Major League Baseball

MLB Power Rankings: Surging Dodgers take over at No. 1

Updated Aug. 8, 2022 6:25 p.m. ET

By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

Last week was a huge week for a lot of the best teams in baseball. Some are going in the right direction, and some are now going the other way.

Let’s get into it and see how things shake out at the top of the power rankings.

MLB Power Rankings: Los Angeles Dodgers lead this week's power rankings

Ben Verlander gives us his MLB Power Rankings for Week 18, led by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and New York Mets.

Watch "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" on YouTube, or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.

10. Seattle Mariners

The Mariners accomplished what they wanted to at the deadline, acquiring the best available pitcher. In his first start for his new team, Luis Castillo went into Yankee stadium and pitched great en route to a win that helped the Mariners take the series against the Yankees.

The Mariners are playing good baseball and will match up well with anyone, thanks to their dominant rotation.

9. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies are 11-2 in their past 13 games. The two top teams in the NL East, the Braves and Mets, didn’t do a whole lot at the trade deadline, but the Phillies sure took advantage, adding Noah Syndergaard, David Robertson and Brandon Marsh, all three of whom helped fill positions of need.

Since the All-Star break, the Phillies have been on a roll.

8. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are in the midst of a season-best seven-game winning streak, and they are one of only two unbeaten teams in the month of August. They're coming off a three-game weekend-series sweep of the Yankees, for which more than 141,000 fans packed Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals' offense has been good all season, and they added pitching at the deadline, which is exactly what they needed. On July 30, the Cardinals were four games behind the first-place Brewers. Now, they hold a two-game lead in the NL Central.

St. Louis Cardinals will win the NL Central

Ben Verlander breaks down how the Cardinals were able to surpass the Brewers for first place in the NL Central and explains why he thinks the Brewers will miss the playoffs.

7. San Diego Padres

After a trade deadline in which the Padres were the clear winners, the team hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders. The Padres were swept by the Dodgers over the weekend and are 1-4 since the arrival of Juan Soto.

They will be fine, and they will be a playoff team, but as of now, the new-look Padres haven't gotten going yet.

6. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays' trade deadline was a bit of a disappointment. Their one glaring issue was their starting rotation, and they didn’t address that at all. Their offense is very good and should carry them into the playoffs, but without multiple top-of-the-rotation starters, I don’t think the Jays can do much damage when they get there.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on a career-best 18-game hitting streak right now, and the Jays are still holding down the top wild card after a so-so week.

5. Atlanta Braves

The Braves have been one of the hotter teams in baseball since June 1, but this weekend, they ran into the Mets for a five-game division clash. The Mets took four of five games and really dominated the Braves in all facets of the game.

The Braves are a good team but clearly appear to be the second-best team in the NL East.

Mets, not Yankees, are kings of New York

Ben Verlander explains why he thinks the Mets have surpassed the Yankees as the official team of New York.

4. New York Yankees

The Yankees' fall from the best team in the league has been pretty apparent of late. Since the beginning of July, they are 14-18 and 6-11 since the All-Star Break.

The Yankees lost six games in the entire month of June (22-6), but since the calendar turned to July, they haven’t been the team that was on pace to break the all-time MLB wins record.

3. New York Mets

The Mets are 11-2 in their past 13 games and coming off a dominant series against their division rivals. Thanks to a scheduled doubleheader, the two teams played five games, and the Mets won four. Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer both pitched in the series.

The Mets are close to full strength now, and we're getting a glimpse of just how good they really are.

New York Mets take over this week's Team of the Week

Ben Verlander breaks down his team of the week, with amazing performances by the Mets’ Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Daniel Vogelbach and Tyler Naquin.

2. Houston Astros

The Astros are now tied with the Yankees for the most wins in the American League, and they've dominated the season series. The addition of Trey Mancini has been great for them, as he has already tallied three home runs, including a grand slam.

The Astros didn’t play great against the Guardians over the weekend but are coasting along with a 70-40 record.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have an astounding 30-5 (.853) record in their past 35 games (15-3 since All-Star break). Their current eight-game winning streak is their fifth winning streak of seven-plus games this season, and they're on pace for a franchise-record 112 wins.

Even with all the injuries on the pitching side, the Dodgers are having a historically great season.

Here’s to another great week of Major League Baseball!

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 on Twitter @BenVerlander.