Dodgers

Dodgers: Final Power Rankings Released by The Athletic

The Athletic has released their most recent rendition of MLB Power Rankings and the Dodgers appear to be right where they have been nearly all season according to the rest of the league: second place.

While the Dodgers might be the second best team in baseball, they do have an argument for being first above the Houston Astros. For example, ESPN just recently discussed the Dodgers as being more playoff-ready than the Houston Astros, a team many have already crowned as the 2019 World Series champions. The Dodgers will obviously do their best to prevent that from happening.

Here is a link to the full power rankings by The Athletic:

Power Rankings

For those who do not have a subscription to The Athletic, here are the power rankings of teams who expect to be in the playoffs along with their record as of September 23:

  1. Houston Astros (102-54): AL West winner
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers (100-56): NL West winner
  3. New York Yankees (102-55): AL East winner
  4. Atlanta Braves (96-61): NL East winner
  5. Minnesota Twins (96-60): AL Central winner
  6. Oakland Athletics (94-62): AL Wild Card
  7. Tampa Bay Rays (92-64): AL Wild Card
  8. Cleveland Indians (92-64): AL Wild Card
  9. St. Louis Cardinals (89-67): NL Central winner
  10. Washington Nationals (85-69): NL Wild Card
  11. Milwaukee Brewers (86-70): NL Wild Card

Analysis

As you can see from the power rankings, the Dodgers may be the team with the clearest path to the Fall Classic. The average rank of American League teams is 5. The average rank of National League teams is 7.2. The AL is pretty fluid, while most of the lower-echelon teams that will be making the playoffs are all from the NL.

October

Frankly, if the Dodgers don’t make it past the NLDS, it will be a huge disappointment. If they don’t make it past the NLCS, the Braves are a worthy suitor for the pennant, but not as worthy as the Dodgers. They need to be in the World Series for a third consecutive season and the power rankings demonstrate it as they have for weeks.

This needs to be the year. 31 years is too long.

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