2023 MLB Power Rankings Week 21: Philadelphia Phillies Take a Hit

The Philadelphia Phillies took a small step back in this week's MLB power rankings on Inside the Phillies.

The Philadelphia Phillies took a slight tumble in this week's edition of our weekly MLB power rankings. The Fightin' Phils remain in the top-10, for the third straight week.

The Phillies weren't the only team to see movement this week, as just two teams in the top-10 retained their rankings from a week ago. The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers remain in the top two spots.

Here's a look at our power rankings for Week 21 of the 2023 Major League Baseball season:

1) Atlanta Braves (80-43; +212 DIFF, 42-26 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 1 [no movement]) — With baseball's best record, best run-differential and best record against teams above .500, the Braves remain at the top of our power rankings.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers (76-47; +143 DIFF, 36-29 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 2 [no movement]) — It's shaping up to be a two-team race in the National League. The Braves and Dodgers not only are the clear best teams in the National League, but they're also the top two teams in baseball, for my money. The National League is once again making a compelling argument for playoff retraction: Wild Card teams 2 and 3 don't belong on the same field in October with the Braves and Dodgers.

Since the Fourth of July, the Dodgers are 29-9.

3) Baltimore Orioles (77-47; +79 DIFF, 40-30 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 5 [up 2]) — The O's have the second-best record in Major League Baseball. Entering play July 2, Baltimore trailed the Rays for first place in the American League East by 6.5 games. They currently own a three-game lead over Tampa Bay.

4) Tampa Bay Rays (75-51; +161 DIFF, 36-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 6 [up 2) — Despite losing nearly their entire pitching rotation, and the abrupt disappearance of Wander Franco, the Rays continue to chug along. Kevin Cash's club went 4-2 over their West Coast road trip last week, taking series from the Giants and Angels.

5) Seattle Mariners (69-55; +72 DIFF, 32-33 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 7 [up 2]) — Surprise, surprise! After sweeping the Astros in Houston — and watching the Brewers sweep the Rangers in Texas — the M's are now just three games back of the Texas Rangers for the AL West lead, with the wind in their backs. Seattle is 21-7 over its last 28 games.

6) Houston Astros (70-55; +80 DIFF, 30-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 4 [down 2]) — Prior to their weekend stinker, the Astros had lost just one series since the All-Star break. Houston is 20-13 in the season's second half.

7) Milwaukee Brewers (68-57; +5 DIFF, 35-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 8 [up 1]) — The NL Central is still up for grabs, but the Brewers have to be the favorites with six weeks remaining in the regular season. Milwaukee has a knack for winning close games, thanks to their stellar bullpen. This past week, the club was tested by a six-game road trip, where the Brewers managed to go 3-3 against the Dodgers and Rangers. The Cubs had a prime opportunity to make up ground, with the White Sox and Royals visiting town, but only managed to win three of five. The Brewers only lost a half-game while playing a tough road trip, and a pair of creampuff teams visiting the Windy City.

8) Texas Rangers (72-52; +185 DIFF, 31-29 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 3 [down 5]) — The Rangers had been playing some great baseball, prior to their dud of a weekend, but it's worth pointing out that since June 6, Texas is 32-32. The Rangers have been an average, .500 baseball club for two and a half months now, which would concern me if I was a fan in the DFW area.

9) Toronto Blue Jays (69-56; +62 DIFF, 37-40 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 11 [up 2]) — Toronto has remained pretty steady throughout the season as a solid team, but if the season ended today, the Blue Jays would miss the playoffs. The Mariners have overtaken the Jays for the third and final American League Wild Card. Toronto is only a half-game out, though, which should make for an exciting race in the final weeks of the season.

10) Philadelphia Phillies (67-57; +44 DIFF, 37-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 9 [down 1]) — There are only four teams in the entire NL that are ten games or more above .500, and the Phillies are team number four. The NL has made a compelling case for playoff retraction over the last two years. I can't help but think that the National League playoff race and postseason, would be more exciting if we trimmed the fat and reverted back to the original Wild Card playoff format, which only had four teams from each league reach the playoffs. Otherwise, we're really rewarding mediocrity in the NL, this year.

11) Boston Red Sox (66-58; +36 DIFF, 33-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 12 [up 1]) — The Red Sox have owned the Yankees all season. Sunday, they completed their second sweep of the Bronx Bombers of 2023, improving to 8-1 against this arch rival this year. Alex Cora's club is now eight games over .500 and three games out of a Wild Card spot.

12) Arizona Diamondbacks (64-61; -12 DIFF, 26-40 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 19 [up 7]) — An early season favorite in our power rankings, the Diamondbacks have finally resurfaced. The Snakes were 16 games over .500 on July 1. A little over a week ago, they found themselves two games below .500, having lost nine straight. Over the last nine days though, Arizona has picked up the pace, winning seven of nine.

13) Chicago Cubs (64-59; +65 DIFF, 29-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 10 [down 3]) — How does a team have a winning record (3-2) in a week, and still drop three spots? By nearly going 2-3 against the White Sox and Royals, at home. The Cubs squandered a prime opportunity to make up ground on Milwaukee, with the Brewers playing a six-game road trip against the first-place Dodgers and Rangers. David Ross' club had difficulty with two of the four worst teams in baseball, at the Friendly Confines. The Cubbies battled back to walk-off the White Sox Wednesday night, splitting a two-game series with the South Siders, and nearly surrendered a 4-1 lead in the top of the ninth inning Sunday against the Royals. Chicago picked up a half-game on Milwaukee, in the first half of a very light 12-game stretch on their schedule.

