David Peralta , Eduardo Escobar and Dbacks don't celebrate enough
The Philadelphia Phillies find themselves once again at 14th overall in the 2019 MLB Power Rankings as we reach the heart of the dog days of August.
Five clubs will make the playoffs from the National League. Each division champion will be joined by a pair of Wildcard teams.
In this August 15 version of the Power Rankings, while the Phillies remain right where they were back on August 1 among all teams in Major League Baseball, they have slipped a notch in the National League.
On August 1, the Phillies were the sixth-highest ranked team and were involved in a three-way tie for the two NL Wildcard spots. Now they have slipped a notch, to seventh in the NL. The standings reflect that slippage, as the club is now two games in back of the second Wildcard.
The Phillies have four games left head-to-head with the Nationals, who now control the top NL Wildcard spot, three games ahead of the Phils. Those will take place in Washington at the end of September.
The Cubs are the team in the second Wildcard spot. The Phillies have captured the first two games of a head-to-head series between the two teams, and are 4-2 against Chicago this season. On Thursday night, the Phillies try to sweep the series and move within a game of the Cubs.
My own personal feelings never have anything to do with the MLB Power Rankings. Instead, the rank is all about actual team performance: results in the standings and statistical breakdowns.
The Tampa Bay Rays have been near the top all season
The Philadelphia Phillies are as high as they have been all season in the latest 2019 MLB Power Rankings. As the month of August opens, that still only leaves them at 14th overall in Major League Baseball.
However, while they rank as middle-of-the-pack in all of baseball, they are the sixth-highest ranked ball club in the National League. That means they statistically come out right about where they are in the standings, as a legitimate NL Wildcard contender.
In taking a look at the landscape of contenders over the final eight weeks of the regular season, the Phillies are likely going to have to beat out the division-rival Washington Nationals and whichever team finishes as runners-up in the NL Central Division, the Chicago Cubs or Saint Louis Cardinals.
The Nationals made a series of moves to shore up their one glaring weakness – the bullpen – at yesterday’s MLB trade deadline. The Cubs added a big bat in Nicholas Castellanos.
In looking ahead at the schedule, the Phillies have just four games left head-to-head with the Nationals. Those will take place in Washington at the end of September in the club’s final road series of the year. Having met 14 times already, the Nationals have taken nine games from the Phillies, who would need a sweep of that final series to gain a 9-9 split.
The Cubs will come to Citizens Bank Park for three games in the middle of August. The Phillies and Cubs have already split four games at 2-2 this season. The Phillies are done with the Cardinals, having won four of six games between the two teams.
My own personal feelings never have anything to do with the MLB Power Rankings published here at Phillies Nation. Instead, the rank is all about actual team performance: results in the standings and statistical breakdowns.
I take what I have found to be key statistical categories and rank each of the 30 teams in Major League baseball on their ability to win ball games and perform on offense, the pitching mound, and in the field. There is never any subjectivity on my part.
The MLB Power Rankings are updated here at Phillies Nation on roughly the 1st and 15th of the month for the remainder of the regular season using the following methodology.
The Minnesota Twins outfielders celebrate another victory
The Philadelphia Phillies have sat pretty much right in the middle of the MLB Power Rankings since I began producing them for 2019.
From June 1 (15th), through June 15 (14th) and on to July 1, when they ranked in the #18 slot the last time around, the rankings have not revealed much movement at all.
The Phillies currently sit in the #16 spot, buoyed by their defensive play, which ranks fourth in all of baseball. With a middling (15th) offense, what is truly weighing the club down and keeping them from seriously competing is their 25th ranked pitching staff.
As always, my own personal feelings have nothing to do with the MLB Power Rankings published here at Phillies Nation. Instead, the rank is all about actual results and statistical performances.
There is never any subjectivity on my part. I always take key statistics and rank each of the 30 teams in Major League baseball on their ability to actually win ball games as well as their performance on offense, on the pitching mound, and in the field.
The MLB Power Rankings are going to be updated at Phillies Nation on roughly the 1st and 15th of the month for the remainder of the regular season using the following methodology.
