MLB Power Rankings August 8

Every week MLB teams will be ranked for the rest of the season. The 2022 MLB Trade Deadline has put a serious shakeup to the way teams will finish the season. Here are the 2022 MLB power rankings for the week of August 8.

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— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2022

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 75-33

Previous Ranking: 2

The Dodgers have claimed the top spot with a resounding few weeks. They have claimed a multi-game lead for the best record in baseball, as well as adding onto their team at the trade deadline with the additions of Joey Gallo and Chris Martin. The Dodgers feature the best pitching in baseball as well.

2. New York Yankees

Record: 70-39

Previous Ranking: 1

The Yankees played major buyer at the trade deadline by acquiring multiple players including Andrew Benintendi, Frankie Montas, and Scott Effross. They have stumbled out of the All-Star Break though, losing a few games that they definitely should have won.

3. Houston Astros

Record: 70-40

Previous Ranking: 3

The Astros have consistently been one of the best teams in the game but haven’t been able to take that final step towards being the top ranked team. Justin Verlander is on another level right now, as he is probably the AL CY Young favorite.

4. New York Mets

Record: 70-39

Previous Ranking: 4

The addition of Jacob DeGrom, coming off the injured list, was one of the biggest additions of the entire trade deadline. DeGrom will look to dominate the back half of this season like he dominated last year. If he can do so, the Mets are a scary team that nobody will want to see in October.

5. San Diego Padres

Record: 61-50

Previous Ranking: 7

The Padres made the biggest trade in recent history, giving up a few young MLB players and a few of their top prospects, in exchange for Juan Soto, one of the games young stars. The Padres instantly become October favorites with the addition of Soto.

6. Atlanta Braves

Record: 64-46

Previous Ranking: 5

The Braves are making a push for the lead in the NL East, sitting only a few games back from the Mets. They could make a pretty good push for the lead, led by starting pitchers Spencer Strider and Max Fried.

7. Toronto Blue Jays

Record: 60-48

Previous Ranking: 9

The Blue Jays traded for Whit Merrifield at the trade deadline. Merrifield is a tremendous player. The one flaw? At the time of the trade, Merrifield could not legally enter the country his new team plays in because of COVID vaccine restrictions. It has since been cleared up.

8. St. Louis Cardinals

Record: 60-48

Previous Ranking: 13

The Cardinals and Brewers are in a tight race for the top of the NL Central crown. Their newly acquired starter, Jordan Montgomery, took down his old team after throwing 5 scoreless innings to lead the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Yankees.

9. Milwaukee Brewers

Record: 58-50

Previous Ranking: 6

The Brewers suffered an embarrassing 3-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They remain just a few steps from being one of the MLB’s best teams and series like that are the reason why.

10. Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 60-48

Previous Ranking: 12

On June 25, the Phillies lost their MVP candidate, Bryce Harper, to injury. Since then, they are 22-13, which ranks 6th in the MLB in that span. This is a dangerous team when Harper returns to that lineup.

11. Seattle Mariners

Record: 59-51

Previous Ranking: 8

The Mariners went all-in at the trade deadline, trading away multiple of their top-10 prospects in order to enter win-now mode. The Mariners have a legit shot at being a dangerous team in October.

12. Minnesota Twins

Record: 57-51

Previous Ranking: 11

The Twins are going to be in a dogfight for the rest of the season if they want the AL Central crown. They lead the Guardians by just 1 game and the White Sox by just 2 games.

13. Tampa Bay Rays

Record: 58-50

Previous Ranking: 10

The Rays have a firm grasp on the AL Wild Card, which seems to be their only way into the playoffs as they are 11.5 games out of first in the AL East.

14. Baltimore Orioles

Record: 56-52

Previous Ranking: 15

The Orioles continue to surprise everybody. Nobody thought they would be above .500. Nobody thought they would contend for a playoff spot. But here they are, on August 8th, sitting right outside of the 3rd AL Wild Card spot.