14) Minnesota Twins (65-60; +43 DIFF, 27-31 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 15 [up 1]) — The Twins remain the least remarkable division leader, but we'll give them credit. They're doing enough to pull away from the rest of the pack, in the AL Central. They now lead the Guardians by six games.

15) San Francisco Giants (65-59; +8 DIFF, 36-31 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 14 [down 1]) — San Francisco has looked bad as of late. The Giants have lost 10 of their last 14. Lucky for them, there aren't many teams threatening to overthrow them in the National League Wild Card hunt.

16) Miami Marlins (64-61; -40 DIFF, 30-40 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 13 [down 3) — Miami has been a nice story this season, but their negative run-differential is starting to catch up with them. The Marlins entered the All-Star break 53-39, and are 11-22 in the time since.

17) Cincinnati Reds (64-61; -27 DIFF, 36-36 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 16 [down 1]) — We've seen what the Reds are capable of, and as much as I want to buy into David Bell's team, their poor month of August has me concerned. Since the start of the month, the Big Red Machine is 5-12. Their bullpen is showing signs of fatigue, after high usage in the season's first half.

18) Los Angeles Angels (61-64; -34 DIFF, 32-46 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 18 [no movement]) — In a shocking turn of events, the Angels have surpassed the Yankees. Remember when nearly every Yankee fan on Twitter was pitching trade ideas for Ohtani, saying the 2021 AL MVP has no chance of winning with the Angels? Well, about that...

19) Cleveland Guardians (59-66; -5 DIFF, 27-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 20 [up 1]) — I should have sold my Guardians stock months ago. My pick to win the American League has greatly disappointed me, and now the Guardians are on the ropes. Cleveland currently trails Minnesota by six games in the AL East, with only six weeks remaining in the season. The two teams will play each other more six times before season's end.

20) New York Yankees (60-64; -27 DIFF, 38-46 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 17 [down 3]) — The three team's with Major League Baseball's largest payrolls are all going to miss the playoffs. The two best records in the American League come from teams with the 27th (Tampa Bay) and 28th (Baltimore) highest payrolls. Just a friendly reminder that the more money spent often times does not directly correlate to more wins. Will fans remember this in a few months when they scream at their teams on Twitter, calling them cheap, when they don't pony up a $300 million contract to Matt Chapman? No, they certainly will not. The Yankees have lost eight straight, are four games under .500, are in last place, and are nine games back of a playoff spot.

21) San Diego Padres (59-66; +57 DIFF, 37-45 vs. >.500. LAST WEEK: no. 21 [no movement]) — If you're a firm believer that run-differential is a predictor for future success or failure, the Padres are running out of time to prove you right.

22) New York Mets (58-67; -34 DIFF, 30-40 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 26 [up 4]) — The Mets looked better than they had in months, this past week! Buck Showalter's team has won six of its last eight games, outscoring opponents 46-23 during that stretch.

23) Washington Nationals (57-68; -90 DIFF, 33-44 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 22 [down 1) — The pesky Nationals put together another strong week, going 4-2, while taking series from the contending Red Sox and Phillies.

24) Detroit Tigers (57-67; -98 DIFF, 28-44 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 25 [up 1]) — Strong showing from the Tigers last week, who bullied the Guardians out of contention in Cleveland, taking three of four over the weekend. Next, they'll have a chance to play spoiler to the Cubs at Comerica Park.

25) St. Louis Cardinals (55-70; -45 DIFF, 33-44 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 24 [down 1]) — The Redbirds went 3-4 vs. the A's and the Mets over the past week, knocking them down one spot in the rankings.

26) Pittsburgh Pirates (55-69; -94 DIFF, 29-51 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 23 [down 3]) — Earlier this summer, the Pirates looked they could be a contender in the NL Central all season long. That is not the case. The Buccos are on track for their fifth-straight losing season.

27) Colorado Rockies (48-76; -169 DIFF, 20-48 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 28 [up 1]) — The Rockies leap in front of the White Sox, after outscoring Chicago 30-16 at Coors Field this weekend.

28) Chicago White Sox (49-75; -108 DIFF, 21-48 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 27 [down 1]) — On this day two years ago, the White Sox led the AL Central by 11.5 games. It's still fascinating to think about how quickly things took a turn for the worse in Chicago. Maybe Tony La Russa wasn't the problem! After all, he's the only White Sox manager to win a division title over the last 15 years.

29) Kansas City Royals (40-86; -166 DIFF, 19-52 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 29 [down 2]) — And now we've reached everyone's favorite segment of the power rankings: How many games are Kansas City and Oakland going to lose this year? As of Sunday, the Royals are on pace to finish a franchise-worst 51-111.

30) Oakland Athletics (34-90; -303 DIFF, 19-62 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 30 [no movement]) — The A's are currently on pace to finish 44-118, just barely edging out the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who won just 43 games. The 2003 Tigers hold the lowest win total in a 162-game season, in Major League Baseball history.

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.

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