Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
2023 MLB Power Rankings Week 10: Phillies Continue Slide
The Philadelphia Phillies continue to play subpar baseball. After going 2-4 over the past week, see how the club fared in this week's MLB power rankings.
Here's a look at our power rankings for Week 10 of the 2023 Major League Baseball season.
1) Tampa Bay Rays (42-19; +122 DIFF, 24-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 1 [no movement]) — The Rays remain at the top of our power rankings for the third straight week. Tampa Bay's offense looked a little flat earlier in the week in Chicago, scoring just five runs over three games at Wrigley Field. The Rays' bats woke up over the weekend, however, scoring 15 runs at Fenway Park and taking a road series from the Red Sox. I'm jealous of the Rays' reporters and broadcast crew. Seriously, who gets to visit Wrigley and Fenway in the same week? Y'all are seriously blessed.
2) Texas Rangers (38-20; +152 DIFF, 14-10 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 2 [no movement]) — The Rays got off to a historic start and are currently on pace to win a franchise-record 112 games, but the Rangers are closing the gap. Texas is just three and a half games back for the American League-lead, and is now on pace for a 108-win season of its own. Last week, Bruce Bochy's club went 5-1, which included a commanding sweep of the division rival Seattle Mariners. The Rangers outscored the Mariners 30-9 over the weekend.
3) Baltimore Orioles (37-22; +30 DIFF, 19-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 3 [no movement]) — The O's stay steady at no. 3 after playing .500 ball over the past week.
4) Houston Astros (35-24; +58 DIFF, 18-13 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 4 [no movement]) — Nice showing from the Astros this weekend, taking three of four at home from the Angels. But can the 'Stros stop wasting quality starts from JP France? The Astros rookie did not allow a hit through 5.2 innings pitched Sunday. He allowed just one run off three hits and one walk over seven innings; the Astros lost 2-1.
5) New York Yankees (36-25; +39 DIFF, 17-19 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 7 [up 2]) — A terrific road trip from the Bronx Bombers has Aaron Boone's team looking like an elite team once again. Their series win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles has all five of this week's top 5 spots going to American League teams.
6) Los Angeles Dodgers (35-25; +58 DIFF, 13-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 5 [down 1]) — The Dodgers are getting a great opportunity to develop young players at the Major League level, after a relatively quiet offseason. Bobby Miller was electric in his second career start, against the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball.
7) Atlanta Braves (35-24; +63 DIFF, 16-14 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 6 [down 1]) — The Braves salvaged a rough week by picking up a series win over an upstart Diamondbacks team in Arizona. Earlier in the week, however, the Braves' season hit a new low, giving the Oakland A's their 11th and 12th victories of the season. One of the best stories of the week though? How about the return of Mike Soroka, after three years and multiple surgeries to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon? Injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright should give the 2019 All-Star a chance to reclaim a spot in the Braves' pitching rotation.
8) Arizona Diamondbacks (35-25; +19 DIFF, 14-14 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 8 [no movement]) — Arizona is doing what contenders do: winning all of the games they are supposed to win. This past week, the club picked up its first four-game sweep of the Rockies since 2002. Had it not been for a bullpen meltdown Sunday, the D-Backs would have the best record in the National League entering week 10.
9) Toronto Blue Jays (33-27; +31 DIFF, 22-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 14 [up 5]) — The Blue Jays move up five spots, and back into the top ten after winning five of six against quality teams, taking two of three from the Brewers and sweeping the Mets in New York.
10) Milwaukee Brewers (32-27; -19 DIFF, 12-12 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 16 [up 6]) — I know it's only the start of June, but with Major League Baseball shrinking the number of divisional games this season, this weekend's series in Cincinnati felt like a big series. The Reds were surging entering last week, and the Brewers went into their building and took the first three games (with Monday night being the series finale). Had the Reds taken those three games, they'd have an identical record to the Brewers. Instead, the Brewers remain at the top of the NL Central.
11) Pittsburgh Pirates (31-27; +10 DIFF, 9-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 20 [up 9]) — After a brutal month of May, the Pirates are undefeated in June and winners of five straight.
12) Minnesota Twins (31-29; +45 DIFF, 13-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 15 [up 3]) — The Twins did enough to move up this week, taking two of three from the Astros in Houston, and splitting a four-game series with an improving Cleveland team.
13) Miami Marlins (32-28; -37 DIFF, 12-14 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 11 [down 2]) — If the season ended today, the Marlins would be tied with the Pirates for the third and final National League Wild Card spot, with the Mets, Phillies and Padres missing the playoffs entirely, just as we all expected.
