MLB Power Rankings: Blue Jays soar to the top, streaking Mets gain momentum as trade deadline looms

Featured in this week’s MLB Power Rankings, the Blue Jays keep on rising, Aaron Judge is hurting, the Tigers are slipping, the Mariners make the first big move before the trade deadline, Emmanuel Clase is probably not on the trade block anymore, rookie slugger Nick Kurtz has perhaps the best game by a hitter in MLB history, and much more:

(Please note these power rankings are a combination of current performance and long-term projected outlook)

Let’s get started!

Fantasy baseball stashes: Players who could see their value increase at the MLB Trade Deadline

Eric Samulski discuss some players to stash ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline

• Eric Samulski,

Note: Rankings are from the morning of Monday, July 28.

1) Toronto Blue Jays ⬆️

Last week: 3

Another week, another new No. 1 team. Is this season fun or what? Even with a loss on Sunday, the Blue Jays made a huge statement by taking three out of four from the Tigers. Max Scherzer made one mistake to take the loss Sunday, but he mostly looked dominant while striking out 11 batters on his 41st birthday. Some good news even in a rare loss for the Jays.

2) Chicago Cubs ⬆️

Last week: 4

With Shota Imanaga coming off his roughest start of the season, the Cubs’ need for an impact starting pitcher becomes more clear. The big question is who? Edward Cabrera? Sandy Alcantara? Merrill Kelly? Zac Gallen? MacKenzie Gore?

3) New York Mets ⬆️

Last week: 8

Seven straight wins for the Mets to climb back into first place in the NL East. The best sign in recent days has been how good Francisco Alvarez has looked following his return from Triple-A.

4) Milwaukee Brewers ⬇️

Last week: 1

The Brewers walked off the Marlins on Sunday to avoid a sweep, but up next is a three-game first place showdown against the Cubs in Milwaukee. That’s as important as it gets in late July.

By the way, the best thing I saw this weekend was this. So cool to see Prince Fielder hitting bombs.

5) Los Angeles Dodgers ⬆️

Last week: 6

The Dodgers have had a patchwork rotation for much of the year, but with Blake Snell nearing his return, it suddenly looks like the club could have a surplus. Would the club actually consider parting with Dustin May to improve in other areas?

6) Detroit Tigers ⬇️

Last week: 2

The Tigers scored 10 runs on Sunday to snap their six-game losing streak. Kerry Carpenter went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his return from the injured list, but getting him back is a big deal for this lineup moving forward.

7) Philadelphia Phillies

Last week: 7

Kyle Schwarber reached 1,000 career hits on Friday, and of course he did it with a homer.

Nobody has hit more homers (319) within their first 1,000 hits than Schwarber.

8) Houston Astros ⬇️

Last week: 5

The battered and bruised Astros continue to stumble. After getting swept by the A’s, they’ve now lost 11 out of their last 16 games. Look for the club to prioritize a position player via trade this week.

9) San Diego Padres

Last week: 9

When there are trades happening, you can expect A.J. Preller to be involved in some way. He has a way of keeping us on our toes, so nothing can be ruled out, including potentially moving closer Robert Suarez or Dylan Cease to upgrade in other areas. Watch this situation closely.

10) New York Yankees

Last week: 10

Yes, things could have been much worse in regard to Aaron Judge’s elbow, but missing him for any length of time is a brutal blow in a tight AL playoff situation.

11) Boston Red Sox

Last week: 11

Garrett Crochet outdueled Clayton Kershaw on Saturday and Alex Bregman hit a go-ahead homer on Sunday as the Red Sox took two out of three from the Dodgers. The big question for the Red Sox to start the week is if Aroldis Chapman’s back injury is a long-term concern.

12) Seattle Mariners

Last week: 12

Lots of things to discuss with the Mariners. Cal Raleigh is now the AL MVP frontrunner with Aaron Judge sidelined and Seattle’s lineup is looking more fearsome with the acquisition of Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks.

I couldn’t write about the Mariners here without mentioning Ichiro’s wonderful speech at his Hall of Fame induction on Sunday. There’s simply nobody better than this man.

13) Texas Rangers ⬆️

Last week: 17

After sweeping the Braves, the Rangers have now won six straight games and find themselves very much in the mix for a playoff spot.

14) Cincinnati Reds

Last week: 14

The Reds and Braves will square off in the first-ever “Speedway Classic” this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. MLB says they’ve sold over 85,000 tickets to Saturday’s game, which will set a new regular-season MLB attendance record.

