This week, we had our first clinchers. The Rays and Brewers are in; the Dodgers and the Yankees are right behind them, perhaps as soon as Monday. With now less than two weeks left in the season, it is going to be a near-nightly occurrence. It has been a long season, but we are almost at its end. It really did happen too fast. But don’t worry: With the top three teams in our Power Ranking battling for the two top seeds in the National League (and the byes that come with them), there is plenty for everybody to play for.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Brewers (previously: 1)
The Brewers spent so much time bashing around the Reds in the first two games of their series this weekend -- scoring 33 runs and notching 37 hits -- that it was almost strange that they lost on Sunday: It had felt like they were playing an entirely different sport. Their lead over the Dodgers for the best record in baseball is down to only 2 1/2 games, just in time for a nine-game road trip. After that, the Brewers have only three home games, the final series against the Cardinals. Until the playoffs, anyway.

2. Dodgers (previously: 3)
Not that it’s surprising, of course, but it’s still pretty incredible that the Dodgers have gone to the postseason for 13 consecutive seasons, one shy of tying the Braves’ record from 1991-2005. The last Dodgers team that did not make the postseason had Bobby Abreu on it, and he is now 52 years old.

3. Braves (previously: 2)
What the Braves did this week was downright definitive: They’re almost certainly going to win their first NL East since 2023 which, you may remember, was their sixth straight title. But the Brewers and Dodgers are playing well as well: Getting that first-round bye remains pivotal, and difficult.

4. Rays (previously: 4)
The Rays are doing everything they can to take the pressure off themselves heading into that four-game series at Yankee Stadium in a week. The Rays do look back to their recent historical standing; after missing the playoffs the last two years, they’re going to end up with 90-plus wins for the ninth time in the last 20 years. There’s still even an outside chance of getting to 100 wins for the second time in franchise history.

5. Yankees (previously: 6)
The Yankees are taking it as easy as possible with Aaron Judge, and for good reason: There isn’t a world where he’s not in the lineup in October and they win the World Series. But it is slow going so far: He’s 3-for-17 with nine strikeouts, one walk and no extra-base hits since coming off the injured list.

6. Cubs (previously: 5)
Remember when we were all worried about Alex Bregman? The All-Star has the third-most homers in baseball since the All-Star break (behind only his teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Giants’ Rafael Devers) and he is now fifth among NL position players in WAR on the year. There was never a need to worry. And we all know what he can do in the postseason, too, which is where the Cubs are headed.

7. Phillies (previously: 7)
Now that the Phillies are five games back of the Braves in the NL East, they should probably try to focus on just holding onto an NL Wild Card. The Cubs passed them this weekend, and for what it’s worth, both the Padres and the Diamondbacks are red-hot and may be making a charge themselves. Look out.

8. Red Sox (previously: 8)
After taking some time to recover from a groin injury, Ranger Suarez looks like himself again -- and a real postseason force. In his last two starts, he has pitched 14 innings and given up just one run. “I like it,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “The second one in a row. He was brilliant. Eight K’s, no walks, attacked the zone, used his offspeed very effectively, got people out front, got in on the hands. He was really, really good.”

9. Padres (previously: 10)
Fun fact from MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell’s Padres newsletter this week: For argument's sake, let’s call every game a tossup. The odds that either the Padres or Diamondbacks would be four games ahead of the other by that weekend? About 17%. Leaving an 83% chance that that series proves decisive. Just as relevant: The odds that the two teams are within one game of each other at the start of that series? About 44 percent. That would turn that series into a de facto playoff series, where two wins out of three gets you in.

10. Diamondbacks (previously: 11)
How frustrated the D-backs may have been with Ketel Marte a couple of weeks ago, he has reminded them in September why they will always welcome him in their lineup. He had a huge homer on Friday and is essential to the D-backs’ lineup working. And don’t forget what he does in October: He’s a career .344 hitter in the playoffs.

11. White Sox (previously: 9)
The White Sox have had most of their AL Central lead whittled away over the last fortnight, but they can get the whole thing back with their series in Cleveland this week. They also need just one win that series to clinch a potential tiebreaker with the Guardians as well. This is, unquestionably, the series of the year.

12. Guardians (previously: 14)
The Guardians’ bullpen has been their savior during their run to the final AL Wild Card spot and their contention in the AL Central, so it’s perhaps fitting that when they shifted Joey Cantillo -- who had been struggling in the rotation -- to the bullpen, he immediately improved, tossing four scoreless innings in his first bullpen appearance post-demotion. Though the way it’s going for the Guardians, maybe it shouldn’t be considered a demotion.

13. Astros (previously: 12)
Yordan Alvarez’s ankle issue had him out of the lineup most of the weekend -- and he was pinch-hit for in a blowout loss on Sunday -- and his struggles of late have many discounting his Triple Crown hopes. But there is still a chance: He still leads in batting average and is only two homers and four RBIs out of the lead in those categories.

14. Blue Jays (previously: 13)
Despite all the issues the Blue Jays have had this year, they are very much in striking distance of returning to the postseason to hopefully erase the memories of that World Series close-call last year. Now that they’ve gotten this close, though … missing it at this point, in the final stretch, especially considering how well the schedule sets up for them, would be absolutely heartbreaking. Again.

