Houston Astros Make Surprising Jump in Recent Power Rankings

This week, the Houston Astros reached new heights in Sports Illustrated's weekly MLB power rankings on Inside the Phillies. The Astros climbed into the top-5, claiming the no. 4 spot.

Houston entered last week sitting in the no. 6 spot. Dusty Baker's club went 4-2 for the week, winning both series they played, earning them a two-spot promotion in Monday's edition of the weekly power rankings.

The Astros went out to Baltimore and impressively took two of three games from the Orioles, who occupied the top spot in the power rankings for the previous two weeks. Consequently, the Orioles fell out of the top spot, and into the fifth spot, with the 'Stros leaping in front of the O's.

The Astros are 2.5 games back of the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West, entering play Monday. The Rangers have won ten of their last 12 games, since the trade deadline. With the Rangers leading, Bruce Bochy's team finds itself one spot in front of the Astros, in this week's rankings.

Here's a look at the full top-10:

10) Chicago Cubs (61-57; +64 DIFF, 31-37 vs. >.500)

9) Philadelphia Phillies (65-54; +33 DIFF, 37-37 vs. >.500)

8) Milwaukee Brewers (65-54; +6 DIFF, 32-33 vs. >.500)

7) Seattle Mariners (63-54; +58 DIFF, 31-37 vs. >.500)

6) Tampa Bay Rays (71-49; +139 DIFF, 40-35 vs. >.500)

5) Baltimore Orioles (73-45; +65 DIFF, 47-36 vs. >.500)

4) Houston Astros (68-51; +86 DIFF, 30-34 vs. >.500)

3) Texas Rangers (70-48; +181 DIFF, 35-29 vs. >.500)

2) Los Angeles Dodgers (71-46; +136 DIFF, 32-30 vs. >.500)

1) Atlanta Braves (75-42; +193 DIFF, 40-25 vs. >.500)

The Astros have just one series remaining against the Rangers. The two clubs will meet in what should be a tight division race, the first week of September.

Both the Rangers and the Astros scored future Hall of Fame starting pitchers from the New York Mets before the deadline last week. The Rangers snagged Max Scherzer, while the Astros added Justin Verlander. The grizzled veterans were teammates in Detroit for the first half of the 2010s. Last winter, they were reunited, as Verlander signed a two-year contract with the Mets. As the Mets spiraled out of contention, its front office began clearing house, functioning as sellers at the trade deadline last week. Now, Verlander and Scherzer could pitch against each other with a division title on the line, in September.

Here's a look at the full, 30-team power rankings .

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.

More From SI's Inside The Astros:

Published Aug 14, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Astros, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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