Phillies Oddly Hold Steady in MLB Power Rankings Despite Winning Week

Another winning week wasn't enough to push the Philadelphia Phillies up the power rankings.

Jun 15, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Bryce Harper (3), infielder Alec Bohm (28), infielder Edmundo Sosa (33), and infielder Bryson Stott (5) react after the game against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies were excellent in May and have continued playing at a high level through the first half of June as well.

With a 39-33 overall record entering play on June 16, they are in the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the National League. Now 1.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres, who hold the third spot, the Phillies continue to put pressure on the St. Louis Cardinals, who are in the first Wild Card spot.

Despite that success, Philadelphia didn’t move in the most recent MLB power rankings shared by The Athletic (subscription required). They were No. 10 last week and oddly remain in that spot this time around.

What makes the placement all the more head-scratching is that the team ahead of them at No. 9, the Pittsburgh Pirates, have lost eight out of their last 10 games and are now under the .500 mark at 36-37.

Phillies could have moved up in MLB power rankings

Jun 15, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto (10) celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run against the Miami Marlins in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Just ahead of the Pirates is the Chicago White Sox. Their success thus far in 2026 certainly warranted a spot securely in the top half of the rankings. However, the Phillies did take two out of three games against the White Sox when they visited Citizens Bank Park on June 5-7.

Alas, the margin between the three franchises was razor-thin. Chicago was 9.5 on average based on the rankings submitted by the panel, with Pittsburgh at 9.5 and Philadelphia at 10.

What could have been the difference between the Phillies being No. 8 and No. 10? It likely didn’t help their cause how much they were dominated in a weekend series by the Milwaukee Brewers, who are No. 4 in this week’s edition of the power rankings.

In Game 1 of their series in Milwaukee, Philadelphia was mowed down historically by Jacob Misiorowski. The velocity that he had at the start of the matchup, right through his final pitch, was historic.

Fish are food, not friends#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/TtvwqadGML

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 16, 2026

He also broke a record for the most strikeouts in a Maddux Game with 15. A “Maddux Game” is when a pitcher throws a complete game with under 100 pitches thrown. Not only did Misiorowski accomplish that, but he also faced the minimum number of batters with 27.

After a thrilling 9-8 victory in Game 2, Philadelphia was shut out again in the rubber match, 4-0. This time, it was Kyle Harrison whom the Phillies’ bats had no answer for, as he tossed six shutout innings before giving way to Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby.

However, Philadelphia did get this week started on a high note. They opened their series with the Miami Marlins with a 7-0 shutout victory of their own. Zack Wheeler threw six shutout innings, while Tim Mayza, Jonathan Bowlan and Chase Shugart finished this off.

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