Featured in this week’s MLB Power Rankings, the Dodgers continue to scuffle, the NL MVP race heats up, a number of notable prospects arrive to the majors, Paul Skenes is slumping, and Mike Trout celebrates his birthday as only he can.
As a reminder, this article is a combination of current performance and long-term outlook.
Let’s get into it!
Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, August 10.
▶ Check out this week’s recommended SP streamers in fantasy baseball
1) Milwaukee Brewers ⬆️
Last week: 2
The Brewers have won five out of six games to reclaim the top spot in our rankings. Jacob Misiorowski reached 200 strikeouts over the weekend, the second-fastest ever (Spencer Strider - 2023) to reach that mark in a season. Now the Brewers head on the road, highlighted by a four-game series against the Dodgers later this week. It should be a fun potential playoff preview.
2) Tampa Bay Rays ⬆️
Last week: 4
Winners of six straight, the Rays have the second-best record in baseball and have opened up a 5.5-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. They’ll now try to take advantage of an upcoming stretch against the Athletics, Orioles, and Blue Jays.
Liam Hicks has made fast friends with Rays fans, hitting .283 (5-for-17) with a homer, six RBI, three walks and zero strikeouts through his first five games. He’s been exactly as advertised.
Liam Hicks' first career grand slam and first hit with the Rays! pic.twitter.com/8dutjVg4Wg
— MLB (@MLB) August 5, 2026
3) Los Angeles Dodgers ⬇️
Last week: 1
So....last week I questioned how much the Dodgers’ struggles really matter, but it does matter if they end up playing in the Wild Card round. If the playoffs began today, that’s exactly what they’d be doing. That didn’t stop the Dodgers from winning the World Series last year, but it’s a dangerous game.
Among LA’s recent issues, Edwín Díaz blew back-to-back save chances over the weekend and the club’s catching situation is an ongoing cause for concern. All signs point to them being fine come playoff time, but for a heavy World Series favorite, it all just feels shakier than it should be. They have a chance to change the conversation this week, with Tarik Skubal making his home debut on Monday against the Rockies and Blake Snell making his return from the IL on Tuesday. The aforementioned series against the Brewers awaits later this week.
4) Atlanta Braves ⬇️
Last week: 3
The Braves lost two out of three to the Yankees over the weekend, but still have a stranglehold on the National League East. Matt Olson has five homers this month, bringing his total to 34 for the year. He has a real shot at his second NL home run crown.
5) Chicago Cubs
Last week: 5
Thursday’s duel between Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani was definitely a treat, but what PCA did in Friday’s game was arguably even cooler.
#WALKOFF!
— MLB (@MLB) August 6, 2026
Pete Crow-Armstrong races home to complete a comeback W for the @Cubs! pic.twitter.com/JB9FEH7VKL
According to FanDuel, Crow-Armstrong is now a slight favorite (-122) over Ohtani (+100) for NL MVP. It’s a fascinating debate, but PCA has a real chance at a 10-WAR season.
6) New York Yankees
Last week: 6
Well, it’s safe to say that George Lombard Jr. looks pretty comfortable in the majors.
George Lombard Jr. stays hot and launches his second career homer! pic.twitter.com/LRVwMLQqXT
— MLB (@MLB) August 8, 2026
While the Yankees lost Sunday’s finale against the Braves, it was nice to see a bounceback performance from Cam Schlittler (7 IP, 1 ER, 11K, 0 BB).
7) Boston Red Sox
Last week: 7
After winning 27 out of 30 games, including an instant classic against the White Sox on Thursday, the Red Sox lost two out of three to the Athletics over the weekend. Of course that happened.
RED SOX WIN IT ‼️
— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2026
Caleb Durbin sends Fenway into a frenzy! pic.twitter.com/iNjXS5255M
8) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬆️
Last week: 9
The D-Backs took out of three from the Dodgers over the weekend, highlighted by a comeback win against Edwín Díaz on Friday and Eduardo Rodriguez throwing 115 pitches in Sunday’s victory. Now they’ll welcome Michael Soroka back from the injured list for a series against the Rockies. Soroka was off to a great start this season (3.07 ERA in 15 starts) prior to hitting the IL with a left glute strain in late June.
