MLB Power Rankings Week 21: Braves join all-NL top 3
The Brewers maintain rolling in Week 21, within the wake of a 22-0 rout of the Mariners on Tuesday, holding on to the No. 1 rating for the second week in a row after usurping the Dodgers for the top spot.
Though the vast majority of our top 10 has stayed the identical, the Braves have taken at No. 3 forward of the Rays, and the Padres soar to No. 9 because the Diamondbacks drop two spots to eleventh. San Diego, on an 8-2 run, has launched itself into the National League wild-card dialog, presently sitting within the third spot.
The largest riser of the week are the Orioles, who’ve firmly entrenched themselves within the American League wild-card race and sit at No. 16, up from No. 22. Toronto follows them because the second-biggest riser, leaping up 5 spots to No. 18 and becoming a member of the crush of groups combating for the ultimate AL wild card.
Our skilled panel has ranked each workforce based mostly on a mixture of what we have seen to date and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that could be a full baseball season. We additionally requested ESPN MLB specialists Bradford Doolittle, Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers to weigh in with an commentary for all 30 groups.
Week 20 | Second-half preview | (*3*)
Record: 78-49
Previous rating: 1
Milwaukee recovered properly after being swept in San Diego, taking three of 4 from the Dodgers — and it got here simply when the Brewers wanted to create more room within the NL Central. They prolonged their result in 5 video games with wins on Saturday and Sunday, whereas the second-place Cubs have been dropping to the Cardinals at dwelling. It was an enormous flip for the MLB-leading Brewers as Chicago had been closing the hole because the commerce deadline. Cy Young favourite Jacob Misiorowski bounced again after giving up a season-high two dwelling runs in his earlier begin, going six innings in opposition to L.A. on Saturday whereas surrendering solely a run. — Rogers
Record: 77-51
Previous rating: 2
Closer Edwin Diaz, again on the injured list because of neck inflammation, proved to be no simpler after his earlier lengthy IL stint than he was earlier than it. Diaz had a ten.50 ERA when he was injured in April, and someway that quantity went up throughout his first seven outings after being activated on Aug. 4, the day after the commerce deadline. Nothing has seemed proper with Diaz, who merely hasn’t produced the top-end whiff charges he has been identified for — and for which the Dodgers paid handsomely final winter by way of free company. Given their insistence on wedging him into the nearer function no matter how he is throwing, it is crucial that, a technique or one other, Diaz will get proper earlier than October. — Doolittle
Record: 74-53
Previous rating: T-4
If not for Misiorowski, Chris Sale in all probability can be the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award, with an help from the Atlanta workers. The left-hander made every of his first two begins of the season on 4 days of relaxation. Since then, Sale has had at the very least 5 days of relaxation between begins, and often greater than that — a method that’s working for him. With the Braves about to face the Brewers in what may very well be a pivotal collection within the race for seeding within the NL playoffs, Atlanta backed up Sale to start out him within the collection opener Friday, giving him per week between begins. — Olney
Record: 76-50
Previous rating: 3
Freddy Peralta‘s efficiency has began to stabilize in his first begins with the Rays. The assumption amongst rival entrance places of work was that Peralta can be helped by his transfer from New York to Tampa Bay within the midst of his final season earlier than reaching free company, as a result of Rays’ potential to assist pitchers and his driving four-seam fastball enjoying higher in The Trop. Peralta had a 4.99 ERA when he joined the Rays, and he gave up seven runs in 3⅔ innings in his first begin with Tampa Bay. But he has adopted that with two higher outings, giving up 5 runs over 10⅔ innings. — Olney
Record: 74-54
Previous rating: 5
Alex Bregman quietly had one of many higher weeks amongst all hitters. Yes, his first three-homer sport created some headlines, however he adopted that with a three-hit sport Monday whereas persevering with to earn his share of walks and holding the road shifting for the Cubs. The greatest model of Bregman has him hitting doubles to proper and proper heart whereas pulling homers to hitter-friendly left area at Wrigley — at the very least when the wind is blowing out. Over the course of six video games final week, he had the very best OPS in baseball. — Rogers
Record: 71-55
Previous rating: 6
A great season for a shortstop can be round plus-eight defensive runs saved — and George Lombard Jr. was at that after 2½ weeks within the massive leagues. The Yankees have good pitching and an improved protection, with Lombard within the combine and Cody Bellinger coming again. The actual query stays: Can they hit sufficient to hold them by way of the playoffs? And it seems there is a robust probability the Yankees may face Boston’s nice pitching in a wild-card collection. Aaron Judge ‘s potential return will proceed to be the large X issue within the AL. — Olney
Record: 68-59
Previous rating: 7
