MLB Power Rankings Week 22: A shake-up in the top 10 - ESPN

Welcome to the final stretch. As we enter September, teams are mostly split into three categories: those preparing for the playoffs, those trying to make a run at contention and those whose focus has turned to next season.

And there's still a fair amount to play for within those groups. Take the clubs that are pretty safely in playoff position. A number of them are battling in division races in the last month of the regular season, such as the Yankees and Orioles in the AL East and the Guardians and Royals in the AL Central.

The second group — those trying to play their way into a postseason berth — has begun to see its numbers dwindle, as more and more squads find themselves dropping out of their wild-card races, which were once incredibly muddled in both leagues.

With that said, every team has something it's focusing on in September. What's the final-month goal for each?

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 21 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

Record: 79-54
Previous ranking: 1

The Dodgers' focus down the stretch is obvious: They need to get their starting rotation in order. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (shoulder) has been out since the middle of June and still needs to navigate through a rehab assignment; Tyler Glasnow (elbow) is working his way back from tendinitis that seems to be more serious than the team initially believed; Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller, meanwhile, have struggled mightily (though