9) Philadelphia Phillies ⬆️
Last week: 10
Kyle Schwarber went 17 games without a homer before smacking a pair of them in Sunday’s extra-inning win over the Blue Jays. The Phillies went 7-10 during his power outage.
10) Chicago White Sox ⬇️
Last week: 8
In one of the more bizarre scenes in recent memory, White Sox manager Will Venable made the mistake of trying to visit his starting pitcher Noah Schultz in the first inning on Friday. The problem is that pitching coach Zach Bove visited him earlier in the inning, so that automatically triggered Schultz leaving the game.
The White Sox had already used a mound visit in the first inning, so when Will Venable went out to check on Noah Schultz, Schultz had to come out of the game.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 8, 2026
There was only one out. pic.twitter.com/tMmLg11Kcx
Venable called the mistake “inexcusable” after the White Sox dropped the opener, but the White Sox responded by taking the next two games from the Guardians.
11) San Diego Padres
Last week: 11
The Padres took two out of three from the Astros over the weekend as Fernando Tatís Jr. and Jackson Merrill continue to stay hot. Remember when Tatís somehow didn’t have a home run? He’s now slugged six homers over his last 21 games. As for Merrill, he has a 1.089 OPS this month and is hitting .312 over his last 39 games.
Jackson Merrill answers right back for the @Padres! pic.twitter.com/3uBUMXEaEE
— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2026
12) Houston Astros
Last week: 12
The Astros have dropped back-to-back series and hold a slim lead over the Rangers in the AL West. They have a chance to put the Mariners way (potentially for good) later this week.
13) Texas Rangers ⬆️
Last week: 19
The Rangers saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday, but they are sitting pretty with 10 out of their next 13 games coming against the Angels and the Athletics.
Side note: It’s nice to see Corey Seager doing Corey Seager things again.
Corey Seager adds on for the @Rangers with a 3-run homer! pic.twitter.com/yuV1qvYeSy
— MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2026
14) Miami Marlins ⬆️
Last week: 15
Sandy Alcantara continues to assert himself as perhaps the best pitcher in Marlins history. He passed Ricky Nolasco for the franchise record in innings during Saturday’s start against the Angels. He’s now spun 20 scoreless innings across his last three starts as the Marlins continue to stay relevant in the NL Wild Card race.
15) Detroit Tigers ⬆️
Last week: 22
The team who has made the biggest jump over the past week is the team who traded away both Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Baseball is funny like that. With youngsters Max Clark and Jackson Jobe in tow, the Tigers pulled off a 7-2 West Coast trip. This week will be critical to their chances as they return home to face the Guardians and the White Sox.
16) St. Louis Cardinals ⬆️
Last week: 18
The Cardinals were a seller a week ago, but here they are with five wins in their last seven. It gets tough this week with the Phillies and Cubs, but either way the Cardinals have stuck around a lot longer than anyone would have thought coming into the year.
17) Washington Nationals ⬆️
Last week: 20
No James Wood or Luis García Jr.? No problem. The Nats swept the Reds over the weekend while scoring 20 runs across three games.
18) Minnesota Twins ⬇️
Last week: 16
The Twins have lost six out of their last eight, but it’s been fun to see Kaelen Culpepper up in the majors. Can Walker Jenkins be far behind?
WELCOME TO THE SHOW KAELEN CULPEPPER pic.twitter.com/Mn0ETtRPEw
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 8, 2026
19) Cleveland Guardians ⬇️
Last week: 13
While we’re on the topic of debuts, it’s hard to have a better one than Angel Genao had against the Mets last week. Genao became the first player in franchise history to collect four hits in his MLB debut. He added his first MLB homer on Saturday. The Guardians, though, are headed in the wrong direction here.