Garrett Crochet is slowly ramping up his throwing program and talked about to reporters not too long ago that he believes he’ll be capable to come again quickly sufficient to work out of the Boston bullpen within the final weeks of the season. Crochet demonstrated early in his profession that he may very well be a significant weapon working in reduction. The Red Sox would possibly effectively face the Yankees within the first spherical of the postseason, and Boston may begin Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Payton Tolle — and if, in reality, that situation develops, Crochet may play a giant function working in opposition to a Yankees’ lineup stacked with left-handed hitters. — Olney
Record: 70-58
Previous rating: 8
David Dombrowski’s comments last October about Bryce Harper kicked off a dialog about whether or not Harper would nonetheless be an elite participant this season, his fifteenth 12 months within the majors — and the numbers point out that, sure, he stays elite in his offensive manufacturing. Harper has 25 homers and is on tempo to succeed in 30 once more; his .381 OBP ranks tenth amongst all hitters, and he is twentieth in slugging share (.492). With a powerful end, he may very well be among the many few gamers who attain 100 runs this season. — Olney
Record: 68-60
Previous rating: 10
What has been extra gorgeous: the turnaround of the Padres’ offense, or that it was ever that dangerous to start with? To make certain, it was fairly dangerous … till it wasn’t. You can pinpoint the nadir as July 10, a few days earlier than the All-Star break. At that time, San Diego was on tempo to attain solely 631 runs this season and to be outscored by 78. Now, the Padres have upped that offensive tempo to 690 and have amazingly pushed their scoring margin into optimistic territory. During that span, they rank within the top 5 of the majors in scoring per sport and workforce OPS. So a lot for these over-the-hill narratives. — Doolittle
Record: 66-60
Previous rating: 11
The White Sox’s rotation has been skinny because the All-Star break, and although supervisor Will Venable and his workers have executed a great job of leveraging their scorching relievers to remain afloat, Chicago runs the danger of burning out the bullpen if a few of its starters do not get going. The White Sox rank twenty fifth in rotation ERA (4.68) because the All-Star break and have gotten solely eight high quality begins in 31 outings. Six of these seven have come from Sean Burke and Anthony Kay, whereas deadline pickup Luis Castillo has one high quality begin over his first three White Sox outings.
Castillo is clearly a key to the rotation getting deeper behind Burke and Kay, however Chicago additionally badly wants early-season phenom Davis Martin to search out himself. After posting a 3.41 ERA over 18 begins earlier than the break, Martin has a ghastly 8.48 ERA over his first seven second-half begins. — Doolittle
Record: 67-61
Previous rating: 9
Whatever is on the root of the mystery surrounding Ketel Marte, one factor that’s sure is that his absence could not come at a worse time for the Diamondbacks. With each the Phillies surging in entrance of them and the Cardinals, Marlins and Pirates lurking behind, a chronic funk may knock the Diamondbacks out of the chase earlier than issues actually warmth up. They’ve been round break-even general the previous couple of weeks, however the offense has been tailing off. The general numbers have not been dangerous, so the downtick in scoring might be traced to a brief run of dangerous luck in high-leverage spots. Still, although this hasn’t been Marte’s greatest season, he nonetheless leads the Diamondbacks in homers and RBIs. Arizona has to hope that nonetheless lengthy Marte is away, these current sport traits do not spiral. — Doolittle
Record: 64-63
Previous rating: 12
The Triple Crown is in some doubt for Yordan Alvarez as he is within the midst of an influence hunch. He has hit just one dwelling run since July 28, permitting others to catch up in that class. Junior Caminero has six in the identical timeframe, pulling to inside one homer of Alvarez. The latter participant nonetheless has an honest lead for the batting and RBI title. With Aaron Judge out a lot of the 12 months, Alvarez is a close to shoo-in for AL MVP and comeback participant of the 12 months. — Rogers
Record: 65-63
Previous rating: 17
The highs and lows of baseball hit Joshua Baez arduous, as he adopted his historic three-homer MLB debut by failing to get a success in his subsequent 4 video games. The strikeout bug is beginning to comply with him as he racked up six within the span of three video games after his breakout. Still, the facility is greater than evident — and nobody can take away his second at Wrigley Field in his first profession sport Saturday when he turned the speak of the league. — Rogers
Record: 61-66
Previous rating: 14
Shortly after the commerce deadline and the departure of Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, Detroit supervisor A.J. Hinch known as a gathering together with his gamers and advised them, in so many phrases: We are nonetheless within the playoff hunt — and we all know this, as a result of if we weren’t, there’d be extra guys in right here who would’ve been traded. Maybe the Tigers’ surge was helped alongside by Hinch’s motivational speak, or possibly the AL is simply mediocre. Either method, they’re nonetheless within the struggle. The massive query is whether or not they’ll have sufficient beginning pitching to hold them by way of within the struggle for the third and last AL wild-card spot. — Olney
Record: 64-64
Previous rating: 13
