Dodgers Remain on Top of MLB Power Rankings Entering the Final Week
The Dodgers are the team to beat in Major League Baseball. It’s been that way since the day that they acquired Mookie Betts and cemented themselves atop the NL West. So it makes sense that Los Angeles has dominated the Power Rankings from week 1.
In fact, the Dodgers have not relinquished their number 1 spot in the rankings since the preseason list was released. Even in their worst slides they still came out on top. It should come as no surprise that entering the final week of regular season play, they are once again ranked first.
The ranking comes after a week that saw the Dodgers drop one big game to the Padres and bounce back to win the series. At that point, they were just 1.5 games up on San Diego. Whatever Trent Grisham did, it might have woken a sleeping giant. Los Angeles went on to dominate most of the week, winning 5 of 7 games. More from MLB expert Alyson Footer:
The Dodgers are on the cusp of clinching their eighth consecutive National League West title. In the divisional era (since 1969), only the Braves (14) and Yankees (9) have had longer streaks. Here’s a Dodgers pitcher to keep an eye on: right-hander Tony Gonsolin, who struck out 10 Rockies hitters over five innings on Sunday. In seven starts this year, he’s allowed five earned runs over 35 2/3 innings, good for a 1.26 ERA.
With a 38-16 record, you would think that the Dodger roster is firing on all cylinders. The scary thing is that has not been further from the truth. They’re still missing regular contributions from key guys in their lineup. Cody Bellinger had a nice series in Colorado going 6-for14, but he’s still not quite in rhythm. Max Muncy is literally hitting .189 albeit with double-digit homeruns.
Despite all of that, the Dodgers till find themselves as one of the best teams in baseball, if not THE best team in baseball. Thining about what this lineup can do on a good day should be absolutely for opposing teams.
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Power rankings don’t matter. They don’t win championships. Talent and attitude win championships. Betts is the best example of both.
Agree and a manager being more baseball smart in decision making and how he manages the pitchinh and the lineups win championships, which explains in a way why Dodgers have fallen short.