MLB Power Rankings: Cubs and Blue Jays climb

1. St. Louis Cardinals (76-42 previous No. 1) – With 76 wins, the Cardinals have nine more wins than any other team in the NL, as they now lead the NL Central by six games over the Pirates. They have been by far the most consistent team in the league this season.

2. Kansas City Royals (71-46, previous No. 2) – The Royals are one of the hottest teams in the game as they have won eight of their last 10 games and now lead the AL Central by 12.5 games. Both their pitching and hitting has been clicking of late, as their plus-77 run differential is second-best in the AL.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (69-47, previous No. 3) – Pittsburgh continues to play well – winning seven of its last 10 games to take a firm grip at the top ofthe NL Wild Card race. Center fielder Andrew McCutchen’s 77 RBIs are tied for the fourth-most in the National League.

4. Chicago Cubs (67-49, previous No. 10) – After winning nine straight, the Cubs finally dropped a game. Chicagoand the Pirates are the leaders of the NL Wild Card race, so it appears the NL Central has a good chance of having three playoff teams.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (67-51, previous No. 5) – Winners of three straight, the Dodgers have opened up a three-game lead in the NL West over the Giants. They are obviously led by their rotation, but Adrian Gonzalez is having a good year at the plate with 73 RBIs.

6. New York Yankees (65-52, previous No. 4) – The Yankees were cooled off by the Blue Jays on Sunday, but New York still leads the AL East by a game. The team continues to be led by Mark Teixeira, as he’s hit 31 home runs and driven in 79 runs, both in the top five in the AL.

7. Toronto Blue Jays (65-54, previous No. 13) – One of the hottest teams in baseball, the Blue Jays are making a run at the AL East crown. Aftermaking a few deals at the trade deadline, fans are excited and have been selling out games at the Rogers Centre. Although they trail the Yankees by a game in the division, they are three games up in the Wild Card.

8. San Francisco Giants (64-54, previous No. 8) – The Giants are hanging in the NL West race, as they trail the Dodgers by just three games. Their best chance of making the postseason might be winning the division, as the Cubs and Pirates seem to be running away with the Wild Card.

9. Houston Astros (64-55, previous No. 7) – The Astros haven’t played that well of late, but it’s been good enough to stay atop the AL West standings. With Dallas Keutchel and Scott Kazmir at the top of its rotation, Houston should be in good shape for the postseason.

10. Los Angeles Angels (61-57, previous No. 6) – The bad news for the Angels is they have now lost seven of their last 10 games, but the good news is they only trail the Astros by 2.5 games in the NL West. If Albert Pujols and Mike Trout continue to swing the bat like they have, they have a good chance of getting into the postseason.

11. New York Mets (63-55, previous No. 12) – The Mets aren’t exactly playing great of late, but thanks to the Nationals’ collapse, they lead the NL East by 4.5 games. Jacob deGrom’s 2.03 ERA is still the second-best in the NL.

12. Baltimore Orioles (61-56, previous No. 15) – Like much of the AL East, the Oioles are playing very well of late winning four straight. Although they trail the Yankees by four games for the division, they are the second Wild Card team. If their pitching can continue like it has been throwing, they could be in the mix come October.

13. Texas Rangers (60-57, previous No. 18) – Here come the Rangers as they have won three straight games and have chances at both the AL West and the Wild Card. Prince Fielder continues his impressive season at the plate as his .324 average is second in the AL.

14. Minnesota Twins (59-59, previous No. 11) – At .500 the Twins are running at of time for the Wild Card as with the Royals in their division they have virtually no shot of catching them. Trevor Plouffe has 65 RBI, second among AL third basemen.

15. Tampa Bay Rays (59-59, previous No. 14) – It appeared for a little while the Rays were poised to make a second half run, but they have faltered of late and it appears with the number of teams ahead of them, they will miss out on the postseason.

16. Washington Nationals (58-59, previous No. 9) – What has happened to the Nationals? Washington has lost six straight games and eight of 10 to now trail the Mets by 4.5 games in the NL East. They will need to turn things around in a hurry as there isn’t much time remaining in the year.

17. Arizona Diamondbacks (58-59, previous No. 19) – Paul Goldschmidt has having a monster season as his .334 batting average and 86 RBIs are both tops in the NL. With that being said, being one-game below .500 things don’t appear promising for the postseason.

18. San Diego Padres (57-62, previous No. 20) – Aside from Craig Kimbrel’s 34 saves, not much has gone right for the Padres this season as they are 10.5 games out in the NL West.

19. Detroit Tigers (56-61 previous No. 16) – It’s been a tough year in Detroit as even after trading away several key players the thought was they could still make a push for the playoffs, but that wasn’t meant to be. Dave Dombrowski left the organization a few weeks back after the deadline, leaving them without a true voice in the front office.

20. Chicago White Sox (55-61, previous No. 17) – The White Sox have now lost six of their last 10 games to fall 15.5 games out of first place. Starter Jeff Samardzija has been a major disappointment, especially in a contract year.

21. Seattle Mariners (55-64, previous No. 22) – With the lineup the Mariners have, it’s disappointing how things have gone this season with the way their rotation and especially the bullpen has performed. On the bright side. Nelson Cruz has a 5.3 WAR, which is fifth in the AL.

22. Atlanta Braves (53-65, previous No. 21) – If there is one thing to point to with the Braves being 10 games below .500, it’s their horrid 21-41 record on the road. Their minus-78 run differential is the third-worst in the NL.

23. Cleveland Indians (55-62, previous No. 23) – Although this season has been a disappointment for the Indians, there is hope for the future as their starting rotation has some of the top young stars in the game.

24. Boston Red Sox (52-66, previous No. 24) – The Red Sox’ attention has now shifted off the field with the news of manager John Farrell being diagnosed with stage 1 lymphoma. The team did respond by scoring 37 games in the two games following the manager telling the team what he is dealing with.

25. Cincinnati Reds (51-65, previous No. 26) – The bad year for the Reds has somehow managed to get even worse, as they have now dropped seven of their last 10 games and are now 24 games out of first and 14 games below .500.

26. Oakland Athletics (51-69, previous No. 25) – It’s hard to imagine this is where the A’s are at – the worst team in the AL — especially with Sonny Gray having a 2.04 ERA, the best in the American League.

27. Milwaukee Brewers (51-69, previous No. 27) – The biggest story with the Brewers this week was over the weekend minor leaguer David Denson came out and become the first professional baseball player to come out as gay.

28. Colorado Rockies (48-68, previous 28) – When is football season? That’s the question among Rockies fans as they are 20 games below .500 and can’t wait for Broncos season.

29. Miami Marlins (48-70, previous No. 29) – Miami has won two games in a row to stay out of the basement in the NL East, and baseball for that matter. Dee Gordon is still one of the most exciting players to watch on a day-to-day basis, as his .331 average is second in the NL.

30. Philadelphia Phillies (46-72, previous No. 30) – Let the rebuilding begin. The Phillies are officially the worst team in baseball with their minus-153 run differential being miles worse than any other team.