: 19)
Season high: 10 | Season low: 19
Slowly but surely, the Diamondbacks are crawling their way back to relevance, helped by the NL Wild Card scrum but also by an offense that’s starting to resemble the scary one we saw last October. Since his outburst last postseason didn’t make him the national figure he deserves to be, maybe this excellent season will finally do it for Ketel Marte: His 137 OPS+ is the second highest of his career -- and highest in a full season since he finished fourth in MVP voting in 2019 -- and he has been the rock the D-backs have relied upon for a decade now. How has he made only one All-Star Game?

15. Rangers (previously: 16)
Season high: 4 | Season low: 19
As exciting as it was to get Max Scherzer back on Sunday, what might be even more exciting for the Rangers is that Wyatt Langford may be at last turning the corner. He hit a grand slam on Saturday in a win over the Royals, and for the month of June, he has a slash line of .310/.355/.521. The Rangers may be, shhhh, close to rounding back into form … and just in time.

16. Astros (previously: 22)
Season high: 6 | Season low: 26
I’m willing to say the Astros are back. After their win on Sunday, sweeping the mighty Orioles, they’re 26-16 since May 9, the fourth-best record in the Majors in that time. The problem is they were 12-24 heading into that date, which is why they’re still under .500. But this, at last, resembles the Astros team we all thought we were going to see.

17. Cubs (previously: 21)
Season high: 8 | Season low: 21
Talk to any Cubs fan right now. Ask them how they feel about this particular incarnation of their team. And then stand back: You’re about to get an earful. It has been a while since Cubs fans have felt like their team has underperformed quite the way this season’s team has -- and you can’t help but wonder if last year’s collapse down the stretch has something to do with that -- but Cubs fans sure shouldn’t give up on this team just yet. Even after their loss on Sunday, they’re only two games out of the Wild Card, and Fangraphs Playoffs Odds give them about a one in four chance to make the playoffs.

18. Rays (previously: 24)
Season high: 9 | Season low: 24
As frustrating as this season has been for Rays fans, they should probably consider themselves fortunate to be hanging around the AL Wild Card race as much as they are. Their minus-62 run differential is the worst of any contending team in either league; their record should be a lot worse than it is. You wonder if, as they consider what they’re going to do at the Trade Deadline, the Rays front office is keeping that number in mind. Does this really look like a team about to go on a run?

19. Giants (previously: 18)
Season high: 12 | Season low: 23
For all the love justifiably raining down on this team after the events of the last week, it should be pointed out that the Giants are in a precarious situation right now. After their sweep at the hands of the Cardinals, they’ve lost five in a row and currently have the worst non-Rockies/non-Marlins record in the National League. Their next 13 games are against the Cubs, Dodgers, Braves and Guardians. This season could get away from them if they are not careful.

20. Pirates (previously: 23)
Season high: 9 | Season low: 25
Here are the five players with the highest barrel rates in the Majors this year: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto and Marcell Ozuna. Not surprising, right? Well guess who’s sixth? It’s Oneil Cruz, who has barreled 17.2 percent of the pitches he has faced. The problem for Cruz, however, remains that 32.7 strikeout rate, fifth worst in the Majors.

21. Reds (previously: 12)
Season high: 11 | Season low: 25
There are seven teams within three games of the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot. Out of all of them, the Reds are the only one with a positive run differential on the season at plus-9. Unfortunately for the Reds, it’s wins that count in the standings, not runs; instead, they’re five games under .500, albeit only 2 1/2 games behind those Padres.

22. Blue Jays (previously: 15)
Season high: 8 | Season low: 23
The Blue Jays have had an absolutely brutal schedule this month. Other than five games against the A’s and Pirates – they went 3-2 in those games – they’ve played some of the best teams in baseball: The Guardians (six times), the Orioles (four) and the Red Sox and Brewers (three times each). It doesn’t get easier to close the month: They get the Red Sox (three games at Fenway) and Yankees (four games at home) this week. It eases up considerably in July: They’ve got three in Seattle July 5-7, but otherwise won’t play a team that currently has a winning record until July 29.

