Philadelphia Phillies Stand Out Among Top 3 in Latest MLB Power Rankings

After another early exit in the MLB playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies still sit in a good place for the future.

Oct 9, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman (3) during game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies ended the 2024 season in a similar fashion to the way they finished 2023, as one of the most disappointing teams in MLB.

Entering the year with what was clearly the best roster in the sport on paper, the hopes were high for the Phillies.

The lineup consists of superstars the likes of Bryce Harper (a future Hall of Famer), Kyle Schwarber (one of the best in the sport at taking walks), and Trea Turner (one of the fastest in the sport), and the rotation contains multiple aces in Zack Wheeler (the best pitcher in the sport over the last five years), Aaron Nola (the quintessential workhorse), and Ranger Suarez (the best third starter in baseball), though it was yet another early exit in the playoffs.

This time, it was even earlier than in 2023, as Philadelphia failed to make it out of the first round, losing to the New York Mets in four games.

While many like to point at the layoff between the regular season and the Division Series for the teams with byes in the Wild Card round as an issue, the rest of the league has proven time and time again that it plays no effect, including the two World Series teams who faced the same break then and leading up to the World Series.

Even with the early exit, however, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report ranks the Phillies highly, as anyone should, in the latest iteration of his MLB Power Rankings, placing the team third behind only the two World Series teams.

Even with the high ranking, Reuter is skeptical of how the team will perform moving forward as their stars continue to age.

"This is quickly becoming an old roster, and while most of their stars are still in their respective primes, the window is starting to close on winning a title with this group," writes Reuter, "That should add a sense of urgency to the complementary moves they need to make this offseason."

While it is an older roster, only Turner has shown signs of slowing down, and that has only come at the plate for the shortstop, not on the basepaths.

This offseason is going to be a huge proving ground for Philadelphia, who will need to go hard after the top of the free agency market, specifically Juan Soto.

Even if the pieces added this winter are only "complementary," the team still has one of the best rosters in the sport on paper, and the window for contention is not closing as fast as some expect.