It’s one thing to make (or not make) moves at the Trade Deadline, but until games return with new rosters and top players in new cities, no one can know how things will pan out.
It’s been 12 full days of baseball since our last Power Rankings. As you can see, many things have changed. We’ve had dramatic jumps up the standings and some precipitous drops. Some teams that made a lot of moves went under, and others that stayed as they were have been on the rise. But one thing is clear: suddenly twelve days feel like a long time.
These are this week’s rankings:
The biggest climb: On Trade Deadline day, the Mariners lost at home to the Red Sox and traded their closer Paul Sewald — not exactly a combination that everyone is excited about, particularly when they were going down in a fierce Wild Card fight. But immediately thereafter, Seattle won eight straight, including a (devastating for the Angels) four-game sweep at Anaheim — and now sits just 1.0 games out of the last Wild Card spot. That catapulted the Seattle team nine spots in the Power Rankings to No. 9.
Biggest drop: You’ll understand why the Reds, a team loaded with young talent, decided not to trade any of their prized prospects at Deadline, even though they were in the middle of the Wild Card and NL Central pennant race. But now it looks like they could have benefited from some reinforcements this month. They kicked off August with a six-game losing streak (and eight losses in their last nine games) and have slipped as low as third in their division. They got a little help from the teams around them, however, and sit just 1.0 game behind the last Wild Card.
The Top 5 of the Power Rankings:
1) Braves 75-41 (last week: 1)
The Braves looked a bit shaky after the Trade Deadline, as they suffered three straight losses to the Cubs and Pirates, both teams in the National League Central. Fortunately for them, they had a hidden advantage: A series against the struggling Mets. Their sweep in a doubleheader on Saturday capped a blistering 34-3 run in the first three games, a mark that sounds like a Super Bowl result. The only challenge for the Braves between now and the end of the season will be staying motivated and healthy heading into the postseason.
The Orioles’ performance on the field hasn’t changed: These guys keep winning. Baltimore suffered a painful loss in the first game of what could be the lead-up to a potential postseason series against the Astros, but they rallied to keep their streak of consecutive series without getting swept alive. It will be interesting to see how they handle the rest of their current West Coast tour, since they won’t leave California until August 22 (vs. the Blue Jays).
At the Trade Deadline, it felt like the Astros were on their way to dethrone the Rangers. Houston was 1.0 games off the lead and had just acquired Justin Verlander. The Rangers responded by winning their first eight games of the month of August, a success they achieved thanks in large part to newcomers Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery. Now Texas has a cushion between them and their Texan rivals … albeit a very small one.
With a six-game homestand against teams with losing records, the Rays were surely hoping for a better finish than 3-3 this week. They might regret not winning another game or two, because now they’re headed to San Francisco and Anaheim. The big event comes Monday: Tyler Glasnow, after seeing his most recent start delayed a couple of days, will take the mound for a team that desperately needs healthy starting pitchers.
2023-08-14 15:31:56
#team #Top #climb #position
