It’s always important to keep the length of a baseball season in mind, and not be betrothed to what just happened … particularly in the Power Rankings. Thus, our No. 1 and No. 2 teams, the Tigers and the Mets, are coming off rough weekend series, with the Tigers losing two of three at home to the Reds (and falling back under their 20-games-over .500 mark) and the Mets getting knocked around by the Rays for three games in Queens. Are these still your top teams right now? I find it difficult to say they aren’t.
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. Tigers (previously: 1)
Quick trivia question: Who was the last Tigers player to reach 100 RBIs? The answer is Nick Castellanos in 2017, but it looks like the next one will be Riley Greene, who is on pace to reach the mark. He’s the first Tigers player with 200 career RBIs before his 25th birthday since Travis Fryman in 1992.
2. Mets (previously: 3)
Forgive the Mets for feeling like they ran into a particular buzzsaw this weekend in the Rays, who might score six-plus runs against a gaggle of Hall of Famers in their prime right now. The Mets just need to make sure this doesn’t send them into a spiral at the exact wrong time: Their next 10 games are against NL East rivals, including seven against the Braves, who are starting to wake up.
3. Cubs (previously: 2)
With their series win over the Pirates on Sunday, the Cubs are back up to 16 games over .500, their high-water mark for the season. They haven’t been 17 games over since the end of the 2018 season.
4. Yankees (previously: 4)
The Yankees are still in first place, and comfortably so, even after being swept by the Red Sox (and the Rays sweeping their series this weekend). So don’t panic, no reason to freak out. But there’s no question that there’s a particularly sour taste after the Red Sox get you. It’ll be a while until the taste is gone too: The rivals will not play against until late August.
5. Dodgers (previously: 5)
Sorry, I know this is one of the biggest stories in baseball right now, so you don’t need me to remind you of it, but seriously: Is Shohei Ohtani really going to be back pitching so soon? Dave Roberts is all-in! "He's getting very eager, getting very excited,” Roberts said. “I think that there's a point where, in hearing from Shohei, that the effort that it takes to throw lives and things like that, [rather] than to play a game, then let's use those bullets in a game." Yep: That’s a real-live MLB game that we might see Shohei pitch in, as soon as next weekend. Here we go.
6. Phillies (previously: 6)
If Zack Wheeler is ever going to win that elusive Cy Young, this is gonna be the year. After another brilliant performance against the Jays on Sunday, he’s now 5-1 with a 2.13 ERA in his last eight starts. He might get the sympathy vote too after he reaffirmed this weekend that he plans to retire after the 2027, when his contract expires; better honor him while you can, voters.
7. Astros (previously: 8)
I know we’ve gotten used to the Astros being a certain way, with a certain set of guys, but those outdated assumptions (basically, it’s only Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez left from that lineup) may be distracting us from a very plucky, resilient fun bit of unlikely underdogs. Despite having so many players hurt (including Alvarez), the Astros just keep winning, including two straight walk-offs to end the weekend. If the uniforms didn’t say “Astros” on the front, you’d be shocked to see them in first place.
8. Giants (previously: 9)
Well! We don’t have to hear any of that talk about the Giants never quite being able to get their superstar anymore, do we? Buster Posey’s first massive move -- and they don’t get much more massive than this -- is to bring in Rafael Devers, who will be a centerpiece of the Giants lineup through … 2033. Obviously, there are personality issues that the Giants assume will be more easily smoothed over in San Francisco than in Boston, and we’ll see how that plays out. But the big bat Giants fans have been waiting so long for? It’s here.
9. Padres (previously: 7)
The Padres keep sagging down in the NL West standings, and losing this weekend’s series to the Diamondbacks -- who are hot on their tails -- isn’t helping. They’re still holding onto the final Wild Card spot, but among National League teams, they have the third-worst record over the last month of games. Having Jackson Merrill go on the concussion IL isn’t going to help matters either.
