MLB Power Rankings Week 22: Phillies rise, Dodgers and Yankees among best MLB teams

By Matt Johnson

·Updated: August 30, 2024

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

What is the best team in baseball? August is just ending and that means the postseason race is coming down to September. With some of the best MLB teams battling for positioning, it’s time for our latest MLB power rankings to evaluate clubs across the league.

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As always, our MLB power rankings factor in injuries, week-long performance and how teams fared this month. We’ll provide an analysis of the worst MLB teams on Saturday.

MLB power rankings: Worst MLB teams

30. Chicago White Sox (30)

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29. Los Angeles Angels (27)

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28. Miami Marlins (29)

23. Washington Nationals (25)

22. Texas Rangers (24)

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21. Toronto Blue Jays (22)

20. Tampa Bay Rays (17)

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MLB power rankings Week 22: Cardinals, Giants, Red Sox slide

19. St. Louis Cardinals (18)

Parting ways with Tommy Pham essentially serves as the white flag for the St. Louis Cardinals 2024 season. With the postseason hopes evaporating in August, it seems increasingly likely that September will be the last month of Oliver Marmol’s tenure as the Cardinals manager. As for his potential replacement, look no further than Skip Schumaker.

18. San Francisco Giants (16)

The San Francisco Giants will finish the 2024 season around the .500 mark in the last three years under Farhan Zaidi. Brought in to make this team a perennial playoff contender, Zaidi’s moves have fallen well short o f that. Considering the 2025 season could be even bleaker, it’s fair to wonder if San Francisco will part ways with Zaidi this winter.

17. Detroit Tigers (20)

The young Detroit Tigers have been feisty in August. The team is tied with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers for the fourth-most wins in the league this month (16), and Detroit’s hurlers (3.03 ERA) are shining. It’s nice to see Detroit show more fight and consistency, but we’ve also seen in the past this late-season success doesn’t always carry over into the next year.

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16. Seattle Mariners (19)

We’re not going to buy back stock in the Seattle Mariners. Winning consecutive series is a small step forward, but we also can’t ignore those victories came over the Rays and Giants. Not only that, nothing the Mariners lineup has shown in the last week-plus suggests it has turned things around. We just look at Seattle and see a wasted pitching staff that could’ve shined in October.

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15. Boston Red Sox (14)

The lone source of hope for the Boston Red Sox playoff odds right now is a slumping Minnesota Twins team. With that said, a Red Sox record of 12-14 in August doesn’t suggest this team belongs in the postseason. Boston’s pitching staff (5.10 ERA) is letting the Red Sox lineup down, but that feels like an outcome the fan base saw coming after an uneventful MLB trade deadline. Unfortunately, seasons like this feel like they are the norm for the Fenway Sports Group and it seems like owner John Henry is fine with the results.

14. Chicago Cubs (15)

Don’t look now, but the Chicago Cubs have been one of the best MLB teams in August. The Cubs rotation (3.92 ERA) is coming through as of late, but there’s one group that deserves most of the credit for this turnaround. The Cubs lineup has the second-highest OPS in August (.803) and that is keeping Chicago’s fringe playoff hopes alive as we head into September.

13. New York Mets (13)

After playing so well in June and July, thrusting themselves back into the playoff hunt, August hasn’t been as kind to the New York Mets. New York is getting by with adequate pitching (3.99 ERA in its last 225.1 innings), but the Mets lineup – 17th in OPS – is struggling with consistency this month. Fortunately for the Metropolitans, there are several winnable series (White Sox, Reds, Blue Jays) on the schedule.

12. Minnesota Twins (11)

The Minnesota Twins had a 13-13 record in August entering play on Friday, but they are 7-10 in their last 17 games. Pitching (4.02 ERA) isn’t an overwhelming strength right now and the Twins lineup isn’t producing like it did earlier in the summer. Minnesota is still in a fairly comfortable spot to make the playoffs, but there’s very little from this team that suggests an October run is even remotely realistic.

11. Houston Astros (9)

It’s been an up-and-down stretch for the Houston Astros. Since their eight-game winning streak ended, the club is playing .500 ball (7-7). That’s come with a split at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles followed by a series defeat against the Philadelphia Phillies. One ray of light for Houston, outfielder Kyle Tucker went through a workout on Thursday and should rejoin the Astros lineup in September.

