Who could take down the Astros, Red Sox or Yankees? L.A. added Manny Machado to win it all, while the Cubs are riding high in the NL.
With the resumption of action after All-Star Week, there’s already some major movement in the Power Rankings. But not among the game’s elite, where the Astros and Red Sox are still splitting the first-place votes, with Houston still holding a one-vote advantage. The Yankees are locked in as the best team behind them, but the Cubs and Dodgers look like they’re getting stronger and ready to perhaps put a National League team or two into the front three in the weeks to come. Editor’s Picks Projecting how the rest of the 2018 season will play out
The Red Sox are favored, but what would it take to put the Yankees away? We break down every team’s odds and how much a big deal improves them. Fear Machado in L.A.? Cubs focused on own deadline pursuits
The Cubs haven’t been bashful about making July trades in the past, but they aren’t going to let a potential playoff opponent’s move force their hand.
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The Red Sox are favored, but what would it take to put the Yankees away? We break down every team’s odds and how much a big deal improves them.
The Cubs haven’t been bashful about making July trades in the past, but they aren’t going to let a potential playoff opponent’s move force their hand.
Real movement came lower down in the top 10, where the Braves and A’s climbed up to push out the Mariners and Diamondbacks. The Braves made the single biggest gain of the week, moving up five slots in the rankings. The A’s and Cardinals made the next-largest move, each gaining three places over their rankings at the break.
The biggest decline was suffered by the D-backs, who tumbled five spots as they stumble through their latest bad patch, but they weren’t the only team whose fortunes are on the wane. The Brewers, Angels, Rays and Padres all dropped by three spots, reflecting how narrow the margin is between teams at every point of the pack.
This week, our panel of voters is composed of David Schoenfield, Eric Karabell, Tim Kurkjian, Bradford Doolittle and Sarah Langs.
Week 15 Rankings| 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
Record: 66-36 Week 15 ranking: 1
Last season the Astros won 101 games and their first World Series title, earning Best Team honors at the ESPYs on Wednesday. This season Houston entered the second half on pace to win over 100 games again; no team has had back-to-back 100-win seasons since the Cardinals in 2004-05, and no American League team has done it since the Yankees from 2002 to ’04. — Jacob Nitzberg, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 70-31 Week 15 ranking: 2
As we look toward the trade deadline, the Red Sox could stand to improve at second base, catcher and in the rotation. Boston second basemen have a.644 OPS this season, which ranks 25th in the majors. Catcher has been even worse: a.597 OPS, which ranks 27th, and a .226 batting average. Overall, Red Sox starting pitchers rank well, but if we break it down, Red Sox starters not named Chris Sale or Eduardo Rodriguez have a 4.35 ERA this season. That’s not necessarily a number a team would want to rely on for a third starter and beyond in the postseason. — Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 63-34 Week 15 ranking: 3
Starting pitching should remain a focus for the Yankees at the trade deadline. Luis Severino is having a Cy Young-level season, with a 2.31 ERA. But beyond that, New York’s rotation hasn’t been quite on the same level. All other Yankees starters have combined for a 4.58 ERA. CC Sabathia is the only other starter to make 10 or more starts for them with an ERA under 4.00 this year. And for all of the team’s power, one position that hasn’t had much to show for it is first base. Yankees first basemen have a.690 OPS, which ranks 26th in the majors, ahead of only the Orioles, Angels, Mets and Royals. — Langs
Record: 58-40 Week 15 ranking: 4
With the trade deadline approaching, the Cubs don’t have many needs. There’s a reason they have the NL’s best record and best run differential. Where Chicago will need help is in the bullpen, simply to help deal with the lack of innings the team has gotten from the rotation. At the break, Cubs starters ranked 20th in MLB in innings per start. While recent playoffs have downplayed the importance of rotation innings, they still matter in the regular season. — Kenneth Woolums, ESPN Stats & Information
Record: 55-44 Week 15 ranking: 5
The Dodgers already boast one of the best offenses in the NL, second only to the Cubs in wOBA, but they owed a lot of that to surprises like Max Muncy and Matt Kemp. Maybe those two keep it up down the stretch, maybe they don’t, but penciling in Manny Machado every day should more than cover for any regression. With a stack of rehabbing pitchers due back soon, outside of jamming the phone lines to make life difficult for their rivals, the Dodgers might be able to sit out the rest of the trade deadline. — Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com