RANKINGS METHODOLOGY
Introduced and then upgraded during the course of last season, my formula for compiling the rankings is always being researched to see if it can be improved upon. That formula carries two categories over from the 2018 season: winning percentage and OPS against. The first is simple, reflecting each team’s ability to actually win ball games. The second reflects a pitching staff’s ability to control damage.
As of my first ranking in this 2019 season, runs-per-game replaced simple “runs scored” in order to get the offensive component. This acknowledged the fact that teams play various numbers of games as of the time of each ranking. It wouldn’t be fair to consider a club that had scored 100 runs over 50 games as effective as a club who scored 100 runs over just 45 games.
There has now been a new update to the methodology. The new defensive metric will be the “Defensive runs saved” as measured at Fangraphs, replacing simple “fielding percentage” to gauge a team’s defensive competence.
I then assign each of those component category team rankings a 1-30 numerical value and simply add those values up to determine an overall final ratings score. Where there was a tie, it is broken by win-loss percentage, then by runs-per-game, followed by pitching OPS.
Texas Rangers have been a surprise AL contender in 2019
This is a Philadelphia Phillies site, and so the team’s place on my MLB Power Rankings always needs to be highlighted. When I debuted the 2019 rankings on June 1, there were fans upset that the first-place club was in the #15 slot.
By the June 15 rankings, the Phillies had moved up a spot to #14, although by then the team had dropped to second place. Still, I heard complaints from fans who believed the club should be ranked higher.
Maybe now they can admit that the rankings were on to something? The Phillies have now slipped to the #18 spot. They have the 12th-best record in MLB overall, and are buoyed by their defense, tied for 8th in the game. But their hitting attack has been mediocre (15th) and they are seriously weighted down by a pitching staff rated just 25th in baseball.
Fans are allowed to be unrealistic about their team based on pure emotion. My own personal feelings have nothing to do with the MLB Power Rankings published here at Phillies Nation. Instead, it’s all about each team’s actual results and statistical performances.
There is never any subjectivity on my part. I take key statistics and rank each of the 30 teams in Major League baseball on their ability to actually win ball games as well as their performance on offense, on the pitching mound, and in the field.
The MLB Power Rankings will be updated here at Phillies Nation on the 1st and 15th of the month for the remainder of the regular season using the following methodology.
RANKINGS METHODOLOGY
Introduced and then upgraded during the course of last season, my formula for compiling the rankings received another tweak to begin this year. By the end of 2018, I was researching each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage.
This year, runs-per-game has replaced that simple “runs scored” category in order to get the offensive component. I then assign each of those component category team rankings a 1-30 value and simply add those values up to determine an overall final ratings score. Where there was a tie, it is broken by win-loss percentage, then by runs-per-game, followed by pitching OPS.
2019 JULY 1 – MLB RANKINGS
The Houston Astros repeat at the top of the Power Rankings. But the top four teams remain the same, just with a slight juggling of the order.
The hot risers are the Washington Nationals, who have shot up 11 places since June 1. In the American League, the Texas Rangers are up again, this time from 11 to 8 after going from 16 to 11 in the June 15 rankings. And the Oakland A’s burst up from 12 to 5 this time around.
Houston Astros take over top spot with the June 15 rankings
When my first MLB Power Rankings for the 2019 season were released two weeks ago on June 1, I took some guff from a couple of Phillies fans who thought that I was nuts for ranking the club in the #15 slot.
At the time, the Phillies were in first place in the National League East Division, leading the Atlanta Braves by two games. But the Braves came out three places above the Phillies, ranking in the #12 slot. My own personal feelings have nothing to do with it. Instead, it’s all about the results and the statistics. Those rarely prove wrong over the long haul.
As with last season when I began this evaluation process, there will be no subjectivity on my part. I take the key statistics and rank teams based on their ability to actually win ball games as well as their performance on offense, on the pitching mound, and in the field.
The MLB Power Rankings will be updated here at Phillies Nation roughly every two weeks for the remainder of the regular season using the below methodology.
RANKINGS METHODOLOGY
Introduced and then upgraded during the course of last season, my formula for compiling the rankings gets another tweak to begin this year. By the end of 2018, I was researching each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage.
