Who tops Power Rankings heading into stretch run?

August might have felt like the longest month in a long time -- that’s what happens when Labor Day is so late -- but there were no dog days in baseball: There was dramatic movement, particularly from teams like the Phillies, Rays and Brewers, all of which look like teams we’ll be watching deep into October. And now we’re at the stretch run. Soon there won’t be 30 teams on this list: There will be only 12. And then eight. Then four. Then two. And then just one. It will be on us quicker than we are ready. These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me. 1. Brewers (previously: 1) The Brewers are absolutely rolling right now and seem well on their way to the top overall seed heading into the postseason. But manager Pat Murphy is warning against complacency. “Guys, I still say it. You guys laugh at me, but we’re not in the postseason,” Murphy said. “When we get in the postseason, then we can plot: ‘OK, what’s next? Well, let’s get a better seed if we can.’ … It sounds simple. It sounds cliche. But that’s mental toughness, to stay in the now. “How do we stay in the now? It’s tough for me, and I’m supposed to be good at it. So can you imagine how [it sounds] to a 22-year-old player, to stay in the now? ‘This idiot’s telling me to not have divided attention? I’ve got cars to buy and awards to win, and I’m 22 and I want to get my numbers and I want to get a contract.’ There’s so much to divide their attention. It’s very difficult, but that’s the journey.” All told, it seems like a tough job for Murphy … but as any other manager can tell you, there are much worse problems to have. 2. Braves (previously: 4) As great as things have gone for the Braves this year, they still haven’t quite been able to get Ronald Acuña Jr. back to the player who won the MVP for them. But there are signs of him breaking out, including a three-hit game on Friday. He is one homer away from 200 for his career, which would make him the eighth Brave to reach that total with the team. (Next up on the list is Javy Lopez at 214.) 3. Dodgers (previously: 2) The thought has been that if Shohei Ohtani is going to catch back up with Pete Crow-Armstrong for the NL MVP, he’ll need to get back on the mound, something that has been delayed again. But he probably needs to start hitting like Shohei Ohtani pretty soon too. Over his last 10 games, he is 5-for-40. 4. Rays (previously: 3) It is definitely a sign of how well this season has gone for the Rays that they opened up the upper deck at Tropicana Field this weekend for the first time since the 2023 postseason. One suspects it’ll be open this postseason as well, a place the Rays are definitely going to be. 5. Yankees (previously: 6) A little lost in the Yankees’ wipeout 16-1 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday was the fact that the win secured the season series for the Yankees over the Red Sox, giving them the tiebreaker were they to end up tied at the end of the season. The real thing to note: It sure looks like we could get a first-round playoff series between the Red Sox and Yankees. So that’s exciting. 6. Cubs (previously: 5) The Cubs celebrated their 150th anniversary this weekend, and it was a joy getting to see so many great players from that historic franchise in attendance to celebrate. The Cubs put together a 20-player all-anniversary team, and there were two current players on the roster: Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner. Sure seems like Pete Crow-Armstrong will be on the team when they celebrate 160 … and maybe 260. 7. Phillies (previously: 7) The Phillies have been hot enough of late, against some not-so-hot teams, that it feels like they’ve turned the corner on securing a postseason spot. But the schedule the rest of the way may be the toughest in baseball: More than half their games left are against first-place teams (including seven with the Braves), and they have only six games left against teams with a losing record, with four of them vs. the Mets, a team that is not playing like an under-.500 team of late. 8. Red Sox (previously: 8) For the first time since May, Trevor Story and Roman Anthony were in the lineup for the Red Sox on Sunday. The game obviously didn’t go well, but they were a combined 4-for-7 on the day. The Red Sox are obviously in a much better position now than they were when they left, something both players were upfront about. “It's not like heroes are coming back,” Story said. “We're not looking at it that way. These guys have put in the work and done the things and performed on the field to get us to where we're at, and we're just coming in to help that.” 9. White Sox (previously: 10) It is very exciting that the White Sox are well over 80 percent odds to make the postseason this year, but let’s not forget again just how rough things have been as recently as last year. Their 102-loss season was their third-straight 100-loss season in a row. Now it looks like they’re going to be playing postseason games for the first time since Tony La Russa was the manager. (The second time.) 10. Padres (previously: 9) Manny Machado is slumping again. After an outstanding July, when he put up a .922 OPS, he is reeling in August, hitting .216 with just one homer. 