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    MLB Power Rankings Week 14: Philadelphia Phillies Make Another Jump

    Welcome to another addition of Inside the Phillies weekly power rankings! This week, the Philadelphia Phillies continue to climb!

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    Philadelphia Phillies
    Philadelphia Phillies

    The Philadelphia Phillies moved up two spots in our weekly MLB power rankings, having now won 19 of their last 26 games.

    This week's power rankings saw a new team climb into the top-3, with the Atlanta Braves remaining at the very top for the second straight week, and the Tampa Bay Rays right behind them.

    Here's a look at our power rankings for Week 13 of the 2023 Major League Baseball season:

    1) Atlanta Braves (56-27; +139 DIFF, 26-16 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 1 [no movement]) — Since claiming our top spot last week, the Braves have not lost. Brian Snitker's club went 6-0 this past week, sweeping the Twins and Marlins, and extending their winning streak to eight games.

    2) Tampa Bay Rays (57-30; +157 DIFF, 28-17 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 2 [no movement]) — The Rays may have dropped a series in Seattle over the weekend, but I'd say that going 3-3 on a cross-country road trip and beating the upstart Diamondbacks in their own building two out of three times made for a productive week.

    3) Arizona Diamondbacks (50-35; +37 DIFF, 24-24 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 3 [no movement]) — Seeing the D-Backs on the field with the Rays this past week reminded me of the vintage 2008 ESPN the Magazine cover that featured both Upton brothers — Justin and BJ. It also happened to be the Fantasy Baseball preview. What a nostalgia trip! D-Backs and Rangers climb up a spot after a poor showing from the Orioles.

    4) Texas Rangers (50-34; +156 DIFF, 21-22 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 4 [no movement]) — The Rangers remain an elite team in the American League, but are 4-6 over their last 10. They only split a four-game series at home with the Tigers this past week, before dropping a home series to the Astros, who are now four games back of first place.

    5) Baltimore Orioles (49-33; +20 DIFF, 24-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 3 [down 2]) — The O's dropped two home series this week, to the Reds and Twins, going 2-4. As a result, they drop two spots.

    6) Cincinnati Reds (45-39; -20 DIFF, 20-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 7 [up 1]) — The Reds continue to climb our rankings, bouncing back from a series loss to the Braves by going out to Baltimore and stealing a road series, before returning home to take two of three from the Padres.

    7) Houston Astros (46-38; +57 DIFF, 20-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 12 [up 5]) — The Astros return to the top-10 after taking a pair of road series from the Cardinals and Rangers. Their young pitching rotation featuring four rookies continues to impress.

    8) New York Yankees (46-38; +32 DIFF, 25-23 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 9 [up 1]) — The Yankees played .500 ball over the past week, moving up a spot, as the Giants drop.

    9) Los Angeles Dodgers (46-37; +58 DIFF, 20-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 9 [no movement]) — The deeper into the season we go without the Dodgers taking control of the NL West, the more mortal they appear. This Dodgers' season just feels different from previous years. I don't care if you're going on the road, if you are a contending team, you should be racking up wins when you play Colorado and Kansas City, as Los Angeles did this week. The Dodgers went 3-3 against a pair of bottom tier teams. That's a disappointing 3-3 if you ask me.

    10) San Francisco Giants (46-38; +36 DIFF, 23-18 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 6 [down 4]) — The Giants finally cooled off this week, after a remarkable hot streak.

    11) Miami Marlins (48-37; -22 DIFF, 18-19 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 11 [no movement]) — The Marlins continued to impress early in the week, sweeping the Red Sox at Fenway. Over the weekend, they were presented with their greatest challenge yet: a three-game series with the NL East-leading Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta. The Marlins failed the test, as they were outscored 29-7.

    12) Milwaukee Brewers (45-39; -16 DIFF, 17-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 14 [up 2]) — A 7-3 road trip moves the Brewers back into a tie for first place with the Reds, as they climb up to no. 12 in our power rankings.

    13) Philadelphia Phillies (44-39; +6 DIFF, 19-27 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 15 [up 2]) — The Phillies had won 18 of 23 before dropping a home series to the Nationals over the weekend. They will now be tested with trips to Tampa Bay and Miami before the All-Star break.

    14) Toronto Blue Jays (45-40; +19 DIFF, 23-31 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 10 [down 4]) — Ouch! After being swept at home by Boston, Toronto drops four spots, and is only two games up on last place in a hypercompetitive AL East division. While the Jays are competing in a historically great division, I still think Toronto fans had higher hopes for this team.

    15) Los Angeles Angels (45-41; +33 DIFF, 16-26 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 13 [down 2) — A 3-4 week moves the Angels closer to .500 and drops them down two spots in our rankings.

    16) Boston Red Sox (43-42; +13 DIFF, 27-24 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 17 [up 1]) — It was a very Red Sox week. Alex Cora's squad was swept by the Marlins at home, before sweeping the Blue Jays on the road. Once again, I don't quite know what to make of this team.

