2024 MLB Power Rankings 14.0 (All-Star Break): Where Yankees, Mets stack up after first half

The first half of the 2024 season is officially in the books and with it, our MLB Power Rankings have reached its proverbial mid-season mark at the All-Star break.

While the Yankees have stayed near the top of the charts but have sagged of late, the Mets have fluctuated from the basement toward the top 10 thanks to a hot stretch beginning in early June. 

However, it feels like everyone is trying to chase down the tea from Philadelphia, which is enjoying one of its best regular seasons in franchise history.

2024 MLB Power Rankings 14.0: The All-Star Break

1. Philadelphia Phillies (Previous #1): Philadelphia has basically played .500 ball over their last 30 games, going 16-14, but good teams are able to do just that during what would be considered a lull in their season. They got hot early and now they are maintaining the best record in baseball at 62-34.
2. Baltimore Orioles (Previous #3): The Orioles may have dropped seven of their last 10 including two of three to the Yankees, but they have taken over the top spot in the American League East.
3. Cleveland Guardians (Previous #4): Steven Kwan is one of the best hitters in baseball, because that was on all of our bingo cards at the start of the season, right? The Guardians keep cruising and have the second-best winning percentage in baseball this season. They have been lights out at home, going 30-11.
   

   

4. New York Yankees (Previous #2): The Yankees are 7-13 in their last 20 and 11-19 in their last 30. Aaron Boone dropped his obligatory “It’s all right here in front of us,” line as he normally does when the Yankees are in a tailspin, and Bronx Bomber fans have begun their annual panic. Will the Yankees be fine? Probably. Aaron Judge is having a historic season with 34 home runs in the first half and Juan Soto is a top-three all-around hitter in the game. Depth will be an issue and the pitching has been suspect as of late but a series win in Baltimore should help get some good feelings back during the break.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (Previous #5): Shohei Ohtani is absolutely mashing with 13 home runs in his last 24 games but the loaded Dodgers and an injury-sapped rotation are just sort of treading water. They have lost seven of 10 and are 15-15 in their last 30.
6. Atlanta Braves (Previous #7): After a bobble in June, the Braves appear to be getting back on track. They took two of three from the Phillies two weeks ago, split with the Diamondbacks, and took two of three from the Padres. Despite being 18-12 in their last 30, they still sit 8.5 games back of Philadelphia with the Mets closing the gap on them.
7. Boston Red Sox (Previous #9): Only the Mets had as good a record as the Red Sox over the last 30 games (21-9). Boston continues to be one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season. With four straight series wins, they are 4.5 games out of first in the AL East and 3.5 games behind the Yankees for second. And we all thought they were the worst team in this division heading into 2024.
8. Minnesota Twins (Previous #8): The Twins keep chugging along and continue to close the gap in the AL Central as they now sit 4.5 games back of the first-place Guardians. A series loss to the Giants right before the break was their first since June 18-20 against the Rays (six straight series wins).
9. Milwaukee Brewers (Previous #6): The Brewers have lost three straight series which included dropping two of three to the Pirates before getting swept by the struggling Washington Nationals heading into the break. Suddenly they can hear the footsteps of the St. Louis Cardinals behind them in the NL Central, as their lead is at 4.5 games.
   

   