15. Chicago White Sox

Record: 55-53

Previous Ranking: 18

The White Sox have finally been able to put it together during the month of August. They are led by their starting pitching staff, which features 5 arms that are serious threats in the playoffs, if the White Sox can make it.

16. Boston Red Sox

Record: 54-56

Previous Ranking: 17

The Red Sox are caught in the middle of trying to be competitive and trying to set up for the future. This has left them in a tough spot, last place in the AL East, even a few games behind the Orioles.

17. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 56-52

Previous Ranking: 14

The Guardians have struggled as of late, but they are just 2 games out of the top of the AL Central. The season is far from over for Cleveland, but they’re going to need to put a few pieces together to contend for the playoffs.

18. San Francisco Giants

Record: 53-55

Previous Ranking: 16

The Giants have fallen off a cliff since their spectacular run in 2021. They sit a few games under .500, which is quite surprising because the 2021 Giants won 107 games. Last season, they lost 55 out of their 162 games. This year, they lost 55 out of their first 107 games.

19. Miami Marlins

Record: 49-59

Previous Ranking: 19

The sole highlight for the 2022 Marlins is the pitching performance of Sandy Alcantara. He has had a special season and is looking to bring the CY Young back to Miami.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 48-59

Previous Ranking: 21

The Diamondbacks are going to need a push to get back to .500. They sit 11 games under .500 as of now. Merrill Kelly leads the pitching staff with a 3.4 WAR and a 2.86 ERA.

21. Texas Rangers

Record: 48-60

Previous Ranking: 20

The playoffs are virtually out of the picture for Texas. They are 21 games back in their division and 10 games out of a wild card spot. They don’t have the talent to contend just yet.

22. Los Angeles Angels

Record: 46-63

Previous Ranking: 23

Mike Trout was sidelined again and the Angels avoided blowing up their roster at the trade deadline. Once a promising 2022 team, they have fallen off quite hard. They need to get their financial situation under control as they have a lot of their money wrapped up in a few players.

23. Colorado Rockies

Record: 48-63

Previous Ranking: 22

The 2022 Colorado Rockies have been quite a disaster. After entering full rebuild mode, they have managed to lack the young talent that usually comes with the full scale rebuilds. There is a long way to go for Colorado.

24. Pittsburgh Pirates

Record: 44-64

Previous Ranking: 27

The Pirates shocked the NL Central this week when they swept the Brewers. This sweep was enough to knock the Brewers out of first place and ruin a bit of their momentum at the beginning of the week.

25. Cincinnati Reds

Record: 44-63

Previous Ranking: 26

The Reds won the trade deadline. They dealt away Tommy Pham, Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle, and Brandon Drury and added multiple top 100 prospects. Along with their offseason trades of Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker, and Eugenio Suarez, they have completely rebuilt their farm system.

26. Chicago Cubs

Record: 43-64

Previous Ranking: 24

The Cubs made a surprising move and traded their 28-year-old rookie, Scott Effross to the Yankees. The Cubs are a rebuilding team, but Effross has over 5 years of team control. Quite a puzzling move by the Cubs.

27. Kansas City Royals

Record: 44-65

Previous Ranking: 28

The Royals dealt away their two brightest stars, Andrew Benintendi and Whit Merrifield. They sped up their rebuild by adding a few prospects and diminishing their Major League roster a bit.

28. Detroit Tigers

Record: 43-67

Previous Ranking: 25

The Tigers have remained quite dormant this season. There isn’t much to be excited for in Detroit. They feature one of the worst MLB rosters and they also only have one prospect ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects.

29. Oakland Athletics

Record: 41-68

Previous Ranking: 29

The Athletics dealt away two of their only bright spots on the mound, Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino. They received LHP JP Sears, LHP Ken Waldichuk, RHP Luis Medina, and 2B Cooper Bowman. A great return to kickstart the rebuild in Oakland.

30. Washington Nationals

Record: 36-74

Previous Ranking: 30

There isn’t a trade package on the market that would make up for the loss of Juan Soto. But the Nationals did a pretty good job maximizing their return. The deal was structured around MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, and prospect Robert Hassell III.

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