Welcome to the September 13th 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. Note- these rankings were compiled before the games were played on Monday.

Do you agree with our rankings? Which HSHH contributor got it right and which HSHH contributor got it wrong?

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (97-43)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: 1

Monty (1): They went 4-2 with easy series wins over the Giants and Padres and remain my #1 team and the best team in baseball.

Danny (1): They won 2 of 3 against the Giants and Padres. They’re just coasting into the playoffs and hoping they can get Tony Gonsolin healthy before then. Luckily for them, they have about 3 ½ more weeks to do so.

Tyler (1): They are still the best team in baseball, took another casual series win against the lil bro Padres. We aren’t even halfway through September and they’ll probably eclipse 100 wins this week.

Ryan (1): The only L they took was prematurely celebrating a playoff berth, MLB made the mistake they’ll clinch it tonight (they did).

Nick (1)

2. Houston Astros (91-50)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: 3

Monty (2): Like the Dodgers, the Astros took care of business with series wins over the Rangers and Astros. They’re 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees for the AL’s #1 seed.

Danny (3): They went 4-2 again last week and just don’t seem to lose many series. Justin Verlander is expected to come back next weekend and as long as he’s healthy, this team is a legitimate threat to win the World Series.

Tyler (2): They just don’t miss a beat. 7-3 last 10 and just made it to 90 wins. Best team in the AL.

Ryan (2): They’re a wagon that just doesn’t slow down, first AL team to 90 wins gets them the 2nd spot

Nick (3)

3. New York Mets (89-53)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: 2

Monty (3): The Mets won both series they played in, but dropping a game each against the Pirates and Marlins allows me to drop them below the Astros.

Danny (2): I’ll bump them back ahead of the Braves this week after a 4-2 week which gave them a 1 ½ game lead over Atlanta. The Mets definitely have the weaker schedule down the stretch, but the two teams play a 3-game series starting on September 30th which could end up deciding the NL East.

Tyler (3): They retook the division lead after taking care of business against the Marlins with a series win and took advantage of the Braves finally losing a series and reclaiming a 1.5 game lead in the division.

Ryan (3): For a day, they went to 2nd place 0.5 behind the Braves, Twitter exploded and just like that they’re 1.5 ahead of the Braves again. 

Nick (2)

4. Atlanta Braves (87-54)

Last Week Record: 3-2

Last Week Ranking: 3

Monty (4): For a brief moment they led the National League East on Friday into Saturday before dropping their final two games in Seattle. They’re still 1.5 games back and one of the best teams in MLB.

Danny (4): They fall two spots here, but only because they finally lost a series to the Mariners, who are also playing really good baseball right now. They’re obviously a lock to make the playoffs, but they’ll have to keep playing good baseball to keep up with the Mets these next couple of weeks.

Tyler (4): They finally lost a series to a great Mariners team. A little bit of a step back for them with some bullpen meltdowns, but their offense was still elite in one of those losses and they should get back on track with the Giants coming up next.

Ryan (4): They have only lost a series to 3 teams since July 1st, Mariners became the 3rd team. Only lost a series to 3 teams and sitting 1.5 back is just absolutely insane

Nick (4)

5. St. Louis Cardinals (83-58)

Last Week Record: 4-3

Last Week Ranking: 5

Monty (6): They could have lost that series to the Nationals and they dropped a game at Pittsburgh, so they fall one spot in this week’s power rankings, at least for me.

Danny (5): They went 4-3 against the Nationals and Pirates this week. I know they were on fire coming into the Nationals series and they were bound to cool off a little bit, but they just looked….underwhelming. Still a good team, but they’re a distant fourth behind the Dodgers, Mets and Braves in the NL.

Tyler (5): They got humbled a bit after splitting and nearly dropping 3 of 4 to the Nats, but they got back on track taking a series from the Pirates.

Ryan (5): They had the best record in baseball since trade deadline, slowed down a little dropping a series to the Nationals where they looked bad. We all remain on Pujols watch.

Nick (5)

6. Seattle Mariners (79-61)

Last Week Record: 3-3

Last Week Ranking: 6

Monty (6): The Mariners lost a series at home to the White Sox but then took two of three from a red hot Braves team, so for the first time this year I am putting them in my Top 5 over the Cardinals and Yankees.

