For the last time in 2022, baseball went through a weekend unaffected by college football or the NFL (at least in the regular season). The college game officially returns this Saturday, while the NFL wraps up its final preseason weekend before week one begins on September 8th. With the pigskin tractor beam garnering most of the sports world’s attention, baseball is gearing up for the stretch run intrigue before the postseason begins (albeit with an admittedly more crowded stage to share with our football overlords).
But like the MLB season, given the growing competition on the sports calendar, the power rankings keep marching. Here it is after another busy week.
30. Washington Nationals (Last Week: 30)
29. Oakland A’s (LW: 28)
28. Detroit Tigers (LW: 29)
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (LW: 27)
26. Kansas City Royals (LW: 24)
The Royals appeared to take a small step forward after winning six of eight games against the Red Sox and White Sox earlier this month. But a brutal 10-game stretch against the Dodgers, Twins and Rays on Sunday ended with Kansas City only picking up two wins while managing just 20 runs overall. (One of those wins, however, was a shutout over the Dodgers, who have won 24 of 30 since the All-Star break while averaging six runs per game. Maybe that should count for more than a win).
If the Royals have had a hard time getting runs lately, Vinnie Pasquantino isn’t to blame. Read also : The 10 best video games to protect the environment. The rookie first baseman — who also has perhaps the funniest name in the game — was a 2019 Old Dominion 11th-round pick and rocketed through the minor league ranks, posting a .956 OPS in just over 1,000 plate appearances scored That earned him a call-up on June 28, and though he struggled against big league pitching in his freshman month, the physically imposing slugger has found his footing of late.
Pasquantino, nicknamed the “Italian Nightmare,” was named MLB’s Player of the Week (along with Padre’s third baseman Manny Machado) following his performances against the White Sox and the Dodgers.
Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports
Despite going 0-4 on Sunday, Pasquantino has been batting .333/.390/.609 since the start of the month, with five homers and four doubles. Most impressively, he has retained his elite contact skills he demonstrated in the minors, striking just eight times in his last 77 plate appearances and in just 13.6% of the time in his young major league career.
A strikeout rate of under 15% with a walk rate in the double digits makes for a pretty high offensive floor. Pasquantino’s power determines what his cap is, and if his current form is indicative of his long-term progression, the royals could have an emerging franchise cornerstone on their hands.
25. Cincinnati Reds (LW: 26)
24. Colorado Rockies (LW: 23)
23. Los Angeles Angels (LW: 21)
Angels star Mike Trout was absent from the lineup for a significant portion of the season due to an ongoing back injury.
22. Miami Marlins (LW: 22)
21. Chicago Cubs (LW: 25)
20. Texas Rangers (LW: 20)
What a week this has been for Rangers. Fourth-year manager Chris Woodward was fired Monday, longtime Baseball Operations president Jon Daniels told the media. Two days later, Daniels was axed, and Texas took a new direction under current general manager Chris Young. Read also : Absolutely the worst ways to die in video games. The reasons for the layoffs were understandable, although the timing was somewhat confusing. Overall, the team won four out of seven games, managing to hit a winning week for the first time since late June.
Among the positive developments for Rangers over the past week — and for the entire season — has been first baseman Nathaniel Lowe’s progress. The 27-year-old scored again in Sunday’s 7-0 win over the Twins and has now scored safely in 26 of his last 31 games. During that stretch, Lowe hits .364/.408/.587, with six homers and 14 extra base hits.
Following his breakout in 2021 – his first season as a everyday player – his strong performance in 22 underpins his standing as part of the Texas core. He is under team control in season 26 when he turns 30.
Lowe, a former 13th-round draft pick, was acquired by Texas ahead of the 2021 season as part of a package from the Rays in exchange for three minor leagues that have not yet made their major league debuts. He represents the kind of smart move the new front office regime must emulate in order to build the next competitive Rangers roster.
Texas interim manager Tony Beasley made his debut in a series against Oakland in which Lowe hit a triple homer.
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (LW: 19)
18. San Francisco Giants (LW: 18)
17. Boston Red Sox (LW: 17)
16. Chicago White Sox (LW: 16)
White Sox RHP Dylan Cease is a nominee for the AL’s Cy Young Award despite giving up three runs and posting his highest ERA of the season against the Astros last week. Read also : The Best Video Game Environments To Chill Out In.
15. Baltimore Orioles (LW: 15)
14. Milwaukee Brewers (LW: 12)
The Brewers were able to stay put against the teeth of their schedule, going 5-4 in nine games against the Rays, Cardinals and Dodgers. That was preceded by a disappointing three-game set against the Cubs in which Milwaukee lost two games each by a one-run deficit.