10. Houston Astros (Previous #17): Since May 9, the Astros have gone 38-22 to erase one of their worst starts in franchise history and get back toward the top of a very weak AL West. Somehow, they are just one game out of first place even without Justin Verlander, Kyle Tucker, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, and Jose Urquidy.
11. New York Mets (Previous #14): The Mets resurrected their season from purgatory by going 25-11 over their final 36 games before the break. Manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision to make Francisco Lindor the lead-off man and bat Brandon Nimmo second has paid off brilliantly, as the Mets are averaging six runs per game during that final stretch. It has masked a shaky bullpen that has received a boost from Jose Butto and the newly acquired Phil Maton, but the Mets are suddenly erring toward the side of buying at the trade deadline rather than the firesale we all were talking about in late May. And yes, we will say one more time how it is ridiculous that both Lindor and Nimmo are not All-Stars.
12. St. Louis Cardinals (Previous #13): Only the Mets have had a better record in the National League than the Cardinals (18-12) over the last 30 games, which is hard to believe considering Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are having some uninspiring seasons and the starting rotation has just one starter with 10 or more starts and an ERA under 4.00. Leave it to Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, and Nate Gorman to get it done, I guess.
13. Kansas City Royals (Previous #11): The Royals have come back down to earth mostly because of an inability to win on the road. They suffered a stretch earlier this month where they had lost 11 of 14 games away from Kauffman Stadium. They now sit outside of a playoff spot and seven games out of first in the AL Central.
14. Seattle Mariners (Previous #10): While the Astros have been on fire, the Mariners have been listing along rather uninspiringly. They are 14-16 in their last 30 games and are on the verge of losing their lead in the AL West once the second half starts up.
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (Previous #15): The defending NL champs have clawed their way back to a game over .500 at the break and with it, second place in the NL West. Christian Walker has been hot with 10 home runs in his last 24 games while both Kettel Marte and Joc Pederson have OPSs over .870. Now if Corbin Carroll can figure it out, they might be on to something.
16. San Diego Padres (Previous #12): San Diego wheezes into the All-Star break having lost six of seven games to relinquish second place in the AL West to Arizona, who took two of three from them between July 5-7. Xander Bogaerts is back but Fernando Tatis Jr. may be shelved for a bit longer. All things considered, this should be their lowest point on these power rankings because Manny Machado is heating up and a full-strength Padres team should make one more push come August.
    

    

17. Pittsburgh Pirates (Previous #18): Paul Skenes was named the starter for the All-Star game and provides the fledgling Pirates with some more hope. Now they just have to hold on to him instead of trading him away as they have so many promising players before him.
18. Tampa Bay Rays (Previous #20): Isaac Paredes has helped the Rays get back on track and back to .500 but there is still plenty of work to do as they sit 10 games out of first in the AL East.
19. Texas Rangers (Previous #19): We’re still waiting for the Rangers to turn it on, but there perhaps is a glimpse of something brewing for the defending champs. They have won seven of their last 10 but still sit four games under .500. Luckily for them, the AL West is so weak that they are only five games out of first.
20. Cincinnati Reds (Previous #23): For all of the potential star power the Reds possess, mainly with Elly De La Cruz, it is not translating to wins consistently enough. There is too much talent for this team to sit a half-game out of last place in the NL Central.
21. San Francisco Giants (Previous #22): Heliot Ramos has taken his opportunity and run with it, garnering an All-Star appearance and an OPS over .900. He’s a big reason why the streaky Giants have stabilized to play .500 ball as of late.
22. Chicago Cubs (Previous #21): The Nationals, Rockies, and Marlins are the only National League team with fewer wins than the Cubs over the final 30 games before the All-Star break. So much money spent, so little to show for it.
23. Detroit Tigers (Previous #24): That 6-1 start to the season feels like 1 million years ago for a Tigers team that has gone 41-49 since then. Spencer Torkelson and Colt Keith have struggled mightily, but they have something special in Riley Green and starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, who should garner Cy Young consideration.
24. Washington Nationals (Previous #16): From June 7-16, the Nationals won eight of nine games and were seemingly keeping up with the red-hot Mets. Since then, they are 9-17 and have plummeted out of contention in the NL East.
    

    

25. Toronto Blue Jays (Previous #25): Outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., I think we are all done with the Blue Jays this season. Time to make some serious changes because their offense is really, really bad. Still, a 12-18 record in their last 30 is not as bad as the Yankees’. 
26. Los Angeles Angels (Previous #26): The Angels are playing .500 ball as of late and that’s all you can really ask for of a franchise going absolutely nowhere without Mike Trout.
27. Oakland Athletics (Previous #27): Brent Rooker and Mason Miller are deserving All-Stars and that is just about where the good in Oakland ends. Granted, they absolutely pounded the Phillies 18-3 with eight home runs in the final game before the break.
28. Colorado Rockies (Previous #29): The Rockies slugged six home runs against the Mets on Sunday, including three from Michael Toglia. The most exciting thing for this team, though, is seeing what they could potentially get for Ryan McMahon at the trade deadline.
29. Miami Marlins (Previous #28): The Marlins, a team that made the playoffs last year, have the fewest wins in the National League in 2024. It is truly remarkable how this organization continues to take good things and completely mess them up.
30. Chicago White Sox (Previous #30): The 1962 Mets’ record of futility still appears to be safe. At 27-71, the White Sox are on pace to win a whopping 44 games this season.

For more MLB Power Rankings, visit AMNY.com

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