This year, runs-per-game will be replacing simple runs scored to get the offensive component. I then assign each of those component category team rankings a 1-30 value and add them up to determine an overall final ratings score. Where there was a tie, it was broken by W-L percentage, then by runs-per-game, followed by pitching OPS.
Two-time defending NL champion Dodgers at top of rankings
When my final 2018 MLB Power Rankings were released eight months ago on October 1, 2018, the Phillies were tied with the Cincinnati Reds at 21st overall. With these first 2019 rankings, they are in a higher slot – but perhaps not as high as one might think.
The work done by general manager Matt Klentak this past off-season with the support of principal owner John Middleton was significant, resulting in a greatly improved everyday lineup. It is those additions and changes which have elevated the Phillies to the top of the NL East Division standings.
Still, there is much to be done in order for the club to make themselves a true World Series contender. Just as with last year’s mid-season bolt to the top of the division, the 2019 Phillies have once again largely outplayed their statistics.
How the Phillies brain trust addresses the needs on the mound and in bench depth will determine just how far this team can go as the summer of 2019 unfolds over the next few months.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2018 PHILLIES
Last season, the Phillies spent much of July at the top of those NL East standings. However, they never ranked higher than 16th in my MLB Power Rankings. Here was my final October 1, 2018 evaluation of their season, and my commentary on what they needed to do in order to rise in the 2019 standings and rankings:
“…the Phillies were never better than a middle-of-the-pack ball club from a statistical perspective.
Second, you can also see that the team plummeted down five places over the final month. Any Phillies fan who sat through the last two months can understand why.
Finally, a look over the full rankings shows that the Phillies finished just fourth among the five National League East Division teams. In fact, when looking at the numbers behind the rankings, the club finished just ahead of Miami as well.
The 2018 Philadelphia Phillies finished in the middle-of-the-pack as far as the overall MLB standings are concerned. Their pitching staff was competitive enough to be ranked in the middle as well.
It was the club’s 29th-ranked defense and 21st-ranked offense that held them back. It will be the job of Phillies management and ownership to fix the position-player mix in the coming off-season if they want to truly become a contending team in the 2019 campaign.”
Ryan Braun and the Brewers ranked lowest among MLB playoff teams (Photo: Steve Paluch)
The 2018 Major League Baseball regular season has come to an end, and yet it still isn’t over. For the first time ever there will be a pair of “Game 163” events taking place.
The Chicago Cubs are hosting the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field at this very moment. The winner will be crowned champions of the National League Central Division. The loser will host the National League Wildcard Game tomorrow night.
Should the Cubbies win it would mark their third consecutive Central Division title. This will be their fourth straight postseason appearance. Back in 2015 the Cubs shut out the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wildcard Game behind a 4-0 gem from Jake Arrieta.
The Brew Crew last captured the division crown back in 2011. That was the first division title for the franchise since their move to the National League for the 1998 season.
Prior to that you would have to go all the way back to 1982 and the “Harvey’s Wallbangers” team that won a second consecutive American League East Division title to find the last Brewers division championship squad.
Beginning at 4:09PM EDT the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The winner of that contest will be crowned as champions of the National League West Division. The loser will travel to either Chicago or Milwaukee, whichever also loses today, for a do-or-die meeting in that National League Wildcard Game on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers have been kings of this division for a long time now. Los Angeles has captured the last five National League West Division titles and seven of the last 10 division crowns.
Last year the Dodgers rolled through the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cubs, losing just once en route to the franchise’ first World Series appearance in nearly three decades. There they were defeated in seven games by the Houston Astros.
The Rockies played their first season as an expansion team back in 1993, and they have never won a division title. Colorado has advanced to the postseason four times, three as the division runners-up. Last year saw the Rockies losing an 11-8 slug-fest in the NL Wildcard Game to the Dbacks after finishing third behind LA and Arizona in the division during the regular season.
The Atlanta Braves are sitting home, able to relax and enjoy a few days break after running away with the National League East Division title. It marked the first division crown for the Braves in five years. Atlanta will travel to play whichever club wins the west in one National League Division Series beginning on Thursday.
Whichever team captures the Central Division title will play host to the survivor of the NL Wildcard Game in the other National League Division Series. That series is also scheduled to open on Thursday.
