Coming out of the All-Star break, Major League Baseball’s playoff races are heating up with just over two weeks until the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
Though half of baseball’s six divisions are out of reach, with the AL East (Yankees), AL West (Astros) and NL West (Dodgers) running away with things, things are tight elsewhere.
The Twins lead the AL Central, three games ahead of the Guardians and four ahead of the White Sox. The Braves trail the Mets by just 1 ½ games entering Monday, having once faced a double-digit deficit. In the NL Central, the Brewers have a 2 ½-game cushion over Cardinals.
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In this week’s MLB power rankings, the Dodgers jumped ahead of the Astros to second place behind the Yankees and the Nationals fell from 29th to 30th, last in baseball.
Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight-person panel voted this week:
Rank (movement from last poll)
Last poll was July 11.
1. New York Yankees (–)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (+1)
3. Houston Astros (-1)
4. New York Mets (–)
5. Atlanta Braves (–)
6. San Diego Padres (–)
7. Toronto Blue Jays (+5)
8. Milwaukee Brewers (–)
9. Tampa Bay Rays (+5)
10. Minnesota Twins (–)
11. Seattle Mariners (+2)
12. St. Louis Cardinals (-1)
13. Cleveland Guardians (+3)
14. Philadelphia Phillies (-7)
15. San Francisco Giants (+2)
16. Boston Red Sox (-7)
17. Baltimore Orioles (-2)
18. Chicago White Sox (+1)
19. Miami Marlins (-1)
20. Texas Rangers (–)
21. Colorado Rockies (+1)
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Kris Bryant through 16 July games: .338 average, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1.065 OPS.
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (-1)
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (+1)
24. Los Angeles Angels (-1)
25. Chicago Cubs (+1)
26. Detroit Tigers (-1)
27. Cincinnati Reds (–)
28. Kansas City Royals (–)
29. Oakland Athletics (+1)
30. Washington Nationals (-1)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Trade deadline could shake up division standings