We are at the end of August, which means it’s time to check in and see where teams stand in the MLB Power Rankings. We are starting to see some better separation in both divisional and wild card races as we dig deep into the dog days. September baseball will determine who here can truly compete.
The Crew just keeps on winning. Like I said last month, when someone starts slumping, someone else catches fire. Jackson Chourio has been on a tear, providing power and speed all over the field. William Contreras is also back from a prolonged production dip. Logan Henderson, who has been quietly one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy, has stabilized their already dangerous starting rotation.
I feel like we still don’t talk about the Rays enough. They have been far and away the best and most consistent team in the AL this season, and they currently hold the second-best record in baseball. They just keep winning ballgames. Their pitching staff has been a juggernaut, and Junior Caminero is one of the best hitters on the planet. If they aren’t your AL Pennant favorite, they should be.
The Dodgers had a difficult August by their standards, as they went below .500 in the month. They have shown in the past, however, that regular season success is not their benchmark. They are starting to bring their aces back, as Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have made their returns, and Shohei Ohtani is preparing to return to the mound at some point soon.
The Braves have won seven straight, including a series sweep against the Dodgers. They are chasing down LA for one of the top seeds in the NL and a bye to the NLDS, and that series will go a long way towards that goal. Chris Sale has been the standout for Atlanta recently, as he is almost a lock to be a top-three Cy Young Award finisher.
The Yankees have leaned heavily on their pitching staff recently as their offense has floundered. Even with almost nonexistent bats, they have still been able to win games on the back of great performances by starters. Cam Schlittler leads the way, both in the rotation and in the AL Cy Young race.
The Phillies captured MLB’s best record in August, surging to 20-7. The defensive shakeup and the addition of Luis Arraez have added a jolt to the clubhouse in Philly. They are right in the race for both the first wild card and even potentially the NL East.
Wrigleyville has become the PCA show. Pete Crow-Armstrong has become the betting favorite to win the NL MVP, and it’s easy to see why. He recently crushed his 37th homer. His outfield defense is some of the best we have ever seen. He is elevating the Cubs right now, and if they can get consistent production elsewhere, it can be a scary team with PCA leading it off.
They have cooled a bit since their scorching run, but they are still solidly in the second wild card position in the AL. Not only that, but they are getting some guys back from the injured list, big hitters Roman Anthony and Trevor Story. They will look to add power to an already dangerous lineup.
The Padres offense finally got going in August, and with the added pitching reinforcements at the deadline, they look like a more complete team. They have gone a little cold the past week, but they have the names in that clubhouse to compete as they race with the D-Backs towards a playoff berth.
Even with the drama surrounding Ketel Marte and his unexpected absence, the Diamondbacks have kept right on pace with the Padres for the third NL wild card spot. As of right now, they are actually half a game up on San Diego. The only reason I have them lower is that I trust the Padres’ pitching staff more at this moment.
Their offense has kept them afloat while their pitching staff has struggled this month. Guys who were incredible for them early in the season, like Davis Martin, have cratered back down to earth, while others have dealt with injuries. Luckily, the bats keep coming in clutch for the Sox, and they retain a solid lead in the Central.
I had the Marlins as a wild-card dark horse a couple of weeks ago. It’s getting close to do-or-die time for the fish. They’re 3.5 games back, and in a crowded race, they would need a mighty effort to get there. We have seen that kind of stretch from them earlier this season, so you can’t count them out just yet,
Cleveland is a Jose Ramirez resurgence away from wrapping up a wild card spot. Their pitching staff has continued to throw well when needed, and deadline acquisitions Jo Adell and Nate Lowe have provided a much-needed boost. If Ramirez could play to his pedigree, they could be so much more than a .500 team.
The Astros have kept up their relative mediocrity through August, and lead the West because of it. As of right now, they are the only AL West team above .500, so that mediocrity has been enough. Yordan Alvarez, the AL MVP favorite, will need more support if they want to do anything more than win the division.
