MLB Power Rankings: Brewers Drop From Top Spot, Red Sox & Marlins Slip

With the final week of the regular season here, there is still plenty left to be decided across Major League Baseball. Division races remain unsettled, Wild Card spots are still up for grabs, and teams are jockeying for postseason positioning. Every game carries added weight now, with just a handful of opportunities remaining for teams to change their place in the standings before October arrives.

Third-order wins offer another way to evaluate where each team stands at this stage of the season. Based on Clay Davenport's adjusted standings, the metric goes beyond a team's actual record by considering run differential, strength of schedule, and ballpark effects. The result provides additional context for determining whether a team's record reflects its underlying performance.

These Power Rankings focus more on sustainable performance than the results of the most recent games. The arrows show which teams are trending upward, heading in the wrong direction, or holding relatively steady as the season winds down. With October just around the corner and very little time remaining to change the standings, these final games will go a long way toward determining which teams enter the postseason in a strong position and which teams run out of time.

1. Dodgers — 96.7-58.1 (.625) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Dodgers clinched their fifth straight NL West crown, but questions are swirling about whether Shohei Ohtani will be healthy enough for October. He is dealing with injuries to his right biceps and left knee.

2. Brewers — 96.6-58.3 (.624) ⬇️

Biggest Weekly Storyline: Milwaukee clinched their fourth straight NL Central on Tuesday with their ace on the mound. Jacob Misiorowski added to his Cy Young resume with seven strikeouts in five shutout innings. 

3. Yankees — 89.9-64.0 (.584)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Outfielder Aaron Judge returned to the IL with a calf strain and isn’t eligible to return until the final game of the regular season.

4. Cubs — 90.0-64.9 (.581)

Biggest Weekly Storyline: On Wednesday, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman each hit a home run, each hit a triple, and each had three extra-base hits in the 8-4 rout at Wrigley Field. That made them the first pair of MLB teammates to do that in the same game in nearly 70 years.

5. Rays — 89.3-64.6 (.580)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Richie Palacios collected a walk-off single to give the Rays a 2-1 victory on Saturday. Tampa Bay, which has three walk-off wins on its current homestand, opened a five-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.

6. Pirates — 85.7-69.2 (.553) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin had four hits as the Pirates rallied past the Royals to reach .500. Pittsburgh is trying to have a winning record for the first time since 2018. 

7. Red Sox — 85.8-70.0 (.551) ⬇️

Biggest Weekly Storyline: Starter Brayan Bello struck out 11 batters over eight innings pitched and allowed five hits and one earned run in his start against the Rays. 

8. Tigers — 83.3-71.7 (.537) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Rookie Hao-Yu Lee hit his 10th home run of the year, establishing a single-season Major League record for a Taiwanese player.

9. Marlins — 83.2-71.7 (.537) ⬇️

Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Marlins used their ace Sandy Alcantara for his first career save. Even more remarkably, it came two days after he had a 101-pitch start.

10. Braves — 83.2-71.8 (.537) ⬇️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Braves clinched a playoff berth on Friday. Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson each hit a two-run homer in the game. 

11. Padres — 80.0-75.0 (.516)

Biggest Weekly Storyline: Rookie catcher Ethan Salas hit his first career walk-off as the Padres vaulted past the Phillies in the wild-card race. It was San Diego’s fourth straight win. 

12. Blue Jays — 77.7-77.3 (.501)

Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Blue Jays plan to start Trey Yesavage on Monday as he returns from knee surgery. Toronto sits three games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. 

13. Nationals — 77.1-77.9 (.497) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Nationals signed pitcher Cade Cavalli to a 4-year contract extension for a reported $47 million with a team option for 2031. 

14. Diamondbacks — 77.0-78.0 (.497) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Pavin Smith hit a walk-off two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday. It was the sixth walk-off homer of the season for Arizona, which leads the major leagues and is a franchise record.

15. Phillies — 76.9-78.1 (.496) ⬇️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Phillies place All-Star Jesús Luzardo on the 15-day IL but are not ruling out a potential postseason start. Luzardo has been dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

16. White Sox — 76.6-78.4 (.494) ⬇️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: All-Star Miguel Vargas hit his 33rd homer, walked twice, and made a big play in the field in Saturday’s victory. It was a much needed win as Chicago fell behind Cleveland in the AL Central.

17. Guardians — 76.5-78.5 (.494) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Third baseman José Ramírez homered and reached 1,000 career RBI on Friday as the Guardians moved into first alone in the AL Central. 

18. Mets — 75.3-79.7 (.486) ⬇️

Biggest Weekly Storyline: Outfielder Carson Benge recorded three hits, including a solo home run, breaking Pete Alonso's Mets rookie record for hits in a season (156) in the process Saturday. 

19. Rangers — 74.6-80.5 (.481) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Starter Cal Quantrill departed Saturday’s game with right lat tightness. The Rangers’ bullpen covered 7 2/3 innings to push Texas into first in the AL West.

20. Orioles — 73.9-81.2 (.476) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: First baseman Pete Alonso hit his 300th career home run at Citi Field in New York against his former team. He became the third player in MLB history to hit that milestone against a team where he played 1000+ games. 

21. Giants — 73.4-81.7 (.473) ⬇️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: First baseman Rafael Devers and starter Logan Webb were both placed in the IL this week. Devers had a left-side core muscle injury that required surgery, while Webb is dealing with a blister.

22. Cardinals — 71.9-83.2 (.464) ⬇️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: The Cardinals were officially eliminated from the playoffs earlier this week. It is the fourth straight season that St. Louis has missed the playoffs.  

23. Mariners — 71.4-83.6 (.461) ⬆️
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Catcher Cal Raleigh crushed the longest homer of his career (a Statcast-projected 459 feet) over the weekend. Still, the Mariners continued to drop back in the AL West and Wild Card standings. 

24. Twins — 70.9-84.1 (.457) ⬇️

Biggest Weekly Storyline: Outfielder Walker Jenkins became the tenth Twin to have three consecutive multi-hit games in his age-21 season, the first since Joe Mauer in 2004. 

25. Astros — 70.5-84.6 (.455)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Astros manager Joe Espada confirmed to reporters Tuesday that infielder Carlos Correa will not return this season. Correa has been sidelined since the beginning of May due to an ankle injury.

26. Angels — 70.3-84.7 (.454)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Starter Reid Detmers reached 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career Saturday, becoming just the 12th pitcher in franchise history to reach the mark in a season.

27. Royals — 67.9-87.2 (.438)

Biggest Weekly Storyline: Catcher Carter Jensen has now hit more home runs in a season than any rookie in Royals history. His 25 home runs broke a tie with Bob Hamelin, who hit 24 homers in the strike-shortened 1994 season

28. Reds — 63.2-91.9 (.407)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Starter Chase Burns was placed on the IL on Sunday with a groin injury. His 238 strikeouts through his first 36 career starts rank third in Reds franchise history since 1900.

29. Rockies — 59.3-95.8 (.382)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: A bronze statue honoring Todd Helton was unveiled in front of Coors Field on Saturday before the Rockies game against the Mariners. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024. 

30. Athletics — 56.9-98.2 (.367)
Biggest Weekly Storyline: Donovan Walton hit a two-run homer and tied career highs with three hits and four RBIs on Saturday night. It was the fifth three-hit performance in his breakout season.

What storylines stood out this week? Do you agree with the rankings above? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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