We are at the end of July, which means it’s time to check in and see where teams stand in the MLB Power Rankings. Some teams have surged coming out of the All-Star Break, while others have cratered. The trade deadline is Monday, so many of these teams could have different looks next week.
The Dodgers continue to get contributions from both expected and unexpected places. Of course, your stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Max Muncy will get the job done for your team every time they are on the field, but other players, especially on the pitching side, have stepped up and shoved. The likes of Eric Lauer, Roki Sasaki, and Justin Wrobleski were probably not on fans’ radar as being major contributors at the season’s start.
Even with injuries and extra rest for their top-line starters, the Brewers have continued to rack up wins with a staggering level of consistency. Whenever one part of their lineup goes cold, another steps up to take its place. In July, the breakout came from rookie duo Luis Lara and Cooper Pratt, who have taken over multiple games.
The Rays have played themselves into the consensus number one team in the American League. The top of their lineup has continued to rake, and the pitching staff grades out as one of the best in the league in multiple categories. Most importantly, they have taken care of business against teams that they are supposed to beat.
The Braves have weathered some seriously bad injury luck. Players like Ronald Acuna Jr. have missed extended time, while some like Spencer Strider are out long-term. They still have one of the best records in baseball, thanks to a super deep lineup and surprisingly good play from guys like Dom Smith and Jim Jarvis.
The Yankees continue to win despite the seemingly daily clips showing off their sloppy defense and baserunning. The good news for them is they only have five players from the 40-man on the IL; the bad news is that four of them are Judge, Stanton, Bellinger, and Rodon. Luckily, Ben Rice continues to play like an MVP candidate.
Somehow, the Cubs have managed to keep winning baseball games with their patchwork pitching staff. Two main things have gone in their favor: defense and Pete Crow-Armstrong. They lead the league in defensive runs saved, and Crow-Armstrong looks like an MVP frontrunner, as he currently leads baseball in WAR.
The Sox have their slugger back, and they’re surging. Munetaka Murakami is back from injury and has picked up right where he left off, which is a bonus for a White Sox offense that was pretty good even without him. If they can add some good pitching at the deadline, watch out.
A 15-game winner will catapult any team up the standings, and it came at exactly the right time for the Red Sox. Boston seemed to be in sell mode after their horrendous start, but now they are firmly back in the buyer category, as their surge has put them right back into contention in the American League.
The Diamondbacks’ offense has really started to take off, leading to a lot more wins for them over the past month or so. Unfortunately, their pitching staff is still in a really bad place. They are hoping to get guys like Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez, and AJ Puk back at some point, but until then, they have to figure something out on the mound if they want to stay competitive.
The Phillies are currently in the midst of a 2-8 stretch, and this is after Bryce Harper called out a need for trade deadline reinforcements on both sides of the ball. Philadelphia’s stars, Harper included, have had a rough month, which is contributing heavily to their slide.
The Nationals’ offense has continued to be tops in the league in many major categories, most notably runs scored, where they still lead by a wide margin. Their pitching has done enough to keep them relevant, and they hope the Connelly Early will help. I wouldn’t be shocked to see them add another arm or two next week.
The AL West is a great place to look if you like parity and close races. It’s a bad place to look if you like great baseball teams. The Rangers have held on to first place by being slightly over .500 for the past couple of weeks. The main thing they have going in their favor is that they have played well against the teams behind them, winning their most recent series against the Mariners and Astros.
They kept their head above water while Jose Ramirez was on the shelf; now the question becomes: will the rest of their offense wake up? Cleveland’s pitching has been great, but they need to start hitting more than they have been.
Minnesota announced, to the surprise of some, that they would be buyers at the deadline. They already made good on that promise, acquiring AJ Minter last night. The Twins have been surging thanks to their high-powered offense.
The Pirates are another team that has lit up the scoreboard so far this season. Coming into the year, you would’ve assumed that they would rely heavily on their pitching and Paul Skenes, but it has been the offense that has come on strong. They have struggled a little out of the break, but the bats continue to do their thing.
The Padres stars have started to get going; Padres fans only hoped it would’ve come a little sooner. Fernando Tatis Jr. has started hitting homers again, and Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill seem to be returning to form. It remains to be seen what they are going to do at the deadline with their bullpen, but if they end up buying, starting pitching is a huge need.
Another AL West team that just cannot get out of its own way. The Astros can bang the ball around the yard all day. But it doesn’t matter if you let other teams do the same thing. Their pitching has been inconsistent at best, wasting an offense led by MVP-frontrunner Yordan Alvarez, who is chasing a triple-crown.
The west is there for the taking for the Mariners, who were many people’s picks to win the AL. Nothing has quite clicked for them this year, though, and they have hit an even worse skid the last week or so, going 3-7. Their pitching rotation has been good, but the offense hasn’t been able to find any momentum. Rumors are they may trade one of their young starters for a bat.
Miami looked like they could beat anyone in June. They had one of the best records in the league, and they looked primed to take control of their playoff destiny and add pieces at the deadline. It all fell apart after the break, and Miami has plummeted, losing 12 in a row at one point.
The Cardinals held onto their good momentum for as long as they could, but ultimately it seems like the rebuild year has finally shown itself. They’ve struggled to put together any good stretch of games over the last month or so, and it’s dipped them back below .500.
When Tarik Skubal got healthy, and the Tigers had a good stretch, it seemed like they would be able to get back into contention. They really haven’t been able to sustain that pace, and it looks more and more like their ace will be on a different team next week.
The Orioles are back to around .500 after a hot streak a couple of weeks ago. They have played better as of late, but it hasn’t yet made up for the overall disappointing season. They’ve been banged up, and some of their impact player just haven’t been up to their standards.
Talk about a World Series hangover. Every time it seems like the Jays might have a little hope, they go back into another slump that takes the wind out of the sails yet again. Some guys have been great: Dylan Cease and Kazuma Okamoto. The issue is, a lot of the team just has not performed the way we are used to.
There’s not a ton of life in the Reds right now. They’ve faded back into obscurity in a crowded National League, and the only things keeping them somewhat relevant are the play of guys like Sal Stewart and Chase Burns.
The Giants are going to have a fire sale at the deadline, and it’s not hard to see why. The vibes are not good in the Bay. They’ve lost some bad games to some bad teams, and they’re giving up a lot of runs in the process. Once in a while we’ll get a little glimpse of what their offense should be able to do, which makes it all the more frustrating when they revert to form.
The A’s were a mediocre team the last time we did power rankings, and they’ve fallen all the way to bad now. Their offense hasn’t been able to make up for their pitching woes over the last month or so, and that has been exacerbated by injuries to key players.
The Mets are up a couple of spots due to the teams below them playing worse, not the Mets playing better. They seem to find new embarrassing ways to lose every week. At least they have some exciting young players to watch. Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, and Zach Thornton.
One of the only positive things to come out of this month for Royals fans is Salvador Perez becoming the all-time Royals home run leader. Outside of that, it has been another forgettable month for Kansas City.
They have simply not been able to find any sort of consistency in 2026, and you could probably say that for the last several seasons for the Angels. It will be interesting to see how much they sell at the deadline.
The Rockies’ offense has actually been pretty solid this season. Some young players have stepped up, and Hunter Goodman looks like one of the league’s best power threats. Their pitching, however, continues to struggle, and it remains to be seen how much longer Goodman will wear the Rockies jersey.
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As a Diamondback fan; you gave a spot on assessment of the team. If those pitchers all make it back before the end of the season; I predict the Dbacks go deep into October !!
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