Record: 54-44 Week 15 ranking: 6
Trading for a pair of Padres relievers might answer the Indians’ biggest need at the deadline, but the cost was steep, and they still have other areas of concern. Indians outfielders have put up a combined.698 OPS, easily the worst of any contender and 25th in MLB. With Bradley Zimmer out for the year and Lonnie Chisenhall out until at least September, the Tribe should be shopping for outfield help. — Kahrl
Record: 53-43 Week 15 ranking: 12
Some teams have clear needs. Take the Braves, who entered the second half with a 4.24 bullpen ERA, 19th in MLB. The only team in playoff position with a worse bullpen ERA entering the second half was the Indians, who addressed that by trading for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. A shutdown reliever could really help Atlanta, which ranked 23rd in bullpen ERA when the team had a lead entering the second half. — Woolums
Record: 57-43 Week 15 ranking: 11
Getting Jeurys Familia from the Mets for loose change is a great start, but the A’s are the rare contender who might need to trade for not just one but multiple starting pitchers. A bid for October might work with Trevor Cahill or Edwin Jackson or Brett Anderson or Frankie Montas as the No. 5 starter, but that’s four of Oakland’s front five right now. Could Familia be part of a move to the A’s adoption of the Rays’ “opener” strategy? — Kahrl
Record: 55-43 Week 15 ranking: 9
The Phillies were rumored to be one of the top two teams to finish as runners-up for Machado, along with the Brewers. Now they’ll look elsewhere to bolster their infield and relief pitching. Phillies shortstops are hitting just.236, which ranks 27th in the majors; their .630 OPS ranks 28th. That’s where Machado would’ve helped, given that his defense at SS hasn’t been Gold Glove caliber. As for that bullpen, their 4.02 ERA ranks 17th in the majors. — Langs
Record: 56-45 Week 15 ranking: 7
The Brewers finished the first half on a six-game losing streak, their longest of the season, to push them 2½ games out of first place. The second half won’t make things any easier — 25 of Milwaukee’s first 28 games to open the second half, including its first 17, are against teams that finished the first half at or above.500. — Nitzberg
Record: 60-40 Week 15 ranking: 10
For the Mariners, the question remains: How long can they continue to win close games and rely on what many people in baseball might call luck? They have the most saves of any team in the majors — which means they’ve won the most games that have come down to save situations. And they’ve won 26 one-run games, five more than any other team. They have a.684 winning percentage in one-run games, which is second in the majors behind the Phillies. Their starters’ ERA ranks 15th in the majors. Perhaps that’s worth bolstering in anticipation of the luck running out? — Langs
Record: 53-46 Week 15 ranking: 13
The Dodgers might have Machado, but they don’t have the hottest-hitting shortstop since June 1 — the Rockies do. Trevor Story has posted a 1.035 OPS in that time to rank among MLB’s top 10. And with sabermetric whipping boy Ian Desmond cranking out a.957 OPS in that span as well, Colorado’s offense is getting help from more than just usual suspects Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. With the Rockies on a 15-4 run, they’re right back in the hunt for a playoff slot. — Kahrl
Record: 54-46 Week 15 ranking: 8
There might not be a J. D. Martinez trade to make this year to shore up the offense and help the Snakes escape their latest slide in the standings. They have to hope that A. J. Pollock keeps raking since his return from the disabled list, but they could also use a snap back for Jake Lamb ‘s bat — he has put up just a.677 OPS since returning from the DL in May. — Kahrl
Record: 50-49 Week 15 ranking: 17
What a streak it was for Matt Carpenter. He had a span of 12 consecutive hits all going for extra bases, the longest such streak by a Cardinals hitter since 1900. He broke a tie with Mark McGwire when he recorded extra-base hit No. 12. He has generated that large quantity of extra-base hits thanks to six straight games with a home run, two games shy of tying the MLB record held by Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr. What’s more impressive is he extended the streak to six straight in a game he entered on a double switch. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us that’s the longest home run streak to be extended in a game in which the player did not start. — Langs
Record: 49-49 Week 15 ranking: 14
Bryce Harper ‘s .214 batting average was the worst in the first half for any position player to start an All-Star Game since Terry Steinbach in 1988, according to Elias research.
