It feels like I’ve been writing about the playoff stretch for awhile now, but we’re actually amidst the stretch currently so it finally makes sense.
This is the final Power Rankings for 2015, because in two weeks we will be watching playoff baseball.
Power Rankings mean very little at this point, frankly. It’s all about who wants it the most and which teams have found their groove. Luckily, the last two weeks of the regular season should be very exciting as there are both close divisional and wild card races that look like they’ll be settled in the final days of September.
Let’s take a look at the final Power Rankings of the year. As always, the number in parenthesis is where the club was ranked two weeks ago.
1. St. Louis Cardinals (1)
2. Kansas City Royals (2) – The Royals may not have regained the top spot in the Power Rankings, but they do have the lowest magic number (3) of anyone in the league.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (6) – At this point, the goal for Pittsburgh is simple: secure home field for the Wild Card game.
5. New York Mets (4) – There have been a lot of surprises this year, but none have been more pleasant than the Mets. Maintaining pace despite a decent last effort by Washington is impressive, and this young squad will be exciting in October barring a complete collapse.
6. Toronto Blue Jays (5) – Not quite a favorite at the All-Star break, but Toronto did an excellent job making the most of its trade deadline acquisitions.
7. Texas Rangers (11)
8. Chicago Cubs (9)
9. New York Yankees (8) – To the Yankees, this last week and a half will feel like the last mile of a marathon. It will be interesting to see if those old legs can outkick the younger teams eager to steal a Wild Card spot in the AL.
10. Washington Nationals (10)
11. Los Angeles Angels (14) – The current series with Houston will make or break the Halos’ chances at a Wild Card berth.
12. San Francisco Giants (12)
13. Houston Astros (7) – After all the talk of Houston proving the doubters wrong, it’ll be a hell of a fight to keep the second Wild Card spot.
14. Minnesota Twins (13) – Minnesota was a consistent team all season and will likely barely miss the playoffs. Yet, they went as unnoticed as a team like Oakland in 2015.
15. Cleveland Indians (15) – Simply put, Cleveland needs nothing short of a miracle to extend its season beyond September.
16. Baltimore Orioles (22)
17. Seattle Mariners (17)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (21)
19. Tampa Bay Rays (16)
20. Boston Red Sox (19)
21. Chicago White Sox (20)
22. San Diego Padres (18)
23. Detroit Tigers (24)
24. Miami Marlins (26)
25. Cincinnati Reds (27)
26. Oakland Athletics 25)
27. Colorado Rockies (28)
28. Milwaukee Brewers (23)
29. Atlanta Braves (29)
30. Philadelphia Phillies (30) – The Phillies will end the Power Rankings the way they spent most of the season: in last and playing the worst baseball in the MLB.