Over in the American League the match-ups have been set for some time. It will be the New York Yankees hosting the Oakland Athletics at 8:00PM EDT on Wednesday night in the American League Wildcard Game.
The winner of that game will then travel up to Fenway Park in Boston to face the host Red Sox in one American League Division Series beginning on Friday night. The Cleveland Indians will visit the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in the other ALDS beginning on Friday evening at Minute Maid Park.
Those four division series are each a best-of-five games, played in a 2-2-1 format as to home field. The winners in each league would advance to face one another in a best-of-seven League Championship Series. The winner of those would then meet towards the end of October in the 2018 World Series.
I released my first 2018 MLB Power Ranking on July 1, when the season was three months old. There have been four more since that time. Each time saw the Astros either alone at the top or sharing the top spot.
That remains the case in the below final 2018 MLB regular season rankings. The old saying remains true. If you want to be the champ, you’ve got to beat the champ. The Brewers are the lowest-ranked among all of the MLB playoff teams at 13th overall.
Phillies need roster changes to become true contenders (Photo: Keith Allison via Wiki Commons)
As recently as one month ago it was a foregone conclusion that the Philadelphia Phillies would finish with a winning record in the 2018 season.
On August 18 the Phillies were 68-55 and just one game behind the Atlanta Braves in the loss column in what seemed to be a spirited race between the two rivals for the National League East Division crown.
The Phillies led the NL Wildcard standings on that day, but had a bunch of teams right on their heels. The Saint Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies were just a game behind them, with the Milwaukee Brewers two back and the Los Angeles Dodgers three games behind.
As every Phillies fan now knows, the team would not remain in either race. Instead the Phillies have collapsed over this past month, going 8-19 in that time.
“It’s just not going well all the way around,” Phillies pitcher Jake Arrieta said per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia following last night’s loss to the New York Mets.
“It’s kind of plain and simple. Yeah, the Braves lose and that’s great, but we have to win some games. We haven’t done that consistently and that’s why we are where we are.”
The foregone conclusion of a winning season is now a thing of the past. Yes, the Phillies are still three games over the .500 mark. Yes, with just 13 games left to play there is a chance that 2018 still turns out to be a winner. Yes, they are still mathematically alive in both the division and wildcard races.
But let’s take off the rose-colored glasses and get real for a minute. This 2018 Phillies team was always doing it with smoke and mirrors.
Educated fans didn’t need me to point out – though I did a number of times – that this team as currently constructed was not good enough offensively or defensively to sustain their place in the standings without some dramatic, significant changes.
Had they actually wanted to win this year, that need for change needed to be recognized by management a couple of months ago, despite the winning record. They either failed to recognize it, refused to believe it, or decided to ignore it.
If either of those first two possibilities were the Phillies actuality, then the worst thing that could possibly happen now would be for the team to suddenly start winning again.
The Phillies would now need to finish the season 6-7 over their final 13 games in order to finish with a winning record at 82-80. Of course, anything better would also do the trick.
However, should they continue at their pace of this past month, the club will actually finish more like 4-9. That would give them an 80-82 mark at the season’s conclusion. While it would be a 14-game improvement over last season, many fans would feel disappointed. Don’t count me among them.
My concern would be that the Phillies somehow catch fire and finish with something like a 10-3 record. Such a positive sprint to the finish would leave them with an 86-76 mark. And since seven of those games are against the Braves, it would likely mean that they fall just a couple games short of a division title. Probably just a few shy of a wildcard berth.
Now why would that concern me? Shouldn’t that actually be exciting?
