To Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst
of MLB Playoff races are moving into September.
August is probably the hardest time of the season to win consistently. The All-Star Game is over, the team has played over 100 of his games, and the playoffs are just getting started.
Teams often start coasting in August. Some of the gaming elite are doing just that this year, while others are making the most of it and putting themselves in a big position.
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Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are No. 1 in Ben Verlander’s latest MLB Power Rankings, with the Houston Astros close behind.
clock “Flippin’ Bats with Ben Verlander” upon Youtube, Or subscribe on any podcast platform including Apple podcasts.
MLB top 10 of the week.
Ten. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are 12-4 in their last 16 games. Throughout the season, they’ve been quietly hanging out without the big superstars of many of their competitors.
9. San Diego Padres
The Padres acquisition at the trade deadline hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders lately. Relief Josh Hader has a 25.52 ERA since joining the team. Juan Soto fared much better, coming on Sunday as a padre and getting on base in 19 of 20 games. This team has the makings of a playoff team. Now is the time to play like that.
8. Seattle Mariners
These Mariners are an attractive team. They can match anyone, have excellent defense, and their offense is more than enough to get the job done. The Mariners are poised to end the longest playoff drought in any major American professional sport.
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7. Philadelphia Phillies
Since early June, the Phillies have gone 51-26, the third best record in baseball for that period. They have been playing great, bringing back his NL MVP Bryce Harper, who had been sidelined for several months due to a broken hand.
6. St. Louis Cardinals
Coming into Sunday, the Cardinals are 11-3 in their last 14 games. Jordan Montgomery has been a star ever since St. Louis acquired him in a last minute deal. In his four-game start with the new team, Montgomery went 4-0 with his 0.35 ERA. The Cardinals needed to pitch by the deadline, but the move they made paid off big.
Five. new york yankees
In the Yankees’ first 29 games after the All-Star break, they went 9-20. More recently, however, he’s regained his winning ways, winning 5 of his last 7 games. They may not be as good as they were in the first few months of the season, but they’re not as bad as they looked after the All-Star break, and the Yankees are still one of baseball’s elite teams.
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Four. Atlanta Braves
Since June 1, the Braves are 56-22, the best in MLB. That’s largely thanks to their rookies Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider, who have made a huge impact and are responsible for turning Atlanta’s season around.
3. New York Mets
With Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer finally healthy and in rotation, the Mets have been building muscle at the top of the NL East. He’s 43-19 against his division this season. This is a big reason why we were able to fend off the surging Braves.
Ben Verlander Dream Rotation
Ben Verlander tells us about his current dream rotation, which includes Astros’ Justin Verlander, Mets’ Jacob deGrom, Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, and Brewers’ Corbyn Barnes.
2. Houston Astros
The Astros are the only team in MLB with a bullpen ERA of less than 3.00, and that’s a big reason for their success this season. Houston’s pitching is phenomenal across the board and could be a reason for the team to go bye in the first round of the playoffs.
1. los angeles dodgers
The Dodgers (88-38) are setting the pace for a franchise-record 113 wins. This is his fourth-most in MLB history 1 his season, and his most wins since 116, his MLB record for the Mariners in 2001.
The Dodgers are elite in every aspect of their game, but there have been some concerns with their pitching staff, including Walker Buehler undergoing Tommy John surgery and Tony Gonsolin on the injured reserve during a great season. Still, the Dodgers’ elite offense is more than capable of carrying a team, and it’s doing just that these days.
Enjoy a great week of Major League Baseball.
Ben Verlander is an MLB analyst for FOX Sports,flippin’ batBorn and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before joining brother Justin in Detroit in 2013 as the Tigers’ 14th-round pick. He spent his five years with the Tigers. Follow him on Twitter @.Ben Verlander.
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