15. Pirates (previously: 19)
Pirates fans perhaps had higher hopes for this season, but it should be noted that if they can get over .500 -- and they’re right there -- it will only be the second time they’ve done that in the last 11 seasons. (2018 was the other.) If they can get to 83 wins, it will be the Pirates’ fourth-best season since Barry Bonds left following the 1992 season .

16. Rangers (previously: 17)
On the morning of July 29, the Rangers held a two-game lead in the AL West and it felt like they were finally breaking through. They’ve struggled mightily since then, but the good news is that the rest of the AL West has as well. The division continues to give them the opportunity to win it with a run that their fans have been waiting for them to make all year. They actually have no games left against anyone in the division. An upcoming nine-game homestand against the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mets may provide all the answers.

17. Cardinals (previously: 15) 
The Cardinals inducted Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina into the Cardinals Hall of Fame this weekend, and they also honored the 2006 Cardinals (a team both players were on) for the 20th anniversary of their World Series title. It won’t be shocking to see them inducted together, again, into a different Hall of Fame in a couple of years.

18. Marlins (previously: 16) 
The Marlins have had a wildly topsy-turvy season — looking alternately like a legitimate Wild Card contender and also a team that could lose 12 in a row — but it all may even out in the end. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way, they’ll finish one game better than they did last year. And there’s still a chance to get to .500 for the first time since 2023 … and only the third time since 2009.

19. Orioles (previously: 18) 
Pete Alonso, an unquestionable bright spot for the Orioles this year, hit his 299th homer on Saturday night. That’s the third-most homers in baseball since he made his debut in 2019, behind only Kyle Schwarber and Aaron Judge.

20. Mariners (previously: 20)
It’s tempting to say this was the weekend it finally, finally fell apart for the Mariners in 2026 — especially the pair of brutal walk-off losses in West Sacramento on Friday and Sunday — but all told, it has felt like we could say that about a lot of weeks this year. 2026 has just been a huge bummer in Seattle.

21. Tigers (previously: 22)
Kevin McGonigle has a very real chance to lead all AL position players in WAR — he’s only trailing Bobby Witt Jr. — but he had been struggling heading into Saturday. He did hit his 17th homer in that game, and one suspects no one will remember the slump when he wins the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

22. Twins (previously: 21)
The Twins were buyers at the Trade Deadline, bringing in Dean Kremer and A.J. Minter, but it sure hasn’t worked out for them: They’re 14-24 since the start of August, the third-worst record in baseball over that span.

23. Mets (previously: 25) 

It has obviously been a while since the Mets have had much relevance in the playoff chase, but you can’t accuse them of packing it in: They’re 29-23 since the All-Star Break, largely behind young players like Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Nolan McLean. There’s still reason for hope here.

24. Nationals (previously: 23)
The Nationals were surely thankful to have the Angels in town this weekend so they could end their season-high seven-game losing streak. The pitching has faltered down the stretch, but they are still hitting the ball, with the fourth-most homers in baseball with 198. That’s the most they’ve hit since their World Series-winning team in 2019, which ended up with 231.

25. Reds (previously: 24)
The Reds made the playoffs last year, but they didn’t win a game, and they still haven’t won a playoff game since 2012. They have, however, avoided finishing last in the NL Central every year since 2018. That streak, as the losses pile up, is very much in jeopardy of ending.

26. Royals (previously: 26)
The Royals may not be in the playoff chase, but they sure are going to affect it: They have absolutely massive series with the Astros, White Sox and Guardians coming up in the next two weeks. Everyone’s going to be watching the Royals down the stretch.

27. Giants (previously: 27)
If you had told the Giants back in the spring that they wouldn’t have their first three-game sweep of the season until September, they would have known the season didn’t go as planned. But they were relieved to finally get that sweep last week against the Cardinals, culminating in a six-run eighth-inning comeback in the finale. The Giants may have just needed something to go right. “It’s hard to describe what went on,” manager Tony Vitello said. “It kind of came together in one inning, but whether it looked like it or not in the dugout, the guys were positive. They were still in the fight.” 

28. A’s (previously: 28)
Even with the tumult of the last few years, the A’s remain one of the most storied franchises in MLB history, and they got to celebrate that this weekend when they inducted the late Dave Henderson into the Athletics Hall of Fame alongside pitcher Blue Moon Odom, second baseman Mark Ellis, and executive Sandy Alderson. Henderson may have been more famous with the Red Sox, but his best years came with the A’s, where he hit more than half his career homers and put up his best numbers across the board.

29. Angels (previously: 30)
It was a relief to see Mike Trout finally homer, for the first time in more than a month, when he got one against Cade Cavalli — one of the best pitchers in baseball in the second half — on Friday. It was his 21st of the season, five fewer than he had last year in as many games. Other than the homers and his slugging percentage, though, Trout’s numbers are up from last year, and if he misses no more than two games the rest of the way, he’ll play his most games in a season since 2016.

30. Rockies (previously: 29)
At the end of July, it did look like the Rockies would be able to avoid their fourth straight season of losing 100 games or more. But they’re 12-27 since then and now need to go 8-5 in their last 13 to avoid it.

Voters: Dan Cichalski, Rick Gold Jr., Jared Greenspan, Will Leitch, Brent Maguire, Arturo Pardavila, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Zac Vierra, Andy Werle.