Terry Francona's Tribe clinch the AL Central once again (Photo: Arturo Pardavila III via Wiki Commons)
This past week was the final full week of summer in the 2018 Major League Baseball regular season. The teams are now fully immersed in the stretch run, those final pivotal battles to determine division champions and wildcard playoff participants. One team, the Cleveland Indians, has already clinched its division crown. Terry Francona's Tribe took the lead in the American League Central Division for good on April 21. Struggling a bit from mid-May through mid-June, once they got hot they pulled away and were never seriously threatened In the American League East Division, the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of clinching. The Bosox "Magic Number" is down to just four to eliminate the arch-rival New York Yankees. Out in the American League West Division, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros have re-established some measure of control. The Astros now hold a 3.5 game lead on the Oakland Athletics, four in the all-important loss column of the standings, and 11 is now their "Magic Number" to clinch. Despite likely falling shot in their bids for a divisional crown, both the Yankees and A's can begin printing their playoff tickets as well. Each team is firmly in control of the two AL Wildcard playoff berths, and they are headed for a one-game playoff showdown with one another. The Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays each trail Oakland by seven games in the loss column. The A's "Magic Number" is now just 7 in order to clinch that last available postseason berth. While the AL playoff race is pretty much set, the National League races promise a far different and much more exciting final two weeks to the regular season. Thanks to a collapse over the last six weeks by the second place Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves are closing in on the franchise' first division title in five years. The "Magic Number" is down to just nine for Atlanta, though the Phillies and Braves will meet seven times over the final week and a half. The Chicago Cubs are trying to take their third consecutive NL Central crown. It would mark the first time since a 1906-08 run that the Cubs finished in first place. Chicago has just a 2.5 game lead on the Milwaukee Brewers, three in the loss column, and it's still a bit too premature to be discussing a "Magic Number" for the South Side ball club. A two-horse race appears to be emerging in the wild, wild west. The National League West Division's five-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, just took over the lead by a half-game on the Colorado Rockies. The two clubs are tied in the loss column, and they will meet for the final time this coming week. That three-game set will take place at Dodger Stadium with a sweep by either team probably settling things. The Arizona Diamondbacks began the month in first place. But losses in 10 of their last 14 have likely doomed the Dbacks to fighting for a Wildcard berth. Those two NL Wildcard slots are currently held by the Brewers and Rockies. The Saint Louis Cardinals are just a game back of Colorado in the loss column for the second and final spot. Arizona and the Philadelphia Phillies are sitting four games out of that final playoff position and are both running out of time. If either or both is going to make a final push, the time is now.
There is an old sports saying that goes "If you want to be the champ, you've got to beat the champ." Well at least as far as my MLB Power Rankings are concerned, that remains the case in Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros are once again on top. They have sat there alone or shared the lead all summer long. My formula for compiling the rankings has remained unchanged. I researched each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value and added them up to determine an overall score. The current MLB Power Ranking going into games of Sunday, September 16 are presented below. Each team's previous rank from the MLB All-Star break in mid-July, then the middle of August, and finally back on Labor Day is also presented from L-R in parentheses: 1. Houston Astros (1-1T-1) 2. Boston Red Sox (2-1T-2) 3. New York Yankees (3-3-3) 4. Atlanta Braves (4-6-4) 4. Oakland Athletics (11-7-6) 6. Cleveland Indians (10-4T-5) 7. Los Angeles Dodgers (6-9T-10) 8. Chicago Cubs (5-8-6) 8. Washington Nationals (13-11-9) 10. Tampa Bay Rays (15-16-12) 10. Arizona Diamondbacks (7-4T-8) 12. Colorado Rockies (9-9T-11) 13. Los Angeles Angels (14-12-15) 14. Milwaukee Brewers (8-14-14) 15. Seattle Mariners (12-13-16) 16. Saint Louis Cardinals (18T-15-13) 17. Pittsburgh Pirates (18T-20-20) 17. New York Mets (24-26-20) 19. Cincinnati Reds (21-21-18) 19. San Francisco Giants (20-18T-17) 21. Philadelphia Phillies (16-17-18) 22. Minnesota Twins (17-18T-20) 22. Toronto Blue Jays (25-24-23) 24. Kansas City Royals (27T-27-27) 25. Texas Rangers (26-22-24) 25. Miami Marlins (23-25-26) 27. Detroit Tigers (22-23-24) 28. San Diego Padres (27T-28-29) 29. Chicago White Sox (30-29T-28) 30. Baltimore Orioles (29-29T-30) These will be the penultimate MLB Power Rankings for this season. The final rankings are scheduled to come out on October 1, at the conclusion of the regular season and before the playoffs begin. They will be based on the final statistics accumulated by each team this year.
