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The List

2024 MLB Power Rankings: Week 24

We update the ranks for all 30 teams, with a focus on the playoffs.

Pablo Figueroa
Baseball 9/13/2024

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?

 

First and Worst

 

With less than three walks before we see one of the most confusing playoff fields in years, there is still a lot to decide in terms of seeding and milestones. However, the past week did not provide much clarity when it comes to this, as is reflected in the little movement seen in our rankings. As of this writing, the biggest active winning streak belongs to the Pirates at a mere four games, while the Marlins and White Sox carry modest three-game losing streaks to pace the league. With this lack of major swings, we are left with only a few changes to highlight.

The top of our rankings remains steady with the Dodgers and Phillies seemingly finding their offensive rhythm at the right time, even as they continue to have significant question marks for October. Los Angeles continues to battle with inconsistency in their rotation, while Philadelphia has quietly endured the regression of the likes of Alec Bohm and Ranger Suárez, and Bryce Harper has become a non-entity in their lineup. With similar nits to pick in other contenders like the Yankees, Astros, and Orioles, this season may truly give us a wide open playoff field.

As far as the bottom, it has become clear that most cellar-dwellers have not even played a spoiler role (except for the feisty A’s), and most of them seem hopeless for 2025 as well. With the White Sox looking like a lock to smash the modern record for losses, we will be left to wonder how such a train wreck happen in the age of analytics and parity. Chicago’s projects to finish the season with 126 losses. To put that number into context, imagine what it would take for a great team to win 126…it’s just unfathomable.

Let’s dive into our biggest risers and sliders in this week’s Pitcher List Power Rankings.

 

Movin’ On Up

 

New York Mets

 

Record: 80-66

Rank change: +2 (13 to 11)

After a truly disastrous 2023, the Mets projected to be a very expensive mess with middling upside in 2024. The early part of the season played out exactly like this, but it has since become a very Mets-ian experience in terms of emotions, hopes, and dread. This past week, the unthinkable came to fruition, as New York finally took sole possession of the final NL wild card and sports better than a coin-flip odds to reach October. Despite the vibes and positiveness around Queens, their fans are right to be cautious at a franchise that has almost made an art form of improbable collapses and disappointment.

During their current 11-2 surge, the Mets certainly took advantage of a soft schedule, but there appears to be more to it than that. The rise of Francisco Lindor as a legitimate MVP threat and a below-the-radar pitching staff have carried the Mets to not only become contenders, but also one of the most entertaining teams in baseball. The whole experience may be captured by Wednesday’s win over Toronto, in which the offense had been no-hit through eight innings and suddenly came to life with a homer from Lindor that tied the game and led a complete reversal and ended with a 6-2 win.

The transition from the fun-loving OMG chants to a serious run at the World Series still depends on how such an untested roster can handle the final 16 games of the season. Outside of a home series against Washington, the Mets get to face the Phillies seven times, while also having a pivotal matchup in Atlanta and then closing the season in Milwaukee. If they can somehow survive this slate, it will at least show that the Mets can be battle-tested and become a sneaky threat to the NL’s big boys.

Regardless of how it all plays out, the front office will certainly enter next offseason with a renewed sense of hope, and not only because of their owner’s deep pockets. The emergence of Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos as lineup cornerstones may be just as important as the pursuit of free agents or trades, while pitching veterans like Sean Manaea and Luis Severino may still have a few good seasons left in the tank. For all the pain and embarrassment of 2023, it is remarkable that the perception of this franchise has taken a 180 in less than a year…now they just need to make the playoffs to fulfill that destiny.

 

Detroit Tigers

 

Record: 75-72

Rank change: +2 (16 to 14)

While today we are focusing on playoff contenders, the Tigers merely qualify as playoff hopefuls at this point. Taking a tough loss in their series finale against the Rockies, despite having Tarik Skubal as the starter, dipped their playoff odds below 10%, but that shouldn’t take away from their impressive in-season turnaround.

