MLB Power Rankings Week 21: Tight race for No. 1 - ESPN

The race for baseball's best record continues to be incredibly close — with six teams separated by just two games and no team on pace for more than 96 wins. The last time that happened in a full season was 2007.

As MLB's best clubs — the Dodgers, Yankees, Orioles, Guardians, Phillies and Brewers — fight for the top spot, a number of squads are already looking towards 2025 while the rest of the league is battling for the remaining playoff spots.

With so much change from week to week, it's impossible to know how these races will play out, but it makes for exciting baseball!

Our expert panel has combined to rank every team based on a combination of what we've seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts David Schoenfield, Bradford Doolittle, Jesse Rogers, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 20 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

Record: 76-52
Previous ranking: 1

Mookie Betts made a surprising return to right field upon being activated off the injured list, partly because the Dodgers are a better defensive team with Miguel Rojas or Tommy Edman at shortstop and partly because second base was no longer an option. Gavin Lux's offensive transformation prompted that. Luxis slashing .356/.421/.663 since the All-Star break. His OPS has jumped 148 points since then, from .562 to .710. And now, with Edman and Max Muncy getting activated earlier this week, the Dodgers' lineup has some serious length to it again. They've followed a sub-.500 July by winning 13 of their first 19 games this month, holding off the hard-charging Padres and D-backs in the National League West. — Gonzalez

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