1. Chicago Cubs (94-55, previously No. 1) – The Cubs are the first team in baseball to clinch a playoff spot and can now work their rotation out the way they want it for the divisional round. They have a plus-224 run differential which is far and away the best mark in the majors. 2. Washington Nationals (88-61, previously No. 2) – Washington has all but wrapped up the NL East and will likely officially clinch this week. While everyone is talking about their rotation, Daniel Murphy is tied for the best batting average in all of baseball at .348. 3. Texas Rangers (88-62, previously No. 3) – Losing two games in a row, the Rangers need to fight down the stretch to make sure they will be the top seed in the AL and play the winner of the Wild Card game. Sam Dyson has been one of the most dependable closer’s in the league with 34 saves. 4. Cleveland Indians (86-63, previously No. 4) – The Indians aren’t playing very well of late as now they are battling with the Red Sox for the No. 2 seed and the ability to have home field advantage in the ALDS. They also are squandering a golden opportunity to potentially be the No. 1 seed as the Rangers have struggled of late. 5. Boston Red Sox (85-64, previously No. 6) – Led by Hanley Ramirez, the Red Sox are hitting their stride at the right time with a four-game sweep of the Yankees over the weekend. Ramirez has four homers in his last four games and eight in his last 11. With the rest of the AL East struggling, the Red Sox could be on their way to winning the division. 6. Los Angeles Dodgers (84-65, previously No. 5) – The Dodgers have opened a five-game lead in the NL West and appear to be in good shape for taking the division. Corey Seager’s 5.9 WAR is third in the National League and their success in the postseason will all be dependent upon their pitching. 7. Baltimore Orioles (82-67, previously No. 8) – Although the Orioles haven’t played their best, they are in a position where if they don’t win the division they appear to be a lock for one of the Wild Cards. Zach Britton has also put himself in the Cy Young conversation as he’s having as good of a season a closer could have. 8. Toronto Blue Jays (81-68, previously No. 7) – The Blue Jays have picked a bad time to lose six of their last 10 games, but still have a two-game lead in the Wild Card. The biggest issue for them will always be their pitching as for a time it looked like it was coming around, but it’s struggled of late. 9. New York Mets (80-69, previously No. 12) – The Mets have caught fire as they have won three games in a row and seven of their last 10 games to now be the top team in the NL Wild Card with a good chance of winning it. With the offense starting to come together, they could be a very tough out in the postseason. 10. Seattle Mariners (79-70, previously No. 15) – Although they are on the outside of the Wild Card picture looking in, the Mariners may be the hottest team in baseball, winning eight of their last 10 games. They are two games out and currently tied with the Tigers. Regardless, they’ve certainly made things interesting. 11. San Francisco Giants (79-70, previously No. 9) – Despite losing two games in a row, the Giants would still be in the playoffs as the second Wild Card team. It looks like it will come down to them and the Cardinals for the last spot and given their past experience, the Giants may have the edge. 12. Detroit Tigers (79-70, previously No. 11) – Detroit is tied with Seattle being two games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. Given there only being two weeks left in the regular season, they cannot mess around any longer and need to catch fire quickly. 13. St. Louis Cardinals (78-71, previously No. 13) – By winning two straight and the Giants losing two straight, the Cardinals have made things interesting for the final Wild Card spot. They are very similar teams too as there is only one run separating them in terms of run differential this season and could be a race that comes down to the final game. 14. Houston Astros (78-71, previously No. 14) – Houston has lost six of its last 10 games and is now three games out of the Wild Card. The biggest issue the Astros have is the number of teams ahead of them. Jose Altuve still leads the American League with a .337 average. 15. New York Yankees (77-72, previously No. 10) – The Yankees saw their playoff hopes go up in flames this weekend when they were swept by the Red Sox. They were all tough losses as they led in all four of the games. Masahiro Tanaka has done his part as his 2.97 ERA is best in the AL. 16. Kansas City Royals (76-73, previously No. 16) – Kansas City has won two straight games, but it appears to be too little too late with the number of teams ahead of them for the Wild Card. The Royals could have a whole new look next season. 17. Miami Marlins (74-75, previously No. 17) – While the Marlins have played better recently, their two-week stretch before this one took them out of playoff contention. Miami does have a number of talented young players so this season will only benefit them in the long run. 18. Pittsburgh Pirates (74-75, previously No. 18) – All things considered, it was a disappointing year for the Pirates are they didn’t content at any point during the year in the NL Central and will miss out on the postseason. They should be contenders in 2017, especially with their pitching staff. 19. Colorado Rockies (72-77, previously No. 19) – With the number of runs the Rockies score, it only seems like a matter of time before they will go all in on pitching in the offseason because clearly the lack of an ace is what is setting them back from contending for a playoff spot. 20. Chicago White Sox (72-77, previously No. 20) – Considering what a good start the White Sox got off to this season, not making the playoffs is a huge disappointment. Now the attention goes to the offseason and what the team does with ace Chris Sale, as certainly the trade calls will be coming in. 21. Milwaukee Brewers (68-82, previously No. 21)
22. Philadelphia Phillies (67-83, previously No. 23) –
23. Oakland Athletics (66-83, previously No. 24)
24. Los Angeles Angels (65-84, previously No. 22)
25. Tampa Bay Rays (64-85, previously No. 26)
26. Cincinnati Reds (63-86, previously No. 25)
27. Arizona Diamondbacks (63-86, previously No. 28)
28. San Diego Padres (62-87, previously No. 27)
29. Atlanta Braves (58-91, previously No. 29)
30. Minnesota Twins (55-95, previously No. 30)
MLB Power Rankings: Red Sox, Mets, Mariners climb the ladder
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