MLB Power Rankings: Cubs making playoff push, Twins slumping

Welcome to the 11th edition of theScore's MLB Power Rankings for the 2024 regular season. The last edition was published Aug. 19.

ARI | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CWS | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | OAK | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | SEA | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are starting to look more like the Death Star that was assembled in the offseason. They've won 11 of their last 16 games to extend their division lead to five. Shohei Ohtani, who continues to march toward a historic 50-50 season, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman are finally back together at the top of the lineup. The rotation, which just lost Clayton Kershaw, will also get a major boost when Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow return.

2. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies continue to hold a tight grip on the NL East heading into September. However, the club needs Bryce Harper to find his power stroke down the stretch despite nagging elbow and wrist injuries. The two-time NL MVP went deep just twice in August as Philadelphia went through an up-and-down month.

3. New York Yankees

Juan Soto has gone a bit cold at the plate for the first time as a Yankee. The superstar outfielder is hitting just .169 over his last 15 games, with three of his 10 hits over that span being home runs. The Yankees have still been able to tread water despite Soto's struggles thanks in part to Austin Wells' emergence in the cleanup spot. Wells has a .896 OPS with three home runs over his last 11 games.

4. Milwaukee Brewers

Willy Adames and William Contreras have stepped up in the absence of All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich. The pair has combined for nine home runs and 21 RBIs over the last 14 games, helping Milwaukee maintain a huge cushion in the NL Central after going 13-5 in its last 18 contests.

5. Baltimore Orioles

The dog days have hit Baltimore hard. The Orioles' inconsistent play has continued over the last two weeks, pushing them into second place in the AL East. The struggles of Corbin Burnes (7.36 ERA in August) and Adley Rutschman (.590 OPS in the second half), in particular, have been a huge factor. But the Orioles are still just a half-game behind the first-place Yankees, and some of their injured players are close to returning. This team is far too talented to write off.

6. Houston Astros

Yusei Kikuchi is looking like one of the steals of this year's trade deadline. The left-hander has put up a 2.57 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 47 strikeouts over six starts with Houston, highlighted by a 12-K masterpiece against Kansas City on Saturday. Kikuchi and rookie Spencer Arrighetti have stabilized the Astros' rotation depth heading into October. The pitching has also helped Houston open up a six-game lead over Seattle in the AL West.

7. San Diego Padres

Just about everything went right for the Padres in August. San Diego's 120 wRC+ since Aug. 1 is the fourth-best in the majors. If you want to go back even further, the Padres have lost just one series since the All-Star break. All of this has helped San Diego keep pace with the equally hot D-Backs and stay within five games of the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. It's scary to think how good this team could be once Ha-Seong Kim, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Yu Darvish are back from the injured list.

8. Arizona Diamondbacks

The D-Backs will have a chance to split their highly anticipated four-game series with the Dodgers after hammering their division rival Sunday. Arizona has closed within striking distance of the NL West lead thanks to the re-emergence of Corbin Carroll, who collected at least a hit in all but five games in August to go along with 10 homers and a 1.042 OPS over 27 contests.

9. Cleveland Guardians

Closers don't normally find themselves in the Cy Young conversation, but Guardians stopper Emmanuel Clase could be in the mix this year. Clase has a microscopic 0.71 ERA and 0.68 WHIP, an AL-leading 40 saves, and he recently set the franchise record for saves.

10. Atlanta Braves

The Braves grinded their way through one devastating injury after another to enter the final month of the season in a wild-card spot thanks to a 13-7 record over their last 20 games. Atlanta's pitching staff has picked up the slack for a lineup missing Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley. The club's pitching staff owns the second-best fWAR in baseball in large part due to Chris Sale's renaissance year, which has him positioned to win his first Cy Young.

11. Kansas City Royals

The Royals finally caught Cleveland for first place Tuesday ... only to immediately lose five straight and fall 3.5 games back. That missed opportunity could come back to haunt Kansas City down the stretch. But it's also a good learning moment for a talented young squad that's very likely heading for the playoffs, barring an unthinkable collapse. This week's homestand against the Guardians and Twins might be the most critical six games of the Royals' season.

12. Chicago Cubs

Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently said lighting a Taylor Swift candle has brought the club some good luck. Maybe that's true, but Pete Crow-Armstrong's development is a much more tangible development. Crow-Armstrong has improved his OPS by almost 200 points from the first half to the second half of the season. He's hitting .362 with a pair of home runs, 12 RBIs, and a .979 OPS over his last 13 games.

13. New York Mets

The baseball world is once again sleeping on the brilliance of Francisco Lindor, who's making an NL MVP case for himself while keeping the Mets in the wild-card race. Lindor will very likely be an MVP finalist thanks to his absurd second half and a second straight 30-30 season. It's no coincidence that the Mets' 10-4 run since Aug. 19 has come amid Lindor's most dominant stretch of the season. It won't be his fault if New York comes up short amid a tough September schedule. Heck, he might will them into the playoffs on his own.

14. Minnesota Twins

The Twins have come crashing down over the latter half of August after playing some of their best baseball to close within two games of first place earlier last month. Minnesota has gone 4-8 since Aug. 19 and ranks in the bottom half of the league in wRC+ (96) and ERA (5.05) during that span. An assortment of injuries to some of the Twins' most important players - what else is new? - also isn't helping matters.