    17) Cleveland Guardians (41-42; -8 DIFF, 14-16 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 19 [up 2]) — The Guardians were all alone in first place of the AL Central this week, for the first time since April. They are now tied for first with the Twins, with both teams sporting a losing record. Oh, the AL Central.

    18) Minnesota Twins (42-43; +31 DIFF, 22-27 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 18 [no movement]) — The Minnesota Mids were swept by the Braves, but recovered nicely, taking two of three from the Orioles in Baltimore.

    19) Seattle Mariners (40-42; +17 DIFF, 16-29 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 20 [up 1]) — The M's showed signs of life this weekend, picking up a series win over the AL-leading Rays. Will this series victory be what finally launches them into contention?

    20) Chicago Cubs (38-44; +24 DIFF, 16-29 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 16 [down 4]) — In a shocking turn of events over the winter, the Cubs front office decided that instead of going in the tank for a rebuild, it would spend on free agents Dansby Swanson, Jameson Taillon, Trey Mancini, Cody Bellinger and Eric Hosmer so that their team could be remarkably subpar, instead of horrible. Cubs fans were beginning to fear that their recent hot stretch would prevent the front office from selling at the trade deadline. Well do not fear! The Cubs have lost six of seven, and now start a seven-day road trip where they will play the Brewers and Yankees. If they play their cards right, the Cubs have an opportunity to become definitive sellers before the All-Star break!

    In all seriousness, the Cubs do have some assets they can move for pieces that can supplement and potentially accelerate their rebuild. They are better off selling than clinging to mediocrity, at this point.

    21) Pittsburgh Pirates (39-44; -37 DIFF, 18-26 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 27 [up 6]) — The Pirates went 1-12 over the previous two weeks, before sweeping the Padres and dropping two of three to the Brewers at home this week. Last week, they were near the very bottom of our rankings because they were playing as bad as any team. Now, they're back up near the middle.

    22) Detroit Tigers (37-46; -76 DIFF, 12-28 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 23 [up 1]) — Chalk up this past week as a win for the Tigers. Detroit split a four-game series with the Rangers in Arlington, then took a road series at Coors Field over the Rockies.

    23) New York Mets (38-46; -12 DIFF, 22-28 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 22 [down 1]) — Ah, we reach land of extremely disappointing teams. Last year was an outlier. The Mets are 'metting' once again. With a Major League record payroll, Steve Cohen's team is now eight games below .500, and as the trade deadline approaches, changes may be coming soon.

    24) San Diego Padres (38-46; +23 DIFF, 22-25 vs. >.500. LAST WEEK: no. 21 [down 3]) — A week ago, many of us recognized that the Padres were off to a very poor start, but mathematically, were very much in the hunt. Now, the Padres are even with the Mets, eight games back of the third and final NL Wild Card spot. The Padres, with their franchise record payroll, were swept by a Pirates team that had lost 12 of its last 13 games. San Diego went 1-5 this past week, and now, they move below the Mets in our power rankings.

    25) Washington Nationals (34-49; -75 DIFF, 11-30 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 26 [up 1]) — How about the Nats? Washington has won its last three series, emerging 6-3 from a nine-game road trip against a trio of teams — Padres, Mariners and Phillies — that made the playoffs last year.

    26) Chicago White Sox (37-49; -58 DIFF, 19-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 24 [down 2]) — The most interesting thing about the White Sox now is how they will approach the trade deadline. Will they sell, and if so, who is on the table?

    27) St. Louis Cardinals (35-48; -24 DIFF, 20-31 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 25 [down 2]) — Despite their terrible start, a very weak NL Central meant that the Cardinals were very much alive. Now, the Cardinals' hourglass is running out of sand. The Reds and Brewers have emerged as the clear contenders at the top of the NL Central and are beginning pull apart from the rest of the pack. The Cards are 9.5 games back at the start of July. Unless the Redbirds can heat up quickly, they will also be faced similar decisions to the ones the White Sox will have to make at the trade deadline in a few weeks.

    28) Colorado Rockies (33-53; -142 DIFF, 16-32 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 28 [no movement]) — Nothing new to report on the Rocks, other than that they are now 20 games under .500 and 17.5 games back out of first place.

    29) Kansas City Royals (25-59; -131 DIFF, 12-35 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 29 [no movement]) — It's time for our weekly check-up on the Royals and A's! Both teams actually did okay this past week, each going 3-3. The Royals even took a series from the Dodgers! They are now on pace to finish 48-114, which would be the worst single season record in Royals history.

    30) Oakland Athletics (23-63; -237 DIFF, 16-42 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 30 [no movement]) — The A's are now on pace to finish 43-119, which would tie the 2003 Detroit Tigers for the worst record in a 162-game season in baseball history.

    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.

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