Power Rankings: Seattle Soaring ⚓️

August 23, 2023

By: Carlos Alvarez

Dodgers Climb, Rangers Skid & Mariners Soar Into Top-5 in Latest MLB Power Rankings

Baseball has officially entered the 30-game countdown to October. With just over five weeks left in the regular season, the MLB hierarchy is still shifting by the week. Ten teams have separated themselves — above or near 70 wins — with a drop-off outside the top 10. And one club has our attention with the latest lengthy win streak.

The Seattle Mariners won their eighth straight contest last night, beating the White Sox (6-3) to pull within striking distance of the AL West lead. That’s the tightest division in baseball with the Rangers (72-54), Astros (72-55), and Mariners (71-55) separated by just one game. We have those three divisional rivals slotted 5-6-7 in our latest power rankings. Things should only get better for Seattle with one more game against the Chi-Sox before getting the Royals, Athletics, and Mets in succession. This little streak might just be the beginning.

As clubs jockey for postseason positioning, the wild card race is getting fun, especially in the NL. Eight National League squads are still wild-card eligible. The AL is more concise with four wild-card hopefuls divided by 5.5 games. Let’s do a Week 20 mid-week download and see where they stand.

Biggest Climb: 5. Mariners (↑8)

Biggest Drop: 23. Yankees (↓6)

*Would Make Playoffs if the Regular Season Ended Today

MLB Power Rankings

1. *Braves (81-44) | —

2. *Dodgers (76-47) | ↑1

3. *Orioles (77-48) | ↓1

4. *Rays (76-51) | ↑1

5. *Mariners (71-55) | ↑8

6. *Astros (72-55) | —

7. *Rangers (72-54) | ↓3

8. *Phillies (69-57) | ↑1

9. *Brewers (69-57) | ↓1

10. Blue Jays (70-56) | ↓3

Teams 11-20

11. Giants (65-61) | ↓1

12. *Twins (65-61) | ↓1

13. Cubs (65-60) | ↑1

14. Red Sox (66-60) | ↑2

15. *Diamondbacks (66-61) | ↑3

16. Reds (65-61) | ↓1

17. Marlins (65-62) | ↓5

18. Angels (61-65) | ↑1

19. Padres (60-67) | ↑2

20. Guardians (60-66) | —

Teams 21-30

21. Mets (59-68) | ↑2

22. Nationals (58-68) | —

23. Yankees (60-65) | ↓6

24. Tigers (58-68) | ↑2

25. Pirates (57-69) | ↓1

26. Cardinals (55-72) | ↓1

27. White Sox (49-77) | —

28. Rockies (48-77) | —

29. Royals (40-88) | —

30. Athletics (36-90) | —

Home Run Race

T1. Matt Olson (ATL): 43 HRs

T1. Shohei Ohtani (LAA): 43 HRs

3. Pete Alonso (NYM): 39 HRs

4. Mookie Betts (LAD): 34 HRs

T5. Luis Robert (CWS): 33 HRs

T5. Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 33 HRs

T5. Jorge Soler (MIA): 33 HRs

Cy Young Favorites

AL: Gerrit Cole (NYY), Kevin Gausman (TOR), Framber Valdez (HOU)

NL: Zac Gallen (ARI), Blake Snell (SD), Spencer Strider (ATL)

USA Today: MLB Power Rankings: The NL Wild-Card Race is Living Up to the Name

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images