MLB Power Rankings: The best and worst teams in baseball at the midway point
You can’t call this baseball season young anymore.
It’s July 1. Summer is here. Every team has more than 81 games in the books. That’s more than half of a 162-game season, so we’ve officially passed the midway point.
There are things we counted on happening that have indeed happened: Half the teams in the league are not terribly good and some of them are actually really really bad. We’re looking at you, Tigers, Royals and Orioles.
Most of the teams that are good — the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, Braves — we figured would be good. A couple of them are surprises and making the season more interesting. We’re looking at you, Twins and Rangers.
There are disappointments, sure. The Washington Nationals, many people thought, would be better. Same with the New York Mets. We thought the Philadelphia Phillies, with Bryce Harper, had World Series expectations. We thought they’d be better than this. Same with the St. Louis Cardinals and new slugger Paul Goldschmidt. Those last two teams have plenty of time to make a run. For the Mets and Nats, though, the clock is ticking.
As for the top spot in these Power Rankings, it’s gone back and forth plenty over the last three months. The last few weeks, though, it’s been pretty solid. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in baseball as we move to the second half of the season.
Here’s why the Dodgers are No. 1 and how I see all 30 teams.
THE TOP 10
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (57-29; last week: 1)
There aren’t too many holes to poke in the Dodgers right now. They have the most wins in baseball, the best run differential and they’ve done it while playing the fifth-toughest schedule. They have the second-best ERA in MLB and they’re sixth in runs scored. It’s the complete package. Of course, for these Dodgers it’s not a question of being good in the regular season. It’s about getting it done in October. That’s a ways away, but so far they look better prepared than we’ve seen in recent years.
2. New York Yankees (54 28; last week: 2)
The bad news: The fully-operational Death Star version of the Yankees didn’t last long, as Giancarlo Stanton quickly re-injured himself and went back to the injured list. The good news: They’ve still won five in a row and scored 29 runs in two games against the Red Sox in London.
3. Minnesota Twins (53-30; last week: 3)
The Twins remain the surprise story of baseball’s first half. They haven’t been a surprise if you read these Power Rankings every week, but we’ve reached the point where there’s no doubting this team is legit. Their 156 homers lead baseball and their 3.91 team ERA is better than Cleveland, Boston and others you wouldn’t expect them to be ahead of.
4. Houston Astros (53-32; last week: 4)
The Astros are sending a league-high six players to the All-Star game. That and three straight wins over the Mariners should help them start July on a better note. They’d lost nine of 11 before the weekend sweep of the Mariners, which saved them from dropping in the rankings this week.
5. Atlanta Braves (50-35; last week: 5)
Rookie outfielder Austin Riley, another of Atlanta’s outstanding young talents, has 14 homers and 37 RBIs in his first 43 games this season — including seven homers in June. The young bats in Atlanta are for real and are making this team one of the best in the NL.
6. Tampa Bay Rays (48-36; last week: 7)
Recently I made mention that maybe my belief in the Rays was starting to fade. But I’ll revise that and give them some credit — they’ve been playing tough against good teams lately. They’ve got four games this week against the Yankees heading into the All-Star break, which oughta give us a good idea what Tampa Bay is all about.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (45-39; last week: 6)
The Brewers remain in first in the NL Central. Christian Yelich and Mike Moustakas have been raking this year, but they need more out of their pitching staff if they’re going to be a serious contender in the National League. Jimmy Nelson going back on the IL is a bad sign that his comeback from labrum surgery isn’t going as well as Milwaukee was hoping.
8. Chicago Cubs (45-39; last week: 8)
The Cubs have looked better than this. And it was feared they’d look worse. Right now, they’re fine. They’ve got questions — like whether their pitching can hold up and if their offense has another level — but they can’t be too mad about where they are on July 1.
9. Boston Red Sox (44-40; last week: 9)
With the trade deadline looming, it’s worth wondering what the defending champs will do to change their fortunes. Could some bullpen additions be on the way? Another starter? Their 4.66 starter’s ERA isn’t ideal. They’ve said they don’t want to add a lot of payroll, but can they win without making a big move?
10. Texas Rangers (46-38; last week: 13)
I haven’t really embraced the surprise story of the Texas Rangers this season, but finally they’ve cracked the Top 10 here. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn leading the rotation wasn’t exactly a blueprint for success, but they’ve gotten great returns from the two vets. Joey Gallo has been crushing this year. Hunter Pence is the best comeback story in baseball. They’re not as good as the Astros, but if the season ended today, they’d be in the wild-card game.
NEXT UP
11. Cleveland Indians (45-38; last week: 11)
12. Oakland A’s (46-39; last week: 16)
13. Philadelphia Phillies (44-40; last week: 12)
14. Colorado Rockies (44-40; last week: 14)
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (43-43; last week 15)
If I were bolder, I’d make the A’s a top-10 team. They swept the Cardinals in two games, took three of four from the Angels and are playing just about as well as the Rangers. I’m still concerned about their pitching with Frankie Montas suspended, but there’s no arguing with what they’ve done so far. The Indians’ pitching is hanging in there despite some injuries, so they could be due for a run in the second half. As for the Phillies? That offense needs to find itself.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
16. St. Louis Cardinals (41-41; last week: 10)
17. San Diego Padres (42-41; last week: 17)
18. Washington Nationals (42-41; last week: 20)
19. Los Angeles Angels (42-43; last week: 18)
20. Chicago White Sox (39-42; last week: 19)
Maybe the Cardinals aren’t all that great. They’ve been up and down week by week, and after another sub-.500 month, they find themselves at 41-41 on July. They’re still within striking distance in the NL Central, but they need to find some consistency if they’re going to make a move. The Nationals, thanks to some games against the Tigers and Marlins, are back above .500 for the first time since mid-April.
IT’S NOT LOOKING GOOD DOWN HERE
21. Cincinnati Reds (38-43; last week: 22)
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (39-43; last week: 23)
23. San Francisco Giants (36-47; last week: 24)
24. Seattle Mariners (37-51; last week: 25)
25. New York Mets (38-47; last week: 21) 1-6
The bad news for the Mets is that only the Giants and Marlins have a worse record than them in the National League. The worse news: They were 10-18 in June. But at least they’re not the Knicks, right?
THE CELLAR
26. Miami Marlins (32-50; last week: 26)
27. Toronto Blue Jays (31-53; last week: 27)
28. Kansas City Royals (29-55; last week: 28)
29. Detroit Tigers (27-52; last week: 29)
30. Baltimore Orioles (24-59; last week: 30)
Ain’t nothing changed down here but the loss totals, as MLB now has six 50-loss teams (we see you up there, Mariners) after having just two last week. The Orioles will almost certainly have 60 by the All-Star break. Elsewhere in Yikesville, the Tigers finished June with a record of 5-20.
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