11. Diamondbacks (previously: 11) Start getting your travel plans ready: It sure looks like the season’s final weekend series between the D-backs and the Padres may well decide who gets the final Wild Card slot in the NL. That series will be in San Diego. And it looks like Ketel Marte, who should return this week, will be there for that series as well. (Hopefully?) 12. Guardians (previously: 18) We have all been waiting for someone in the middle of the AL Wild Card madness to go on a run and get some separation, and it turned out to be the Guardians, though the Royals caused them some headaches this weekend. It helps that they have one of the easiest schedules the rest of the way: They have only two more series (against the Red Sox and White Sox) against teams with winning records … though that really just means they’re playing a bunch of games inside their own division. 13. Astros (previously: 12) The Astros are in first place, but it has been wobbly of late, which is why Hunter Brown’s 10-strikeout, one-run performance on Friday against the Mets was so vital. It helped out the Astros’ very exhausted bullpen in the short term, but even more helpful is Brown showing he can be the ace the Astros have long believed him able to be. “That was really, really good,” manager Joe Espada said. “The stuff was coming out pretty good. [He threw] a ton of strikes, [with] the four-seam, too. That’s the Hunter that we’re used to seeing, and the last two outings, he continues to get better.” 14. Orioles (previously: 19) The Orioles needed to take advantage of this very soft segment of their schedule with series against the Cardinals, A’s and Rockies, and so far, that’s exactly what they’re doing, going 5-1 to start the stretch. They’ve got those three against the Rockies, and then the fun is over: It’s the Red Sox and, crucially, the Guardians after that. 15. Marlins (previously: 14) Heriberto Hernández became the third Marlins outfielder since 2018 to reach 20 home runs over the weekend. Quick, can you name the other two? The answer: Kyle Stowers (last year) and Adam Duvall (2021). 16. Blue Jays (previously: 15) The Jays swept the battle of the 2025 ALCS competitors (who have had bummer 2026 seasons) this weekend, but seriously, it is getting perverse how long it has taken Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit a homer in Canada. With nine games at Rogers Centre to go in 2026, he has zero homers at home … none since that ALCS, actually. 17. Cardinals (previously: 13) The Cardinals are trying to keep their heads above water in the playoff chase, but despite as well as Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson are hitting, they are running out of pitchers and are scraping together innings however they can. Which is why Quinn Mathews’ excellent start against the Pirates on Friday, throwing 5 2/3 innings and giving up just one run, earning his first big league win, was so important. He’s a huge part of their future, but right now, he’s key to getting them through their present. Still, it was a big bummer losing JJ Wetherholt to the IL on Sunday, which not only leaves them without their leadoff man and defensive whiz at second base (and sometimes shortstop), it effectively knocks him out of the Rookie of the Year race. 18. Rangers (previously: 16) The issue for the Rangers during this current skid has been their struggles on the road: They’re 4-14 on the road since July 29, giving up an average of more than six runs a game. 19. Mariners (previously: 22) So much hasn’t gone right this season for the Mariners, and right there at the center of it has been starter Bryce Miller, particularly of late. After a frustrating 2025, Miller had been better until a miserable August, in which he has a 9.00 ERA in four starts. 20. Tigers (previously: 17) We probably can’t blame the trades of Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize for the Tigers’ collapse after the Trade Deadline. The issue has been the offense, which is averaging just more than three runs a game over the last two weeks, by far the lowest in the American League. 