Week 9 MLB Power Rankings: Philadelphia Phillies Make Surprising Jump

The Philadelphia Phillies saw an interesting bump in this week's MLB power rankings.

It was an interesting week in baseball, even more so for the Philadelphia Phillies who went 3-4 as they struggled to claw their way back into the divisional race. 

Still, they saw a surprise bump in the latest MLB power rankings. 

With another week of baseball in the books, let's take a look at our power rankings for Week 9 of the 2023 Major League Baseball season.

1) Tampa Bay Rays (39-16; +120 DIFF, 22-14 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 1 [no movement]) — The Rays had a great week, closing out a 10-game homestand by taking three of four from the Toronto Blue Jays, and two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

2) Texas Rangers (34-19; +123 DIFF, 16-11 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 6 [up 4]) — Last week, I had the Rangers no. 6 and Texas fans weren't too thrilled with me. They let me hear it on Twitter. The club impressively went into Baltimore and took two of three from a red-hot Orioles team, moving up four spots from last week.

3) Baltimore Orioles (34-19; +34 DIFF, 19-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 2 [down 1]) — The Orioles continued to roll this week, stealing two of three games from the Yankees in the Bronx. The club came rather close to a sweep of the Bronx Bombers. The O's remain the only American League East team within striking distance of the Rays, now four games back.

4) Houston Astros (31-21; +53, 16-14 vs. >.500, no. 4 [no movement]) — It was an unexciting week for the Astros. The club was shutout twice in Milwaukee, then swept the A's in Oakland, as every contending team should. I attended Tuesday's 6-0 defeat in Milwaukee. Rookie JP France continued to excel, as he posted a career-high eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings, allowing just one run.

5) Los Angeles Dodgers (32-22; +50 DIFF, 14-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 5 [no movement]) — Like the Astros, the Dodgers have received solid contributions from rookie starting pitchers. This week, the no. 19 prospect in all of baseball — according to MLB Pipeline — Bobby Miller, made his Major League debut. The 24 year-old Louisville product held the Braves to just one run and five hits over five innings, pitching in Atlanta, helping the Dodgers steal a road series from the NL East's best.

6) Atlanta Braves (31-21; +62 DIFF, 16-14 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 3 [down 3]) — A lackluster week drops the Braves three spots from last week. The Dodgers taking last week's series in Atlanta was enough to move LA up to the top spot in the National League.

7) New York Yankees (32-23; +27 DIFF, 18-19 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 7 [no movement]) — After dropping a home series to the O's, the Yankees took care of business against the Padres over the weekend. The club went 3-3 over the past week, which keeps them at no. 7 in this week's power rankings.

8) Arizona Diamondbacks (30-23; +11 DIFF, 16-13 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 8 [no movement]) — Most of the teams between 9 and 21 are separated by only a few games. The Diamondbacks are the last team before that that has separated itself from the pack by a comfortable margin. The club went 3-3 over the past week, remaining steady at no. 8.

9) San Francisco Giants (27-26; -1 DIFF, 17-16 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 18 [up 9]) — I often surprise myself when I create these rankings. I didn't have high hopes for the Giants coming into the season, and when the club got off to a 17-23 start, I didn't think otherwise. Since May 14, the Giants have won their last four series, defeating the Brewers, Twins, Marlins and Phillies, During that stretch, they've outscored opponents 65-39, winning nine of 12. This past week, they went on 5-2 on their road trip to the Midwest.

10) Seattle Mariners (28-25; +37 DIFF, 9-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 17 [up 7]) — The Mariners took care of business this week, going 6-1 at home, sweeping the A's and taking two of three from the Pirates. One big difference over the past week? Reigning American League Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez is playing like himself, once again. Over six games Monday through Saturday, the M's' center fielder slashed .480/.500/1.260 with six RBI. If Julio is indeed back, this team should be turning a corner very soon, if it hasn't already.

11) Miami Marlins (28-26; -41 DIFF, 15-17 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 19 [up 8]) — Let me make this clear. This week, the Marlins need to be above the Angels, after sweeping the club in Los Angeles over the weekend, and the Angels need to be above the Red Sox, after they swept Boston earlier in the week. Do I expect the Marlins, with their -41 run-differential to be baseball's 11th best team or better, for long? Not really. But give it up to the Fish for a great showing this weekend on the other side of the country.