23. Nationals (previously: 20)
Season high: 20 | Season low: 27
I wrote about this in my weekly Five Fascinations column, but as inconsistent as the Nats have been (and they do still have a losing record after all), this is unquestionably the best team they’ve had since they won the World Series in 2019. While that might seem like a low bar to clear, there are reasons to get excited about this team moving forward, not least of which that it looks like CJ Abrams, the centerpiece of that Juan Soto trade (and someone the Padres would really love to have back), is beginning to look like he might become a star.

24. Mets (previously: 25)
Season high: 10 | Season low: 25
It feels like we say it every week in these rankings: Every NL team that isn’t the Marlins or Rockies is one hot streak away from being in prime Wild Card position. The Mets’ recent hot streak has gotten them right back in the thick of matters, and it’s all because of the offense. It’s tough to find a Met who isn’t mashing the ball right now, but the star has been J.D. Martinez, who had six homers and 20 RBIs in his last 20 games heading into Sunday night’s game. He currently has his highest OPS-plus since his 43-homer season with Boston in 2018.

25. Tigers (previously: 17)
Season high: 7 | Season low: 24
All those early good vibes for the Tigers are fading for the simple reason that the team has stopped hitting. Heading into Sunday, they’d scored six runs in their last six games, which is an excellent way to lose five of those games. One has to wonder, if this offense doesn’t get it together soon, if the Tigers become a seller at the Deadline. The way Jack Flaherty is pitching right now, teams would be lining up to grab the free-agent-to-be. (Though probably not the Orioles, they’re still a little burned from last year.)

26. Angels (previously: 27)
Season high: 24 | Season low: 28
The Angels are a team that, more than anything else, needs their promising young players on the field every day, which is why it was scary when Zach Neto left early Saturday with a strained left calf. Neto was optimistic postgame, and that’s a relief, because he has been one of the few bright spots for the Angels this year, an above-average defensive shortstop with an OPS-plus over 100 and a reputation as an emerging team leader. He’s still only 23 years old; Neto is precisely the kind of guy the Angels need moving forward.

27. A’s (previously: 26)
Season high: 20 | Season low: 30
I’m a sucker for a Minor League lifer finally, deep into his career, getting the call up to The Show; it shows persistence, pluck, resilience and character. (It’s heartwarming, too! You finally made it!) So you couldn’t help but cheer when infielder Armando Alvarez, at the age of 29, finally made his MLB debut on Saturday. Alvarez made a full 2,719 plate appearances in the Minors before at last making his first appearance on Saturday, grounding out in an otherwise entirely forgettable 10-2 loss to the Twins. Congrats, Armando. That was a long, long time coming.

28. Rockies (previously: 28)
Season high: 27 | Season low: 29
You knew it was inevitable: Someday we were going to get a walk-off pitch clock violation. (As every kid dreams of when they play in their backyard!) The “lucky” recipient was Ryan McMahon, who benefited from Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan’s MLB-high ninth pitch clock violation after fighting all the way back from an 0-2 count. It was an odd way to win a game, to say the least, but it should be noted that McMahon, the guy the Rockies have been waiting to turn the corner for nearly a decade now, is having the best year of his career: His .840 OPS is 60 points above his career high.

29. Marlins (previously: 28)
Season high: 23 | Season low: 30
Skip Schumaker won NL Manager of the Year last year, but he’ll never have a tougher test than he has faced this year. The Marlins have seven starting pitchers on the injured list, with Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett being scratched in consecutive days. Someone named Kyle Tyler started on Sunday. It’s not yet clear who will be in the rotation moving forward. Maybe it will be you or me.

30. White Sox (previously: 29)
Season high: 28 | Season low: 30
Paul DeJong made a boneheaded mistake earlier this week, losing track of how many outs were left in the ninth inning, leading to him being doubled off to lose the game. But not only did teammates and manager Pedro Grifol have his back after the game, they even praised him for being a stabilizing presence for the struggling team all year. It should also be pointed out that DeJong is having his best season since he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2017: He leads the White Sox in homers with 14 and plays the same stable, solid shortstop he has his whole career. Is he a stealth Trade Deadline acquisition? (As long as he keeps track of how many outs there are?)