Texas Rangers Among Best Teams in MLB Power Rankings

The Texas Rangers are on the verge of returning to the playoffs and winning the American League West title for the first time in seven years.

And they’re considered one of the top-five clubs in baseball.

Texas moved a spot to four spots to No. 5 in the latest MLB Power Rankings from ESPN’s panel of baseball experts.

Per ESPN:

The Rangers reasserted themselves again in the AL West with a dominant weekend performance against division rival Seattle. They outpitched and outhit the Mariners, nearly locking up the division in the process.

The Rangers swept Seattle in Arlington and were in position to win the series opener Thursday night before the Mariners rallied in the ninth for a 3-2 victory. Game 2 is Friday night at 9:10 p.m. CT.

But the magic number to reach the first postseason since 2016 is still just one with three games left. It’s just two to claim the AL West.

The Rangers wouldn’t be in position to control their playoff destiny with several big performances.

Sometimes your stars simply have to be your stars, and both Corey Seager and Marcus Semien brought their lumber in Sunday's 9-8 win. Semien hit his 26th and 27th home runs while Seager went deep for the 33rd time. He produced hits in all six Rangers wins last week after going 0-for-12 in his previous three games. In any other year, Seager would be the clear AL MVP winner considering his OPS is over 1.000, but with Shohei Ohtani around, he'll have to settle for second or perhaps third place.

The Houston Astros dropped four spots to No. 6, while the Mariners slipped one place to 11th. Houston opens a three-game series Friday at the Arizona Diamondbacks.

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.