Despite losing their four-game winning streak, Detroit’s momentum may still provide a jolt during the final stretch, even as it has been driven by several pitching unknowns. During their current 13-6 stretch that has pushed the Tigers over .500, the staff has allowed 5+ runs in only three of those games, making up for most of the offensive woes that still hamper this team. While the obvious contributions of Tarik Skubal have grabbed the headlines, the Kenta Maeda bullpen reinvention and others like Tyler Holton also deserve some credit.

The Tigers have used 14 different pitchers as starters in 2024, and now it becomes fair to wonder if trading Jack Flaherty may actually be the difference between a feel-good season and a playoff spot. However, that decision was made when Detroit was mired in mediocrity and few expected that they could actually get their act together.

While the days of big spending in Detroit are probably gone for good, it would not take that much of an investment to patch the many areas of need in this lineup. With a bit of better health luck and a manager who is used to maximizing the talent at hand, the Tigers have shown they can become a legitimate threat. Even if they don’t make the playoffs, this has been a step in the right direction.

 

Hittin’ the Skids

 

Atlanta

 

Record: 79-67

Rank change: -3 (10 to 13)

With their streak of six consecutive NL East titles all but certain to end, Atlanta is now facing the possibility of missing the playoffs altogether, which may have sounded impossible when the season started. Many things have obviously gone wrong for this team, starting with key injuries and sheer regression, but even with all the issues, Atlanta is still in control of their playoff hopes. How can they avoid such a letdown over their next 16 games?

Outside of a solid 19-9 mark through the end of April, it seems as if this roster has failed to launch ever since, always hovering around .500 with no major highs or lows. The early injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. was the first sign of trouble, but it hasn’t helped that everyone except Marcell Ozuna has been inconsistent in the lineup, or that every rotation member has been injured or ineffective for large chunks of the season. In an ironic twist, the baseball gods have given us a full season of Chris Sale and he may win his first career Cy Young, and yet we may not see him pitch in October for the first time since his halcyon days in Boston.

Not all hope is lost, though, especially when we consider they are battling the historically cursed Mets for the final playoff spot. All the caveats of New York not being battle-tested are reversed for Atlanta, as their current roster may still have a higher floor and ceiling than their competition. The latest injury blow to Reynaldo López has added even more pressure to the veteran trio of Sale, Max Fried, and Charlie Morton in the rotation, but they could embrace the challenge of a final slate that includes series against the Dodgers and Royals, as well as the all-important meeting with the Mets.

Even if the worst-case scenario comes to pass and Atlanta stays home in October, there should be no reason to panic toward 2025. The depth and talent of their roster remain intact for the foreseeable future and may need only a few reinforcements, and the front office has always shown a knack for extending their window of contention.

 

Baltimore Orioles

 

Record: 83-64

Rank change: -2 (3 to 5)

Baltimore has been one of the most impressive turnaround stories in recent memory, with a team that committed to rebuilding and then pulled it off with top-notch drafts and scouting. Now as a lock to make the postseason for the second straight season, suddenly the mood around the Orioles has started to turn, as the once-dominant team has stumbled to a 25-26 record since the All-Star break. After a 2-5 week that even included a loss against the White Sox, Baltimore is in dire need of a makeover before the regular season ends.

Circling back to this rough stretch, the Orioles were able to score more than three runs in only one of these games, while its pitching allowed 37 despite not facing any offensive juggernauts. Even as growing pains are to be expected on a roster this young, it has also become fair to question if many of Baltimore’s prospects were overrated or rushed to the majors. Outside of Gunnar Henderson’s star turn and Adley Rutschman’s maturation, other hyped youngsters have been more good than great (Colton Cowser, Grayson Rodriguez), or even seem over-matched at this level (Jackson Holliday).

While the division title is still within reach, Baltimore must find a way to re-capture their early-season mojo to become a true threat in the AL. With an upcoming slate that includes a home-and-home against the Tigers and a home date with the Giants, the Orioles could be in excellent shape entering a pivotal series in the Bronx…or they could be preparing their rotation for an inevitable wild-card series. Even as Baltimore’s youth and flexibility portends a long window of contention, there is no time like the present.

Week 24 Power Rankings

Pablo Figueroa

Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

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