Editor’s note: Welcome to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s new feature, our own MLB power rankings. This feature will run weekly during the season with our ranking of the top 10 teams.
As the regular season’s final month begins, here are our top-ranked teams:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
The Dodgers, injuries and all, carried baseball’s best record into the weekend. The question is what the team’s rotation will be entering October. Yoshinobu Yamamoto just completed his first rehab outing and should be back. Will Tyler Glasnow? He’s resumed throwing, and manager Dave Roberts said he was hopeful that Glasnow would return this season, but that’s to-be-determined.
2. New York Yankees (-)
The Yankees won six of seven before losing consecutive games to Washington before the weekend. The American League East will come down to the wire. What probably won’t: Aaron Judge as winner of the AL MVP. What a season for a player who’s establishing himself among the all-time great Yankees. He has 51 homers, putting him within striking distance of a second 60-homer campaign.
3. Philadelphia Phillies (+1)
The Phillies are trying to hold off the Braves in the National League East after their second-half struggles have prevented them from pulling away. If the current standings hold, the winner of a Braves-Brewers wild-card series would travel to Philadelphia, so there’s a real chance we get Braves-Phillies round 3 in a couple of months.
4. Baltimore Orioles (-1)
Jorge Mateo is done for the season, further hurting the Orioles, who are among the many teams shorthanded because of injuries. Attention will center on ace Corbin Burnes (also an impending free agent) after his worrisome August. He saw his season ERA balloon from 2.47 to 3.23 because of five starts in the month. It’s not a longer-term concern because everyone knows Burnes’ track record, but Baltimore needs him to be his best in the postseason.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (+1)
How dominant have the Diamondbacks been? They just lost their first home series since late June against the Mets. They might not catch the Dodgers for the division, but if they continue their present pace, they might be the NL’s toughest out. And like Phillies-Braves, the current seeding could provide a Dodgers-Diamondbacks rematch in the NL Division Series. Arizona shockingly swept L.A. a year ago.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (+2)
The Brewers will be an afterthought again entering the postseason. Their offense, though, has been more productive than the past clubs that’ve failed when it’s mattered most (led by former Brave William Contreras). If the Brewers do ultimately host the Braves, that will be a fascinating series. Could the Brewers’ bats break through against Chris Sale and Max Fried?
7. San Diego Padres (-)
The Padres have a clear formula for winning in the postseason. They boast an explosive offense (and that’s before Fernando Tatis Jr. returns), a couple of frontline starters and a deep bullpen. If Arizona and San Diego wind up in the Nos. 4 and No. 5 seeds, that’s almost disappointing from a baseball-fan standpoint because it means one will be an immediate exit. They’ve been two hot teams for months now.
8. Cleveland Guardians (-3)
The Guardians are hanging onto the AL Central by a thread after losing three of four to the Royals. An important six-game stretch looms next week: at Kansas City and at the Dodgers, potentially a defining few days for this team. However this season ends, Cleveland will need to address its pitching this winter.
9. Kansas City Royals (+1)
The best story in baseball, the Royals look destined for the postseason one year after losing over 100 games. Unfortunately, they’ll be down Vinnie Pasquantino for six to eight weeks because of a broken thumb. Trade-deadline acquisition Michael Lorenzen also is on the injured list. He had a 1.85 ERA in five starts.
10. Atlanta Braves (NR)
The Braves sneak back into our top 10 after five consecutive series victories, punctuated by sweeping the Twins in Minnesota. This weekend plays a sizable role in determining how realistic catching the Phillies will be, but ultimately the Braves just need to get into the postseason and see how healthy they are from there. It feels underappreciated nationally, but journeymen Whit Merrifield, Ramon Laureano and Gio Urshela deserve immense credit not only for helping the Braves stay afloat, but for excelling after other teams discarded them.
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