Padres Fall in Latest National Power Rankings

This is the second straight week they've dropped.

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

After losing six out of their last seven games, the San Diego Padres have dropped two spots to No. 15 overall in Newsweek's national MLB power rankings. Prior to their drop over the last two weeks, the Padres ranked No. 12 for three straight weeks. They have primarily ranked either 12th or 13th in MLB, making this one of their lowest rankings of the entire season.

The Padres recently held a 49-43 record that had them comfortably in second in the National League West, but lost two games each to the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Atlanta Braves. They now are 50-49, and have fallen to third in the NL West, behind the Diamondbacks, who are 49-48.

San Diego is dealing with several injuries that could be holding them back, including injuries to their top two starters, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. In addition, Fernando Tatis Jr. is out with a stress reaction in his femur and star hitter Luis Arráez is playing through a thumb injury.

Still, the Padres have been a back-and-forth team for much of the year. They will regularly win a string of games, then lose most of their next games on the calendar. This losing streak is far from encouraging, but appears to be another part of the team's see-saw season.

Competition won't get any easier for the Padres when they return from the All-Star break on Friday. San Diego has three tough series coming up against the Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Dodgers — all top-five ranked teams in MLB.