MLB Power Rankings: Red Sox up one spot, Cubs jump ahead of Giants

1. Chicago Cubs (59-38, previously No. 3) – After slumping over a few weeks span, the Cubs are back on top as they have won seven of their last 10 games. Along with the strong pitching, Kris Bryant has 25 homers, tied for second in the NL and Anthony Rizzo has 24, which are fourth.

2. Washington Nationals (58-41, previously No. 2) – Washington remains on top in the NL East standings, being led by Daniel Murphy. He continues to lead the National League in batting with a .355 average, and also has 73 RBIs, which are tied for third in the NL.

3. San Francisco Giants (58-40, previously No. 1) – The Giants have struggled of late, dropping seven of their last 10 games to now only lead the Dodgers by three games in the NL West. Their pitching has been an issue over the last week or so, which was their strong suit coming into the week.

4. Baltimore Orioles (57-40, previously No. 6) – Led by their offense, they are the best team in the American League. Mark Trumbo has led the powerful offense and Chris Tillman has led the rotation as they have tried to pull away from the Red Sox, but only lead the division by 1.5 games.

5. Texas Rangers (57-42, previously No. 4) – Texas is the second-best team in the American League at the moment and it looks like it will push hard to add another starting pitcher before the deadline as that is what it needs the most. The Rangersonly lead the NL West by 2.5 games, so a boost to their rotation will be welcomed.

6. Cleveland Indians (56-41, previously No. 5) – Even though the Indians have lost three straight games, they still hold a six-game lead in the AL Central. They likely will be active this week as they look to add a hitter with how dominant their pitching has been.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers (56-44, previously No. 7) – Looking to take advantage of the Giants struggling recently, the Dodgers have won seven of their last 10 games to now only trail them by three games in the division. The issue moving forward is the uncertainty of ace Clayton Kershaw and when he will be able to return to the mound.

8. Boston Red Sox (55-41, previously No. 9) – Though the Red Sox haven’t been great from the mound, their offense has led them to currently being in second in the AL East. The biggest thing moving forward is getting David Price back pitching well, as he hasn’t been what anyone hoped or expected him to be bythis point in the year.

9. Toronto Blue Jays (55-44, previously No. 8) – The Blue Jays remain right in the thick of things in both the AL East and in the AL Wild Card. Clearly, their offense is leading the way, but there are talks they will add to their rotation like they did last year in getting David Price to make a run at the postseason.

10. Houston Astros (54-44, previously No. 10) – The Astros are the hottest team in the game right now as they have won four straight and seven of their last 10 games to now only trail Texas by 2.5 games in the AL West. Jose Altuve continues to lead all of baseball with his .360 batting average. If they keep playing like this, they could over take the Rangers for the division lead in a week.

11. Miami Marlins (53-45, previously No. 12) – Miami finds themselves in second place in the NL East, which is a bit surprising given how they started the season. Everyone talks about Jose Fernandez and his dominance from the mound, but what people aren’t talking about is Christian Yelich and Martin Prado as they both are in the top five in hitting in the National League. They could be a potential surprise come October.

12. New York Mets (52-45, previously No. 11) – The Mets are now in third place in the NL East, half a game behind the Marlins and five behind the Nationals. Given their injuries of late, they may be pressured into making a major deal as the deadline approaches. Given their current roster, they have the talent to be playoff team — they just need another piece.

13. St. Louis Cardinals (52-46, previously No. 14) – While the NL Central may be out of reach with the Cubs back on track, the Cardinals now have their eyes set on the NL Wild Card. St. Louis has a plus-95 run differential, which is the best among teams currently in the Wild Card picture, which is a good sign for them. If they continue to play the way they have, they should be in the playoff mix come October.

14. Pittsburgh Pirates (51-47, previously No. 15) – Pittsburgh is in a very similar position with the Cardinals, except unlike in years past, the NL East has teams in the Wild Card mix as well. The Pirates need to get things going as they cannot wait much longer to make a playoff push.

15. Detroit Tigers (51-48, previously No. 13) – Being six games out in the AL Central seems to be their best chance at reaching the postseason as they are too many teams ahead of them in the Wild Card mix. Their minus-six run differential isn’t anything to be too proud of either.

16. Seattle Mariners (50-48, previously No. 17) – Like Detroit, the Mariners are in a tough spot as they have too many teams in front of them in the Wild Card hunt and then in the AL West, the Rangers and Astros are playing very well so at this point, it doesn’t seem like the Mariners will be playing October baseball.

17. New York Yankees (50-48, previously No. 19) – The selling has started in New York, asAroldis Chapman has been dealt to Chicago. The Yankees will now look to move Andrew Miller. Given their place in the standings this was the right move as they had littlechance at the playoffs, especially given how strong the rest of the AL East is this year.

18. Kansas City Royals (48-49, previously No. 16) – What a difference a year makes for the Royals as now it seems Kansas City will be sellers at the trade deadline, especially with some of their bullpen pieces. Given how bad the market is this year, the Royals could potentially get a lot in return for one of their dominant relievers.

19. Chicago White Sox (48-50, previously No. 18) – What a week it was in Chicago with everything that took place with Chris Sale on Saturday and him cutting up throwback jerseys. It would seem at this point that Sale will be traded and given the events of the weekend, it’s possible the White Sox might not get back as much as they once would have.

20. Colorado Rockies (47-51, previously No. 21) – Colorado has won four straight and seven of its last 10 games, but they are still 11 games out in the NL West. They can obviously hit, but a big priority in the offseason should be going out and getting a dominant pitcher or two.

21. Oakland Athletics (45-54, previously No. 23)

22. Philadelphia Phillies (45-55, previously No. 20) – After putting together a solid past few weeks, the Phillies are back to playing bad baseball as they have dropped seven of their last 10 games. They likely won’t do much at the deadline given what is already in place for next year. It would be nice for them to end the year on a good note, though, and have confidence in their young players going into 2017.

23. Los Angeles Angels (43-55, previously No. 25)

24. San Diego Padres (43-56, previously No. 22)

25. Milwaukee Brewers (41-55, previously No. 26)

26. Arizona Diamondbacks (41-57, previously No. 24)

27. Tampa Bay Rays (38-60, previously No. 27)

28. Cincinnati Reds (38-60, previously No. 28)

29. Minnesota Twins (37-61, previously No. 29)

30. Atlanta Braves (33-66, previously No. 30)