Saturday’s extra-innings loss was the first annihilated save of the season from Devin Williams, who walked three of the six hitters he faced and gave up a game-determining two-out single before being drawn. The game ended a seven-game streak without allowing Williams a deserved run and it was the first time Williams had gone for a walk in 15 appearances. During the stretch between walks, the All-Star batted 20 of the 46 batters he faced with just seven base runners allowed.
A bad outing shouldn’t be a cause for panic that Williams is wavering in his dominance or that he’s not ready for the role of closer that Josh Hader has vacated. Williams has been one of the league’s most effective assists since his rookie campaign in 2020, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. But having two emergency responders is better than one, and the margin of error late in the games is shrinking with Hader’s absence. That’s especially true considering Taylor Rogers, who joined Milwaukee as part of the Hader deal, has given up five earned runs in eight games with the Brewers (despite posting a scoreless ninth place finish in Sunday’s 5-2 win ).
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The Brewers have 23 one-run wins this season in second place behind the Mariners (more on that in a moment). Anger was certainly a big part of it, but it wasn’t the only part. Williams should be getting back to his reliable ways soon, but for Milwaukee’s sake things had better be quick: The Brewers travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers for three games this week before the schedule softens a bit.
13. Minnesota Twins (LW: 14)
12. Tampa Bay Rays (LW: 13)
11. Cleveland Guardians (LW: 9)
10. San Diego Padres (LW: 8)
The Padres caused a stir at the deadline with a blockbuster trade for Juan Soto and Josh Bell.
Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports
9. Toronto Blue Jays (LW: 11)
8. Seattle Mariners (LW: 10)
Remember last year’s Pythagorean record favorites? The Heart Mariners are back and even better than last year’s version, which won 90 games despite a minus 51 run difference, although this year’s roster has retained its magic in one-run games. Seattle is 25-17 in one-run competitions this season, which ranks as the most wins and winning percentage in such games of any team. However, they have gotten much better at preventing runs, allowing an average of 0.73 fewer runs per game this season compared to last season. As such, Seattle’s plus-33-run differential across 122 games paints a picture of a much more complete team than last year’s entertaining but flawed version.
The Mariners will need to keep a steady hand in tight situations going forward as the race for the American League’s three wild card spots is going to be a sucker. Seattle, Tampa Bay and Toronto are all tied at the top of the wildcard leaderboard, with Minnesota and Baltimore 2.5 games down and the White Sox just 3.5 games behind. When the Mariners finally manage to snag their long-awaited playoff spot, it will be hard earned.
Helping this is the return of rookie phenom Julio Rodríguez, who was removed from the injury list on August 12 after missing 11 games with a wrist injury. After a slow start, Rodriguez has had three straight three-hit games, though he’s only had two extra base hits and one walk in 45 plate appearances since returning to the lineup. Rodríguez is far from a one-man show — Eugenio Suárez, Adam Frazier, Cal Raleigh and Mitch Haniger have all been brandishing hot bats lately — but he needs to find his pre-All-Star break form again so Seattle can fend it off in the competition .
Rodríguez garnered national attention during All-Star Week in 2022 and remained a bright spot on Seattle’s roster throughout its playoff run this season.
As for the Mariners’ odds in one-run games? Her bullpen ranks seventh in the majors with a 3.67 ERA, and of the six assists with at least 10 appearances in the last month, five have an ERA below 3.00. That’s a recipe for continued success in tight competition, along with a rotation anchored by Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Robbie Ray and Logan Gilbert.
7. Philadelphia Phillies (LW: 7)
6. New York Yankees (LW: 5)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (LW: 6)
4. Houston Astros (LW: 3)
A rematch of last year’s fall classic didn’t disappoint, with the Braves taking two of three from the Astros in Atlanta over the weekend. All three games were contested, with the last two being decided in the late innings. Houston was able to leave town without being swept thanks to a strong performance from José Urquidy on Sunday, with the right-hander giving up just two runs with six strikeouts in seven innings.
The Astros’ rotation has led the team to an 11.5-game lead in the division that has grown even stronger over the past two weeks with the return of Lance McCullers Jr. from the injured list. McCullers was shaky on his Friday outing against the Braves and has made seven walks in his two starts. But he’s thrown 91 pitches in his last start, suggesting he’s near full strength from an endurance standpoint. And Houston doesn’t need McCullers to be in his old All-Star form considering how many reliable starters the team already has.
McCullers made his 2022 debut in August after recovering from a flexor tendon sustained last October.
Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Urquidy make up perhaps the best quartet of starting pitchers of any postseason contender. The Astros’ starters lead the American League with a 3.12 ERA, with McCullers and Luis Garcia rounding out the group. It will be interesting to see how Dusty Baker handles every arm in October, but the veteran manager won’t be short of options as he tries to lead Houston back to the fall classic.
3. Atlanta Braves (LW: 4)
2. New York Mets (LW: 2)
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (LW: 1)
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