The Brewers top our Power Rankings for the fourth consecutive week, which is as good an excuse as any to showcase the Brewers’ ceremony for the late, great Bob Uecker. (Though you don’t really ever need an excuse to showcase Uecker love.) To see “UECK” on the back of every Brewers jersey is impossible not to put a smile on your face. The Brewers may end up with the best record in their history this year, the year they honor Ueck. You gotta love every bit about it.
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)
There actually has been a little bit of tumult in Brewers land of late. They’ve lost six of their last nine (immediately following that 14-game win streak), the most recent two of which were because of the bullpen springing leaks. They gave up seven runs in the sixth and the seventh on Saturday and then blew a lead in the ninth on Sunday, helping douse those good Ueck vibes. (Though just a little.) The lead over the Cubs? Down to five games.
2. Tigers (previously: 5)
Well well, look who has the second-best record in baseball again. It’s the Tigers, who have settled down after a difficult July to breeze toward the glide path that’s going to lead them to an AL Central title and perhaps home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. Fun fact: The Tigers haven’t had home-field advantage in a postseason series since the 2006 World Series.
3. Phillies (previously: 4)
The Zack Wheeler news was obviously devastating, but it should be said: An argument probably could have been made that Cristopher Sánchez should have been the theoretical starter of a postseason series Game 1 anyway. Wheeler struck out more batters and had a lower WHIP, but Sánchez's ERA and FIP are considerably lower than Wheeler’s. (And he may be the guy who finishes second to Paul Skenes in Cy Young voting now.)
4. Blue Jays (previously: 3)
Since July 27, the Blue Jays have the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball at 6.21, which is not exactly what you want from your theoretical World Series contender. Though apparently they can blow leads and still end up winning: On Saturday night against the Marlins, the Blue Jays became the only MLB team in the Modern Era to blow a lead in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings but still win the game.
5. Cubs (previously: 6)
You weren’t really worried about Kyle Tucker, were you? Even with his hairline fracture in his hand, you knew Tucker was going to start hitting soon, particularly after his three-game “mental reset.” It clearly worked, with his big series against the Angels over the weekend, a team he has long destroyed. Craig Counsell was obviously never worried. “Mentally, he needed some days,” Counsell said. “It wasn’t a physical thing, it wasn’t a mechanical thing. At that point mentally as a player, you just need some days where you’re watching the game and don’t have to worry about performing.”
6. Padres (previously: 7)
After all the rigmarole and drama of the two Padres and Dodgers series over the last week, one supposes it is fitting that, with the two teams now done playing each other for the year, they remain tied atop the NL West. It should be noted that the Dodgers hold the tiebreaker, if it comes to that, and it very well might. Here’s the good news: The Padres have the easiest schedule in baseball moving forward, with 13 of their final 31 games coming against last-place teams.
7. Dodgers (previously: 2)
If it’s possible for a Shohei Ohtani homer to be lost in all the madness of a crazy series, his 45th blast in the ninth inning of Sunday’s win over the Padres might have been. He appears to be suffering no ill effects of the line drive that hit him against the Rockies this past week in what was his worst start of the year. Odd wrinkle in Shohei’s pitching journey: If they decided to use him out of the bullpen in the postseason, the Dodgers would have to vacate his spot in the order as a hitter. (Which makes me think we’re, uh, not going to see Shohei relieve in the postseason.)
8. Red Sox (previously: 10)
Roman Anthony is starting to feel his oats, isn’t he? Not only is he one of the best players in baseball right now -- in pretty much every aspect of the game -- and not only does he have Red Sox fans dreaming of big things, it turns out he’s even capable of an epic bat flip. We didn’t know you had that in you, Roman.
9. Astros (previously: 8)
The Yordan Alvarez wait may finally be over. The three-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, who is still only 28, seems to at last be returning to the Astros lineup on Tuesday. He has been out since May 2, and was only hitting .210 with three homers (in 100 at-bats) when he left. Just to remind you: This is one of the best hitters in baseball, and has been for a half decade now, and he’s coming back to the Astros when they may need him the most.
10. Yankees (previously: 11)
The Yankees have been batted around, both on and off the field, so much over the last couple of weeks (don’t read those tabloids, boys!), that they have to be relieved to have the schedule coming up that they do: three games against the last-place Nationals and three more against the last-place White Sox. That’s a particular relief considering their struggles against teams above them in the standings: Not counting Sunday night’s late game against the Red Sox (a team that is now above them!), they are 6-19 against AL teams with better records than they have.
11. Mariners (previously: 9)
Do you know how many players in MLB history have hit 50 homers in a season? Would you believe it is the nicely symmetrical number of 50? Cal Raleigh is now one homer away from ruining that happy little coincidence. He’s now only seven away from another conquest: Catching Ken Griffey Jr. for the all-time franchise record of 56, set in both 1997 and 1998.
12. Mets (previously: 12)
The Mets head into their final series at home against the Phillies this week seven games back of the Phils, which might be too heavy of a lift. But they continue to stave off the Reds, who, despite getting within half a game of the Mets a week ago, have so far been unable to catch them. It still feels like a two-team race for the final NL Wild Card, though, and it’s worth remembering that the teams have three games against each other in two weeks, in the midst of a brutal Mets road trip that also features trips to Detroit and to Philadelphia.
13. Reds (previously: 13)
The Reds fell back in the Wild Card race this week, but they did get a little bit of sugar. Actually, a lot bit of sugar: They called up Zach Maxwell, a.k.a. Big Sugar, a flamethrowing closer who has been a bit of a point of fascination among online Reds fans for a while now. “I’ve been tagging all of [the social media memes],” Maxwell said. “I tend to see them because friends and family send them to me. I laugh at them. I think they’re funny. I send them to my girlfriend, she thinks they’re funny.”
