MLB Power Rankings Week 23: Another change to top 5 - ESPN

We're now in the stretch run, as the 2024 MLB season enters September and teams make their final pushes for the postseason. In fact, some of the league's top clubs are already on their way to clinching a playoff berth — potentially as soon as next week.

The Astros and Cubs are examples of how far a team can go if it kicks into high gear to finish out the season. Houston has been hot since the All-Star break, helping it to a comfortable lead over Seattle and all but guaranteeing another division title despite the team's less-than-stellar start to 2024. Meanwhile, thanks to a stretch of nine wins in 10 games to end August, Chicago has at least gotten itself back into the conversation for a wild-card spot. The Cubs would have to keep up this momentum to make that a reality, but they're in a much better spot than they were a few weeks ago.

Division titles and wild-card berths are still up for grabs, so don't expect teams to slow down any time soon — not in a year without a clear No. 1 club, which is highlighted by the continued changes to our top five this week.

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 observations for all 30 teams.

Week 22 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

Record: 84-56
Previous ranking: 1

The Dodgers came out of Labor Day weekend with some breathing room in the National League West, having taken three of four on the road against the division-rival Diamondbacks. It was quite the encouraging series for the Dodgers, who