Each week, The California Post will power rank MLB’s 30 teams and check in on one intriguing awards race. Here is this week’s edition (records through Saturday morning):
It wasn’t the Dodgers’ best week. They dropped a series to the Orioles. They saw Roki Sasaki regress in a rivalry game against the Padres. And they had to diffuse some obvious frustration between Shohei Ohtani and catcher Dalton Rushing in Minnesota. Still, by sweeping the Twins during that trip to Minnesota, they remain the majors’ winningest team — and No. 1 in these rankings. (Last week: 1st)
The Brewers have the sport’s hardest thrower in Jacob Misiorowski (who hit 105.5 mph on Friday) and, evidently, the sport’s most pain-tolerant manager in Pat Murphy, who was in the dugout — or, more accurately, in the tunnel just behind it — a day after undergoing 2 ½-hour back surgery. Together, they’ve helped Milwaukee win five straight. (Last week: 4th)
The Bombers, surprise surprise, have not been as good since Aaron Judge got hurt, going just 12-10 without him in June. But their pitching remains elite, headlined by the continued breakout season of Cam Schlitter (8-4, 1.62 ERA). If this is the treading-water portion of their season, they’re doing enough to get by. (Last week: 3rd)
The feel-good Braves are going through their first rough patch, having lost 10 of their last 14. In that stretch, their offense has scored five or more runs just four times. It might only be a blip. But for now, it is opening the door for the … (Last week: 2nd)
Look who is suddenly just four games back in the NL East. The Phillies are on another winning streak, having won four in a row (albeit, with plenty of help from the Nationals’ bullpen). Cristopher Sánchez has cooled off a bit, but Zack Wheeler is back in dominant form. Now, if someone could just tell Bryce Harper that ring finger taunts of Nationals fans don’t exactly land the way he might hope. (Last week: 5th)
Craig Kimbrel (yes, he’s still pitching) couldn’t complete a combined no-hitter bid in the ninth inning this week. But Tampa Bay has nonetheless steadied against a weak part of the schedule, keeping itself on the Yankees’ heels in the AL East. (Last week: 7th)
The latest evidence the White Sox are a truly viable playoff contender: How about a 22-run onslaught against the Royals on Friday, second-most runs in the franchise’s history. The vibes on the South Side remain up. (Last week: 9th)
The Cubs, who already have a pair of 10-game win streaks this season, are on the upswing again thanks to a recent Pete Crow-Armstrong-fueled 10-3 stretch. Then again, we’ve seen this movie before. We’ll see if they can avoid cratering immediately after. (Last week: 10th)
The main goal in the Cardinals’ clubhouse should be simple: get to the trade deadline in a place the front office (which had planned for this to be a rebuilding year) has to go out and be at least somewhat aggressive. A current 2-6 skid, however, isn’t helping that. (Last week: 6th)
The American League remains stunningly mediocre. Underperforming contenders like the Mariners are a good example why. They should still run away with the AL West at some point. That they haven’t yet, however, is allowing a bunch of other teams to keep hanging around. (Last week: 8th)
For the first time in a while, the Padres are showing renewed signs of life. They swept the Braves, then routed the Dodgers on Friday. They’re finally getting better production from Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Even Walker Buehler is finding a groove. (Last week: 14th)
Like the Yankees, the Guardians are in the treading-water portion of their season in the wake of an injury to José Ramírez (and rookie star Chase DeLauter). Unlike the Yankees, however, they aren’t getting by all right, having lost seven of 10. (Last week: 11th)
Little new with the Pirates lately, other than rookie sensation Konnor Griffin returning from a monthlong IL stint with a home run Friday. (Last week: 12th)
Why, exactly, didn’t the Dbacks try to reunite with Paul Goldschmidt this offseason? While the former MVP is enjoying a renaissance season in the Bronx, the Dbacks just released their offseason first-base acquisition Carlos Santana. A bad calculation for a team with fine margins for error. (Last week: 13th)
It was this time last year the Marlins quietly went on a second-half surge to stay on the fringes of the playoff picture. Right now, it might be happening again, as they’ve reeled off seven wins in eight games. Consider us intrigued. (Last week: 17th)
Toronto still isn’t winning enough games. But it certainly showed out in the All-Star Game fan vote, where Ernie Clement nearly got as many selections as Ohtani to punch his Midsummer Classic ticket and the Blue Jays had Phase 2 finalists at every other position. It will be something when they have half-a-dozen All-Stars and still miss the playoffs. (Last week: 15th)
Our complaints of AL mediocrity will continue here. Because the A’s, despite being under .500 with a run differential of nearly minus-50, are in a playoff spot as of now. Maybe this could be the year of a losing record making October. (Last week: 18th)
