MLB power rankings: Dodgers climb, Giants fall and Braves just keep rolling

There was a shakeup near the top of this week’s MLB power rankings, but the Atlanta Braves still stay in control of the top spot.

It’s hard to argue with what the Braves are doing to maintain the top spot in our MLB power rankings, and we’re already salivating with the thought of what lies ahead this week as Atlanta starts a trip west that will eventually land the Braves in Los Angeles for a matchup against the Dodgers in what could be a preview of the NLCS.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There is plenty of baseball to come this week, including some matchups that will have impacts on the Wild Card standings and could determine which teams still actually have a chance to play meaningful baseball in October.

MLB Power Rankings: 30. Oakland Athletics

Will franchise history be made this season? Last week, the A’s dropped to 55 games under .500 for the second time in Oakland history. The other time was on the second-to-last day of the 1979 season (September 29) when they were 53-108 before winning the final game. The last A’s team to be more than 55 games under .500 is the 1946 Philadelphia A’s, who finished the year 56 under at 49-105.

MLB Power Rankings: 29. Kansas City Royals

After splitting the first two games of a series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs, the Royals played their 11th rubber game of the season on Sunday. With the loss in that game, they are now 2-9 in their previous 11 series-deciding matchups, with wins on May 17 in San Diego and July 2 against the Dodgers. Kansas City is winless in its last five series overall (including four losses and one split) since they swept the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets in back-to-back series to complete a 6-0 home stand from July 28-July 3.

MLB Power Rankings: 28. Chicago White Sox

In a battle at the bottom of our MLB power rankings this week, the White Sox traveled to Denver to play the Colorado Rockies and looked like a team that didn’t want to be there during the first two games of the series, especially in a 14-1 drubbing on Friday night. Maybe all of the attention around Tim Anderson’s suspension and the absence of Eloy Jimenez (paternity leave) was just too much for a thin White Sox squad to overcome.

MLB Power Rankings: 27. Colorado Rockies

One of the best stories of the season for the Rockies was the return of reliever Tyler Kinley, who was dominant in 2022 before needing to undergo elbow surgery. However, the right-hander struggled in his first seven outings after making his 2023 season debut on August 1, seeing an ERA of 9.53 in his first 5.2 innings out of the bullpen before being sent to the injured list on Sunday (retroactive to August 17) with right elbow inflammation.

MLB Power Rankings: 26. St. Louis Cardinals

This season marked the slowest start for the Cardinals since 1995 when they were 52-72 (.419) after 124 games. St. Louis needs to finish 27- 11 (.710) over the remaining 38 games to end with .500 record. Like all season, maybe they will finish better than they started. The Cardinals are just 12-28 in series openers this year, but 24-15 in series finales.