Danny (6): They lost a series to the White Sox (who have been playing well lately) and rebounded to take a series against the Braves. A 3-3 week against those two teams was enough to keep them tied with the Rays for the top Wild Card spot. After two games against the Padres this week, they don’t play another team above .500 the rest of the season.

Tyler (6): They got an absolutely huge series win against the Braves, who essentially have barely lost since June. 7-3 in their last 10 and they just keep on rolling.

Ryan (7): This team kind of keeps making statements. Huge series win over the Braves after making a statement last week against the Guardians. Their playoff drought looks like it might end and they’re letting everyone know they are going to be a problem

Nick (8)

7. New York Yankees (85-56)

Last Week Record: 5-2

Last Week Ranking: 10

Monty (7): The Yankees continued to curse the Twins and finally got themselves back on track with massive series wins over the aforementioned Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays. If they’ve turned the corner on their recent struggles, they will coast to the AL East title as planned.

Danny (9): It was a much needed 5-2 week for the Yankees, which allowed them to stay 5 ½ games up on the Rays in the AL East. Looking ahead, as long as they can take care of business against the remaining bad teams on their schedule, they should be able to hang onto the division.

Tyler (7): I am not fully convinced that they’re fully “back” yet, but they did just win a huge and pivotal series over the Rays to help pad their division lead further. They just need to take care of business against the weaker teams on their September schedule.

Ryan (6): It was a great week for them taking care of business against two potential playoff teams. Stanton is healthy which is huge, Volpe and Peraza up Yankees looking for that young prospect spark.

Nick (6)

T-8. Tampa Bay Rays (78-61)

Last Week Record: 4-2

Last Week Ranking: 7

Monty (8): The Rays swept the Red Sox and took game 1 in New York, but Corey Kluber imploded on Saturday and they dropped the finale Sunday to fall back to 5.5 games behind the Yankees.Wander Franco is back though!

Danny (7): It was a 4-2 week, but could’ve been better after starting off with a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox. Losing a series to the Yankees normally wouldn’t be bad, but the Yankees have just been so bad recently.

Tyler (9): They lost a series to the Yankees, but they’re still doing their thing with a 7-3 last 10. The 3 AL Wild Card teams all but look locked up at this point with them, the Jays, and the Mariners, unless Baltimore gets hot again and one of those teams collapses. It’s just a matter of which seed each of the 3 get.

Ryan (11): A disappointing week after making big strides to catch up to the Yankees, Kluber looked baaaaaadddd they need him to be lock down the stretch.

Nick (7)

T-8. Toronto Blue Jays (79-61)

Last Week Record: 5-2

Last Week Ranking: 9

Monty (9): Are the Blue Jays finally going on the run that we’ve been waiting all season for? Since being swept by the Angels at home Aug 26-28th, they’re 10-3 and Bo Bichette is on a tear with 5 homers in his last 7 games.

Danny (8): They went 5-2 this week, which included taking 3 of 4 against the Orioles who had been pretty hot coming into that series. They still have 6 games left against the Orioles, but after taking 3 of 4, they now hold a 5 ½ game lead over the Birds.

Tyler (8): This team needed a run with all that talent and they finally got one with an 8-2 last 10. They’ve distanced themselves from the Orioles in the Wild Card race which is huge.

Ryan (8): FINALLY this team is hot and wakes up.

Nick (9)

10. Philadelphia Phillies (78-62)

Last Week Record: 5-1

Last Week Ranking: 12

Monty (10): After a terrible 1-5 West Coast road trip, the Phillies got their mojo back with a 5-1 week over the Marlins and Nationals at home.

Danny (10): After going 1-5 on their West Coast trip, they went 5-1 against the Marlins and Nats. Neither are good teams, but the Nats had just taken 2 of 3 against the Mets and then split a 4-game series against the Cardinals. The Phillies then swept them. That’s what you need to do against bad teams when you’re in a playoff race.

Tyler (10): They ended what might have looked like the beginning of their September woes with a series win against the Marlins and a sweep of the Nats. Their NL Wild Card Spot is looking firmer by the day, but again don’t count out the collapse.