Atlanta Braves fans rooting on the NL's top-ranked team
The Labor Day weekend is coming to an end. September baseball is upon us. Pennant races. Heated divisional rivalry battles. Wild wildcard scenarios. And another MLB Power Ranking released. The defending World Series champion Houston Astros were either alone or tied at the top of my Power Rankings as summer was opening at the start of July, again at the MLB All-Star Game break, and then also in mid-August. Now the Astros are back alone on top. How did they earn that distinction? Houston enjoys the top pitching staff in baseball. They are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks as MLB's top defensive team. They are fourth in all of baseball in runs scored. Sitting at 30 games above the .500 mark on Labor Day, Houston has been pushed this summer by the incredible run that the division rival Oakland Athletics have been on since the middle of June. The A's woke up on the morning of Saturday, June 16 in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The club had dropped 11 of its previous 18 games. They had sunk to fourth place in the AL West, 11.5 games off the lead. Their season looked essentially over. Oakland defeated the division-rival Los Angeles Angels that night, and then walked-off the Halos on Sunday afternoon to get back to the .500 mark. It was the beginning of an amazing turnabout, one that saw Oakland go 48-20 over the summer months to build a 5.5 game lead in the AL Wildcard race. The A's also now trail the Astros by just three games in the loss column in the AL West Division standings. The Cleveland Indians have run away with the American League Central Division race. Terry Francona's Tribe, losers of a heartbreaking seven-game World Series just two years ago, will be back in the postseason once again trying to end the franchise' now 70-year championship drought. In the AL East, the Boston Red Sox have built a comfortable seven-game lead on the arch-rival New York Yankees. The Yanks, with baseball's second-best overall record and now third in the power rankings appear headed towards a one-game Wildcard showdown for their season. The Seattle Mariners are five games behind Oakland in the loss column and the Tampa Bay Rays are seven back. Those are the only teams even remotely capable of a push towards the AL's second Wildcard playoff berth. In the National League, things appear far more interesting. The Atlanta Braves lead the Philadelphia Phillies by four games in the NL East. The Chicago Cubs hold a six-game edge on both Milwaukee and Saint Louis in the NL Central. New this month in the senior circuit? Those Braves have risen to become the top-ranked team in the National League for the first time this season. With a young, talented ball club, Atlanta promises to be a contender for years to come. In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the lead, but are tied with the Colorado Rockies in the loss column. The Dbacks sit just a game behind those two in what looks for all the world like a three-horse race down to the wire. The National League Wildcard picture is, well, wild. The Brewers and Cardinals currently hold the two available playoff spots. But the Rockies are just a game back, with the Dbacks and Phillies just two and three games back respectively.
My formula for compiling the MLB Power Ranking remains unchanged. I researched each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value and added them up to determine an overall score. The current MLB Power Ranking on Labor Day are presented here, with each team's previous rank from July 1, the MLB All-Star break in mid-July, and then the middle of August from L-R in parentheses:
Boston has moved into a tie atop the MLB Power Ranking
We are now squarely in the midst of the "dog days of summer" at the very mid-point of the month of August. With the sweltering hot summer months has come an unfolding of hotly contested battles in four of Major League Baseball's six divisions, as well as both Wildcard races. When doing the last MLB Power Ranking, the Bosox held a 4.5 game lead in the AL East Division over the arch-rival New York Yankees. That lead has now grown to 10 full games. The Cleveland Indians led the AL Central Division by 7.5 games a month ago. That lead has now swelled to 12.5 games. The only true divisional race in the American League is being contested out west. The defending world champion Houston Astros have frittered away most of what was a five-game lead a month ago. The Astros now lead by just a game over the surprising Oakland Athletics. The top team in last month's rankings, they have now been tied for that number one position.
In the AL Wildcard race, the New York Yankees hold a comfortable seven-game cushion for one of the two available playoff berths. The Seattle Mariners led Oakland by three games at the all-star break for the other spot. But the A's have flipped the script, now leading the M's by 3.5 games - four in the loss column.
The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels were each above the .500 mark at the break, sitting 8.5 and nine games out in that Wildcard race respectively. Each club still sports a winning record, but only by a single game. Both teams have fallen 11.5 off the Wildcard pace, and their seasons are on life support.
