David Lennon: MLB power rankings with a month remaining in the regular season

Note: Statistics prior to Friday’s games

(Last month’s rankings in parentheses)

1. Brewers (1)

With all the hype surrounding Jacob Misiorowski, it’s easy to overlook the Brewers sterling bullpen, which has the NL’s top ERA (3.31) to go with MLB’s fourth-best WHIP (1.24) and opponents batting average (.221). Closer Trevor Megill (25-for-27 in saves chances) was just named Reliever of the Month for August (12 scoreless innings pitched, 8-for-8 in chances).

2. Dodgers (2)

Some recent rotation turbulence in LA. Yes, they still feature Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow — but the insurance is cracking, with Roki Sasaki (blister) and Eric Lauer (elbow) landing on the IL, Shohei Ohtani’s mound plans being shelved (knee, biceps injuries) and Justin Wrobleski moving to the bullpen.

3. Rays (3)

It appears that Freddy Peralta is turning out to be a stretch-run asset for the Rays after all. Peralta began his stay in Tampa Bay 0-2 with a 7.17 ERA through his first four starts but has settled down over his last two, a pair of six-inning wins with a 0.75 ERA, totaling 11 strikeouts and zero walks (including Tuesday’s victory over the Mets).

4. Yankees (5)

As Cam Schlittler solidifies his case for the AL Cy Young, here’s an interesting bit of info from stat guru Katie Sharp: Schlittler’s 1.14 ERA in 16 road starts this season is the lowest for the first 16 such starts in AL history (since ERA became an official stat in 1913). As of Friday, Schlittler also led the AL in overall ERA (2.04).

5. Cubs (6)

Pete Crow-Armstrong is on the verge of doing the impossible: ending Shohei Ohtani’s three-year reign as NL MVP. His campaign picked up momentum in August with Player of the Month honors after PCA batted .280 and led MLB in homers (14), slugging (.703), extra-base hits (83) and runs scored (29). He was tied for second with a 1.069 OPS.

6. Atlanta (4)

Ronald Acuna Jr. became the fastest player to reach 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases after going deep in his 904th game this past week — 25 games quicker than former Yankee Alfonso Soriano. The next four on the list are Eric Davis (1,053), Bobby Bonds (1,065), Sammy Sosa (1,094) and Barry Bonds (1,094).

7. Phillies (8)

It’s not surprising that the Phillies’ superb rotation ranked first in strikeout percentage (28.3%), second in WHIP (1.14) and third in ERA (2.80) since Aug. 1. The weird part? Zack Wheeler had a brutal five-start stretch, going 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA, before finally figuring out some mechanical flaws in a six-inning, one-run W over the Angels this week.

8. Red Sox (7)

As if losing three of four to the Yankees in last weekend’s showdown wasn’t bad enough, the Red Sox got hit with some concerning injuries this past week, with cleanup hitter Willson Contreras (hamstring strain) landing on the IL and All-Star centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela sitting for an indefinite period due to right quad tightness.

9. Padres (9)

It’s tough for young talent to stick in San Diego amid A.J. Preller’s perpetual shopping sprees, but count Ethan Salas — the Padres’ top prospect — as one of the lucky few after he was promoted this week. When the 20-year-old catcher does get behind the plate, he’ll be the youngest to do so since Ivan Rodriguez in 1991 with the Rangers.

10. Diamondbacks (10)

With Arizona in a dogfight for the NL’s third card, the D-Backs could get a big late September boost from the return of Corbin Burnes. The 2021 Cy Young winner has been on the IL since June due to a shoulder muscle strain — suffered during his recovery from TJ surgery — but might be only a couple more rehab starts away.

11. White Sox (11)

GM Chris Getz took a major gamble by trading for Luis Castillo at the deadline — not to mention taking on the roughly $30 million the fading ace is due through 2027. So far, it’s been a losing bet. Castillo has one seven-inning gem (one hit, zero runs, 10 Ks) but has a 9.39 ERA over the other four starts, averaging under four innings.

12. Guardians (14)

We’re not sure what it says about the Guardians or the pathetic AL as a whole, but the fact the offensively-challenged Cleveland can lose Jose Ramirez for five weeks (hamate surgery) and still hold on to a wild card spot is amazing. Ramirez homered Saturday for the first time in 38 games but is hitting .316 with an .812 OPS over his last 14.

13. Astros (12)

The firing of GM Dana Brown, with the Astros only a half-game from eventually taking over the AL West lead, was unusual to say the least. But par for the course in this JV division, which had four teams dump their GMs this season. Also, Houston got a post-Brown bump, going 5-3 to knock off the Rangers atop the West.

14. Rangers (15)

The Mets will be seeing old friend Brandon Nimmo during their Sept. 22-24 visit to Globe Life Field, and it seems like Texas is treating him well. Nimmo had a four-hit, five-RBI night this past week and is batting .268 with a .761 OPS, his best performance since 2023, the first season of his eight-year, $162 million extension.

15. Blue Jays (22)

Max Scherzer, who turned 42 on July 27, put on an ageless performance last week against the Mariners, allowing one hit over seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts, which moved him past Gaylord Perry into ninth place on the all-time list with 3,535. The really fun part? Next up is frenemy Justin Verlander, who is only 19 ahead of Mad Max.