Ryan (9): Gone are the days that this team can’t beat the Marlins. Dominated Nats this weekend through first 2 and almost swept great week for them

Nick (10)

11. San Diego Padres (77-64)

Last Week Record: 3-3

Last Week Ranking: 8

Monty (12): They grinded out a tough series win at home over the pesky Diamondbacks, but they just cannot beat the Dodgers and are now 4-21 over their last 25 meetings with LA. They might be in trouble with the way they’re playing offensively.

Danny (11): They just can’t keep up with the Dodgers. They took 2 of 3 from Arizona to start the week, which was much needed, but then lost 2 of 3 again to the Dodgers. They’re 4-12 against LA this season. The more things play out, the less they look like an actual threat in the NL.

Tyler (11):  Again, they just cannot beat the Dodgers and cannot get that sustained run going. Juan Soto is slashing .118/.286/.176 in his last 15 games, although Josh Bell has been starting to turn it on recently. Once both of them get hot at the same time we know the kind of damage that can be done in that lineup. Again, it’s only a matter of when.

Ryan (12): Avoid the Dodgers and they’re fine 

Nick (11)

12. Cleveland Guardians (74-65)

Last Week Record: 5-1

Last Week Ranking: 15

Monty (11): Like the Phillies, the Guardians found their mojo this past week and went 5-1 and potentially cooked the Twins chances in the process. They’re 2.5 games up on the White Sox, with 9 games against the Sox and Twins over the next 11 days that could see them take firm control of the AL Central.

Danny (13): They finally had a good week, going 5-1 with a sweep of the Twins (all but ending their season) and a series win over the Royals. They have a 2 ½ game lead over the White Sox in the Central.

Tyler (13):After a brutal mini-collapse, they picked it back up with a 5-1 week. The division race is far from over in that mediocre AL Central however.

Ryan (10):A 5-1 week gets ’em top 10.

Nick (12)

13. Milwaukee Brewers (75-66)

Last Week Record: 5-3

Last Week Ranking: 13

Monty (14): They lost a series in Colorado, swept the Giants in a one day double header series, then took 2 of 3 from Cincy. They are hanging around in the Wild Card, just 2 games back.

Danny (12): They went 5-3 last week, which was good enough to keep them on the Padres’ heels. They’re 2 games out of a playoff spot right now. Both the Brewers and Padres have 4 remaining series against teams above .500, so this race could get interesting.

Tyler (12): They are very up and down team but are still in the thick of the Wild Card race at only 2 games out. They need to get hot and sustain it.

Ryan (13): They’re a weird team, hot and cold, and that continued this week.

Nick (13)

14. Chicago White Sox (72-69)

Last Week Record: 5-2

Last Week Ranking: Unranked

Monty (13): Since LaRussa left the White Sox are 9-3 which includes series wins over playoff hopefuls in the Minnesota Twins and the Seattle Mariners.

Danny (15): They’ve been playing really good baseball since Tony La Russa went out on medical leave. They went 5-2 this week with series wins over the Mariners and Athletics.They have 4 games left against Cleveland and may need to take 3 of those to win the Central. The way they’re playing right now, it’s completely doable.

Tyler (14): They’re getting hot with a 7-3 in their last 10, but fear not as TLR is returning soon to put a stop to that stretch.

Ryan (14): Worst thing to happen to them is that La Russa is coming back, brutal.

Nick (15)

15. Baltimore Orioles (73-67)

Last Week Record: 2-5

Last Week Ranking: 11

Monty (15): The dream is dying folks. Last Monday they were just 2.5 games back of the Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card hunt with a 4-game series with those same Blue Jays looming at home. Instead they go 2-5 at Camden Yards to the Blue Jays and Red Sox and now trail in the Wild Card by 5.5 games with 22 games to play.

Danny (14): After a 2-5 week, the dream might finally be over. The Blue Jays took 3 of 4 against the Orioles which put them in a bit of a hole for the last Wild Card spot. They still have a chance to make some noise, but it’s going to be difficult now.

Tyler (15): It’s over. Soulja Boy didn’t tell em. While the Orioles will be a threat in the AL for years to come, it’s pretty clear at this point that this isn’t the year as they falter back towards .500.

Ryan (15): This is a funeral. Americas team. The dream run, is officially dead. I’m pulling the plug.

Nick (14)