14. Royals (previously: 16)
When Bobby Witt Jr. hits his next homer, his 20th, he will tie Jimmy Rollins for the most 20/30 HR/SB seasons by a shortstop in MLB history with four. It is fair to assume he is, uh, going to pass Rollins many times over.
15. Guardians (previously: 14)
I loved this piece from MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins, in which he answered a question I’d been wondering since seeing "Superman" this summer: Hey, wasn’t that Progressive Field? It was! Stebbins quotes Beth Mickle, the film’s production designer: “We were flipping through with [director] James [Gunn], just to give him a flavor, and we got to [Progressive Field],” Mickle said. “He was like, ‘Wait a minute, this is great. This is Americana. This is exactly what we want to give audiences.’”
16. Rangers (previously: 15)
It was downright disorienting to see Marcus Semien hit the injured list this week. The famously durable Semien had not been on the IL since 2017. He has played in 98.5 percent of his team’s games over the last eight seasons but will miss the rest of the season with a left foot fracture.
17. D-backs (previously: 19)
We all know that Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are having incredible years. But you know who is fourth in baseball in extra-base hits this season, behind those three? None other than Corbin Carroll, with 67.
18. Rays (previously: 17)
Since May 24, Cal Raleigh has more homers than anyone else in baseball. You know who’s second? It’s the Rays’ Junior Caminero, who is actually younger than top prospect Carson Williams, who homered in his MLB debut on Friday night. (They both homered on Sunday.)
19. Cardinals (previously: 18)
This is the sort of Cardinals season that will lead a fan to pay more attention to the past, which is why it’s perhaps not that surprising that the team is bringing back some old stars next week. The Cardinals will be celebrating their World Series team of 1985 -- one of the most beloved Cardinals teams ever, the one that lost to the Royals in the Series that year -- with expected returns from Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, John Tudor, Tom Herr, Terry Pendleton, Todd Worrell and many others.
20. Giants (previously: 20)
The Rafael Devers trade was a good one, I am still convinced: I thought so when they made it and I still think so. It should still be said: In the two-plus months since the trade, he’s hitting .227, and the Giants have the worst record in baseball. Sorry, it’s true.
21. Angels (previously: 22)
I also am tired of waiting for Mike Trout to hit his 400th homer already. He has been stuck on 398 since Aug. 6. He’s still getting on base at a good clip, but his slugging percentage is all the way down at .436, which is the lowest since his infamous 40-game cameo in 2011, in which he slugged .390. (He was at .564 the next year.)
22. Orioles (previously: 24)
Orioles fans were doing backflips this week after the news that Samuel Basallo had signed an eight-year extension, something they had started to wonder would ever happen with one of their young players. The real question: Who’s next? Adley Rutschman? Gunnar Henderson? Jackson Holliday? Anybody?
23. Braves (previously: 23)
Michael Harris II went from having one of the most incredible second-half turnarounds in MLB history to … stopping hitting entirely. (Again.) He headed into the weekend series with the Mets having put up a 1.114 OPS in 32 games since the break and then ended the weekend on a 1-for-19 skid.
24. Marlins (previously: 21)
That little Marlins In The Playoffs? boomlet is long over. Since reaching the .500 mark three weeks ago, the Marlins have gone 6-14, the worst record in the National League. Fun fact about them, though: They currently don’t have a single player on their entire roster who is 30 years old or over. (Sandy Alcantara will turn 30 on Sept. 7.)
25. A’s (previously: 25)
The A’s have been so good lately that you find yourself wondering what might have been. Take away that brutal run in May and early June when they lost 20 of 21, the A’s are seven games over .500, at 59-52.
26. Twins (previously: 26)
Want to know what the Twins’ future is going to look like? You got a glimpse of it this weekend with Mick Abel pitching on Saturday and Taj Bradley pitching on Sunday. It didn’t necessarily go all that well – Abel gave up six runs in three innings, and Bradley gave up seven in five – but that’s why it’s the future, not the present. “It’s a good thing that we’re adding good talented arms,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “It gives us a lot to work with.”
27. Pirates (previously: 27)
Now that, in the wake of Zack Wheeler’s season-ending injury, Paul Skenes is almost certain to win the NL Cy Young, it should be asked: Is he having the best season by a Pirates pitcher ever? The answer is almost certainly yes: His 195 ERA+ entering Sunday would be the highest in a season for a qualified Pirates pitcher since earned runs became official (1913). John Candelaria’s 169 in 1977 is currently the top mark. (In 1882, someone named Denny Driscoll had a 1.21 ERA in 201 innings over 23 starts … and lost nine games. Different game in 1882.)
28. Nationals (previously: 28)
No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits made his pro debut this week with Single-A Fredericksburg. How did it go? Pretty well! He went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBIs. "I'm just thankful for the opportunity that they've given me to come down here and play," he said. "Not a lot of kids get to do that, so I'm excited for this opportunity."
29. White Sox (previously: 29)
Look who is Aaron Judge all of a sudden. Colson Montgomery hit the first grand slam of his career on Saturday, and then hit another on Sunday, his 13th. All 13 of those homers had come in the previous 27 games. Take that, Judge!
30. Rockies (previously: 30)
The Rockies spent the entire weekend not getting hits and not scoring runs, so let’s try to focus on something positive going on with their offense: Brenton Doyle. Until Paul Skenes shut the Rockies down on Sunday like he shuts everybody down, Doyle had been leading the NL with a 1.099 OPS since the All-Star break.
Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Mark Feinsand, Daniel Feldman, Will Leitch, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn.