Welcome to the August 23rd edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you can see what each individual ranked that particular team that week. Also included are some of the thoughts on the teams ranked for each of these contributors. Do you agree with our rankings? Which HSHH contributor got it right and which HSHH contributor got it wrong?

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (84-37)

Last Week Record: 5-2

Last Week Ranking: 1

Monty (1): They went 5-2 last week and pounded NL Cy Young favorite Sandy Alcantara on Sunday. They remain the class of MLB.

Nick (1)

Danny (1): They’re the clear cut best team in the league. They’re here until further notice.

Allison (1)

Ryan (1): They have a 6 game lead over next closest team, it’s their league and we are just living in it.

Matt (1)

2. New York Mets (79-45)

Last Week Record: 4-4

Last Week Ranking: 2

Monty (2): They dropped three of four in Atlanta but then rebounded to take three of four from Philly without pitching Max, deGrom, or Taijuan Walker.

Nick (2)

Danny (2): They’re neck and neck with the Astros for 2nd best team in the league. The Mets went 4-3 last week and took a big series against the Phillies. They continue to get the nod over the Astros…for now.

Allison (3)

Ryan (2): They lost 3 of 4 to the braves but bounced back with a great weekend against the Phillies taking 3 of 4 in a series where Max and deGrom did not pitch.

Matt (3)

3. Houston Astros (78-45)

Last Week Record: 3-4

Last Week Ranking: 3

Monty (5): The Astros went 3-4 last week after going 3-4 the week before. They gave up 2 wins late to the White Sox and then lost a series in Atlanta. They’ll be fine but they dropped for me this week.

Nick (4)

Danny (3): They lost a series to the Braves, but they’re the clear cut favorites in the AL now that the Yankees are no more than an above-average team. The lineup is great and the starting pitching is even better.

Allison (2)

Ryan (4): best team in the AL had a “down week” still don’t see any team in the AL taking them down from the top spot in AL.

Matt (2)

4. Atlanta Braves (76-48)

Last Week Record: 5-2

Last Week Ranking: 4

Monty (3): The Braves were fantastic last week and are back in the NL East race after going 5-2 against the Mets and Astros of all teams.

Nick (3)

Danny (4): They had another nice week taking series from both the Mets and Astros. The Dodgers, Mets, Astros and Braves are the best teams in the league right now and then there’s a large gap. If one of these four teams doesn’t win the World Series, I’d be fairly surprised.

Allison (4)

Ryan (3): A couple of big statements this week winning series against the Mets and Astros. They’re playing at a 100 win pace over the last 40 games and they lost 2.5 games in the standings.

Matt (4)

5. St. Louis Cardinals (70-51)

Last Week Record: 6-0

Last Week Ranking: 5

Monty (4): They’ve won 7 straight and are 18-4 over their last 22 games. They’re really good and finally have started to show it with some good pitching performances.

Nick (5)

Danny (5): I mentioned last week that 24 of their next 27 games would be against teams under .500 and they should be able to take advantage. Well, they did. They went 6-0 last week and have won 7 straight overall to open up a 5 game lead in the division as we approach the final month of the season.

Allison (5)

Ryan (5): Albert is on 700 watch, Arenado and Goldy stayed hot this week they are a dangerous team entering the final month.

Matt (6)

6. San Diego Padres (68-56)

Last Week Record: 3-4

Last Week Ranking: 7

Monty (6): I didn’t want to raise them in the rankings but when the Yankees are bad and need to drop, someone has to go up. That’s the Padres for me despite a terrible week offensively and going 3-4 against the Marlins and our Nationals.

Nick (8)

Danny (6): There’s a huge drop off between the top 5 teams and the next 10 teams. The Padres should be better than they’re playing. They have good starting pitching, their lineup should mash and their bullpen should be good. But they just split a series at home against the Nats. I just wasn’t impressed. Either way, it would be a shock if they missed the playoffs, and they’re better than the Phillies and Brewers right now.

Allison (9)

Ryan (6): There is a drop off at the top 5 here. Padres really do not look great but 5-5 over last 10 and in a playoff spot gets them here.

Matt (8)

7. New York Yankees (75-48)

Last Week Record: 2-5

Last Week Ranking: 6

Monty (9): 10-20 since the All Star Break and 4-12 since the trade deadline. They’ve been terrible and that’s why they’ve fallen to 9th in my rankings.

Nick (6)

Danny (7): They’re only in this spot because of their body of work so far this season. They’re 74-48, but they’re playing no better than the Marlins right now. They went 2-5 last week and lost series to the Rays and Blue Jays. After 2 against the Mets, they play 4 against the Athletics and 3 against the Angels. They need to get back on track here.

Allison (6)

Ryan (10): The only team worse than the Nationals since the trade deadline is the Yankees. If you are on a list with the Nationals you STINK.

Matt (5)

8. Toronto Blue Jays (65-55)

Last Week Record: 4-3

Last Week Ranking: 9

Monty (8): They were struggling but luckily got to play the Yankees, who have I mentioned have been terrible? Toronto took 3 of 4 in the Bronx so I put them ahead of the Yankees.

Nick (7)

Danny (11): After a 4-3 week last week, they still remain in control of a Wild Card spot in the AL. They have a soft spot in the schedule coming up and they’ll need to take advantage of that. They finish the year playing their last 13 games against the AL East.

Allison (7)

Ryan (7): 3 of 4 in Yankee Stadium is big and they get a nice boost from me.

Matt (7)

9. Philadelphia Phillies (67-55)

Last Week Record: 3-4

Last Week Ranking: 8

Monty (7): I wanted to put the Phillies higher but after losing 3 of 4 to the Mets over the weekend without facing Max or deGrom, I only put them up 1 place and that’s because the Yankees were terrible again.

Nick (11)

Danny (8): They lost 3 of 4 against the Mets, but took 2 of 3 from the Reds earlier in the week. They play their next 10 against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Arizona, so I expect them to get hot again.

Allison (8)

Ryan (8): If they could avoid the Mets they’d be fine. After only scoring 1 ER last week against the mets, they had a 4 game set at home, were not facing Max, deGrom or Walker annndddd they lost 3 of 4.

Matt (9)

10. Seattle Mariners (66-56)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: 11

Monty (10): The Mariners went 4-2 last week and did what they were supposed to so they come into the Top 10 for me.

Nick (9)

Danny (10): They went 4-2 last week, but lost 2 of 3 to end the week to the Athletics. They play 25 of their last 40 games against teams below .500. They should be they year that they’re finally able to snap their playoff drought.

Allison (10)

Ryan (9): They’re a dangerous team right now.

Matt (10)

11. Tampa Bay Rays (66-55)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: 12

Monty (12): The Rays did go 4-2 but I couldn’t justify moving them up in the rankings, so they maintain their spot at #12 for me.

Nick (10)

Danny (9): They went 5-2 this week after taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees and then 3 of 4 from the Royals. They’re pushing to take control of one of the AL’s wild card spots for good.

Allison (11)

Ryan (14)

Matt (11)

12. Cleveland Guardians (64-56)

Last Week Record: 3-3

Last Week Ranking: 10

Monty (11): The Guardians had a big opportunity to pad their AL Central lead with a 4-game series last week against the Tigers and they instead split the series. Then they went 1-1 against the White Sox so they drop a spot for me.

Nick (12)

Danny (12): They went 3-3 last week, but still have a 1.5 game lead over the Twins and 2.5 game lead over the White Sox. They have 8 games remaining against the Twins and 4 games against the White Sox. Those 12 games could decide the division.

Allison (12)

Ryan (11): They’re still holding onto lead in the AL Central which is not an accomplishment this season.

Matt (12)

13. Baltimore Orioles (63-58)

Last Week Record: 4-3

Last Week Ranking: 14

Monty (13): The Orioles won both of their AL East series but that one game makeup loss to the Cubs on Thursday really hurt and it’s why they don’t gain any ground for me.

Nick (14)

Danny (14): They’re still hanging around. They went 4-3 last week and might just keep this thing interesting if they keep playing well.

Allison (13)

Ryan (12):Their first national primetime game in 1800 days and they got the dub in front of the LLWS which was cool.

Matt (15)

14. Milwaukee Brewers (65-56)

Last Week Record: 3-4

Last Week Ranking: 13

Monty (15): They lost a critical series to the Cubs over the weekend and are going to have trouble catching the Cardinals in the Central now. They need to start focusing on the NL Wild Card and catching the Phillies or Padres if they want to play in October.

Nick (13)

Danny (13): They went 3-4 last week, but after splitting a 4 game series against the Dodgers, they dropped a 3 game set against the Cubs. They need to get hot soon in order to have a shot at a playoff spot. Otherwise, the Cardinals, Phillies and Padres are going to run away with it.

Allison (14)

Ryan (15): Who knew that trading Hader would be a good thing?

Matt (13)

15. Minnesota Twins (62-58)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: Unranked

Monty (unranked)

Nick (unranked)

Danny (15): They went 4-2 this week, but this was a soft spot in the schedule against the Royals and Rangers. Going 5-1 would’ve helped, but with 8 games remaining head-to-head against the Guardians, they should be able to stay in the Central race for the foreseeable future.

Allison (15)

Ryan (13): They’re only 1.5 back in AL Central and poised to make that run.

Matt (14)