It turns out that, as the Reds taught us Sunday afternoon, the Brewers do, in fact, consist of mortal human beings made of flesh, blood and gristle like the rest of us. The end of their 14-game winning streak did not keep them from dominating our Power Rankings for the third consecutive week. Even with their loss, they’re still eight games up in the NL Central … and six games up on any other team in baseball.
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. Brewers (previously: 1)
Sunday’s loss was, amazingly, the Brewers’ first loss in the month of August. Everything else here is pointing up up up, though: They still have the best record in baseball, they still have won 29 of their last 34 games and they’re still having more fun than is typically legal in the state of Wisconsin. And you know what? They’re probably gonna rattle off, like, 16 in a row next month now anyway. The question is whether they can bury the Cubs with five games at Wrigley Field this week.
2. Dodgers (previously: 2)
Once the Dodgers are through the Padres after next weekend’s series in San Diego, their schedule gets a lot easier: They play the Rockies three times (after four more this week), the Giants seven times, the Diamondbacks six times and the Pirates and Orioles three times each. They only have six more games the rest of the way against teams currently in playoff position.
3. Blue Jays (previously: 5)
The Jays lost to the Rangers on Sunday, costing them their 10th series sweep of the season. But things are certainly looking north up north: Their next win will match their total from all of last season. It’s also very exciting that Max Scherzer is starting to look like a Game 1 playoff starter again.
4. Phillies (previously: 3)
The Zack Wheeler news could potentially be devastating for a team trying to win a World Series right now — and that could depend on whether he’s able to beat the odds and return this season — but they did at least get the return of Alec Bohm on Sunday after missing more than a month with a left rib fracture. He seemed happy to be back: He homered in his second at-bat.
5. Tigers (previously: 6)
The Tigers are doing their best to put all those “choke away that division lead” worries to bed. After winning three out of four against the Twins, they have now won 13 of 20 over the last three weeks, the third-best record in the AL over that span. All is now settling.
6. Cubs (previously: 4)
It’s probably too late for the Cubs to make any sort of run at the Brewers, but if there is any sort of chance to catch up with them — or at least put some sort of scare in them if they run into each other in the postseason — this is the week they’ll have to start their run. The Cubs host the Brewers for five games this week, starting with a doubleheader on Monday.
7. Padres (previously: 7)
Well, you can forgive Padres fans if they’re feeling a little bit like Lucy just pulled the football away right as Charlie Brown was about to kick it. No sooner did they finally get into first place for the first time this late in a season since 2010 that they got themselves swept at Dodger Stadium, falling two games back of the Dodgers. The good news is: They get three more games against the Dodgers this coming weekend, back in San Diego this time. Or maybe that’s the bad news.
8. Astros (previously: 10)
The Astros fell prey to yet another injury this week, with Josh Hader likely to miss the rest of the regular season, though there’s hope he can return for a theoretical postseason. The Astros are still hanging onto first place as they try to remove the word “theoretical” there, and if you think they’ll wilt with the loss of one of their best players, well, you haven’t watched the Astros much this year.
9. Mariners (previously: 9)
We all love how aggressive the Mariners were at the Deadline, particularly with bringing in the biggest prize available in Eugenio Suárez. But Suárez hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations quite yet: He has only two homers since coming over to Seattle, andhe is hitting .143 in his 16 games as a Mariner.
10. Red Sox (previously: 8)
For a while it looked like the Red Sox and their fans were treating Trevor Story as a lost cause, but he has been a stalwart of this team, particularly defensively, all season. He’s also just one homer short of 20 for the season, the first time he has hit that number since 2021, the year before the Red Sox signed him.
11. Yankees (previously: 12)
Have the Yankees steadied the ship? They’ve now won back to back series for the first time since May — May! That’s a really long time ago! — and Aaron Judge is starting to work himself back into being Aaron Judge, post-injury. One also wonders if Giancarlo Stanton being healthy is almost as important as Judge: His 160 OPS-plus is actually the highest he has put up since his MVP season of 2017 in Miami.
12. Mets (previously: 11)
After the week they’ve had — one of the more demoralizing stretches in recent Mets memory, and there are plenty of contenders for that title — the Mets, maybe as much as any team in baseball, probably needed the lightheartedness of hanging out with a bunch of kids at the Little League Classic. It helps that despite all the struggles — so many struggles — the Mets are still holding onto the last NL Wild Card spot. They haven’t lost that yet.
13. Reds (previously: 14)
The Reds were right on the cusp of catching, or even passing, the Mets in the NL Wild Card chase, but had the misfortune of running into the apparently unbeatable Brewers at the moment of their highest invincibility. (Though they did at least end their streak Sunday.) More worrisome is the injury to Chase Burns, one of the brightest aspects of their future. He’s on the IL with a right flexor strain, and while the Reds don’t think it’s a full-on disaster, it is an injury to a right-handed pitcher’s right arm. It is not what you want. The good news is: The Reds only have three more games against the Brewers.
14. Guardians (previously: 13)
The Guardians have had a skid at the exact wrong time, and it, as usual, has coincided with struggles from José Ramírez. He was 0-for-11 against the Braves this weekend, and check out their record on the year when Ramírez has a hit and when he doesn’t: They’re 48-36 when he has a hit, and 13-23 when he doesn’t.
15. Rangers (previously: 15)
It looked for a second there that the Rangers were about to go on the run we’ve all been waiting for them to make. It no longer looks that way. Even with their win on Sunday, they are 5-12 since the Trade Deadline. That’s the worst mark in the American League.