15. Boston Red Sox

Jarren Duran is doing everything in his power to try to keep the Red Sox in the playoff race. The outfielder is hitting .340/.407/.755 with five home runs, seven doubles, and eight RBIs over his last 14 games. It's been a breakout year for the 27-year-old, as he also ranks fourth in MLB with 78 extra-base hits and fourth in fWAR (6.9).

16. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners tried to save a season going off the rails by firing longtime manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jarret DeHart, replacing them with former players Dan Wilson and Edgar Martinez. Seattle has gone 5-4 since but will need a big September to secure a playoff spot. It starts with Julio Rodríguez finding his form amid the worst season of his career. The 23-year-old has seven hits over his last four games.

17. Detroit Tigers

A trip down to the minors appears to have done some good for Spencer Torkelson. The first baseman hit .286 with an OPS over .900 in August and routinely hit the ball with authority after he was recalled. The swing and miss is still there (19 Ks in 52 August at-bats), but it's been an encouraging return to the majors on the whole for Torkelson.

18. San Francisco Giants

The Giants' season hasn't gone as planned after adding several high-profile names during the winter. However, San Francisco and Matt Chapman are reportedly discussing a long-term extension, which would allow the team to retain its top position player for 2025 and beyond. Keeping the four-time Gold Glover would be a win as he's putting together his best year since 2019.

19. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals intend to give the recently recalled Jordan Walker regular at-bats after he barely played during a short stint early last month. After a disastrous season for Walker's development, St. Louis needs to do everything it can to try and get Walker to reach the potential that had him ranked as the club's No. 1 prospect last year. His five-hit game Sunday showed the type of hitter he can be.

20. Toronto Blue Jays

Joey Loperfido appears to be finding his footing after struggling following the trade from Houston. Loperfido has an .872 OPS with seven extra-base hits over his last 13 games. He should be ticketed for an everyday role with the Blue Jays in 2025 with a strong finish in September.

21. Tampa Bay Rays

It's still early, but so far the Rays haven't been able to work their magic on deadline acquisitions Christopher Morel and Dylan Carlson. Morel has hit three homers since arriving from the Cubs, but his overall struggles have continued as he's hitting .184/.282/.291 with 37 strikeouts since the trade. Carlson, meanwhile, owns a .657 OPS as a Ray and hasn't homered in nearly two weeks. Getting those two going to build some momentum heading into 2025 should be a priority for the Rays down the stretch.

22. Texas Rangers

The only suspense left for the reigning World Series champions is when - or if - Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer will pitch in the majors again. DeGrom is moving closer to completing his rehab assignment, although he probably needs another outing or two. Scherzer's status is much less clear as he deals with a nerve issue. He said Saturday that he believes he can pitch right now, but he hasn't restarted a rehab stint yet.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates recently pulled David Bednar from the closer's role as the right-hander continues to slump through a disastrous 2024 campaign. Bednar has blown six saves this year with an ERA over six. It's been a puzzling drop-off after Bednar had a combined 58 saves with a 2.27 ERA and a pair of All-Star appearances in 2022 and 2023.

24. Cincinnati Reds

Closer Alexis Díaz has struggled mightily after racking up 37 saves with a 3.07 ERA en route to his first All-Star Game appearance in 2023. Díaz has blown four saves this season and recorded a 4.75 ERA, including a recent appearance where he failed to record an out.

25. Washington Nationals

Dylan Crews has arrived. The 2023 second overall pick has hit the ground running, smashing a pair of home runs, chipping in two doubles, and stealing a base over his first six games. Nationals fans should be very excited about the prospect of Crews forming an imposing offensive duo with fellow rookie star James Wood for years to come.

26. Oakland Athletics

Lawrence Butler has been a revelation in right field during this latest lost A's season. The 24-year-old recorded his second three-homer game of the campaign Thursday, making him the second player in franchise history to accomplish the feat and only the third player 24 or younger to do it. Unfortunately, Butler's feat was for not. Just a few minutes after he tied the game with his third homer in the top of the ninth, Oakland lost to the Reds in walk-off fashion. It's been that kind of year for the A's.

27. Los Angeles Angels

Mickey Moniak turned heads in August amid another forgettable year for the Angels. The 26-year-old amassed nine multi-hit games to go along with five homers and 13 RBIs. Moniak, Zach Neto, Jo Adell, Logan O'Hoppe, and Nolan Schanuel are the present and future of the club with Mike Trout continuing to battle health issues.

28. Colorado Rockies

As woeful as the Rockies' offense has been, some of their younger players have taken some major steps forward at the plate. Brenton Doyle, who put up a 53 OPS+ as a rookie, owns a team-high .810 OPS this year and has an outside shot at putting up a 30-30 season, something a Rockies player hasn't done since 1997. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, meanwhile, is setting career highs across the board. At just 23 years old, he's showing plenty of long-term promise. The Rockies really need that hope going forward.

29. Miami Marlins

Griffin Conine, the son of former Marlins star Jeff, has hit the ground running. He's collected six hits - including his first MLB homer - over six games to begin his career. Connor Norby, who was acquired at the deadline, has also taken advantage of playing time, recording three homers with a 1.002 OPS across 12 contests.

30. Chicago White Sox

Firing Pedro Grifol did nothing to change the fortunes of the 2024 White Sox. Chicago has gone just 3-18 under interim manager Grady Sizemore and is now in the midst of its third double-digit losing streak of the season. The White Sox set a new franchise record Sunday with their 107th loss and are on pace to shatter the 1962 Mets' modern-day mark of 120. This season can't end fast enough.