MLB Power Rankings: Week 22 Update

September is right around the corner.

By the time next week’s power rankings drop, the final month of baseball will be here, and the long race of baseball will become a sprint.

With the final month will come division’s finally be set in stone. The American League East, AL West, National League East, and NL West are still up for grabs, with the largest lead in the four mentioned divisions being the Phillies at five games over the Mets.

Other divisions are on the precipice of wrapping up. One division to keep an eye on is the NL Central, where the Brewers lead over the Cubs is six and half games. Those two teams don’t match up the rest of the season, but the Cubs’ offense could carry them and make the division interesting.

1. Dodgers

Hey, Mets fans. We should all be thanking the Dodgers right now.

After dropping a series on the road to the Padres, the Dodgers hosted the Reds for three games, where they promptly swept them without breaking a sweat. The series created breathing room in the division, while also impacting the wild-card race.

We highlighted him last week, and we’ll do it again. Mookie Betts is officially back. He clubbed another homer last week, and is OPS’ing closer to .800 over the last month. If the Dodgers get an All-Star caliber Betts back to their lineup, then they should be regarded as the same powerhouse they were in 2024.

2. Brewers

After a generational start to their second half, the Brewers are starting to stall. They’re 4-7 in their last 11 games, and the door has creaked open for a division title. Last week they lost a series to the Giants, split at home with the Diamondbacks, and now their lead for the division is at 6.5 games.

Fortunately for the Brewers, they have no more matchups with the Cubs. Plus the club got Jackson Chourio back off the IL Saturday. That should help offset the loss of Trevor Megill suffered earlier in the week.

3. Phillies

Last week wasn’t ideal for Philadelphia.

They went into Citi Field with a seven-game lead over the Mets, and left only up four. For those who struggle with math, that means they were swept.

Still, the Phillies reminded everyone of who they were with a Friday night whalloping of the Braves at the bank. Kyle Schwarber continued his bid for the NL MVP with four homers in the game, becoming the third player this season (Eugenio Suárez and Nick Kurtz) to achieve the feat. Philadelphia’s offense is scary, and one series against the Mets shouldn’t dissuade anyone from that idea.

4. Padres

San Diego might not have taken the season series against the Dodgers, but in crunch time, they won down the stretch. They took two of three against the Dodgers last week at home to stay within striking distance, and trail by only two games heading into Saturday.

That deficit could have been only one game, but Friday saw a 7-4 loss to the Twins on the road. That’s a bad loss for a team contending for the division. Still, the schedule is in San Diego’s favor, as they face Minnesota for two more, host the Orioles at home for three, and then go to Colorado for three. The only tough series left for the Friars are against the Reds at home and the Mets on the road. And despite them being tough, the Padres are 3-0 against the Mets and 1-2 against the Reds.

5. Yankees

The Bombers are getting hot at the right time.

They’ve won six games in a row, pulled ahead of the Red Sox in the division, and have pulled to within three of the Blue Jays. Sure, it’s helped that they’ve played the Nationals and White Sox back to back, but they’ve won the “gimme” games that we see many teams drop.

Trent Grisham has been one of the many contributors to this team’s success, and he’s worth mentioning. He’s batting .248 with 28 homers and an .836 OPS. The lefty clubbed a grand slam Friday, helping the Yanks secure a 10-2 win over the White Sox. The Bombers will be tested next week against Houston, then go home for a decisive three-game set against the Blue Jays.

6. Tigers

The Tigers had a rough series last week against the Athletics. There’s no way around it.

They were swept out of Sacramento, with only Game 2 being competitive despite the 7-6 loss. Tarik Skubal pitched 6 2/3 innings in Game 1, but allowed seven hits and six runs (one earned). Friday was a nice bounce-back win over the recently hot Royals, but the Tigers are on my list of skeptical postseason teams. Skubal is obviously a buzzsaw, but the lineup and rest of the rotation could be suspect against teams like the Astros, Mariners, Red Sox, and Yankees in the playoffs.

7. Astros

Welcome back, Yordan Alvarez.

The big lefty missed the majority of the season, but came back last week and homered Wednesday at home against the Rockies. Now 73-60, the Astros have a slim two-game lead over the Mariners, but have a lot of their big guns back. Carlos Correa. Jeremy Peña. And now Alvarez.

Losing Josh Hader was a rough blow, but starting a playoff series against Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez will be tough for any opposing team. Plus Bryan Abreu has sparkled with a 1.47 ERA this season and is another weapon to lock down the ninth. The division isn’t locked down, as the Astros host the Mariners in the second-to-last series of the season, but they’re in a good spot.

8. Red Sox

What an exceptional week for Boston. They took three of four from the Yankees in the Bronx, then went south to Baltimore to sweep the Birds in a four-game series. They’re 7-2 in their last nine games, and only three and a half back of the Blue Jays.

Rookies have led the way for the Red Sox, and they debuted another weapon Friday against the Pirates. Lefty Payton Tolle got the start, striking out eight batters while allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings of work. He throws hard, looks legit, and is a scary option to pair with Garrett Crochet from the left side.

The Sox could easily win the division, and the schedule is in their favor. They host the Pirates for two more at Fenway, welcome the Guardians for three afterwards, then go out west to face the Diamondbacks and Athletics. If they’re able to dominate those weaker teams, it’ll set them up for the end of September, where they face the Yankees and Blue Jays for a total of six games.

9. Blue Jays

The Blue Jays aren’t necessarily struggling or doing anything wrong. They continue to win at a decent pace.

They still hold first place in the AL East. Guys like George Springer (.930 OPS, 24 homers), Bo Bichette (AL leading 171 hits), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.869 OPS, 24 homers) continue to carry the team. The only issue is the teams behind them are winning at lightning fast paces, putting pressure on Toronto to win night in and night out.

Whether they do or not is up for debate. The rotation is old, and Kevin Gausman has struggled in his last five starts (14 ER in 31 innings). September will sort things out, as it always does, when the Jays face the Yankees and Red Sox in the final weeks of the season.

10. Cubs

The Cubs continue to trade wins and losses in the second half. After sweeping the Angels in Los Angeles, the Cubs went to San Francisco and lost three straight against the Giants. They bounced back Friday with an 11-7 over the Rockies, but their 20-19 record in the second half hasn’t allowed them to chase down the Brewers, who really slowed down after their scorching hot start out of the All-Star break.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has really hit a wall, hindering the team’s offense. Once on a 40-40 pace this season, Crow-Armstrong hasn’t reached 30 homers this season and his OPS has dropped below .800. The Cubs will need guys like him and Kyle Tucker to bounce back to have a chance for the division, or even the playoffs in a tough NL field.

Rest of the field

11. Mets
12. Mariners
13. Reds
14. Guardians
15. Royals
16. Rangers
17. Giants
18. Rays
19. Diamondbacks
20. Cardinals
21. Orioles
22. Athletics
23. Marlins
24. Braves
25. Pirates
26. Angels
27. Twins
28. Nationals
29. White Sox
30. Rockies

 

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