We’ve paid plenty of attention to the West this season here in the Official Power Rankings, but it’s mostly been concentrated on the AL race. The Mariners built a 10-game lead and then blew it in the matter of a few weeks. The defending champion Rangers have crept up into that race while the Astros overcame a 12-24 start to take the familiar mantle of first place. The Mariners have pulled back into a tie (thanks in part to getting to play the woeful White Sox over the weekend).
But has everyone noticed what is going on over in the NL West?
The Dodgers remain in first place and are heavy favorites to win the division. I’m pretty sure they will win it. They recently had a five-game winning streak, but followed it up with poor play. It’s been happening. They are only 11-11 in July. They are actually only three games above .500 since May 20.
The Padres lost on Sunday, but it snapped a seven-game winning streak that saw them creep to within 5.5 games of the Dodgers for a second. Surely A.J. Preller is plotting something aggressive in front of the trade deadline, too, as the Padres look to return to the NLCS, which they did in 2022. They seek their first pennant since 1998, and they are one of five teams to have never won the World Series (along with the Mariners, Brewers, Rockies and Rays).
The Diamondbacks have won the World Series, but that was all the way back in 2001. After winning their first pennant since that magical season last year, they are surely eager to taste a deep playoff run again. They are playing like it right now. Though they were seven games under .500 at the conclusion of May, they went 16-11 in June and are now 14-8 in July, having won 10 of their last 14 games.
Both the Padres and Diamondbacks now sit in playoff position. Either one could make a surprise run at the Dodgers, but — due to the playoff format these days — both are legitimate threats to make a deep run in October and take the NL pennant.
Of course, the Dodgers could get much healthier and make a run themselves.
Go West, young man, and you’ll find three World Series contenders on the NL side.
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
The Phillies have now lost seven of 10, but none of the other elite teams deserve to take the spot right now. The Phillies still have the best record and best run differential along with a great roster. | — | 65-40 |
2 |
|
It was nice to see Clayton Kershaw back on the mound and I realize they are slow-playing it with him — due to coming back from surgery — but they definitely need to start getting more than four innings from starters. The bullpen is just getting over taxed. | 1 | 63-44 |
3 |
|
The Guardians are 11-12 in July with a negative-26 run differential. They have the second-hardest remaining schedule (after the Rays). | 1 | 63-42 |
4 |
|
The win on Sunday moved the Orioles to 5-10 since July 7. The good news is the Yankees aren’t playing good baseball, either. | 2 | 62-43 |
5 |
|
I like the Jazz Chisholm Jr. addition, but they need more from players like Gleyber Torres. And wouldn’t you know it, but he seems to be getting modestly hot. He’s hit safely in nine of the last 10 games with four doubles, two homers and seven RBI. | 1 | 62-45 |
6 |
|
This Christian Yelich back injury is very worrisome. He’s hitting .315/.406/.504 this season. | 1 | 60-45 |
7 |
|
Royce Lewis homered quickly after coming off the injured list, again. He’s slugging .660. Of course, that’s in only 27 games. Could we please get him healthy for the rest of the year? | 3 | 58-46 |
8 |
|
They really need starting pitching help. In addition to the injuries, Ronel Blanco is getting shaky. In his last six starts, he has a 4.46 ERA with eight homers allowed. | 3 | 55-50 |
9 |
|
The Braves had lost nine of 12 and were shockingly in danger of falling out of a playoff slot, but they managed to salvage wins on Saturday and Sunday at Citi Field. Still, it’s a much more tenuous position than anyone thought they’d be in right now. | 1 | 56-48 |
10 |
|
Dylan Cease’s 110th pitch during his no-hitter was 100 miles per hour. That’s awesome. It was so cool to see a bit of an old school feat there. | 4 | 57-51 |
11 |
|
I realize he won’t win it, but Ketel Marte needs to be in the MVP conversation. He’s doing it all and that shows up in WAR, where he trails only Shohei Ohtani. | 1 | 55-51 |
12 |
|
Losing a series to the red-hot Diamondbacks is defensible, but dropping two of three to the Cubs deserves some punishment. | 3 | 57-49 |
13 |
|
The All-Star break crushed them, didn’t it? They were arguably the hottest team in baseball before it and have gone 2-7 since. | 2 | 55-49 |
14 |
|
I actually think the Jesse Winker trade could be sneaky-great. I also love that there’s been a past feud between Winker and Mets fans. | 3 | 55-50 |
15 |
|
I like the addition of Randy Arozarena, but he alone isn’t going to be enough. Let’s see what Jerry Dipoto can pull off in the next day. | — | 56-51 |
16 |
|
Have you looked at their upcoming schedule? The Pirates don’t play a team with a losing record again until Aug. 19 and that’s the Rangers (so they might be over .500 by then). It’s a brutal stretch. | — | 53-52 |
17 |
|
There were an awful lot of boos emanating from Cardinals fans in the last few days, which was weird, because I was told the Best Fans In Baseball don’t boo their own players. | 4 | 54-51 |
18 |
|
There’s a certain segment of the baseball world that celebrates every single move the Rays make, but I personally think it’s shameful to essentially pull the plug on a season when you’re only three games out of a playoff spot. | — | 54-52 |
19 |
|
The champs won five in a row and were ready to jump up above .500, but then got swept by the hapless Blue Jays. What a buzzkill. | — | 51-55 |
20 |
|
Blake Snell is back to Cy Young form now, with a 0.75 ERA in his last four starts. He struck out 15 last time out. If the Giants decide to sell, he could absolutely be on the move. | 1 | 53-55 |
21 |
|
No, it isn’t 2018, but Javier Báez homered in three straight games through Saturday. He only had one before that. It’s still an unsalvageable situation, but it was at least fun while it lasted. | 1 | 52-55 |
22 |
|
Did you know Isaac Paredes is only roughly four months older than Christopher Morel? | — | 51-56 |
23 |
|
Hunter Greene continues his ascent toward becoming a legitimate ace. In his last five starts, he has a 0.57 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings. | 1 | 50-55 |
24 |
| With his homer on Sunday, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has hit six in his last 10 games. He’s hitting .472 in that span, too. | 1 | 49-56 |
25 |
|
It’s only 19 games, but Juan Yepez is hitting .358/.400/.582 so far. He’s still only 26 and under team control through 2028. He might turn out to be a nice, cheap find by Mike Rizzo. | 2 | 49-57 |
26 |
|
The A’s are now 14-8 in July and are averaging 6.5 runs per game. | — | 44-64 |
27 |
|
Anthony Rendon’s last home run was July 1. Oh, I should be more accurate and say: July 1, 2023. He’s making over $38 million this season. And next. And the one after that. | — | 46-60 |
28 |
|
Since the All-Star break, the Marlins have gone 6-4 against playoff-caliber competition. | 1 | 39-67 |
29 |
|
The Road Rockies are now 14-40. Yes, the Rockies play like a full-season 120-loss team away from Coors Field. | 1 | 38-69 |
30 |
|
They now have 80 losses. They could go on a 55-game winning streak to close the season (I’m guessing they won’t do that) and likely still miss the playoffs. | — | 27-81 |
