Every week, the Pitcher List team will publish an update to our power rankings, reviewing the biggest risers and fallers of the past seven days.
As always, the full rankings can be found at the bottom of this article … but where’s the fun in that?
Welcome back to our Power Rankings series! This week’s entry features a decent amount of movement at the top for the first time in a while, but the bottom third of our rankings remains almost entirely unchanged. In the coming weeks, we’ll soon pare things down by only ranking the teams remaining in the playoff race to keep things fresh and interesting. There are only so many more ways we can tell you that the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox are having difficult seasons!
With that being said, let’s check out our top movers of the week:
Movin’ On Up
Record: 71-51
Rank change: +3 (5 to 2)
The NL West is baseball’s hottest division right now, and the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves not only at the top of the division but at the top of the National League with a 71-51 record. It seems unfair to say that the Dodgers have missed expectations to this point in the season, but our previous ranking of 5 shows that they haven’t quite performed as the league’s top team all season long as many expected.
Over the past two weeks, the Dodgers have hit their stride and hold an 8-2 record over their past ten games. Perhaps the biggest reason for this jolt in performance and ranking was the return of a friendly face. It’s good to have Mookie Betts back, isn’t it?
MOOKIE'S BACK LIKE HE NEVER LEFT. pic.twitter.com/jBWcXDq0wW
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 13, 2024
The Dodgers are playing great baseball as of late, with their only series loss in August coming at home against the Philadelphia Phillies. While they appeared poised to make another statement in a series against the Milwaukee Brewers by taking the first two games, they dropped the last two and were forced to settle for a series split against one of the NL’s best.
The Dodgers are keeping pace ahead of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, the other two biggest risers in this week’s rankings. The Padres and DBacks are both scorching hot and vying for the top spot in the Wild Card race while trying to chase down the stacked Dodgers roster. Both teams are only two games back of the division lead with under a quarter of the season left. It’s a divisional race we didn’t see coming a month or two ago that should make for an exciting finish down the stretch. Hold on to your hats—it’s the Wild West indeed.
Hittin’ the Skids
Record: 66-55
Rank change: -3 (8 to 11)
The Kansas City Royals‘ fall in this week’s rankings is a product of two things: the rise of the aforementioned red-hot NL West teams, both of whom overtook Kansas City this week, and a lackluster week featuring a series loss against one of their division rivals, the Minnesota Twins.
While the Royals managed to salvage game three in the Twin Cities, the Royals lost handily in the first two games of the series as Minnesota teed off on reliable starters Brady Singer and Seth Lugo. Lugo especially has been a surprise in 2024 and will be a key ingredient in the Royals’ recipe to chase a playoff berth in 2024.
While the Royals currently sit a game and a half behind the Twins for the second Wild Card spot, they still maintain a two-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. If Cole Ragans can continue his ascension into stardom and Bobby Witt Jr. can continue to contribute in ways nobody else can, this should still be a team that can beat anybody come October. They’ll just have to hang on to get there first.
Ragans rocked it. pic.twitter.com/Dum1uwRenX
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 14, 2024
Bobby to the bullpen! pic.twitter.com/gJg3OuO8Tw
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 14, 2024
Week 20 Power Rankings