New club takes over Power Rankings' top spot

Fifteen teams will enter the upcoming week with winning records, but few have established themselves as a cut above the rest of the Major Leagues. There aren't any surprises there -- with just a few games left until we reach the true halfway point of the season, most of the teams that were dominant in April are still good now, and it's likely they're going to still be rolling come September.

But with all of that said, there is still one team that may be the head of the class of the Major Leagues: the Dodgers.

They are on pace to win a whopping 111 games. Their run differential of +133 is 74 runs better than the next-best team in the National League in that category (the Cubs, at +59). The Dodgers are riding a six-game winning streak, have won nine of 11 and are staggeringly good at home, compiling a 34-9 record at Chavez Ravine, compared to a 20-16 mark on the road.

The Dodgers will finish out their pre-All-Star Game schedule with games solely against teams in their division, and judging from their 23-8 mark against the National League West so far, the only question that remains is whether they will have a 20-game lead by the time they head home for the break.

On to the rankings…

Biggest jump: The Braves jumped five spots, from No. 10 to 5. This also marks their 2019 Power Rankings Top 5 debut, and it's hard to argue with the timing. The Braves, 16-5 in June, have won five of their past seven and have outscored their opponents 56-32 over that span.

Biggest drop: The Phillies dropped six spots, from No. 8 to 14. Their losing streak reached seven games after dropping a 6-4 decision to the Marlins on Sunday. During the skid, the Phillies have scored just 14 runs. They've been swept in two consecutive series, after being swept just once in their first 23 series of the year.

Power Rankings Top 5:

1) Dodgers (2 last week)

Add back-to-back-to-back walk-off home runs by rookies to the long list of jaw-dropping antics the Dodgers have engaged in this season. Will Smith was the latest to do it, crushing a three-run homer on Sunday (the same day he arrived from Triple-A). With a 13-game lead in the NL West, the Dodgers are well on their way to a seventh straight division title.

2) Yankees (3)

DJ LeMahieu's three-run homer in the fifth inning of the Yankees' 9-4 loss to Houston Sunday marked the 26th consecutive game they've hit at least one homer, setting a club record. The prior record of 25 was set by the 1941 club. Despite the loss in the finale with the Astros, the Yankees are rolling. They had an eight-game win streak before Sunday’s loss, and they still took three of four from the AL West-leading Astros. Individually, several hitters are putting together career years, including catcher Gary Sanchez, who is hitting .370 (10-for-27) with three homers and 12 RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak.

3) Astros (1)

The Astros ended one of their least productive road trips in years with a win over the Yankees on Sunday, which helped shake off some of the frustration of a season-high seven-game losing streak. Houston scored 19 runs during that streak, and it was missing production from several key hitters, including Alex Bregman, who is hitting .167 (9-for-54) over his past 15 games. Yordan Alvarez has done his part to pick up the offense, though -- in his first 12 Major League games, he is slashing .333/.429/.813 with seven homers and 16 RBIs.

4) Twins (3)

Even with their 6-1 loss to the Royals on Sunday, the Twins are on an historic 105-win pace and have a good chance to reach that total, considering they have 49 more games against teams in a weak AL Central division. Minnesota has 18 wins in 27 games against a division that currently has only one other team with a winning record (Cleveland). Individually, Jorge Polanco is on a nice run -- he has a 15-game road hitting streak, during which he's batting .348 (23-for-66) with seven doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs.

5) Braves (10)

Freddie Freeman ended a streak of 10 consecutive games in which he had driven in at least one run, but that doesn't diminish what he has done over that stretch. Over those 11 games, Freeman hit .413 (19-for-46) with 18 RBIs. Things are going well at the top of the Braves' lineup as well -- leadoff man Ronald Acuna Jr. is batting .310 (27-for-87) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his past 19 games.

The rest of the top 20:

6) Rays (5 last week)

7) Cubs (7)

8) Red Sox (10)

9) Brewers (9)

10) D-backs (13)

11) Cardinals (14)

12) Rangers (11)

13) Athletics (17)

14) Phillies (8)

15) Rockies (15)

16) Indians (12)

17) Nationals (19)

18) Padres (16)

19) White Sox (18)

20) Pirates (NR)