MLB Power Rankings Week 17: Philadelphia Phillies Take Another Tumble
In the first edition after the All-Star break of our weekly MLB power rankings, the Philadelphia Phillies dropped out of the top-10, after losing a pair of road series to the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians.
This week's rankings saw a team at the top for the first time all season, with multiple teams moving in and out of the top-10.
Here's a look at our power rankings for Week 17 of the 2023 Major League Baseball season:
1) Baltimore Orioles (61-38; +48 DIFF, 39-29 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 2 [up 1]) — Three weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Rays led the Orioles by 6.5 games in the AL East standings. After taking three of four from the Rays in Tampa, the O's now lead the Rays by two games, and for the first time all season, they sit at the top of our power rankings. Baltimore has won 12 of its last 15 games.
2) Atlanta Braves (64-34; +148 DIFF, 36-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 2 [down 1]) — Since returning from the All-Star break, the Braves are a disappointing 4-5, opening the second half with series losses at home to the lowly White Sox and floundering Diamondbacks. They drop out of our top spot in the first power rankings released in the season's second half.
3) Los Angeles Dodgers (57-41; +106 DIFF, 28-23 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 4 [up 1]) — The Dodgers hit a lull from mid-May to mid-June, posting an 8-18 record between May 15 and June 18. In the time since, the Dodgers are 18-7, and have taken off. Los Angeles now holds a four-game lead over the Diamondbacks and Giants in the NL West, after trailing Arizona for the division lead by four games a month ago.
4) Texas Rangers (59-41; +151 DIFF, 31-28 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 10 [up 6]) — The Rangers limped into the All-Star break, but swept their first two series of the second half, downing the Guardians and Rays, during a nine-game homestand. Had the Rangers not gotten steamrolled by the Dodgers — outscored 31-16 in their own building over the weekend — they would be no. 3 in our power rankings for the week.
5) Tampa Bay Rays (61-42; +144 DIFF, 34-30 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 3 [down 2) — It had appeared as though the Rays would run away with another division title, earlier this spring. As recently as July 1, the club held a 6.5-game lead in the AL East. After dropping seven of their last eight — including three of four at home to Baltimore — Tampa Bay finds itself two games back of first place in the AL West, and only 3.5 games up on the Astros, as the AL race begins to tighten.
6) Houston Astros (56-44; +55 DIFF, 27-31 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 8 [up 2]) — I've seen a lot of parallels between the Astros and Dodgers' seasons up to this point. Both clubs have enjoyed the greatest amount of sustained success in their respective leagues over the past decade, and this season, both have relied heavily on young players, with each team coming off a year in which they won 105 or more games. Both clubs hit a snag late in the spring and in the early summer, and now, both the Astros and Dodgers appear to be catching fire.
7) Milwaukee Brewers (55-45; -6 DIFF, 28-27 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 14 [up 7]) — During their biggest six-game stretch of the season thus far, the Brewers did exactly what they needed to, taking five of six from a surging Reds team, and taking control of the NL Central. The Reds have had their struggles against the Brew Crew in recent years, and Milwaukee did not allow David Bell's club to inspire any confidence this time around. Then, Milwaukee went on the road to Philly and stole a road series. The Brewers had won eight of ten before dropping two of three to the Braves at American Family Field over the weekend.
8) Cincinnati Reds (55-46; -3 DIFF, 26-28 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 5 [down 3]) — The Reds may have cooled off a touch, but they've battled back from adversity. Entering Wednesday, Cincinnati had lost six in a row, and seven of eight. They have since responded nicely, winning five straight and sweeping the Diamondbacks. Despite dropping five of six to the Brewers, the Reds are still just a half-game out of first place in the NL Central. Both teams continue to create separation from the rest of the pack. The Cubs are six games behind the Reds, the Cardinals are 10.5 games behind the Reds and the Pirates are 11 games behind the Reds.
9) Toronto Blue Jays (55-45; +37 DIFF, 32-37 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 11 [up 2]) — Toronto continues to seesaw up and down, up and down. The Jays came out of the break, sweeping the Diamondbacks, but then lost their next two series to the Padres and Mariners. Toronto moves up though, mostly due to poor performance from teams that were in front of them in our last rankings.
10) Minnesota Twins (53-48; +43 DIFF, 24-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 18 [up 8]) — It might be time for me to stop referring to the Twins as "the Mids"! Minnesota has cleaned up on must-sweep series, going 6-0 against the A's and White Sox, since the break. The Twins remain below average against teams with winning records, but that might not matter in the lowly AL Central. Twins make a big jump, after an 8-2 start to the season's second half.
11) Philadelphia Phillies (53-46; +8 DIFF, 26-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 7 [down 4]) — The Phillies put together a great month of June, going 18-8 to kick off the summer. Since the break, they've been so-so, with a 5-5 start to the season's second half. The Fightin' Phils enter the new week, losers of four of their last five, with our no. 1 team coming to town for a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
12) San Francisco Giants (54-46; +21 DIFF, 28-23 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 12 [no movement]) — Like the Phillies, the Giants are 5-5 since the break, but are trending in the wrong direction. San Francisco has lost five straight, and was swept by the last-place Nationals over the weekend.
13) Arizona Diamondbacks (54-46; +11 DIFF, 26-31 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 9 [down 4]) — A month ago, the D-Backs held a four-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. That lead is gone. The Snakes now trail the Dodgers by four games. Arizona was swept by the Reds over the weekend, has lost four straight, and is 4-11 since July 1.
14) Boston Red Sox (53-47; +41 DIFF, 35-29 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 15 [up 1]) — The Red Sox are 5-4 since the All-Star break, but move up a spot due to the decline of other teams.
15) Los Angeles Angels (51-49; +18 DIFF, 26-33 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 21 [up 6) — For the past month, the internet has been flooded with Shohei Ohtani trade rumors, with many speculating that the Yankees could add the generational superstar which might allow Ohtani to play in a playoff series for the first time in his career. Well, this past week, the Halos SWEPT the Yankees. So apparently the Yankees would give Ohtani a better chance to win... but the Yankees can't win a single game against the Angels?
The Yankees are now only two games in front of the Angels, and the Angels are just four games back of the third and final American League Wild Card spot. This might not be what baseball fans want to hear, but the Angels are very much alive in the AL playoff chase, and it seems highly unlikely that they trade Ohtani, when they have every intention to re-sign him this winter. On this day last year, the Angels were 39-55, 16 games under .500. Entering July 24, 2023, the Halos are two games above .500. This isn't exactly the Angels of last year. At this point, it looks more likely that the Angels will be buyers at the deadline instead of sellers.
The Halos have won five of six, and jump up six spots in this week's power rankings.
16) New York Yankees (53-47; +15 DIFF, 34-34 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 13 [down 3]) — Since the Fourth of July, this Yankees team has been terrible. The club dropped its ninth game in 11 tries Wednesday, as it was swept by the Angels. During that time, the Bronx Bombers has lost series to the lowly Cubs (at home) and Rockies. The Yanks swept the Royals at home over the weekend, which is about as impressive as a McDonald's All-American beating his wheelchair bound grandmother in a one-on-one game in the family driveway.
17) Miami Marlins (54-47; -22 DIFF, 23-26 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 6 [down 11]) — The Marlins opened the second half, losing their first eight games, dropping them from the top NL Wild Card spot to entirely out of the playoffs. The Fish got a much-needed victory Sunday at home, but still went 1-5 over the past week against the lowly Cardinals and Rockies. Many were expecting this team to regress in the season's second half. We'll see if Miami continues to trend in the wrong direction.
18) Seattle Mariners (50-49; +28 DIFF, 25-34 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 16 [down 2]) — The Mariners have done very little this season to convince me that they are more than a mediocre club, despite entering the season with lofty expectations. The M's continue to float around .500, but are very much in the race for an AL Wild Card berth. Seattle is 4.5 games back and will have a chance to improve at the trade deadline.
19) Cleveland Guardians (49-50; -1 DIFF, 25-28 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 17 [down 2]) — Cleveland's bullpen continues to let its club down. However, the Guardians have won four of their last six, and now have a chance to clean up on a healthy diet of the Royals and White Sox over the next seven days. Now three games back in the AL Central, the Guardians need to take advantage of their light schedule over the next week.
20) Chicago Cubs (48-51; +51 DIFF, 24-37 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 22 [up 2]) — The Cubs took advantage of a light home schedule over the past week, going 5-2 against the Nationals and Cardinals. They will enjoy an off-day Monday, before playing six games versus the White Sox and Cardinals on the road. The Cubs could continue to feast on a light schedule, which would make it difficult for them to sell at the trade deadline next week.
21) San Diego Padres (48-52; +52 DIFF, 30-32 vs. >.500. LAST WEEK: no. 19 [down 2]) — The Padres showed signs that maybe they were turning a corner, closing out the season's first half by winning five of six. Since the break, San Diego has remained four games below .500. Similarly, they make no move upwards in this week's rankings and stay in the same vicinity they have been all season.
22) New York Mets (46-53; -17 DIFF, 27-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 20 [down 2]) — Like the Padres, the Mets showed signs of life before the All-Star break. but with the trade deadline rapidly approaching, the club is seven games under .500 and might be actually be a seller. Just as we all expected in March.
23) Detroit Tigers (45-54; -87 DIFF, 20-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 24 [up 1]) — The Tigers won their first series of the second half, on the road, before falling to the Padres at home over the weekend.
24) St. Louis Cardinals (44-56; -24 DIFF, 25-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 25 [up 1]) — The Cardinals were beginning to look like maybe they had found something and flipped a switch, as they enjoyed a six-game win streak. Then they dropped three of four to the Cubs at Wrigley. It's time for the Cardinals to sell. I expect them to hang onto cornerstone corner infielders Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, but could see the Cardinals shaking up their roster with starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty each in the final year of their contracts. This could also be Adam Wainwright's final season, meaning that the Cardinals will likely be looking for starting pitching help this winter. The club could accelerate that process and try to find pitching for next season, while selling off parts that they do not plan on retaining. Or they could just re-sign Montgomery and Flaherty. Who knows?
25) Washington Nationals (41-58; -89 DIFF, 20-37 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 26 [up 1]) — The Nats impressively swept the Giants over the weekend, after dropping two of three to the Cubs at Wrigley.
26) Pittsburgh Pirates (43-56; -74 DIFF, 22-38 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 23 [down 3]) — Since completing a sweep of the Padres on June 29, the Pirates have lost every series they have played in. They have now surpassed the Cardinals and are in sole possession of last place in the NL Central.
27) Colorado Rockies (39-60; -141 DIFF, 22-42 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 28 [up 1]) — Since the break, the Rockies have not lost a series, picking up wins over the Yankees and Marlins. They're still 21 games under .500.
28) Chicago White Sox (41-60; -76 DIFF, 25-44 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 27 [down 1]) — While there's still a gulf between the Royals and A's, and the rest of the league, the White Sox became the fourth team to reach 60 losses this season, and are playing worse ball than the Rockies. The South Siders are now the third-worst team in baseball, one week out from the trade deadline. This wasn't exactly how Rick Hahn had planned to kick off the Pedro Grifol era.
29) Kansas City Royals (28-73; -169 DIFF, 14-49 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 29 [no movement]) — It's time to check in on the Royals and A's, and see what record each team is on pace for.
The Royals are currently on pace to finish the season 45-117, which would be two wins better than the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who hold the worst record in a 162-game season in baseball history (43-119).
30) Oakland Athletics (28-74; -258 DIFF, 19-59 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 30 [no movement]) — The A's are on pace to finish one game worse than the Royals at 44-118, but one game better than the 2003 Tigers.
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