1. Chicago Cubs (82-47, previously No. 1) – The Cubs continue to blow away the rest of the league as they have by far the best record in baseball and are leading the NL Central by 14 games. Kyle Hendricks is having a great season from the mound as his 2.19 ERA is tops in the majors. 2. Texas Rangers (77-54, previously No. 3) – Texas has won six of its last 10 games to take firm control of the AL West. Cole Hamels has done his part since the trade last summer as this season he has a 2.67 ERA, which is tops in the American League. The biggest thing for the Rangers this season was how active they were at the trade deadline. 3. Washington Nationals (75-55, previously No. 2) – Despite losing two straight and six of their last 10 games, the Nationals are in good shape in the NL East as they currently hold an eight-game lead. Daniel Murphy is batting .343 with 98 RBIs, both second in the National League. 4. Toronto Blue Jays (74-56, previously No. 5) – Toronto has won three straight games and now leads the AL East by two games. In the middle of the season many pegged the Blue Jays as the division favorites and now they are showing why. Josh Donaldson hit three homers on Sunday, raising his season total to 33, which is good for fourth in the AL. 5. Cleveland Indians (73-56, previously No. 4) – The Indians aren’t making it easy for themselves in the AL Central as they could have wrapped things up early, but have now dropped two straight and six of 10, to now only lead by 4.5 games. In the end, they should be fine as their plus-88 run differential is by far the best in the division. 6. Los Angeles Dodgers (73-57, previously No. 11) – Winners of two straight and six of 10, the Dodgers have picked a good time to start playing solid baseball as they now lead the NL West by two games over the Giants. Corey Seager continues to have a great season as his 5.6 WAR is second-best in the NL. 7. Boston Red Sox (72-58, previously No. 6) – The Red Sox would be in the postseason if it began today, but still the pitching is a huge concern. The Red Sox have three players in the top five in terms of AL batting average (Mookie Betts, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia), but the pitching, especially in the bullpen has been very inconsistent. 8. San Francisco Giants (71-59, previously No. 7) – The NL West will certainly come down to the last week or so of the season as the Dodgers and Giants appear ready to battle it out until the end. Madison Bumgarner and his 2.49 ERA is second in the NL and they need others to step up. 9. Baltimore Orioles (71-59, previously No. 8) – It wasn’t the best week for the Orioles, but they’ve managed to stay in the postseason if the season ended today. The rotation took a hit with Chris Tillman going on the DL, but they need their offense to perform like it did early on in the year. Mark Trumbo leads all of baseball with 40 home runs. 10. Detroit Tigers (69-61, previously No. 12) – The Tigers may be one of the better stories in the league this season as they seemed out of things around the All-Star break, but now they are right in the thick of the Wild Card race. They’re led by Michael Fulmer and his 2.69 ERA, which is the second-best mark in the AL. 11. St. Louis Cardinals (68-61, previously No. 9) – St. Louis has picked a bad time to start playing poor baseball as this is when it matters most as they are fighting for their playoff lives. You would think things should be different as they are one of the most experienced teams in the league. 12. Kansas City Royals (68-62, previously No. 14) – Kansas City remains one of the hottest teams in the league as after being out of the playoff picture for most of the season, they have really turned it on strong in the second half. They’ve won eight of their last 10 and being to two straight World Series’ that could be of their benefit in the race for the Wild Card. 13. Houston Astros (68-62, previously No. 15) – Houston is clinging to being in the AL Wild Card mix, but they are running out of time. It hs won seven of its last 10 games, but they need more stretches like this. Jose Altuve still leads the American League with a .355 average. 14. Seattle Mariners (68-62, previously No. 10) – Like the Astros, the Mariners are running out of time and matters weren’t helped with them losing six of their last 10 games. Nelson Cruz’s 32 homers are fifth in the American League. 15. Pittsburgh Pirates (67-61, previously No. 17) – Despite not playing like they would have liked of late, they are still right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race, especially by their current four-game win streak. This came at the right time as they were trending in the wrong direction. 16. New York Yankees (67-62, previously No. 16) – The Yankees have been sparked by young players like Gary Sanchez, who really has made the most of his extended playing time since the trade deadline. New York is a team to watch as playing spoiler down the stretch. 17. Miami Marlins (67-63, previously No. 13) – The Marlins picked a bad time to start playing the way they have as they had the chance to move atop the NL Wild Card standings with teams above them faltering. Martin Prado continues his solid year at the plate as his .320 average is fourth in the NL. 18. New York Mets (66-64, previously No. 18) – An issue for the Mets is their run differential is only plus-two, which is the sign of a team that may not be ready for the postseason. The Mets have been very inconsistent, especially at the plate this year, but Jay Bruce’s 27 homers and 86 RBIs are both fifth in the NL. 19. Chicago White Sox (63-66, previously No. 20) – The biggest thing with the White Sox is now their offseason and what they do with their rotation as they certainly will be getting plenty of phone calls, including on Jose Quintana who has a 2.77 ERA, good for third in the AL. 20. Colorado Rockies (62-68, previously No. 19) – An issue for the Rockies this season besides their lack of pitching, may be their play at home. Colorado is just one-game over .500 at home, which is an issue when playing at Coors Field. 21. Philadelphia Phillies (60-70, previously No. 21) – The Phillies continue to try and build momentum for 2017 down the stretch this season and with a lot of division games coming up, they could play spoiler to both the Marlins and Mets as they are in the mix for the NL Wild Card. 22. Oakland Athletics (57-73, previously No. 24)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (56-74, previously No. 22)
24. Los Angeles Angels (56-74, previously No. 27)
25. Cincinnati Reds (55-74, previously No. 23)
26. Tampa Bay Rays (55-74, previously No. 26)
27. San Diego Padres (55-75, previously No. 25)
28. Arizona Diamondbacks (55-76, previously No. 28)
29. Minnesota Twins (49-81, previously No. 29)
30. Atlanta Braves (48-83, previously No. 30)
MLB Power Rankings: Red Sox fall back, Dodgers take a huge leap
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