Top 2 in Power Rankings may not look like this for long

Some might call these the dog days of summer, but with as much activity and excitement as there has been in baseball for the last week — Field of Dreams! Joshua Báez! A wild Brewers-Dodgers series featuring the best pitchers on earth — we’ll confess to not feeling particularly dogged down right now. If these are the dog days, sheesh, wait until things get really exciting.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Dodgers (previously: 1)
Kyle Tucker got Saturday off; one might say he was downright tuckered out. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the reason was that he was playing at home and that “I see the frustration.” Tucker has been struggling at home, heading into that day off with a .566 OPS in 231 plate appearances at Dodger Stadium this year. The day off didn’t help: Tucker went 0-for-3 on Sunday.

2. Brewers (previously: 2)
Please, please, Brewers fans: We know Milwaukee has the best record in baseball (by two games, actually), and we understand that you are probably mad right now that your team is No. 2 in these Power Rankings despite just winning three out of four at Dodger Stadium. Fortunately, home-field advantage is not determined by the MLB.com Power Rankings (for now!), it’s determined by the best record. Which the Brewers have … as well as the tiebreaker with a season series win over the Dodgers, if it happens to come to that.

3. Rays (previously: 3)
The Rays still have the best home record in the entire sport at 41-21, but they have now lost three in a row at Tropicana Field, thanks to the Orioles this weekend. That came on the heels of a nine-game road trip on which they didn’t lose a game. It should be said that the Freddy Peralta trade hasn’t worked out so far: In three starts since coming over from the Mets, he has a 7.53 ERA.

4. Braves (previously: 4)
Remember Matt Olson’s 54-homer season in 2023, the one that was so far above his career totals that it was generally assumed he’d never approach it again? He’s (probably) not going to get to 54 this year, but he’s well on his way to the second-highest total of his career: He hit his 36th on Sunday, putting him within three of his best homer season other than ‘23 (39 in 2021).

5. Cubs (previously: 5)
The Cubs had to be the supporting characters in the Joshua Báez show on Saturday, and they ended up losing on Sunday as well. But there’s no reason to be too concerned: It was the first time the Cubs had lost two games in a row since July 9-10.

6. Yankees (previously: 7)
Few Yankees have had more disappointing seasons than Jazz Chisholm Jr., who came into the season talking about a 50-50 campaign but currently has a 17-32 one and has gone 8-for-52 with three RBIs in his past 16 games. “If I knew what was wrong,” he said this week, “I would have already fixed the problem.”

7. Red Sox (previously: 6)
Sonny Gray reached his career high in wins this weekend with his 15th in a scoreless effort against the Pirates. He keeps creeping up the Cy Young favorites charts; at the very least, it looks like he’s going to finish in the top three in voting for the third time in his career (2015 with the A’s and 2023 with the Twins were the other years).

8. White Sox (previously: 8)
It really, seriously, honestly, may be happening on the South Side. Their division lead is now 5 1/2 games after a sweep of the Tigers this weekend, the highest it has been since they won the division back in 2021. You know who has been nice for them this year? Andrew Benintendi. The player once considered to have one of the worst contracts in baseball is slashing .302/.362/.488 with seven RBIs in his past 15 games.

9. Diamondbacks (previously: 10)
In a crowded National League Wild Card race, the Diamondbacks have gotten some real separation since the All-Star break, and they have been led by the likely Hall of Famer at third base. Nolan Arenado is playing like peak Arenado right now: Since July 6, he has a .348 OBP, a .575 SLG, and a 147 wRC+, with 11 homers and 26 RBIs in 34 games. The D-backs have to hope the discomfort that caused him to exit Sunday’s game does not become a long-term issue.

10. Padres (previously: 12)
The Padres are back in one of the NL Wild Card spots and got a series win over the Guardians this weekend. It’s setting up pretty well for them coming up, too. They have nine games against teams with losing records: at the Mets and home against the Twins and Pirates. If they’re going to build a Wild Card lead, now’s the time.

11. Phillies (previously: 9)
Kyle Schwarber and Aaron Nola are going to go down in Phillies history no matter what happens in the postseason this year (or any other year, for that matter), but they both had an all-timer career moment at the Field of Dreams Game with the two Schwar-corn-bombs (or whatever phrase you’d like to use) and Nola’s terrific start. They’ll definitely hold onto those uniforms forever.

12. Astros (previously: 11)
The Astros have had so much success over the past decade that you almost forget how much fun they were back in the ‘80s, even if they never reached a World Series in that time. We all got a reminder this weekend when Alan Ashby and the late Phil Garner were inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame. “I want to start where Phil would have started, with gratitude,” his wife Carol Garner said at the ceremony. “Phil was so grateful for the game of baseball. … Phil learned about this honor not long before he passed, and he wasn’t smiling in those days. But for that, he did. And I know he would appreciate it.”

13. Tigers (previously: 19)
The rough series against the White Sox this weekend tempered some of their playoff euphoria, but if there is any team that knows how to make a post-Trade-Deadline run after sending away their best pitcher, it’s the Tigers: Remember, they did that very thing after shipping Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers two years ago.

14. Marlins (previously: 17)
If the Marlins are going to make a charge at the Wild Card — and imagine where they’d be if it hadn’t been for that 12-game losing streak last month — this is the week to do it, with a huge series in Philadelphia. A lot of calculations might shift based on what happens in that series.

15. Cardinals (previously: 20)
Joshua Báez took the baseball world by storm by doing something no player had ever done in the history of the sport, hitting three homers in his first three at-bats in his debut against the Cubs on Saturday. But the Cardinals would have big plans for him even if he had gone 0-for-5 with five strikeouts. They have carved out a spot for him long-term in left field if he can hang on to it. Imagine him and the equally huge Jordan Walker in the corner outfield spots for the next decade in St. Louis.

16. Rangers (previously: 18)
Brandon Nimmo, as a left-handed hitter, has always had small platoon splits throughout his career, hitting lefties almost as well as righties. But he is on an all-time heater against lefties right now, going .500 with four homers against lefties (in 46 at bats) since the beginning of July.

17. Guardians (previously: 13)
José Ramírez finally got his first extra-base hit Saturday since coming off the IL, and the Guardians, who have been very wobbly of late, need a classic J-Ram run, ASAP. He was slugging .219 in his first 18 games upon returning from the IL.

18. Blue Jays (previously: 22)
It has been pretty exciting to watch the Jays, after such a frustrating season in the wake of coming so close to winning the World Series (multiple times!) last November, make a run to keep their playoff chances very much alive. But they’ll do it without Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the next week as he’s on the concussion IL. And be careful, Jays: Your fans, after the World Series last year, may be a little emotionally fragile, and understandably so.

19. Twins (previously: 16)
The Twins, improbably, are still hanging around the AL Wild Card race -- though you can say that for a lot of teams -- but imagine how they’d be if it were 1996 and there were no Interleague games. The Twins have baseball worst Interleague record at 13-26.

20. Orioles (previously: 23)
There is Bonkers, and there is The Orioles Aren’t Just The Third AL Wild Card Team, They Actually Have a Lead in the AL Wild Card race. They were fantastic against the Rays this weekend, looking like the team their fans (and their front office) were waiting for them to be all along. They’ve got six games at home against the Yankees and the Rays this week, so the tests are still coming. But they are two wins from being .500 for the first time since they were 15-15 on April 30. Bonkers.

21. Pirates (previously: 14)
The Pirates moved back Paul Skenes a few days this week to get him some more rest, and while he says nothing is wrong, his velocity is down, and he even admits some recovery time wouldn’t hurt. One of the craziest stats in baseball this year is that the Pirates are only 9-16 when Skenes starts, compared to 52-49 in every other game.

22. Nationals (previously: 21)
The Nats fell to a season-low six games under .500 this week, and the focus has clearly, and rightly, turned to the future. One part of that future sure looks like it’ll be Abimelec Ortiz, acquired in the Mackenzie Gore trade, who homered in four of his first 10 games upon being called up.

23. Mariners (previously: 15)
The ship, it be sinking. This might have been the fortnight when it officially fell apart for the Mariners, who, to remind, have the second-worst record in baseball since July 7. That is … not the finishing kick Mariners fans had been hoping for. And now if one actually comes, it may be too late.

24. Reds (previously: 24)
So, who is going to win NL Rookie of the Year: The Cardinals’ J.J. Wetherholt or the Reds’ Sal Stewart? The advanced numbers strongly favor Wetherholt, but traditional counting stats love Stewart, who is going to fly by 100 RBIs and has a chance to lead the league in that category. He’ll have plenty of time over the next month-plus to add to his case.

25. Mets (previously: 25)
Don’t get too excited, obviously, but the Mets have been a lot more fun over the last two weeks. One of the keys to it has been Carson Benge, who is the only rookie in the Majors this season with at least 14 homers and 14 stolen bases, joining Darryl Strawberry as the only Mets rookies to reach those marks.

26. Giants (previously: 26)
It hasn’t been the best year in San Francisco, to say the least, but the Giants got some happy news for the future this week when it was announced that the 2028 All-Star Game will be at Oracle Park. They previously hosted in 2007 and have one of baseball’s loveliest parks.

27. Royals (previously: 28)
One of the fun aspects of the start to Bobby Witt Jr.’s career is that he has had at least 20 homers and 30 steals each year. But that streak is in danger: He has only 14 homers, on pace for just 18.

28. Angels (previously: 30)
The Angels have some optimism for the first time in a while after all the moves that John Mozeliak made at the Deadline, but it’s still up in the air exactly what the next step for the organization is. Mozeliak says he’s in the process of hiring a general manager, but for himself? Also still up in the air: “My timeline still has some flexibility, because I don’t want to recommend or do anything until we’re ready,” he told “The Athletic.” “I have an agreement through the end of this year. In terms of what the future looks like, that still hasn’t been determined.”

29. Rockies (previously: 29)
The Rockies have already won more games than they did last year, but they’ve got another sign of improvement pending: They’re on pace for 64 wins, which would be the first time they’ve avoided 100 losses since 2022. Progress!

30. A’s (previously: 27)
It’s pretty rough for the A’s right now, so let’s enjoy the fact that Leo De Vries, their No. 1 prospect (the guy they got for Mason Miller, don’t forget), is now, in the wake of MLB Pipeline updating its rankings post-Deadline this week, the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball. He’s still in Double A, but don’t be shocked if he gets a callup to Triple-A before the season is over. And we could see him in West Sacramento next year.

Voters: Dan Cichalski, Theo DeRosa, Daniel Feldman, Jason Foster, Rick Gold Jr., Jared Greenspan, Will Leitch, Brent Maguire, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Andy Werle.