15) San Francisco Giants

Last week: 15

It took long enough (17 starts), but Justin Verlander finally picked up his first win of the season last Wednesday against the Braves. He’s now sitting on 263 wins for his career, so getting to 300 is looking unlikely for the 42-year-old.

16) St. Louis Cardinals ⬇️

Last week: 13

Does the situation with Emmanuel Clase make it more likely that the Cardinals trade closer Ryan Helsley? The impending free agent told Katie Woo of The Athletic last week that he sees the odds as, “90 percent I go, 10 percent I stay.” It’s a weird spot for the Cardinals, as they are one game over .500 and 3.5 games out of the Wild Card race to begin the week.

17) Tampa Bay Rays ⬇️

Last week: 16

The Rays are 6-15 this month and look more and more like a seller going into this week’s trade deadline. The question is whether we’ll see some smaller deals or bigger moves involving the likes of Yandy Diaz or Brandon Lowe.

18) Cleveland Guardians ⬆️

Last week: 20

The topsy-turvy Guardians have been playing better recently, but should they keep the band together? One player we know won’t be traded is Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, who has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB’s sports-betting investigation.

19) Kansas City Royals ⬆️

Last week: 21

While we wait to see what path the Guardians will take, it’s clear that the Royals are still in it to win it. In addition to acquiring Randal Grichuk in recent days, they have reportedly agreed to an extension with right-hander Seth Lugo. Still, it will be challenging to chase down a Wild Card spot while missing both Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic.

20) Arizona Diamondbacks ⬇️

Last week: 18

Let the deals begin! The Diamondbacks have already traded Josh Naylor (Mariners) and Randal Grichuk (Royals) over the past few days and we should see Eugenio Suarez, Merrill Kelly, and Zac Gallen follow them out the door before Thursday’s deadline. Suarez has slugged his way into being the most-coveted name on the trade block, with the Yankees, Reds, Cubs, Tigers, and Phillies among the potential landing spots.

21) Los Angeles Angels ⬇️

Last week: 19

Mike Trout reached the 1,000 career RBI mark in majestic fashion on Sunday, as he launched a 443-foot homer to center field. The future Hall of Famer is now just three homers away from 400 for his career.

22) Minnesota Twins

Last week: 22

The Twins are a key team to watch leading into the trade deadline. There’s the obvious route to go with impending free agents like Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, and Danny Coulombe, but they could make things interesting if Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran are made available.

23) Miami Marlins

Last week: 23

Sandy Alcantara picked a good time for a throwback performance. The former Cy Young Award went a season-high seven innings while allowing just an unearned run against the Padres last Wednesday. The Marlins have other likely trade candidates, but Alcantara’s situation is the most interesting to follow this week.

24) Baltimore Orioles

Last week: 24

There’s been some talk in recent weeks about the Orioles potentially trading Felix Bautista, but that’s increasingly unlikely after he landed on the injured list last week with right shoulder discomfort. Gregory Soto was shipped to the Mets over the weekend and we should hear plenty of buzz about names like Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, and Charlie Morton, among others.

25) Athletics ⬆️

Last week: 26

The A’s just pulled off their first-ever sweep of the Astros in Houston, highlighted by rookie slugger Nick Kurtz having perhaps the best game by a hitter in MLB history.

In addition to being the youngest player ever to pull off a four-homer game, Kurtz’s 19 total bases tied the MLB record set by Shawn Green on May 23, 2002.

26) Atlanta Braves

Last week: 25

The Braves can’t wait for 2026 to come along. Grant Holmes hit the IL due to right elbow inflammation on Sunday, joining rotation mates Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez, and AJ Smith-Shawver on the sidelines. The Braves acquired the recently-DFA’d Erick Fedde from the Cardinals as well as Carlos Carrasco from the Yankees just to have some dudes who can throw some innings.

27) Pittsburgh Pirates ⬆️

Last week: 28

With another dominant outing Sunday against the Diamondbacks, Paul Skenes has won back-to-back games for the first time this season. Of course, that’s not his fault. Skenes holds a ridiculous 1.83 ERA and 146/32 K/BB ratio over 133 innings (matching his innings total from last year) and should be considered the frontrunner for NL Cy Young Award honors.

28) Washington Nationals ⬇️

Last week: 27

Nationals outfielder Jacob Young pulled off one of the best catches of the season last Wednesday.

29) Chicago White Sox

Last week: 29

White Sox fans are getting a tantalizing glimpse at the future, with shortstop Colson Montgomery recently homering in three straight games.

30) Colorado Rockies

Last week: 30

Well, hey, look at that. The Rockies have won consecutive series for the first time this season and might be able to avoid the White Sox record for futility.