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10. Atlanta Braves (12)

The Atlanta Braves deserve endless credit for continuing to fight in the face of devastating injuries.In the past two weeks, the Braves have taken out two of the best MLB teams – Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies – creating some space in the NL Wild Card hunt. We’re still a bit skeptical that this depleted roster can keep it all going through September, but we have some restored confidence in Atlanta following the recent turnaround.

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9. Cleveland Guardians (5)

It’s time to be concerned about the Cleveland Guardians and this is about more than dropping a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Cleveland enters the weekend with an 11-16 record in August, putting them in the same company as the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. Going back even further, the Guardians are 18-21 since the All-Star Break. There’s still more than enough time for a turnaround, but it sure seems like the bottom is starting to fall out for this club.

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8. Kansas City Royals (10)

The Kansas City Royals are the best team in the AL Central right now. After dropping the home series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Bobby Witt and Salvador Perez responded by going into Cleveland and taking out the Guardians. With a 15-11 record in August and the Guardians seemingly in a tailspin, Kansas City has a legitimate shot to win this division in September.

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7. Baltimore Orioles (4)

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We were patient with the Philadelphia Phillies before a prolonged slump dropped them in our MLB power rankings. Now, the Baltimore Orioles are going through the same phase. While the Orioles record (41-39) over the last three months is above .500, this club is 19-20 since the All-Star Break and 12-14 in August. Pitching (4.63 ERA in August) is a massive letdown, but the Orioles lineup (.684 OPS, 23rd in MLB) was just as bad this month. We’re not writing the O’s off, but they need to show something soon.

6. San Diego Padres (6)

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We’ll start with the bad news. The San Diego Padres are coming off a series split against the slumping Cardinals and they also split a four-game set with the Mets. With that acknowledged, San Diego isn’t dropping in our MLB power rankings because Yu Darvish and Fernando Tatís Jr. are nearing returns. A club getting two of its players back after compiling the third-best record in the league over the last three months (45-31), warrants consideration among the best MLB teams right now.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks (5)

Here’s how good the Arizona Diamondbacks have been this summer. Even after dropping this week’s series to the Mets, Arizona still has the best record in MLB (18-7) this month. In fact, the Diamondbacks have recorded the best record in baseball in July (17-8) and the third-most wins in June (16). With four more wins than the second-best team in the last three months, the D-Backs are proving to be a World Series threat.

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4. Milwaukee Brewers (7)

The Milwaukee Brewers deserve some respect in MLB power rankings right now. Not only does this club have one of the best records in baseball this season, it’s also really come through this month. The Brewers record stands at 16-9 in August, with phenomenal pitching (3.38 ERA) and some timely hits from Willy Adames leading the way. The Brewers roster doesn’t have many household names, but the results speak for themselves, this is one of the best MLB teams in 2024.

3. New York Yankees (2)

The New York Yankees stumbled this week, dropping a series to the Nationals and the blame certainly falls on the Yankees lineup. While New York has the fourth-best OPS in August (.794), the run production hasn’t been quite as consistent in the last two weeks. It’s only a matter of time until Aaron Judge and Juan Soto go on a tear again, so there’s no real reason to panic. For now, the Yankees are the best team in the American League.

2. Philadelphia Phillies (8)

The Philadelphia Phillies needed to turn things around and there’s no better way to do it than against some of the best MLB teams in 2024. Philadelphia went into Kauffman Stadium and decimated the Kansas City Royals and then went back home and took the series against a Houston Astros team that has been hot this summer. It’s not a complete turnaround, the Phillies are still just 14-12 in August, but it’s a much-needed rebound.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in MLB. Even with Tyler Glasnow on the injured list, along with multiple other pitchers, Los Angeles keeps rolling along as of late. The club entered play on Friday tied for the second-best record (17-8) in July. Pitching (3.43 ERA, 5th in MLB), per FanGraphs, is certainly a bright spot and the Dodgers lineup (.442 slugging) is showcasing a lot of power. Plus, the Dodgers defense is improving.