Houston Astros See Dramatic Fall in Power Rankings

After they were swept by the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, the Houston Astros fell out of the top-5 of Sports Illustrated's weekly MLB power rankings on Inside the Phillies.

Jack Vita | Aug 22, 2023

Houston Astros See Dramatic Fall in Power Rankings /

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Houston Astros

This week, the Houston Astros dropped out of the top-5 in Sports Illustrated's weekly MLB power rankings on Inside the Phillies.

In Monday's edition of the power rankings, the Astros fell two spots, now standing as the 6th-best team in Major League Baseball. Houston placed in the number four spot a week prior.

The Astros started last week strong, taking two of three from the Marlins in Miami. The wheels came off over the weekend, as Houston was swept at home by the red-hot Seattle Mariners. The M's have won 21 of their last 28 games, and now only trail the Astros by a half-game. The sweep moved the Mariners into the number five spot, placing them in front of the Astros for the first time all season.

The Mariners enter the new week as the highest-ranked AL West team, in what is quickly shaping up to be a thrilling three-team division race. Since June 6, the division-leading Texas Rangers are 32-32. Texas has been an average team, playing .500 baseball, for the past two and a half months.

The Astros will try to snap their three-game losing streak Monday, when they open a four-game stand against the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are hot off a sweep of the New York Yankees.

10) Philadelphia Phillies (67-57; +44 DIFF, 37-36 vs. >.500)

9) Toronto Blue Jays (69-56; +62 DIFF, 37-40 vs. >.500)

8) Texas Rangers (72-52; +185 DIFF, 31-29 vs. >.500)

7) Milwaukee Brewers (68-57; +5 DIFF, 35-36 vs. >.500)

6) Houston Astros (70-55; +80 DIFF, 30-36 vs. >.500)

5) Seattle Mariners (69-55; +72 DIFF, 32-33 vs. >.500)

4) Tampa Bay Rays (75-51; +161 DIFF, 36-32 vs. >.500)

3) Baltimore Orioles (77-47; +79 DIFF, 40-30 vs. >.500)

2) Los Angeles Dodgers (76-47; +143 DIFF, 36-29 vs. >.500)

1) Atlanta Braves (80-43; +212 DIFF, 42-26 vs. >.500)

Here's a look at the full, 30-team power rankings .

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.

More From SI's Inside The Astros:

Published Aug 22, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Astros, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.