12) Los Angeles Angels (28-26; +7 DIFF, 15-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 16 [up 4]) — The Angels both swept a team and got swept by a team, averaging out to a 3-3 week. The sweep over Boston, moves them up from last week, though. LOTS more on the Angels in this week's 'Around the Diamond' notes below.

13) Boston Red Sox (28-25; +11 DIFF, 19-19 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 10 [down 3]) — Boston recovered nicely this weekend, taking two of three from the Diamondbacks in Arizona, after the Red Sox were swept by the Angels earlier in the week.

14) Toronto Blue Jays (28-26; +20 DIFF, 19-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 10 [down 4]) — The Blue Jays padded their run-differential this week, thanks to a 20-1 blowout victory over the Rays Tuesday night, in which Toronto racked up 10 runs off Rays' position players pitching. The Blue Jays went 3-4 over the past week and remain at the bottom of the American League East. Yet, the last place team in the AL East is still in the top-half of all 30 MLB teams. Unbelievable.

15) Minnesota Twins (27-26; +42 DIFF, 12-16 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 11 [down 4]) — The Twins dropped two of three at home to the Blue Jays over the weekend, which poses a question: If all five AL East teams have winning records, should the AL Central have to forfeit its postseason spot? I think that's a rule change that many of us could get onboard with.

16) Milwaukee Brewers (28-25; -21 DIFF, 16-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 13 [down 3]) — I know my rankings are not definitive. But seriously, where would you have the Twins and the Brewers? How high would you put them? They haven't done anything yet in my eyes to show that they're better than the middle of the pack... and they both lead their divisions, and would host a playoff series if the season ended today!

17) New York Mets (27-27; -13 DIFF, 12-11 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 12 [down 5]) — Rough week for the Mets. The club dropped a pair of series to the lowly Cubs and Rockies. Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman picked up his first win over his former club, holding the Mets to two runs on four hits, two walks and a home run. He was certain to let the Mets know about it, prompting an anonymous Mets player to call out Stroman for his antics. Three days later, Justin Verlander got shelled at Coors Field, as the 40 year-old allowed six runs off nine hits and a walk.

18) St. Louis Cardinals (24-31; +13 DIFF, 16-23 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 14 [down 4]) — The Cardinals' road trip cooled them off a bit this week, entering the week having won 11 of 14. I still think the Cardinals are the most talented team in the National League Central, and that they will win the division. Despite poor start, the Redbirds enter Memorial Day just five games back of the Brewers for the division lead.

19) Philadelphia Phillies (22-25; -38 DIFF, 12-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 20 [up 1]) — A 3-4 week has the Phillies right around where they were in last week's rankings.

20) Pittsburgh Pirates (26-26; +10 DIFF, 10-17 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 15 [down 5]) — The Pirates entered May with the best record and run-differential in the National League. Since, they've been one of baseball's worst teams, posting a 6-17 record this month. They've averaged out a great first month and a terrible second month for a .500 record.

21) Detroit Tigers (25-26; -48 DIFF, 13-19 vs. >.500) — 25-26 has the Tigers in second place and only one game back of the American League Central division lead. Seriously. The Tigers won five of seven games this week, over the Royals and White Sox. Let's see how they fare when the Rangers come to town on Monday. Take this series, and maybe then I'll be impressed.

22) Cleveland Guardians (23-29; -38 DIFF, 12-16 vs. >.500) — My pick to win the American League has been a colossal disappointment through the season's first two months. But I haven't given up on the Guardians yet. Perhaps taking two of three from the Cardinals will spark a run. They play in Baltimore on Monday.

23) San Diego Padres (24-29; -5 DIFF, 16-21 vs. >.500. LAST WEEK: 21 [down 2]) — The Padres still have yet to flip a switch and make a push for the division. They're now 7.5 games back of the Dodgers.

24) Cincinnati Reds (24-29; -24 DIFF, 10-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 26 [up 2]) — The Reds move up two spots after sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley and moving into third place in the NL Central.

25) Colorado Rockies (24-30; -49 DIFF, 13-17 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 27 [up 2]) — Nice showing at home from the Rockies this week at Coors Field, winning five of seven with series wins over the Mets and Marlins.

26) Washington Nationals (23-30; -21 DIFF, 12-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 25 [down 1]) — For a last place team, this group isn't horrible.