The Marlins’ struggles in a key collection with Philadelphia this week was a setback, but when they proceed to hold within the NL wild-card race, it is in all probability going to be due to a ballyhooed rotation that has been dazzling of late. Miami ranks second with a 3.12 rotation ERA because the All-Star break, even because the membership has dropped 19 of 31 video games in that span. The surge has come regardless of the damage to Max Meyer. No workforce has featured as deadly of a top two as Miami has because the break, with Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez combining for a 1.95 ERA with 11 high quality begins in 13 outings. Meanwhile, Janson Junk, Tyler Phillips and Ryan Gusto have all been persistently stable. The beginning pitchers have been main the way in which for the Marlins; now it is time for the remainder of the membership to comply with. — Doolittle
Record: 61-66
Previous rating: 22
Baltimore would possibly or won’t proceed its current surge within the standings, however both method, it has been a profitable first season for Pete Alonso after he signed a five-year, $155 million cope with the Orioles. His efficiency for them is typical for his profession: He leads the AL in video games performed, and he is on tempo to hit greater than 35 homers and drive in additional than 100 runs. And sources say that Alonso has had a powerful and optimistic affect throughout the Orioles’ clubhouse. — Olney
Record: 62-65
Previous rating: 15
Texas didn’t have a great week on the plate, compiling one of many lowest OPS figures within the majors over a six-game span that included ugly collection losses to the Angels and A’s. The Rangers scored a complete of seven runs in 4 consecutive defeats by the hands of the also-rans of the AL West. They’re nonetheless within the thick of the playoff race — each for the division and wild card. Now they get per week of dwelling video games — the place they’ve performed a lot better this 12 months — together with a rematch with the lowly Angels. It’s an opportunity for Texas to enhance its place earlier than a troublesome journey to Chicago and Milwaukee. — Rogers
Record: 62-66
Previous rating: 23
Alejandro Kirk‘s offensive efficiency underscores how a lot the Toronto catcher was missed early within the season, when he was out for 2 months due to a thumb damage. Kirk has been raking, batting .364 because the All-Star break with a .557 slugging share. At the identical time, the Jays have slowly climbed again into the crowded race for the AL’s third wild card. Kirk went 3-for-6 with a double, a house run and three RBIs within the Jays’ series-opening win in Tampa Bay. — Olney
Record: 63-65
Previous rating: 19
The Twins’ determination so as to add on the deadline was refreshing, and although they have not precisely caught fireplace, at the very least three of the gamers the entrance workplace traded for have shined since becoming a member of the membership.
Dean Kremer has posted two high quality begins in three outings for the Twins with a 3.12 ERA and a couple of.97 FIP, each numbers markedly higher than his pre-trade leads to Baltimore. In the bullpen, supervisor Derek Shelton has leaned arduous on ex-Brave A.J. Minter, and the lefty has responded by giving up just one run in his first 10 outings for Minnesota. Jeff Hoffman has been so-so so far, however going again to an earlier pickup from Toronto, Tommy Nance has a 1.35 ERA in 14 appearances since becoming a member of the Twins. Whether these additions can be sufficient to spice up Minnesota right into a shocking playoff look stays to be seen, however to date, the pickups have been robust. — Doolittle
Record: 61-66
Previous rating: 16
Despite an unusually aggressive commerce deadline, the Guardians stay ice chilly, and if issues do not get rolling quickly, Cleveland runs the danger of falling out of an AL Central race that is just about inconceivable to fall out of. The pickups — Jo Adell, Foster Griffin and Nathaniel Lowe — have been extra advantageous than dynamic, although Adell and Lowe have contributed to a modest uptick by the offense of late. As for Griffin, he was supposed so as to add to an already elite group, however the Guardians’ pitching has been struggling. Since the All-Star break, the vaunted bullpen has a 4.47 ERA (twenty second in MLB) and has transformed solely three of eight save alternatives. — Doolittle
Record: 63-66
Previous rating: 20
Esmerlyn Valdez continued a advantageous begin to his profession with one other stable week on the plate regardless of not hitting a house run. He had hits in six of seven video games — together with three multihit video games, although he additionally struck out 9 instances within the span of 5 video games — earlier than going 0-for-5 on Monday. He’s nonetheless studying, and if he can deliver down his strikeout share just a bit, the 22-year-old can be much more harmful as his 15% stroll charge stands out, as does his .888 OPS. — Rogers
Record: 60-67
Previous rating: 21
It was one other powerful week on the plate for Cal Raleigh, who went simply 2-for-16 over a five-game span because the Mariners proceed their puzzling free fall within the AL. The stretch noticed his batting common drop to .158 at one level, the bottom it has been since mid-May. He did homer Monday, his thirteenth of the season. At the identical time final 12 months, Raleigh had 46 dwelling runs. His season mirrors that of the Mariners, who’re nonetheless within the playoff race however with a lot to beat. — Rogers
Record: 61-67
Previous rating: 18
