2016 Week 25 MLB Power Rankings
— -- The Chicago Cubs remain the unanimous No. 1 team, but there was a bit of a shakeup in the rest of the top five. The Boston Red Sox, riding an 11-game win streak, are the new No. 2 team, after getting all five votes for the second spot. The Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of five straight, also moved up from No. 6 to No. 4, while the Washington Nationals fell back three spots to No. 5.
Could Boston and Chicago be headed for an October showdown? Or are the Dodgers ready to get in the way of the Cubs' postseason plans?
This week's voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.
Past rankings: Week 24 | Week 23 | Week 22 | Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason
1. Chicago Cubs
Record: 99-56
Week 24 ranking: No. 1
The Cubs finished up their home schedule on Sunday with a win, pushing their record at Wrigley this season to 57-24. It was a special night for David Ross, who homered in his final regular-season game at Wrigley and received four standing ovations and two curtain calls. -- ESPN.com
2. Boston Red Sox
Record: 92-64
Week 24 ranking: No. 4
It has been an incredible season for Rick Porcello, who ranks first in the AL with 22 wins, third with a 3.11 ERA and second with 217 innings pitched. He is also tied for first with 25 quality starts. He has averaged 6.8 innings per start and has not once thrown fewer than five. -- Ryan P. Morrison ( @ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
3. Texas Rangers
Record: 92-64
Week 24 ranking: No. 3
After clinching the AL West on Friday, the Rangers have turned their attention to getting healthy and, potentially, securing the best record in the American League. On Friday and Saturday, respectively, Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish each tossed seven scoreless innings as they attempt to gear up for the postseason. -- Brandon Land ( @onestrikeaway), One Strike Away
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 90-66
Week 24 ranking: No. 6
The last week of the regular season will see Los Angeles battling Washington for the No. 2 seed and home-field advantage in their division series. Sunday was the final home game broadcast by the legendary Vin Scully. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
5. Washington Nationals
Record: 91-64
Week 24 ranking: No. 2
Bryce Harper is day-to-day after injuring his thumb on an awkward slide into third base on a triple. Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang deked Harper with a fake tag, even though there wasn't a throw -- a no-no in baseball's unwritten rules. That led to A.J. Cole throwing at Kang, which led to a benches-clearing meet-and-greet. Harper will have X-rays on Monday. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot
6. Cleveland Indians
Record: 90-65
Week 24 ranking: No. 5
Despite the team's 3-0 loss to the White Sox on Sunday, it was the third consecutive strong outing by RHP Josh Tomlin. After a rough August, Tomlin has allowed just one earned run in his past three starts and has allowed zero home runs over that span. -- Stephanie Liscio (@stephanieliscio), It's Pronounced Lajaway
7. Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 86-69
Week 24 ranking: No. 7
With a precarious lead in the wild-card race, the Jays on Tuesday start a three-game series versus Baltimore and then finish the regular season in Boston. The Red Sox will be fighting for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
8. Detroit Tigers
Record: 83-72
Week 23 ranking: No. 11
Last week, the Tigers split with the Twins while losing a series to the Indians. This week, they swept the Twins but lost a series to the Royals. Their fate was in their hands, but now they're 1.5 games back of the second wild card with seven games to play. They might need a favor to get to the playoffs, considering they weren't able to do it themselves. -- Richard Bergstrom ( @rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
9. Baltimore Orioles
Record: 85-71
Week 24 ranking: No. 8
The Orioles' offense has been more down than up lately. So how about the boost that rookie Trey Mancini has provided? Mancini made his major league debut on Tuesday, and he has homered in all three of his starts. As the O's prepare for a crucial road trip to Toronto and then New York to finish the season, they could need another timely blast or two from Mancini to eke out a playoff berth. -- Matt Kremnitzer ( @mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot
10. New York Mets
Record: 83-73
Week 24 ranking: No. 10
T.J. Rivera has hit in nine straight games, going 15-35 (.428). In his past 11 games, he's hitting .442 (19-43) with three homers and 11 RBIs. The Mets have set a franchise record with 13 pinch-hit homers this year, which is second in MLB to the Cardinals' 15. -- Joe Janish ( @metstoday), MetsToday.com
11. San Francisco Giants
Record: 82-74
Week 24 ranking: No. 9
San Francisco remains locked in a contentious, three-way battle with St. Louis and New York for the National League wild card. The Giants' bullpen has kept things interesting, with an MLB-high nine blown saves in the past 30 days. San Francisco faces the Rockies and Dodgers to end the season. -- Jeff Wiser ( @OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
12. St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 81-74
Week 24 ranking: No. 13
Despite two 10-run outbursts last week, the Cardinals' offense still mostly continues to struggle, as they've scored three or fewer runs in 10 of their past 14 games and rank 26th in the majors in runs per game in September. - - David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot
13. Seattle Mariners
Record: 82-73
Week 24 ranking: No. 12
Seattle likely needs help to reach the postseason after a tough loss to Minnesota on Saturday and Baltimore's recent sweep of Arizona. The M's have three with Houston and four with Oakland to close the season. Nelson Cruz hit his 40th and 41st home runs on Sunday but left the game with a sore wrist. -- Jeff Wiser ( @OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
14. Houston Astros
Record: 82-74
Week 24 ranking: No. 15
The Astros had beaten the Angels 11 times in a row this season before losing Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- the final two in crushing fashion. On Friday, Ken Giles allowed six runs in the ninth inning, and Houston lost 10-6. On Saturday, the bullpen allowed nine runs in the final two frames, and the Astros lost 10-4. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot
15. New York Yankees
Record: 79-76
Week 24 ranking: No. 14
A week ago, the Yankees were, against all odds, legitimate contenders for a wild card. Now, on the heels of being swept by the Blue Jays, their season has effectively been ended. Nevertheless, this has been a successful campaign, if only because of should-be Rookie of the Year Gary Sanchez and the rebuilt farm system. -- Domenic Lanza (@DomenicLanza), It's About the Money
16. Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 77-78
Week 24 ranking: No. 18
In his second MLB season, Jung Ho Kang has shown that his impressive power last year was no fluke. With 19 doubles and 20 home runs in 348 plate appearances, he has nearly as many extra-base hits (39) as singles (40). -- Ryan P. Morrison ( @ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
17. Kansas City Royals
Record: 79-77
Week 24 ranking: No. 17
The Royals are still aiming to finish above .500 for the fourth straight season, which the franchise hasn't done since it had six such seasons in a row from 1975 to 1980. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot
18. Miami Marlins
Record: 77-78
Week 24 ranking: No. 16
Horrific news, as ace pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident over the weekend. Fernandez, the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year, was only 24 years old. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
19. Colorado Rockies
Record: 73-83
Week 24 ranking: No. 19
Although the Rockies had a .500 record as late as Aug. 6, Saturday's loss ensured that they would finish 2016 with their sixth straight losing season. With an All-Star or Rookie of the Year candidate at virtually every position and their best starting pitching staff in years, it's hard to see the Rockies giving manager Walt Weiss a contract extension, no matter how integral he has been in mentoring their young stars. -- Richard Bergstrom ( @rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
20. Chicago White Sox
Record: 74-81
Week 24 ranking: No. 20
With the attention this season focused on All-Star pair Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, with the emerging Carlos Rodon not far off the pace, it has been easy to miss center fielder Adam Eaton's breakout. With a solid bat and excellent defense, he's one of the AL's best and someone Chicago can retool around. -- Jeff Wiser ( @OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona
21. Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 70-86
Week 24 ranking: No. 21
Coming into the year, one of the main goals for the Brewers was to develop young players. That's exactly what they have done with Zach Davies, whom they received in the deal that sent Gerardo Parra to the Orioles at last year's trade deadline. Davies wrapped up his 2016 campaign Friday against Cincinnati and finished his first full MLB season with an 11-7 record and 3.97 ERA in 28 starts. -- Gabe Stoltz ( @Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker
22. Los Angeles Angels
Record: 69-87
Week 24 ranking: No. 25
They finish with six home games and need to draw 164,529 to reach 3 million fans for the 14th consecutive season. That's about 27,400 per game -- below their season average of 37,000. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot
23. Oakland Athletics
Record: 67-88
Week 24 ranking: No. 23
Ryon Healy continues to impress, hitting .303/.336/.522 in 65 games and playing better than expected at third base (he split time between third and first in the minors). Pencil him in as a starter for 2017. -- David Schoenfield ( @dschoenfield), SweetSpot
24. Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 65-90
Week 24 ranking: No. 22
For the third time in franchise history, the Rays will have three batters with more than 60 extra-base hits. Much has been made of Evan Longoria's resurgence, and Brad Miller's 30 homers have garnered some attention. Corey Dickerson was the last to join the group, but this is the culmination of a solid second half (115 wRC+) that has seen his BABIP regress to expectations. -- Jason Hanselman ( @sandykazmir), The Process Report
25. Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 70-86
Week 24 ranking: No. 23
We know Jerad Eickhoff led the National League in home runs allowed (29), but we also know he isn't Kyle Kendrick. Among qualified starters, Eickhoff was fifth-best in the National League at limiting walks, allowing just 1.97 free passes per nine innings, and in terms of WHIP, he was 16th in the NL at 1.19. -- Richard Bergstrom ( @rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers
26. San Diego Padres
Record: 66-90
Week 24 ranking: No. 27
Jarred Cosart left his Saturday start after one inning, as he has apparently been dealing with a bone spur in his elbow for the past month. Also in that game, Yangervis Solarte singled in his first game action since his wife passed away one week prior. -- Diane Firstman ( @dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit
27. Atlanta Braves
Record: 63-92
Week 24 ranking: No. 29
Freddie Freeman is among the NL leaders in nearly every offensive category this year, leading the league in extra-base hits, OPS+ and runs created. Among NL position players, he is second in bWAR and third in fWAR. Even while playing for a last-place club, he should be in the top-five in MVP voting. -- Martin Gandy ( @gondeee), Chop County
28. Arizona Diamondbacks
Record: 64-91
Week 24 ranking: No. 28
Against the Padres last week, Paul Goldschmidt unleashed three long home runs in two games. They were the first blasts he'd hit in an away game since Aug. 9 at Citi Field, and Wednesday was his first multi-homer game since April 24. -- Ryan P. Morrison ( @ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona
29. Cincinnati Reds
Record: 65-90
Week 24 ranking: No. 26
The Reds lost their 90th game of the season this week (after losing 98 last year). The last time Cincinnati lost 90-plus games in back-to-back seasons? That was 1930-1934. -- Chad Dotson ( @dotsonc), Redleg Nation
30. Minnesota Twins
Record: 56-100
Week 24 ranking: No. 30
The Twins lost their 100th game on Sunday. It's their first time reaching the ignominious century mark in three decades. On the bright side, they have locked up the No. 1 pick in next June's draft. - - ESPN.com
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