Dodgers Move Up in National Power Rankings

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jun 26, 2024

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

After a solid week against the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, and Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers moved up one spot in the most recent iteration of Newsweek's Major League Baseball Power Rankings.

Los Angeles enters Wednesday's series finale against the White Sox ranked No. 3 behind the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees.

Shohei Ohtani highlighted the week for the Dodgers. With a lead-off home run on Tuesday in Chicago, he has tallied at least one RBI in nine straight games. That ties him with Roy Campanella for a Dodgers franchise record in a single season since RBIs became an official stat in 1920.

The Japanese superstar has been having a great season at the plate, and has taken it to another level in June. In 22 games, he has a .306/.412/.706 slash line, with 10 homers, 22 RBIs and 15 walks compared to 20 strikeouts.

During his nine-game RBI streak, Ohtani's numbers are more impressive. He is slashing .441/.545/1.147 with seven homers and 16 RBIs. He has also been hitting leadoff in eight of those nine games.

The Dodgers are feeding off Ohtani's energy at the plate. With him at the top, hitting becomes contagious and spreads throughout the rest of the order.

“I think that the consistency stemmed from his controlling of the strike zone,” Roberts said of Ohtani after Tuesday’s win. “He is obviously crazy talented, but people feed off of his eagerness to swing the bat. … I think right now, he's just got the tunnel vision on having good at-bats.

“And that's why all these homers and runs batted in and runs scored, all these good things are happening.”