MLB Power Rankings: Braves leapfrog Mets for top-five spot
Mon, Jul 4, 2022
MLB News (AP)
AP Sports MLB Analyst
We're exactly at the halfway mark of the 2022 MLB season and no division has my eye more than the NL East.
Just one month ago, the Mets held a 10.5-game lead over the Atlanta Braves. Now at the start of July, the Braves have cut that lead to 3.5 games.
The Braves put together one of the best months in team history with a 21-6 record, which matched the most wins they have ever gotten in a month since they moved to Atlanta in 1966.
The Braves are certainly playing better than the Mets at the moment, but the Mets are on the verge of getting two of the best pitchers in the game back.
This race is heating up, and I can't wait to watch it play out. Until then, let's see where they wind up on this week's MLB Power Rankings.
Ben Verlander gives us his MLB Power Rankings after Week 13, which include the Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.10. Minnesota Twins
The Twins are atop the AL Central, but the division-favorite White Sox are playing much better of late. The Twins need some arms to help complete their team and if they are serious about winning the division this year then they need to be big-time buyers at the trade deadline.
For now, they are a fun team to watch and are holding down that top spot in the division by a thread in this week's power rankings.
9. St. Louis Cardinals
Last week, the Cardinals hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs for just the 11th time in history. They would benefit from another arm in the rotation, but their offense - led by MVP front-runner Paul Goldschmidt - is keeping them in the thick of things in the NL Central.
The St. Louis Cardinals hit four home runs in a row for the 11th time in MLB history in the first inning Saturday. Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carlson all went deep.8. Toronto Blue Jays
This season, the Blue Jays' offense leads MLB in OPS and in the month of June alone, they scored a league-leading 170 runs. Their offense is why Toronto will be playing baseball in October; the pitching, on the other hand, has some question marks.
7. Milwaukee Brewers
Unlike the teams behind the Brewers in this week's power rankings, Milwaukee does it in a different fashion by dominating on the pitching side. For a while, the Brewers were without two of their big three pitchers in the starting rotation, but now they have Brandon Woodruff back to form a great 1-2 punch with Corbin Burnes, and they haven't skipped a beat.
6. San Diego Padres
The Padres ran into the Dodgers this past weekend and found themselves just a couple outs away from getting swept in a four-game series. Luckily for them, they battled back and found a way to win Sunday, saving themselves from a disastrous series against their division rival. The pitching has been great for them, as they lead baseball in strikeouts. But if they want to compete with the Dodgers in the NL West, they need Fernando Tatis Jr. back.
5. New York Mets
The Mets need Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer back in a hurry now that the Atlanta Braves are breathing down their neck. I had to bump the Mets down after a rough showing against the Houston Astros over the last week and a half, but they could quickly be back up now that their co-aces are poised to return.
Ben Verlander talks about the battle between the Mets and Braves in the NL East. The Braves are back in business with key performances from Dansby Swanson, Ronald Acuna Jr. and others, while the Mets anticipate the returns of Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom.4. Atlanta Braves
For the first time since the first week of the season, the Braves are ahead of the Mets in my Power Rankings. The Braves won 21 games in June, which ties a franchise record, and cut the Mets' division lead down by eight games over that stretch. The Mets are still in the division lead, but standings aren't everything when it comes to Power Rankings. Right now, the Braves are the team in the NL East you'd least want to run into.'
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers undoubtedly have some issues with the injuries they are dealing with, but we saw just how good they are and how much depth they have when they played the Padres over the weekend. It was the biggest series of the season for both teams to date, and the Dodgers dominated. They didn't have the best month of June, but there is no doubt they are one of the best teams in baseball.
Ben Verlander dives into the depth of the Dodgers and their success even without Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, Dustin May and Walker Buehler.2. Houston Astros
The Astros have been a force lately and that was on full display in the last week and a half. In a very weird stretch in their schedule, the Astros had to play the best team in each league for nine straight games: first at home, then on the road for six, followed by back home for one against both the Yankees and the Mets. During that stretch, the Astros went 7-2 and really dominated in every facet of the game. They showed just how good they are.'
1. New York Yankees
Despite losing three of five games to the Astros, I'm not overthinking the top spot on this week's Power Rankings. The Yankees are on pace to break the all-time MLB wins record and despite the gap between the first and second spot getting much closer, the Yankees are still the best team in baseball and are on top of this week's Power Rankings once again. They have an astonishing 34-9 record at home this season, which is by far the best in baseball.
Watch "Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander" on YouTube, or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts
Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for AP Sports and the host of the "Flippin' Bats" podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @BenVerlander.