20) Baltimore Orioles ⬆️
Last week: 21
Gunnar Henderson’s struggles continue to be nothing short of stunning. It’s somehow gotten worse of late, as he’s hitting .171 since the start of July and he’s 2-for-22 to start the month of August.
21) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬇️
Last week: 14
The Pirates have lost each of Paul Skenes’ last three starts. We used to lament the lack of offense Skenes would get in his starts, but this is mostly on the pitcher. He’s sporting an unsightly 8.16 ERA with 10 walks in 14 1/3 innings over his last three starts.
22) Cincinnati Reds ⬆️
Last week: 23
After being swept by the Nationals over the weekend, thoughts of contention are probably over for the Reds this season, but now there’s concern about next year too now that Hunter Greene is set to undergo surgery for a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
23) Seattle Mariners ⬇️
Last week: 17
Seriously, Mariners? They’ve lost four straight and 13 out of their last 18 games. And it doesn’t get any easier from here, as they’ll now embark on a nine-game roadtrip while making stops in the Bronx, Houston, and Milwaukee. Needless to say, this is a pivotal week for them. I don’t want to say they could play themselves out of a playoff spot this week given how mediocre the AL is, but they are really pushing it.
To prevent this section from being a complete downer, here’s 52-year-old Ichiro hitting some dingers in the Mariners’ alumni Home Run Derby this past weekend. It’s not a stretch to say maybe he could help the Mariners right now?
Ichiro's swing is still golden at 52 years old 🐐
— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2026
He was crushing homers in the Seattle Mariners Alumni Home Run Derby! pic.twitter.com/lLB4RmQxc4
24) Toronto Blue Jays
Last week: 24
After being rested for some inflammation in his hamstring, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. connected for his first homer since July 11 during Saturday’s game against the Phillies. Even with that, Guerrero’s .359 slugging percentage ranks below the likes of Chandler Simpson and Andrés Gimenez. It’s mind-blowing.
25) New York Mets ⬆️
Last week: 26
Break up the Mets…again! The Mets have won five out of six while playing spoiler against the Guardians and the Pirates. The club is looking toward who can help in 2027 and Sean Manaea has made a strong case to be part of that plan. He’s been a bright spot recently with a 2.16 ERA across his last four starts.
26) San Francisco Giants ⬇️
Last week: 25
Kudos to Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, who announced last week that he’s planning to retire at the end of the 2026 season. With the nature of this job, I’ve spent a lot of time working late at night while listening to him and his longtime partner Duane Kuiper. Their banter and ability to make the game breathe is unparalleled. Congrats on a legendary career.
The Giants honored Mike Krukow with a tribute at Oracle Park after the second inning 🥹 pic.twitter.com/p5wIS4fmBv
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 8, 2026
27) Kansas City Royals
Last week: 27
The Royals currently hold a 5.36 ERA from their bullpen this season. Only the Athletics (who have to pitch half of their games in Sacramento) have been worse.
28) Athletics
Last week: 28
An eventful few days for the Athletics, who parted ways with GM and longtime front office member David Forst before the club took two out of three from the hottest team in baseball in the Red Sox. We also saw Jacob Wilson set the MLB record by going 111 games at shortstop without committing an error.
29) Colorado Rockies
Last week: 29
How soon before outfielder Zac Veen gets a chance with the Rockies? While playing with Triple-A Albuquerque on Saturday, he put together one of the best individual performances you’ll ever see. He went 5-for-5 with three home runs, seven RBI, and 17 total bases.
Oh my word.#Rockies top prospect Zac Veen has left the yard again.
— Eli Whitney (@eliwhtney17) August 9, 2026
His third homer of the night. He’s up to 24 on the year. pic.twitter.com/iHb5PQWVE0
30) Los Angeles Angels
Last week: 30
It’s always nice to treat yourself on your birthday. Mike Trout does it in his own way. With Friday’s solo shot against the Marlins, he’s now homered on his birthday six times in his legendary career to tie Mark Reynolds and Alex Rodriguez for the MLB record. Yes, they keep track of such things. Trout is now 35 years old, which in turn makes me question where the last 15 years have gone.