10. Rays (previously: 14)
The Rays have the best record in the American League since May 20, and the reason is quite clearly their offense: They’re averaging nearly six runs a game over that span, far and away the most in baseball. And sweeping the Mets at Citi Field? That’s the sort of thing that makes people stand up and notice.
11. Brewers (previously: 12)
The Brewers’ excellent play of late has them back in second place in the NL Central and only a game and a half out of the Wild Card spot. A good example of why the Brewers are always able to figure something out. Since picking up the perpetually underperforming Quinn Priester from the Red Sox in April, the Brewers encouraged him to throw his cutter more, and it has resulted in him in becoming one of their most reliable starters. In his last eight outings, he has a 2.23 ERA.
12. Blue Jays (previously: 13)
The Phillies are still enacting revenge for the 1993 World Series. The Blue Jays came into their set with the Phils at Citizens Bank Park this weekend as hot as any team in baseball, winning 13 of 16, but the Phillies wiped them out by a combined 22-6 in a three-game sweep. It was their first series loss this month.
13. Cardinals (previously: 10)
The Cardinals were riding high after winning two of three against the Dodgers last weekend in front of their biggest crowds of the season, but all those good feelings went kablooey this week, in which they went 1-6 against the Blue Jays and Brewers. A big part of the problem? The dreadful slump Lars Nootbaar is going through. He looked like an All-Star for a good part of the season, but he’s 0-for-his-last-24 and has taken the last two days off to get his mind right. The would-be on-base sparkplug has a .240 OBP and a .226 SLG over his last 24 games.
14. Red Sox (previously: 20)
It’s not often Boston fans watch their team sweep the Yankees and have it be the last thing on their mind, but, well, that’s how much of a stunner that Rafael Devers trade was. Obviously, the dispute over position changes (and lack thereof) boiled over in the biggest possible way, and now the Red Sox are out their biggest bat. They are also, it should be said, no longer paying $31.35 million a year through 2033 for a DH. It’s tough to make a more daring move than they just made. We have eight-plus years to see how it works out.
15. Diamondbacks (previously: 19)
You absolutely have to credit for the Diamondbacks for not hanging their heads after the devastating loss of Corbin Burnes. They are as hot as they have been all season, culminating in a fever dream of a victory over the Padres on Saturday in which they scored five runs in the ninth inning for a walk-off win. The D-backs look more inspired than ever.
16. Twins (previously: 11)
Who’s the guy with the longest hitting streak in baseball right now? Why, that would be Brooks Lee, who went 3-for-4 with a homer on Sunday to extend his streak to 15 games. The Twins need him to stay hot: With Royce Lewis on the injured list again, he’s going to be their regular third baseman for a while.
17. Guardians (previously: 15)
José Ramírez, with his in-vain homer on Saturday that tied a game against the Mariners that the Guardians ultimately lost, tied franchise icon Jim Thome with his 123rd career game-tying or go-ahead home run. He’s gonna catch up with Thome for the overall franchise lead in homers in not too long; he’s only 69 behind him.
18. Reds (previously: 18)
Elly De La Cruz has a knack for plays that feel like they count for more than they actually do, like a solo homer that should be worth three runs, or a defensive play that should be worth four outs. Reds manager Terry Francona came up with the perfect name for this after De La Cruz’s terrific 98.3 mph throw to the plate against the Tigers on Saturday: “It’s almost like an alley-oop dunk," he said. That’s right: That’s exactly what a great Elly play feels like. Oh, it’s also pretty cool when he homers in four straight games.
19. Mariners (previously: 16)
A team as notoriously streaky as the Mariners are is always going to feel somewhat governed by vibes, so you’ve got to like the ones they had on Saturday, when they got back over .500 with a wild comeback walk-off victory over Emmanuel Clase and the Guardians, notching their first winning series in a fortnight. Will this spark another run? We’ve seen it happen plenty of times before.
