Major League Baseball

2024 MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers, Astros make statements after All-Star break

Updated Jul. 23, 2024 12:11 a.m. ET

We're roughly 100 games into the season, and it's pretty clear which teams are the best in baseball. Most of them were expected to be from the beginning, although there have been several surprises along the way.

Just ask the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros and Braves. I believe this is the first week all four have made my list since early April.

With that, here's my first power rankings following the All-Star break, with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook.

10. Atlanta Braves (54-44, LW 9)
World Series odds: +950

The Braves' slow slide down the power rankings continued this week after losing two of three against the Cardinals. Even worse, their injury woes still persist, with Max Fried and Ozzie Albies hitting the IL. It's unclear how long the forearm injury will keep Fried sidelined, while Albies will miss 6-8 weeks with a wrist fracture. Just more bad news for a team that can't afford many more injuries.

9. St. Louis Cardinals (52-47, LW unranked)
World Series odds: +6000

As for the team that won the weekend series against the Braves, the Cardinals slid into the power rankings this week. St. Louis has made an impressive surge up the standings since the start of June and is five games above .500 for the first time all season. Alec Burleson and Willson Contreras have been on a tear in July, with each hitting above .300 and combining for 11 homers and 34 RBIs.

8. Houston Astros (52-47, LW unranked)
World Series odds: +1400

Here come the ‘Stros! Houston's finally back in my top 10 after curbing its early-season struggles. The Astros are 26-13 since June 2, picking up series wins over a handful of teams over .500 in that stretch. Their latest was over the Seattle Mariners to vault into first place in the AL West. Yordan Álvarez has been terrific, hitting for the cycle on Sunday, but Houston's been getting contributions from all over its lineup. Its starting pitching has also been impressive, with Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and Ronel Blanco all stepping up during this recent streak.

Astros' Yordan Álvarez hits a double to complete the cycle vs. Mariners

7. Minnesota Twins (54-44, LW 6)
World Series odds: +2000

The Twins didn't start the second half on a good note, getting swept in a two-game set to the Brewers. Carlos Correa didn't play in either game after a plantar fasciitis issue flared up right before the break that forced him to the IL. Still, we won't penalize the Twins too much since one defeat was in extras and the other was by a run. It was good to see Byron Buxton hit a pair of homers on Sunday. He has a .400 batting average in July.

6. New York Yankees (60-42, LW 4)
World Series odds: +600

The Yankees still can't seem to get out of their own way. They had an impressive win on Friday over the Tampa Bay Rays where Gerrit Cole looked like the best version of himself and they had a well-rounded performance at the plate. But that lasted just one day. Nestor Cortes got shellacked, giving up six runs in 4.1 innings on Saturday. Luis Severino's criticism that the Yankees only have two hitters looked even more valid on Sunday, with Juan Soto and Aaron Judge knocking in all four of their runs in a 6-4 loss.

5. Milwaukee Brewers (55-44, LW 7)
World Series odds: +2600

The Brewers were on the right end of the two-game set against the Twins, picking up a pair of key wins as the Cardinals continue to surge. Willy Adames has had a good stretch of hitting recently, posting a .350 batting average to go with a .944 OPS, two homers and 13 RBIs in July.

4. Cleveland Guardians (59-39, LW 3)
World Series odds: +2000

The Guardians didn't have the best showing in their first series back from the break, losing two of three to the San Diego Padres at home. Cleveland's lineup has gone a bit cold of late, with Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez all currently slumping. Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively had a pair of solid outings over the weekend, with the former pitching 5.2 shutout innings on Friday.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (59-41, LW 5)
World Series odds: +320

Maybe a break was all the Dodgers needed after a 3-8 stretch before the All-Star Game. The Dodgers swept the playoff-hopeful Red Sox over the weekend, which included a pair of dramatic wins. Freddie Freeman made the Red Sox pay for intentionally walking Will Smith on Friday, hitting a grand slam that proved to be the difference. A day later, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith knocked in the game-winning run. To think teams have to pick their poison like this against this Dodgers lineup is absurd, and Mookie Betts is still out.

Freddie Freeman BLASTS game-sealing grand slam vs. Red Sox

VIDEO IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

2. Baltimore Orioles (60-39, LW 2)
World Series odds: +750

Speaking of a dangerous lineup, the Orioles knocked in 17 runs in their first two games back from the break against the Texas Rangers. Their lineup had a symmetrical performance over the two games, with the top of the order dominating on Friday while the bottom half did their part on Saturday. We all know Corbin Burnes is the Orioles' ace, but Grayson Rodriguez was nasty again over the weekend, getting eight strikeouts for his sixth quality start in his past nine outings.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (63-36, LW 1)
World Series odds: +400

The best team in baseball had a brief stumble out of the break, losing their first two games to the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend. But it's hard to keep them down for too long as they cruised to a 6-0 win on Sunday. Of course, Nick Castellanos was a part of the action with a home run soon after a certain major news story broke.

Nick Castellanos' solo homer highlights Phillies' victory over Pirates

VIDEO IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Out:
-New York Mets (50-48, LW 10); World Series odds: +5000
-Boston Red Sox (53-45, LW 8); World Series odds: +4000

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him at @BenVerlander.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience