MLB Power Rankings, World Series Odds: Baltimore Orioles Still Number One

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is now a thing of the past. Much wheeling and dealing was done in the days and hours before the clock struck 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 1. Look no further than the Toronto Blue Jays trading for Paul DeJong from the Cardinals, or the New York Mets sending Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros.

As such, we are officially entering the final third of the regular season. Everyone has played over 100 games and the calendar indicates August, the last month of exclusively hot weather, at least for baseball fans north of the border. There is a change in the air. The games are a little more important. Teams can now only work with what they have on their 40-player roster.

More pressure on our MLB Power Rankings? No problem!

Before we begin, check out our American League, National League, Interleague odds, and MLB Props for all your baseball action.

Please note that all data was collected as of Thursday, August 3 prior to game start times.

Without further ado…

MLB Power Rankings

1. Baltimore Orioles (66-42, runline: 65-42)

The Orioles lead the way for the third consecutive edition. At the time of writing, they’ve already taken two of three from the Blue Jays in Toronto, further cementing their serious playoff intentions this season. With Austin Hays hitting the way he is and closer Felix Bautista preserving so many late leads, at this time in August, it’s difficult to imagine Baltimore faltering in the AL East.

2. Cincinnati Reds (59-51, runline: 71-39)

No, we are not trying to be cute. This is completely serious. How can the only team in the majors with a decently winning record and with over 70 covered spreads not rank this high? You can earn some spoils on the moneyline and tons of spoils on the runline with the Reds. We just mentioned Baltimore’s ace closer. How about Alexis Diaz with 32 to his name?

3. Atlanta Braves (69-37, runline: 55-51)

Ah, the Atlanta Braves finally crack the top five. It was about time. As we wrote time and again in previous exercises, it was the runline record that held them back. 55-51 isn’t extraordinary, but it’s above .500 and heading in the right direction. They also have the best record in the majors, period. Atlanta is second in batting average (.270) and first in home runs (208). Matt Olson has cranked out 37 already. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley are flirting with 30 (25 each).

4. Texas Rangers (62-45, runline: 63-45)

A bit of a dip for the Rangers, from second to fourth, but the teams in second and third fully deserve their plaudits. Nevertheless, Texas is a squad replete with talent and seemingly capable of holding on to their precious AL West lead, which they’ve had for months at this point. Adolis Garcia is second MLB with 85 runs batted in.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (61-45, runline: 57-49)

The next two teams could be swapped, quite literally depending on what happens in the next day or two. We give the edge to the Dodgers because they’ve covered the spread a tad bit more and have been more impressive in the last month, looking like their old selves again. The club is third in the majors for RBIs, with Freddie Freeman and J.D. Martinez leading the way courtesy of their 75 each.

6. Boston Red Sox (57-51, runline: 57-51)

This time we’ll confess to thinking this week’s Power Rankings look a little strange. We’ve only just left the top five and here is a club that might not make the playoffs. But Boston is a funny team. Their outright win-loss record is respectable, as is their performance against the spread. What comes after them in the list are teams that are very good in one category or the other, not both.

7. Washington Nationals (46-63, runline: 60-49)

Case in point, the Washington Nationals. They are one of four teams to have covered at least 60 spreads yet are an awful club. Go figure. Stay as far away as possible  from this team if looking at the moneyline, but join the party if you like taking a chance on the runline.

8. Tampa Bay Rays (60-45, runline: 56-55)

This feels about right. A 60-win club shouldn’t be outside the top 10 – we’ll get to an exception in a short while – but the runline record isn’t impressive either. The bewildering start to the season is, at this stage, starting to feel like a long time ago. For a couple of months now the team has been average. Yandy Diaz is still hitting the lights out with his .314 average, good for fourth in MLB.

9. Houston Astros (62-47, runline: 56-53)

Houston clings to a top 10 spot, if barely. They’ve been painfully close to overtaking the Rangers for first place in the AL West for weeks but have yet to accomplish the deed. Kudos to Framber Valdez for pitching a complete no-hitter the other night. He’s always sensational and has added another milestone to his awesome resume. Also, welcome back Justin Verlander!

10. San Francisco Giants (60-49, runline: 55-53)

Look at that. San Francisco has been mostly consistent for two weeks. For once they didn’t drop or move up by ton of spots. If they keep this up, they may even be interesting come playoff time. Sharing the major league lead in saves is Camilo Doval with 32.

11. Toronto Blue Jays (60-49, runline: 50-57)

We haven’t intentionally left the only Canadian team outside the top 10 despite posting 60 victories to date. Toronto has done this to itself. Yes, the win-loss record is nice, but the runline record isn’t. It’s that simple. In a funny way, they’ve swapped roles with the Atlanta Braves. And now Bo Bichette is injured…

12. Chicago Cubs (55-53, runline: 58-50)

A record of 55-53 sounds rather mediocre, and it probably is, but the truth is the Chicago Cubs are threatening the Reds in the NL Central. Plus. they do well against the runline. This could never have been envisioned a couple of months ago, but with under two months left in the regular season, we could be looking at a three-horse race in the division. Unfortunately, Marcus Stroman has just been placed on a 15-day injured list (hip).

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (57-52, runline: 57-52)

It was fun while it lasted, but the Diamondbacks are falling down to Earth by the looks of it. Losing twice in a row to the Giants doesn’t help. That’s the very team they’re chasing. Zac Gallen, once a beacon of hope, hasn’t added to his win pile since before the All-Star game. Ouch. Not that he’s pitched poorly per se, but the last four he’s started ended in defeats, earned or otherwise.