27) Chicago White Sox (22-33; -50 DIFF, 10-22 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 28 [up 1]) — Living in Chicago, I'm surrounded by Cubs and White Sox endlessly bickering over whose team is better. News flash, Chicago: both of your teams stink. Actually, all of your teams stink. The Bulls missed the playoffs, and the Blackhawks and Bears each received the no. 1 overall pick this year for a reason. We'll give the White Sox a slight edge, over the North Siders, given that they've been the better team over the past two weeks. The White Sox are 8-5 over the past two weeks. The Cubs are 3-9 during that time.

28) Chicago Cubs (22-30; +4 DIFF, 13-18 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 24 [down 4]) — Since sweeping the A's in mid-April, the Cubs are 11-24 over their last 35 games. They now have the worst record in the National League. Oh, and they're only 5.5 games back of first place in the NL Central!

29) Kansas City Royals (16-38; -76 DIFF, 8-27 vs. >.500) — Kansas City fans, only 60 days until the first day of Chiefs training camp!

30) Oakland Athletics (10-45; -199 DIFF, 6-37 vs. >.500) — The A's haven't won since last week's rankings came out. they're now on-pace to finish 29-133, 14 games worse than the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who hold the mark for the worst record in a 162-game season. I think the A's can do it!

Playoff Bracket, if the Season Ended Today

American League:

#1 Tampa Bay Rays (39-16) (BYE)

#2 Texas Rangers (33-19) (BYE)

#3 Minnesota Twins (27-26) vs. #6 New York Yankees (32-23)

#4 Baltimore Orioles (34-19) vs. #5 Houston Astros (31-21)

National League:

#1 Atlanta Braves (31-21) (BYE)

#2 Los Angeles Dodgers (32-22) (BYE)

#3 Milwaukee Brewers (28-25) vs. #6 San Francisco Giants (27-26)

#4 Arizona Diamondbacks (30-23) vs. #5 Miami Marlins (28-26)

Around the Diamond

•  A pre-deadline trade of Shohei Ohtani seems to be very unlikely. The Angels are off to a solid start, and the club feels that it can compete this season. Even after being swept at home by the Miami Marlins, the Angels enter Monday just 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot in the American League. This week on the Jack Vita Show, I talked to MLB.com Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger about the possibility of an Ohtani trade before the deadline.

"I think the only way [a trade] happens is if Ohtani flat-out says, 'I am not signing here,' and the Angels are also out of the race," Bollinger said. "I don't see a scenario where they trade him if they're in the race or if they have even a semblance of a chance of signing him in the offseason. He just means too much to them, especially if they're in the race, you can't replace him with whoever you're going to get. You're going to get prospects who aren't going to help you quite yet anyway. And even if you do get prospects for the future, I think people are overestimating what they're going to get for Shohei for half a year or for two months of Shohei."

•  As fans and media alike ponder what Ohtani's future has in store, past 2023, it seems we all may be overlooking the most logical destination for the 2021 American League MVP: Anaheim.

Ohtani has found unprecedented success in Anaheim, and by all indications, seems to be happy where he is. The 28 year-old superstar lives a very private life, and has given no clues as to where he will be playing next spring.

"It's easy to pick on the Angels... It's easy to be like, 'Okay, Shohei is leaving there for sure," Bollinger said. "Whereas I think, when you really round it and see how much he does like the people he's around and the stuff that every day you see, it's a little different. But at the same time, he does have to be proved that this team is going to be good in the future and is going to be sustainable, and maybe he doesn't think it's going to be that way. 

"I think a lot of people do feel that the Angels right now are an inconsistent franchise. It doesn't really have a clear path to being consistently good, but they are starting to break in some better prospects. If they do make the postseason, I think they do have a chance to keep Ohtani. It's just a matter of how they fare at the end of the year. If they make the postseason, I think they'll have a better shot, but in general, anyone that says they really know where Ohtani is going to go, they don't really know yet. He's such a private guy, no one really knows yet. People can speculate and there are certain places that make more sense than others, but to rule out Anaheim would be silly at this point."

Last week, Mariners' play-by-play broadcaster Dave Sims told me that it's highly unlikely that the Mariners sign Ohtani. Many speculate that both New York teams and all four California teams will be in on Ohtani. I personally believe that it's more likely Ohtani stays on the West Coast, given its proximity to Japan, rather than signing with an East Coast team.

•  Phil Nevin appears to be a better fit as the Angels' manager than Joe Maddon was.