16. Royals (previously: 16)
Any day now, Cal Raleigh is going to pass Salvador Perez’s record for 48 homers in a season by a primary catcher. Let it be known that Perez, now in his 14th season, is not exactly turtling in response: Since July 6, Perez has the third-most homers in the game … and more, it should be said, than Raleigh in that span.
17. Rays (previously: 17)
I’ll actually be traveling to Tampa to see the Rays play the Cardinals this week, and I’m excited to see what could be one of the final 19 home games the Rays will ever play at George M. Steinbrenner Field before their expected return to Tropicana Field next year. There hasn’t been a major sort of home-road split: They’re two games over .500 at home and five games under on the road — roughly normal, all told.
18. Cardinals (previously: 19)
Victor Scott II sprained his ankle trying to bring back (and nearly pulling it off) an Aaron Judge homer on Saturday and landed on the IL. For a team trying to build around young players, Scott II is a fascinating piece for the future. His defense in center field has been exemplary — he’s sixth in the Majors in Outs Above Average; his teammate Masyn Winn is first, by the way – but the offense still has a way to go: He has only 20 extra-base hits in 402 plate appearances and is hitting just .223. But he’s only 24 years old: There’s still a lot of growth potential with this team, and Scott II remains one of their most exciting players moving forward.
19. D-backs (previously: 21)
The D-backs have had a lot of injuries this year, which has led to a sense that they’ve just been outgunned and outmanned; like they did their best but just couldn’t overcome bad luck. But it should be said: This team has lost a lot of games it shouldn’t have. They’ve actually lost games they were ahead in 39 times this year, including Sunday against the Rockies; that’s the highest total in all of baseball.
20. Giants (previously: 18)
There have been plenty of teams who have not taken full advantage of the Mets’ implosion of late, but the Giants are foremost among them. Their seven-game losing streak, finally stopped on Sunday, was their longest since 2018, when their current team president was on the injured list all season with hip surgery. It also came at the worst possible time. The question now looks to next year … and what happens next for a team that is explicitly being built to win now.
21. Marlins (previously: 20)
Kyle Stowers went on the IL with an oblique injury on Sunday, costing the Marlins their best hitter. Stowers will likely be back at some point this year, but if it turns out he doesn’t return, or is not quite himself when he does, it’s worth noting: Stowers has established himself as a signature building block piece for the Marlins this year. Stowers is currently seventh in all of baseball in OPS at .912, he’s still only 27 years old and he won’t even hit arbitration until 2027. Every team wants a piece like that.
22. Angels (previously: 22)
Mike Trout remains stuck on 398 homers, just like he was in this space last week, and he only has three hits in that time span. But teams still fear him: He has gotten on base 18 straight games now, with an OBP of .396.
23. Braves (previously: 25)
Well, you knew the Braves were going to get hot at some point, though you can certainly forgive Braves fans for being a little irritated that it took this long. Key to the resurgence has been Michael Harris II, who, since changing his stance in early July, is leading MLB in batting average over that span at .365. He looks like the Rookie of the Year again … but better.
24. Orioles (previously: 23)
Before Mike Elias and company took over, the Orioles were quite famous for not having much of – or even any – international scouting presence. Samuel Basallo, the No. 8 overall MLB prospect who made his MLB debut on Sunday, is the first result of the change in strategy, but he won’t be the last. Don’t let this season bum you out too much: There are still so many good things happening with this franchise.
25. A’s (previously: 24)
If you’re looking for teams I’m going to be extremely (perhaps even a little irrationally) exuberant about heading into 2026, the A’s may be topping that list. Did you realize they have the best record in the American League – and the second-best in baseball, behind (of course) the Brewers – since July 24? And they’re gonna have that entire offense back next year. Get excited!
26. Twins (previously: 26)
So when do we maybe have to start being a little bit more realistic about Royce Lewis? Over his last 103 games, all the way back to August 2024, here are his numbers: .213/.266/.315, with a 62 wRC+. That makes him, um, one of the worst hitters in the sport during that time.
27. Pirates (previously: 27)
The Pirates have said they’d like to “limit” Paul Skenes to fewer than 200 innings — kind of funny to think of 200 innings being a “limit,” considering only four pitchers reached that number last year — which means, since he’s currently at 148, he’s either going to pitch no more than six innings a game the rest of the way (which he has pretty much been doing all year) or skip his final start or two. Even with his last rough start against the Brewers, Skenes is a gift to watch … but it’s time for the innings to start getting a little scarce.
28. Nationals (previously: 28)
Ideally, it wouldn’t take you three years from your MLB debut to get your first win, but Nationals starter Cade Cavalli certainly isn’t gonna give his first win back. He was terrific Saturday against the Phillies to notch that win, tossing seven scoreless innings against one of the best offenses in baseball. It took him three years to recover from Tommy John surgery, and Saturday was only his fourth MLB start. But it was unquestionably his best one.
29. White Sox (previously: 29)
Throughout their history — and they’ve been around since 1901 — the White Sox have never lost 100 games or more three consecutive seasons. They’ve got an uphill climb to not have that happen: They’ll have to go 19-19 the rest of the way, .500 ball, to avoid reaching 100 losses. Does this look like a .500 team to you?
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
The Rockies are now no longer behind the White Sox’s worst-ever losing pace from last year, thanks in no small part to the winning week they just had. Big during this run has been Hunter Goodman, who is up to 25 homers on the year, including a 449-foot blast on Saturday. He has been booming them of late: Four of his five longest homers have come during the last month.
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Jason Catania, Mark Feinsand, Daniel Feldman, Doug Gausepohl, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Zac Vierra.