The senior circuit presented a far more interesting picture last month, and it remains so today. The Philadelphia Phillies have yielded the first place position which they held for more than a month. The Atlanta Braves have surged past the Phillies, now leading the NL East by two full games. There are four teams with winning records in the NL Central Division, led by the Chicago Cubs. The North Siders lead is at two games over the Milwaukee Brewers, but four in the all-important loss column. The Saint Louis Cardinals remain in striking distance just four games back.
The NL West Division was the tightest in the game a month ago and it remains that way today. The Arizona Diamondbacks are on top by a game but tied in the loss column with the Colorado Rockies. The LA Dodgers are two games out, and the San Francisco Giants remain in the race at five games off the pace.
The National League's two Wildcard berths are presently controlled by the Brewers and Phillies. A half-dozen teams still appear to be alive, all within six games of the Phillies, who hold the second of two spots.
When I released my July 1 MLB Power Ranking, only statistics on offense, defense, and pitching were considered. At the all-star break, I began to incorporate a fourth category, winning percentage. This was in order to recognize a club's ability to actually win games despite statistical shortcomings.
I have kept that formula this time around, again researching each of the 30 MLB teams current rankings in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value, and added them up to determine an overall score. The current MLB Power Ranking for mid-August is presented here, with each team's previous rank from July 1 (L) and at the MLB All-Star break in mid-July (R) in parentheses:
The Yankees and Red Sox again battle atop the AL East
We have reached the Major League Baseball All-Star Game break, and the National League has developed the far more interesting playoff races.
In the American League, the Boston Red Sox in the East Division (4.5), Cleveland Indians in the Central (7.5), and Houston Astros in the West (5) all have comfortable leads at the moment.
In the AL Wildcard race, the New York Yankees hold a comfortable eight-game cushion for one of the two available playoff berths. The Seattle Mariners currently hold a three-game edge on the division-rival Oakland Athletics for the other slot.
Just two more teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels, are above the .500 mark at the break. They sit 8.5 and nine games out in that Wildcard race respectively, and are all but out of their respective divisional battles.
But over in the senior circuit it's an entirely different picture. The Philadelphia Phillies hold just a half-game edge on the Atlanta Braves in the East Division. In the Central, the Chicago Cubs are just 2.5 up on the Milwaukee Brewers.
The NL West Division is by far baseball's best divisional race this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers finally got their act together after struggling for much of the first half. The Dodgers are by a half-game on the Arizona Diamondbacks, with the Colorado Rockies two back, and the San Francisco Giants lurking at four games off the pace.
The National League's two Wildcard berths are presently controlled by the Brewers and Braves. However, six teams are within 5.5 games of the second spot held by Atlanta. It all seems to be setting up for a tremendous second half.
When I released my July 1 MLB Power Ranking, only the team rankings on offense, defense, and pitching were considered. This time around, I've allowed for their winning percentage to also be considered.
I researched each of the 30 MLB clubs current rankings in four categories: winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then simply assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value, and added them up to determine the below MLB Power Ranking for the middle of July.
This is the formula that I am going to stick with moving forward. It encompasses a team's ability to actually win games, while also taking into account their performance on offense, defense, and on the mound. Yet it is also simply enough for the average baseball fan to comprehend.
Here is the current MLB Power Ranking, with each team's previous rank from July 1 in parentheses:
The World Series champion Astros remain baseball's top team
As July 2018 opens, the majority of teams across Major League Baseball have now reached the 81-game mark, which marks the exact halfway point to their regular season.
There are a dozen teams that I feel safe in saying there is no chance at recovering from a poor first half. These 12 ball clubs have no chance at reaching the postseason this year.
Seven of those clubs are found in the American League: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers.
In the National League, the five clubs now out of it are the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres.
The only team currently with a losing record that I am not quite ready to say is totally out of things would be the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are a game below the .500 mark at 41-42. They are six games off the NL West pace, but just four games in back of the second NL Wildcard berth.
A quick look around at the six MLB Division races finds only one team in a comfortable position. That team would be the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central. Despite losing four of their last five, the Tribe hold an eight-game lead.
The Boston Red Sox currently lead the arch-rival New York Yankees by one game in the American League East standings, but trail the Bronx Bombers by a game in the loss column.