The Orioles snuck up into the playoff discussion a few weeks ago and have stuck around in that spot since. They have been a streaky team, but it seems to have evened out pretty well, either sweeping or getting swept in several of their previous series. They certainly have a track to the playoffs if they can string together a couple of those hot streaks.
Texas is another one of the teams that is just waiting to break out. The pieces are there, and people keep saying, “just wait for the offense to click.” It’s been six months, and it hasn’t happened yet, so will it? The Rangers are a team that has an advantage due to their weak division, but they have to show us something if they want us to believe.
It was a season where expectations were low, so the morale was through the roof when the Redbirds were winning. They have since come back down towards those expectations. The bullpen has cracked and given up some big games, and early stars like Jordan Walker have regressed.
The Blue Jays are enjoying a Cy Young-caliber season by Dylan Cease after they signed him to that big deal in the offseason. He has been nails all year, but especially the last few weeks. Let’s not talk about the offense too much, because it has been rough at best.
Twins fans got excited when they were in sole possession of a playoff spot a couple of weeks ago. The offense looked deadly, and the pitching staff was doing a decent enough job. Now, they are several games back of the wild card after a stretch where they got swept multiple times. They don’t have a terribly difficult September, but they’ll need to make up ground quickly.
It’s been a disappointing August for a team that bought at the deadline. They are almost completely out of the playoff picture at this point. After adding to the bullpen, the offense and starting pitching have struggled mightily. Questions around Paul Skenes’ health and efficacy have only made vibes in Pittsburgh worse.
Just when you think the Mariners are gaining some steam, they crash again. Last week, they got hot, especially with Cal Raleigh finally looking like his homer-mashing self. Since then, however, they have lost four straight and are right back into the danger zone. They still have a chance thanks to a weak AL West, but they’ve had chances all year and refuse to take them.
The Nationals are a good example of why you can’t win by bludgeoning teams without any semblance of competent pitching. They have scored more runs than almost any other MLB team, but are basically dead in the water at this point in the season because of how many runs their pitching staff has given up.
Detroit surged on the back of some young players after they gutted their rotation at the trade deadline. They got hot enough that we were wondering if they had the juice to get back into the playoff picture. They did for a little bit, but have plateaued since. Max Clark has provided a spark after his call-up and is worthy of optimism for next year.
The Royals have been one of the best teams in the league over the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, they were already buried. Even a tear as they have been on couldn’t dig them out of the basement. Bobby Witt Jr. continues to play like one of the game’s best, but it’s too little, too late in KC.
The best part of watching Reds baseball right now has to be watching Sal Stewart make his very strong case for NL Rookie of the Year. He currently holds the league lead in RBI. The Reds need to build around this guy, because he is electric.
I won’t pile on the Mets. That has been done already. They simply haven’t been any good, even with that impressive roster. They have been playing a more fun brand of baseball since the trade deadline, putting more emphasis on their young players.
It’s getting dark in San Fran. They have lost some recent games in embarrassing fashion, including an insane ninth-inning comeback by the Reds, bringing out the boo birds. Something may need to change, but it won’t be the manager, as Buster Posey announced that Tony Vitello will keep his job for 2027.
It has gone downhill very quickly for the A’s in a season where they looked like they were making genuine progress in their slow but steady rebuild. A big reason for this is the fact that their entire core is currently on the injured list. Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker, and Jacob Wilson are all on the shelf.
The only reason that the Angels aren’t in the same boat as Colorado is that their division is very poor in comparison. They finally sold at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, this is the product you get for the remainder of the season. I would like to highlight OF Wade Meckler, who has come up and played with his hair on fire.
A few days ago, the Rockies became the first team to be eliminated from contention in their division. There isn’t much more to say about another lost season for them. Hunter Goodman became the most prolific home-run-hitting catcher in franchise history. I suppose that can be pretty exciting for Colorado fans.
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