14. Milwaukee Brewers (58-51, runline: 50-59)

The Brewers have been consistent. They were a middle-of-the-pack club two weeks ago and remain one this time. The NL Central is within reach, which is what they have going in their favour. Left fielder Christian Yelich is having a solid campaign, hitting .286 with 16 home runs and 60 RBIs.

15. New York Yankees (56-52, runline: 55-53)

The Bronx Bombers are fading. Not that they were seriously in contention for the AL East, but for a while, it was fun having them as part of the conversation. Not so much in early August. Having Aaron Judge back is nice, but it may be too little too late. Yes, they defeated the Rays on Wednesday, but that was after already getting blown out twice by them at home. They also lost two of three to the Orioles last weekend. They clearly aren’t on the same level as the clubs above them.

16. Detroit Tigers (48-60, runline: 55-52)

Okay then. We’re officially into the bottom half of the league and we can keep things real. This is where the AL Central is in August 2023. Its best team in an exercise of this nature is the one that’s 12 games under .500 in the standings. But still, betters can pay some attention to them for runline props.

17. Seattle Mariners (56-52, runline: 54-53)

After the rumour mill had it that Teoscar Hernandez might head back to the Blue Jays, he’s remaining in Seattle for now. We’ll give the Mariners this much: they’re inside the top 20 for the first time in forever. Even though they haven’t swept anyone, they did at least win their four previous series. That’s not bad at all.

18. Philadelphia Phillies (58-50, runline: 43-65)

It’s unfortunate that Philly dipped two places from a fortnight ago since to their credit, they’ve put themselves in a position to maybe make the postseason. They’ve even played well in Miami against the Marlins this week. But the runline record got worse since the last time we wrote about them, so…

19. Miami Marlins (58-51, runline: 50-59)

Might as well handle the other decent team in the same division. Granted, 19 feels low for a club that’s 58-51, but the Marlins of sort of hit a wall lately, or ceiling, rather. Furthermore, they never got their runline performance in order enough for us to praise them too highly in these Power Rankings. They still have Luis Arraez, hitting a beguiling .378. That’s an insane stat so late in the season.

20. Los Angeles Angels (56-53, runline: 52-57)

All that huffing and puffing, and for what? “Shohei Ohtani might be traded!” No, he wasn’t going to be traded, he wasn’t traded, and it still looks as though the Angels will be on the outside looking in come October. Somebody get this man a better supporting cast. Or, you know, a playoff calibre team.

21. Minnesota Twins (55-54, runline: 49-60)

Has a division-leading club ever ranked this low? At this stage, what is there left to say about this club and division? Pablo Lopez is still having a wonderful season ( 165 Ks to date), and no one can take that away from him, but the team doesn’t have much to offer otherwise. Maybe they sneak out a win on Wild Card weekend, assuming they finish the job and claim the AL Central crown?

22. San Diego Padres (54-55, runline: 55-54)

This is a little rough given that the Padres are contending in a tough division. But it is what it is and San Diego sits in fourth place in the NL West, although they tend to cover a decent amount of spreads. Blake Snell is fifth in the majors with 156 strikeouts.

23. Cleveland Guardians (53-56, runline: 54-55)

The Guardians have Emmanuel Clase, who is still piling saves on his resume (28 as of August 3). How much longer can they let the opportunity to lead the division slip them by? Well, there are about two months left in the regular season, so that’s the answer we guess, because it’s genuinely starting to look as if that’s what will happen. So close, yet so far.

24. New York Mets (50-57, runline: 42-65)

Goodbye, Justin Verlander. We hardly knew you. Less than a season into his Mets career, the future Hall of Famer is back in Houston. It’s funny to look back at what we wrote in April as we wondered which version of the Mets would show up this year. The one that started 2022 brilliantly or the one that ended it horribly. Now we know.

25. St. Louis Cardinals (48-61, runline: 55-54)

The Toronto Blue J- uh, excuse us. Our mistake. It’s just that so many names who were on this roster two weeks ago are now in Toronto. At the very least the club is performing okay against the runline. Given that the calendar has flipped to August and the Cardinals are clearly not going to be playing baseball in October, that’s good enough. Nolan Arenado is having a great year (.279, 78 RBIs).

26. Pittsburgh Pirates (48-59, runline: 51-56)

Now it’s mostly a matter of who has covered the most spreads and won the most games, or the closest combinations of both. The 26^th slot is filled by Pittsburgh. We salute Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates’ legend, who returned to the club that drafted him in 2009 despite that they aren’t very good.

27. Chicago White Sox (43-66, runline: 53-56)

The White Sox were sellers at the trade deadline, sending many quality players to teams that needed to boost postseason chases (pitcher Lucas Giolito to the Angels comes to mind). It’s been rough on the other side of Chicago this season. Not only does this team not get the sort of recognition that the Cubs do but they don’t help themselves much either.

28. Colorado Rockies (42-66, runline: 52-66)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That expression can be used to describe the Rockies vis-à-vis year-to-year developments in MLB and every two weeks in these Power Rankings. Colorado is consistent…consistently bad. Squint and one notices that catcher Elias Diaz is solid (.275, 48 RBIs, 10 home runs).

29. Oakland Athletics (30-79, runline: 51-57)

How low can one go? The A’s have a run differential of -268. Think about that. There are nearly two full months left before the season is over and there is plenty of time to get exponentially worse than -268. Wild stuff. Despite that, they somehow still cover the spread more often than the…

30. Kansas City Royals (34-75, runline: 42-67)

At the time of writing, the Royals have won five games in a row. That’s practically the highlight of their entire season. Who knows, maybe they’re in the very early stages of a late-season push that will take them out of the MLB basement. We’ll find out between now and late September.