In the AL West Division, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros are on top by just 1.5 games over the Seattle Mariners. However, a look at the statistical breakdown in the offense, defense, and pitching categories reveals that Houston is clearly the top team in baseball.
The Yankees currently hold the first of two American League Wildcard playoff berths, and do so by a comfortable nine-game margin. The Mariners hold a seven-game lead for the second slot over their division rivals, the Oakland Athletics. Every other AL team is at least 10 games off the Wildcard pace.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves are one of best young teams in the game. They lead the NL East race by three over the Philadelphia Phillies, a team whose win-loss record is far better than their statistical evaluations. The always dangerous Washington Nationals lurk just five games back.
The NL Central has seen the Milwaukee Brewers jump out with a strong first-half, with the Brew Crew taking a 1.5 game lead over the divison's two-time defending champion Chicago Cubs. The always tough Saint Louis Cardinals are 5.5 games off the pace.
Out in the NL West, it's the Arizona Diamondbacks who have taken the lead at the halfway mark. The Dbacks are currently 3.5 ahead of a pair of historic arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants and the five-time defending division champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The National League Wildcard berths are held by the Cubs and the Phillies. The confusing Fightin' Phils are up by 1.5 games on both the Dodgers and Giants, two up on the Cardinals and Nationals, as they try to emerge from a half-decade of losing.
So with those six divisional and two wildcard playoff races in mind, let's take a look now at where the 30 teams in Major League Baseball currently stand when compared to one another as a group.
The following is the MLB Power Ranking as of July 1, with my 'Power Points' formula shown in parentheses. The number has little to do with the MLB standings, and is based solely on statistics. The lower the number, the stronger your club:
For a third consecutive month, the Los Angeles Dodgers sit at the top of the MLB Power Rankings. The Dodgers hold an 11.5 game lead on their nearest pursuers in all of baseball.
Following games of Friday, September 1, the Dodgers ‘Magic Number’ is down to just 13 in order to clinch the NL West Division crown. It will be the franchise’ fifth division title in a row, their seventh in the last decade.
The Washington Nationals have established themselves as the second-best club in the National League. The Nats ‘Magic Number’ is now down to only 14 for their second straight NL East crown, their fourth in the past six seasons.
The defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs have now run off five straight wins to open up a 3.5 game lead in the NL Central. However, the Milwaukee Brewers have won three in a row, and remain tough to shake for the Cubbies.
In the NL Wildcard race, what was once a two-horse race between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies has become a bit more interesting over the last month. The Brew Crew are now just 1.5 games back of the Rockies, with the Cards just four back.
Dodgers add Yu Darvish to help end 30-year title drought
My first MLB Power Ranking in early June found the Houston Astros of the American League at the top. In early July, the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League had taken over the top spot.
Now in early August those two ball clubs have clearly established themselves as still the top teams in their respective leagues. They were 1-2 overall a month ago, and they remain in those positions today.
Los Angeles has captured the NL West Division crown in six of the last nine years and the last four straight. But the Dodgers have not fared well in the postseason. The club has not even reached the World Series in nearly three decades, since last winning the Fall Classic back in 1988.
As the July 31 trade deadline approached, GM Farhan Zaidi took steps to give his ball club a better chance this coming October. Zaidi did so by acquiring starting pitcher Yu Darvish and lefty relievers Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani to plug holes in the LA pitching staff.
HOUSTON CONTINUES TO DOMINATE IN AL
Meanwhile over in the AL, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow also brought in some help. He acquired lefty Francisco Liriano, who has been a starting pitcher for much of his career, to bolster the Astros bullpen.
Houston has emerged over the last three seasons as one of the top teams in baseball, but has reached the postseason just once. Still a young team on the upswing, the Astros are looking to capture their first AL West Division crown since the 2001 campaign. They remain one of just eight MLB teams to never win the World Series.
Following games of Saturday, August 6, the Dodgers lead the NL West by 14.5 games. Just 15-14 after the first month of play, manager Dave Roberts‘ squad has fashioned a ridiculous 63-18 records since.
Manager A.J. Hinch and his Astros shuffled out of the gates to a 4-4 start, but have gone 66-36 ever since. Houston also leads their division, the NL West, by that same 14.5 game margin that the Dodgers have built.