"[Joe Maddon] is kind of more of an old school manager and didn't quite click with the front office... He wasn't fully in-tune with everything in the organization too sometimes," Bollinger said. "Even with us, we'd ask him what's going on with so-and-so's injury, or 'How is so-and-so doing at Triple-A?' and you could tell Joe didn't really know as much. He was more interested in the 26 guys he had in his locker room that were ready to play, and everybody else — old school mentality — he didn't really know or bother with, whereas Nevin is fully plugged-in on everything going on in the organization.

"[Nevin] is aware of what's going on. He's someone that has a good relationship with the front office and also with the players especially. I think, Joe being a little bit older, it was tougher for him to really relate to players. Whereas Nevin is in his 50s, and is kind of a father figure to some of them, especially to some of the young guys like (Zach) Neto and maybe even Reed Detmers and the guys in their early 20s, (like) Logan O'Hoppe. So I think these guys really respond to him, they play for him, there's better energy. I think Joe tried to instill that, but it just didn't quite come across. With Nevin, he's in the clubhouse more, talking to guys, (and) just (has) a better relationship overall with the players. I think they respond to that and I do think that's why they've been better this year. I do think Nevin really connects to those guys really well.

"Phil's a little bit more down to earth I guess I could say. He's someone that's a little more relatable for the players. Joe, probably to a lot of players, was like a grandpa's age to them."

•  One of the best stories of the past week has been the stellar play of former no. 1 overall pick Mickey Moniak. Since the Angels recalled him from Triple-A Salt Lake City May 13, the 25 year-old has slashed a ridiculous .333/.350/1.094, while seeing time in the outfield.

The Angels acquired Moniak from the Phillies in a pre-deadline swap for Noah Syndergaard last summer. Moniak put together an impressive spring in the Cactus League, however, he was unable to crack an Opening Day roster spot, with outfielders Mike Trout, Hunter Renfroe, Taylor Ward and Brett Phillips all in front of him on the depth chart.

Now, he's carved out a role for himself at the Major League level, and has found great success, albeit a small sample size.

•  Former top prospect and top-10 Draft pick Jo Adell could be next in line behind Moniak for a Major League promotion. The 24 year-old outfielder struggled in each of his Major League stints over the past three seasons with the Angels. This year, he's slashing .284/.373/.996, and apparently has shown significant improvement defensively over 48 games.

•  The Angels recently designated Brett Phillips for assignment. He has since reported to Triple-A. Los Angeles signed him to a one-year, Major League deal over the winter. Phillips is just one of many veteran players that has been DFA'd over the past two weeks.

Aaron Hicks, Eric Hosmer, Jake Marisnick, Miguel Andujar, Adam Engel, Gary Sanchez and Hunter Dozier are among others that have been designated for assignment in recent days. We can call this group, "the Brian Cashman All-Stars." Which one will AJ Preller sign to a minor league deal next?

•  Jameson Taillon is tied for the second-worst ERA (8.04) among MLB pitchers with eight or more starts this season. Only David Peterson (8.08 ERA in eight starts) and Kyle Muller (8.04 ERA in 10 starts) have been as bad as Taillon has from an ERA-standpoint. Taillon has arguably been worse than both, though, as he has struggled to give the Cubs longevity in his starts. The 31 year-old hasn't pitched a solid five innings in a game since April 15, and the veteran hasn't recorded a single out in the sixth inning since joining his new team. He's logged just 31.1 innings over his eight starts. Both Muller (47 IP) and Peterson (39 IP) have eaten more innings for their respective teams.

Taillon signed a four-year, $68 million contract with the Cubs as a free agent over the winter. The signing was a bit puzzling at the time, but Cubs executive Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins had Taillon as the club's top target in the starting pitching market.

“He’s a guy we’ve had our eye on for a long time,” Hoyer said in December. “He’s a really good starting pitcher; he has been really consistent. He has continued to get better as he’s gotten healthier in his career."

Through the season's first two months, Taillon has been perhaps the worst pitcher in the National League. So what should the Cubs do with their $68 million man that they're locked into for the next four years?

Cubs insider Kade Kisnter suggests that the Cubs should roll out a six-man rotation for the time being. The Cubs could recall Hayden Wesneski or Caleb Kilian from Triple-A Iowa, or give Javier Assad another crack at a spot in the rotation. This would allow an opportunity for a young pitcher to develop at the Major League level, while providing extra rest to veterans Marcus Stroman, Kyle Hendricks and Taillon, and third-year starter Justin Steele. Personally, I think it's a great idea.