Rival executives word that Washington’s determination to shift CJ Abrams from shortstop to second base occurred after the commerce deadline, when the Nationals engaged in commerce conversations about Abrams with different groups within the hope of extracting an enormous package deal of prospects. Now that they’ve determined to maintain Abrams — at the very least for the remainder of the season — they’re shifting him to second, the place he is much less more likely to harm the Nationals together with his spotty defensive play. There aren’t any such questions on his offensive manufacturing: Abrams is third within the majors in RBIs, and his .884 OPS is eleventh. — Olney
Record: 61-66
Previous rating: 24
Hunter Greene‘s newest damage, necessitating Tommy John surgical procedure, provides insult to an already subpar 12 months for the Reds, who now should potentially account for his loss next season as well. The unlucky flip of occasions may mainly tank two years for Cincinnati, until the workforce has a plan to beat it. The Reds have been behind from the beginning of this 12 months, when Greene was out due to bone chips in the identical elbow that wanted surgical procedure. At least they’re going to have a head begin in changing him for subsequent season, however the loss nonetheless stings — each for 2026 and 2027. — Rogers
Record: 58-70
Previous rating: 25
Who would’ve imagined that in mid-August, the Mets’ cleanup hitter can be Carson Benge — a rookie on a minimal wage for a big-market workforce with the second-highest payroll in baseball. But Benge has earned each little bit of his place there with a stable offensive efficiency in his first 12 months within the majors. JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart are possible the front-runners for the NL Rookie of the Year award, however Benge ought to get down-ballot consideration for his offense, in addition to his protection. He has plus-five defensive runs saved to go together with 9 assists. – Olney
Record: 54-74
Previous rating: 27
It’s quite a lot of days late and a complete lot of {dollars} brief, however the Royals have performed higher baseball because the All-Star break. With the lineup trying more healthy than it has been in a few months, Kansas City might need a chance to complete robust and get a greater sense of easy methods to method the offseason. When Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino have been activated from the IL in the beginning of the Royals’ homestand Monday, it marked the primary time that these two and Bobby Witt Jr. all began in the identical sport since June 13.
Their struggles have been deeper than ailing hitters, however a secure lineup was a part of the formulation for this 12 months’s roster. Kansas City has 5 extra weeks or so to show why that was a good suggestion. — Doolittle
Record: 52-74
Previous rating: 26
Ace Logan Webb has been one of many hottest pitchers in baseball because the All-Star break. Though his first half was stable, the second-half surge has introduced his season numbers proper in keeping with profession outcomes which have marked Webb as one of the vital constant performers within the sport.
Over six second-half begins, Webb has gone 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA. He’s going to fall wanting 200 innings for the primary time since 2022, however for 2026, he stays a reliably constant starter and is beginning to climb up the profession leaderboards for a Giants franchise that has featured a whole lot of nice hurlers. He’s as much as sixteenth in profession bWAR and twelfth in strikeouts, with each lists topped by the good Christy Mathewson. Webb is signed by way of 2028 and exhibits no indicators of slowing down, so his rise on these lists ought to proceed. — Doolittle
Record: 50-77
Previous rating: 29
The Rockies would possibly or won’t end final once more, however both method, the 2026 season has featured a lot of vivid spots that time to a greater future. One of these has been hard-nosed rookie Cole Carrigg, a well-balanced switch-hitting centerfielder who figures to be a fan favourite given his hair-on-fire fashion of play. Carrigg’s break-in season has simply been hustle and grit — he has produced on offense and protection. His standout instrument is a cannon of a throwing arm that options 99th percentile velocity amongst outfielders. But he additionally has proven a pleasant mixture of endurance and pop on the plate. Carrigg must steadiness home-road splits which are a bit of overrated by Coors Field at current, however he seems to be like a keeper in the long run. — Doolittle
Record: 49-78
Previous rating: 28
Baseball’s IL continues to be stuffed with A’s as they added one other to their strolling wounded, with Tyler Soderstrom ending his season due to hip surgical procedure. He was on fireplace earlier than deciding on the operation, incomes hits in each sport he performed in August. He joins Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker and Mark Leiter Jr amongst those that will not end the season on the sphere. The accidents tanked the workforce’s season, which in any other case confirmed promise. A wholesome A’s squad has offensive firepower, however the workforce simply by no means fully clicked this season due to these accidents. — Rogers
Record: 50-77
Previous rating: 30
Reid Detmers pitched a gem Saturday, shutting out the Royals over eight innings whereas putting out 11. There was a motive he was effectively sought-after across the commerce deadline and why the Angels held out for a excessive return for him. He’s simply now tapping into his potential as evidenced by that outing, wherein he additionally gave up solely two hits with out issuing a free go. His off-speed stuff has been almost unhittable this season, and Saturday was no totally different. — Rogers