16. Orioles (21)

As if the Flushing flop wasn’t enough, the David Stearns nightmare is only intensifying in Baltimore, where Pete Alonso has hit .293 with 22 homers, 58 RBIs and a .944 OPS over 81 games since June 1. Not only that, Alonso’s 141 games played lead the majors and the Orioles were only 1 1/2 games out of the AL’s third wild card.

17. Marlins (16)

Miami ranks second in the majors with 146 stolen bases, two behind the Nationals, but they’re the only team to have four players to reach 20 this season: Esteury Ruiz (30), Otto Lopez (29), Jakob Marsee (21) and Xavier Edwards (20). It’s the second time in franchise history, the other coming in 2002, topped by Luis Castillo’s 48, which led the majors.

18. Pirates (19)

Pittsburgh aggressively tried to patch up their biggest weakness at the trade deadline by fortifying their bullpen with Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar. As a result, the Pirates’ relief corps has climbed the MLB ranks, sitting first in opponents batting average (.189), fourth in WHIP (1.17) and fifth in ERA (2.87) since Aug. 3.

19. Nationals (17)

Blake Butera may be MLB’s youngest manager — he turned 34 last month — but he’s decidedly old school after pulling Jorbit Vivas in the fourth inning of a game last week after not running (and turning his back) on a pop-up to third base. Butera clearly understands the need for message-sending with the youngest roster in the sport’s history.

20. Twins (18)

The supremely-talented Byron Buxton remains perpetually frustrating for the Twins, who probably lost him for the remainder of the season this week when he was placed on the IL for the third time this year with a hip impingement. Buxton has played more than 100 games only three times in his 12-year career, the most being 140 back in 2017.

21. Mariners (20)

Cal Raleigh went from MVP runner-up last season to nearly invisible this year as the Big Dumper nickname took on an entirely different meaning for the slumping catcher. Until the past month, when Raleigh finally woke up, slugging eight homers over a 14-game stretch while hitting .293 with a 1.345 OPS. Probably too late to save Seattle, however.

22. Cardinals (23)

The rebuilding Redbirds were an early-season shocker by dashing to nine games over .500 (37-28) on June 10. But St. Louis has done the exact opposite since (29-38) and now has Rookie of the Year favorite JJ Wetherholt on the IL with wrist tendinitis, which probably explains why he’s hitting .198 with a .599 OPS over his last 48 games.

23. Mets (24)

Juan Soto isn’t used to spending time on the IL and this year will be his first of his career (non-COVID) playing fewer than the 116 games of his 2018 rookie season. But standing on 23 homers with 22 games left, is it possible for Soto to notch his fourth straight year with 30-plus homers? Something to keep an eye on.

24. Tigers (13)

Detroit staying alive in the wild-card race after trading away Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize was a fun story while it lasted. But in reality, you don’t get better after dumping the reigning back-to-back Cy Young winner, as the Tigers’ recent 5-15 spiral can attest, even if that’s got more do with scoring MLB’s second-fewest runs (94) since the deadline.

25. Royals (28)

Kansas City’s playoff chances were microscopic at the trade deadline, yet they kept their rotation intact, and that included Michael Wacha, who may have been worth an overpay from contending clubs. Wacha, 35, is 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA in six starts since Aug. 3, with 32 Ks and six walks over 38 1/3 innings while the Royals went 16-11 in August.

26. Reds (25)

Not surprising that the Reds couldn’t give away two of their biggest disappointments this season when Eugenio Suarez and TJ Friedl (.165/.246/.252) both cleared waivers last week. Suarez returned to the Reds on a one-year, $15 million deal after swatting 49 homers last season but had only 20 with a .708 OPS through 107 games.

27. Giants (26)

Newly-minted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent had his No. 21 retired by the Giants last Sunday, but it was his frosty relationship with Barry Bonds, the six-time MVP kept out of Cooperstown, that was back on center stage. During the Oracle Park ceremony, the two reenacted their 2002 dugout scrap, with Bonds shaking Kent before both broke into laughter.

28. Athletics (27)

As usual, the best thing about the A’s is always the future — never the present — and that goes for the team’s first-round pick from this July’s draft. Outfielder Drew Burress, the eighth overall selection out of Georgia State, had a .449 on-base percentage and 1.058 OPS through his first 22 games at Class A, including seven homers and 11 stolen bases.

29. Angels (29)

Neighboring Disneyland, the Angels occupied the unhappiest place on Earth before this week’s sale. Still, this year will be the Halos’ 12th straight without a playoff appearance and 17th without a postseason victory (0-3 in the 2014 ALDS). On pace for 100 losses this year, it would mark the Angels’ first such season since the franchise’s birth in 1961.

30. Rockies (30)

Nothing like adding insult to ineptitude for the Rockies, who can now add shameful behavior to their miserable on-field resume thanks to Cole Carrigg. The rookie centerfielder was benched last week for making an inappropriate gesture toward Atlanta fans at Truist Park after his diving attempt to make a catch narrowly came up short.