21. Pirates (previously: 21) A disappointing season hit its nadir this weekend with the Pirates falling four games under .500, but they may have gotten some clarity from Paul Skenes, who actually talked about his third-season velocity drop with Justin Verlander … who once went through the same thing. “He was like, ‘My third year, I just lost my velo. I was completely healthy. It kind of just went away, and then it came back.’” Skenes said. “I was like, ‘You know what, Justin? That’s kind of good to hear.’ It’s not just me.” As always: Do not worry about Paul Skenes. 22. Nationals (previously: 23) CJ Abrams has had a breakthrough year, but he has run into the same wall he has run into most of his career: August. He’s a .214 career hitter in August, and he has been even worse than that in 2026, hitting .173. 23. Twins (previously: 20) That moment when the Twins were in the AL Wild Card third spot feels sort of far away after the skid of the last week. The issue? The pitching, which has a 6.36 ERA over a stretch in which they lost seven of nine. You can see why they are looking toward the future by bringing up Walker Jenkins, the MLB Pipeline overall No. 15 prospect who looks already to be a part of this lineup for many years to come. 24. Royals (previously: 26) So much has been going right for the Royals of late, and while it probably (probably?) isn’t going to get them back in the playoff chase, it is certainly encouraging to have happen heading into 2027. It’s worth noting how excellent the veteran Michael Wacha has been this year. After his 10-strikeout, eight-shutout-inning performance on Friday night, he has a 3.32 ERA in 27 starts. He also leads the AL in innings pitched and is only 10 innings away from besting his career high of 181 1/3 in 2015. 25. Mets (previously: 24) Welcome back, Juan Soto! The All-Star and future Hall of Fame returned just a month after suffering a calf strain on July 24, and he returns to a team that is playing considerably better than it was when he left. The Mets have shown flashes of who they may be in the next few years of late. Having Soto back looks like the next step for the Mets putting the frustrations of this year behind them. 26. Reds (previously: 25) It is supposed to be confidential when a player goes on waivers -- and manager Terry Francona gets very irritated when it is not -- so it was a little bit awkward when Eugenio Suárez and TJ Friedl were put on waivers, went unclaimed and then returned to the team like nothing had happened. Suárez was not loving having it brought up. “I’ve got nothing to say about it," he said. "It’s not part of my job. Whatever they decide to do, it’s their business. My business is to play baseball.” 27. Giants (previously: 27) Remarkably, this is going to be Willy Adames’ first losing season of his career. (Remember, the Giants were 81-81 last year.) He’s not loving it. “I feel like sometimes [there’s] a perspective that we don’t care because we’re losing. No, it sucks,” he said. “Coming to the field and losing a lot of games, that’s not the environment that we want to create here. The people in here, they care about each other. They want to win. They want to be better. … We have to be better in basically everything out there.” 28. Angels (previously: 28) The Angels surprised many by not trading away Reid Detmers at the Trade Deadline, and one assumes some of the teams that didn’t get him are very much regretting it. In eight starts since the Deadline, Detmers has a 1.55 ERA with a 51-9 K/BB ratio. Though, because this is the Angels, he has only one win in those eight starts. 29. A’s (previously: 30) There hasn’t been that much pleasant going on for the A’s for a while, so here’s something happy that might happen by the end of the year: Shea Langeliers could come back! It had been thought that the All-Star starter was out for the year, but manager Mark Kotsay said this weekend he could in fact get some at-bats before the season is over. “He and the doctors felt there was an opportunity for him to make it back,” Kotsay said. “He’s in line with that.” He wouldn’t go behind the plate, but to see him back in 2026 would be a gift. 30. Rockies (previously: 29) For a while, it looked like the Rockies were going to be able to avoid their fourth consecutive 100-loss season, but their recent skid has put them back on pace for one again. They need 10 more wins to avoid it. The way they’re playing right now, it’s going to be an uphill climb.