14) Los Angeles Angels (31-30; +3 DIFF, 14-22 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 12 [down 2]) — The Angels had a nice opportunity to climb the AL West ranks and make a statement, playing four games in Houston this weekend. They were outscored 21-12 by the defending champions.
15) Boston Red Sox (30-29; +12 DIFF, 18-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 13 [down 2]) — Boston falls in our rankings after going 2-4 at home in series against the Reds and Rays. They'll have a chance to split with the Rays in the final game of their four-game series Monday afternoon, before traveling to Cleveland and New York later this week.
16) New York Mets (30-30; -12 DIFF, 10-12 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 17 [up 1]) — The Mets swept the Phillies, then got swept by the Blue Jays for a 3-3 week. They go up a spot, with teams that were in front of them stumbling.
17) San Francisco Giants (29-30; +1 DIFF, 19-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 9 [down 8]) — The Giants and Mariners each experience a significant drop after climbing into the top 10 last week. Since winning 10 of 12, the Giants have seesawed back to below-.500, going 2-5 over their last seven games.
18) Seattle Mariners (29-30; +3 DIFF, 10-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 10) — Like the Giants, the Mariners cooled off this week. The M's took on two elite teams at home, going 1-5 against the Yankees and Rangers. They were outscored 50-16 over those six games.
19) Cleveland Guardians (27-32; -31 DIFF, 12-16 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 22 [up 3]) — My pick to win the AL Central might be starting to turn a corner. The Guards have won or split each of their last three series, including an impressive series victory in Baltimore earlier in the week. Their prolonged bullpen struggles are concerning, though. Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, Nick Sandlin and Trevor Stephan have combined for 13 of their 32 losses. At the same time, the Guardians' bullpen could greatly benefit from some insurance runs and breathing room in late innings.
20) Philadelphia Phillies (27-32; -36 DIFF, 10-20 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 19 [down 1]) — The Phillies are an ugly watch. Defensively, this team isn't good and will beat itself by making mistakes in the field. The club is tied with Oakland for Major League-worst in team Defensive Runs Saved at -22.
21) Chicago Cubs (25-32; 0 DIFF, 13-18 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 28 [up 7]) — The Cubs showed signs of life this week, holding the Rays' dynamic offense to just five runs over three games and taking two of three from the Padres in San Diego.
22) San Diego Padres (27-31; +13 DIFF, 16-22 vs. >.500. LAST WEEK: 23 [up 1]) — This team is puzzling. Everybody keeps waiting for them to flip a switch. The deeper into the summer the team continues to struggle, the more that last year's NLCS trip feels like a fluke.
23) Chicago White Sox (26-35; -47 DIFF, 10-22 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 27 [up 4]) — A sweep at home of the Tigers has the White Sox now 5.5 games back of the Twins in the AL Central.
24) Detroit Tigers (26-31; -64 DIFF, 11-19 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 21 [down 3]) — The Tigers were generating some buzz a week ago. They were one game below .500, and in second place in the AL Central. Since, they're 1-5, and got swept by the White Sox. The run-differential doesn't lie; this is a below-average team.
25) Cincinnati Reds (26-33; -35 DIFF, 10-15 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 24 [down 1]) — The Reds had won five straight before four in a row this week. It will be interesting to see how they respond this coming week. They'll play the final game of a four-game series against the Brewers, before playing host to the Dodgers, and traveling to St. Louis next weekend.
26) St. Louis Cardinals (25-35; +3 DIFF, 14-21 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 18) — I keep expecting the Cardinals to turn a corner and establish themselves as the best team in the NL Central. I thought they had worked the kinks out of their system, when they won 11 of 14. They're 2-7 over their past nine, and now have the worst record in the National League.
27) Washington Nationals (25-34; -37 DIFF, 11-22 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 26 [down 1]) — Look, the Nationals are undoubtedly in a rebuild, but this isn't a terrible team. At least not at this time. The Nats have a promising pair of arms at the top of their rotation in Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore.
28) Colorado Rockies (26-35; -57 DIFF, 13-18 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: 25 [down 3]) — A 2-5 week and losing all four games of a series with the rival Diamondbacks moves the Rockies down to the bottom of our National League rankings.
29) Kansas City Royals (18-41; -75 DIFF, 6-26 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 29 [no movement]) — The only team that is slightly less terrible than Oakland picked up two wins over the past week. The Royals are now on pace to finish 49-113, which would easily be the worst record by a Royals team in franchise history.
30) Oakland Athletics (12-49; -212 DIFF, 8-34 vs. >.500, LAST WEEK: no. 30 [no movement]) — The A's surprisingly took down the Braves in Oakland, twice! It was their second series win of the season. The Athletics are now on pace to finish 31-131, which would be the worst record posted in a 162-game Major League season in baseball history, outdoing the 2003 Tigers by 12 losses.