20. Rangers (previously: 21)
The Rangers, one of baseball’s most disappointing teams for much of the first third of the season, are working their way back into shape, thanks largely to a resurgent bullpen. Some hitters are coming around too, not least of which Adolis García, who, since his “break” a week ago, is hitting .316 with one homer, three doubles and seven RBIs.
21. Braves (previously: 22)
While accounting for the reality that everybody feels a lot better after they get to play the Rockies, the Braves sure needed the confidence boost of their weekend series against the Rockies, which included a brilliant performance from Spencer Strider and some Ronald Acuña Jr. moonshots. “You like seeing them healthy and on the field, because those guys are what this game is all about,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
22. Royals (previously: 17)
You know things are spiraling when you have to call the dreaded players-only meeting. That’s where the Royals are after their worst stretch of the season. “Because it keeps going on over and over again, where it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s going to come, it’s going to come,’” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “But no, it hasn’t come. We have to figure something out. We have to change something. So the time was now.” There are now only three teams in the AL with more losses than the Royals.
23. Angels (previously: 25)
Mike Trout isn’t playing the outfield yet as he recovers from his knee injury, but know that he is mashing the ball Vintage Trout style: Since returning to the lineup, he’s slashing .327/.414/.469.
24. Orioles (previously: 24)
It remains up in the air whether the Orioles can crawl back into the playoff chase -- they’re only six games out of the last Wild Card spot, that’s not insurmountable! -- but if they do make it back, they should get a second-half boost from Grayson Rodriguez. “I don’t really have a week or anything specific,” he told media this weekend. “But yeah, definitely going to pitch this year.” I’ll confess: I’m in the “the season isn’t over yet for the Orioles” camp.
25. Nationals (previously: 23)
If you want these Power Rankings to focus solely on on-field activities and ignore a very good boy getting called up to the big show, c’mon, you’re reading the wrong Power Rankings. Thus, congratulations to Bruce the Bat Dog for his promotion to D.C. on Saturday; he even has his own jersey patch! The Wins Above Replacement Dog are very high here.
26. Pirates (previously: 27)
Andrew McCutchen just passed Roberto Clemente on the Pirates’ all-time homer list -- he’s behind only Willie Stargell and Ralph Kiner now -- and it’s just another reminder of just how good it is to see him still in a Pirates uniform. McCutchen remains a very good hitter, by the way; his 111 OPS-plus is second on the team behind Oneil Cruz. He’ll turn 39 in October.
27. A’s (previously: 28)
Count Luis Severino as one of those A’s who still hasn’t quite gotten adjusted to his new home park. Severino has a horrid 7.10 ERA at Sutter Health Park, which is bad enough that you’d think he’d be run out of the league … except he has been brilliant on the road, putting up a ridiculous 0.93 ERA in the road jerseys.
28. Marlins (previously: 26)
The Marlins swept a series this weekend -- only the second time this year they’ve won three in a row -- but they were just as thrilled, if not more so, by Eury Pérez’s big step forward in his second start of the year. He didn’t strike anyone out, but he gave up just one run in four innings and got up to 79 pitches, 52 of them strikes. He’ll be back to being Eury before you know it.
29. White Sox (previously: 29)
There was some chuckling at Aaron Civale after he demanded a trade (once he’d lost his rotation spot) from the Brewers and ended up with the last-place White Sox, but know that the White Sox (whose rotation hasn’t been half bad) are delighted he’s here: “He’s a guy that has been a consistent performer in this league for six years, and somebody that will slot right into the rotation -- we’re excited to have him,” Venable said.
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
You may remember that Charlie Blackmon retired after last season, which, considering how this year has gone, may seem like immaculate timing. But he’s still with the team as a special assistant, even wearing the uniform a few times, and according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, he’s working on finding his place and being helpful. “One of the greatest lessons is a humbling lesson, one where you don't take things for granted, where you don't just assume you're going to win a game,” Blackmon said.
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Doug Gausepohl, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Zac Vierra.