We’re not sure if we’re ready to really buy the Astros as being back, despite a 7-3 stretch that has brought them back within a game of a wild-card spot. Then again, in this AL, you might not need to actually be good to be a postseason contender. (Last week: 20th)
Everything we wrote above about the Astros applies here as well. And MLB is really sure “more parity” is the answer to fixing the game’s supposed woes? (Last week: 21st)
Maybe the MLBPA should use the Nationals as a counter-example to concerns over parity. After all, if the club had put even modest resources into its bullpen this year, it might be in the playoff spot. Instead, they suffered three late-game nightmares to the Phillies this week, stalling the momentum their young and exciting lineup keeps generating. (Last week: 16th)
Yet another bad AL team within a couple games of a wild-card spot, even after getting swept by the Dodgers this week. At least it means Byron Buxton could play in some meaningful second-half games as he makes a case for MVP consideration. (Last week: 19th)
Have we mentioned the AL is letting bad teams hang around? Oh look, here’s another example with the Orioles. They finally had an impressive result last weekend by taking two of three from the Dodgers in LA … only to turn around and drop two of three to the Angels in Anaheim, including a wacky walk-off in the rubber match. (Last week: 23rd)
Where the AL standings could add some legitimate intrigue in the near term is at the trade deadline. The Tigers remain five games back for now, but one good run in the next couple weeks could put them right back in the mix … and maybe make trading Tarik Skubal a somewhat tougher proposition. (Last week: 26th)
The Reds should probably be lower. But at least they haven’t displayed the sheer organizational incompetence of the team’s soon-to-come at the bottom of this list. So we’ll give them a half-break. (Last week: 22nd)
Bobby Witt Jr. could make a run for history. The Royals are on pace for 66 wins, yet he is emerging as a front-runner for MVP. If both things happen, it would be a record for the fewest team wins ever from an MVP winner, a mark currently held by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1991 with the 67-win Orioles. (Last week: 25th)
At least the Red Sox are showing that there are some limits to how bad you can be while hanging around the AL playoff picture. A series loss to the Rockies this past week (the Rockies!) has them five games out. At least they won a couple games against the Yankees since. (Last week: 28th)
All it took for Carlos Mendoza to get fired, it turned out, was a historically putrid effort from the Mets’ defense (six errors in one game) to punctuate an unbelievably putrid run of form yet again (seven straight losses). What is there to say at this point, other than speculate about David Stearns’ job, too? (Last week: 24th)
At least the Mets’ problems are just baseball-related. In San Francisco, the Giants have been blundering PR crises on multiple fronts, from the Pride Night controversy to Rafael Devers’ immaturity. They are watching Buster Posey tarnish his legacy in the city. And, oh yeah, they still aren’t winning games, now owning a record just as bad as the Angels. (Last week: 27th)
Speaking of the Angels, they got in on the firing spree this week, Friday-news-dumping an announcement that GM Perry Minasian had been fired and been replaced by former Cardinals exec John Mozeliak. Maybe this is a step in the right direction for the club. Maybe it’s just a ploy to get Albert Pujols (very familiar with Mozeliak from their Cardinals days) as manager. Either way, there will be no unbridled rejoicing until the day Arte Moreno announces he’s selling the team. (Last week: 29th)
Well, at least the Rockies aren’t dealing with the above dysfunction. Their problems are much simpler: They still have a big-league roster that stinks. The latest example, Friday’s loss in Minnesota, when they erased an eight-run deficit just to get walked-off in the ninth. (Last week: 30th)
1) Yordan Alvarez, Astros (.318, 25 HRs, 56 RBIs, 1.055 OPS)
By the time Judge returns from a stress fracture in his rib, he will have missed three-plus months. That means that for the first time since 2020, the AL MVP will be a player other than Judge or Ohtani. The favorite now is Alvarez, an all-around hitter who leads the major leagues in OPS.
2) Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (.294, 10 HRs, 32 RBIs, .833)
Witt returned to the Royals’ lineup on Friday after missing six consecutive games with a sprained knee. Even with the missed time, Witt remains the major league leader in wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. Witt leads the AL with 28 stolen bases.
3) Nick Kurtz, Athletics (.278, 19 HRs, 62 RBIs, .959 OPS)
Ben Rice of the Yankees and Dillon Dingler of the Tigers deserve to be considered for this spot, but the pick here is Kurtz, who leads the majors in RBIs and walks (73). Kurtz’s firepower has the A’s in the running for a wild-card spot.
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