MLB power rankings: Brewers and Rays on top, Padres riding a win streak, White Sox sliding

Just two weeks remain in the 162-game regular season that began on March 25, but plenty remains undecided. The race for the remaining playoff spots and division titles will be decided in the final weeks of the calendar, while some teams have strengthened their respective positions.

As Bleacher Report notes, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays have already secured their playoff berths, while the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies have at least a 97% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs projections. That leaves four other spots open; the AL Central and AL West titles and the third wild-card spots in both leagues remain unclear, with about seven teams realistically fighting for those berths.

The San Diego Padres have made a noticeable surge and now hold a seven-game win streak, significantly raising their playoff chances — from about 40.7% on September 5 to 77.1% after the win over the Giants. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have led this offensive explosion during the month, with high OPS numbers and many key hits that have ignited the team’s offense.

The New York Yankees remain in play for the division title, even though they are four games behind the Rays; the head-to-head matchups at Yankee Stadium against Tampa Bay, starting September 22, are expected to be decisive. On the individual quality front, Cam Schlittler’s recent starts — including a 7.0 IP outing with 10 strikeouts and another with 8 strikeouts — have strengthened his profile for the season awards, giving the Yankees a boost in the final stretch of the schedule.

The Milwaukee Brewers stand at the top of the rankings with a 93-57 record and scored an extraordinary 20-0 win over the Reds; the team ranks second in the league in runs scored (778) and has the second-best team ERA (3.57), reasons that have kept them in first place for six straight weeks. The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached 90 wins on the season and have added prospect Josue De Paula to the starting lineup, who in his first debut delivered several notable appearances with a double, a home run and four times on base via walks.

In a brief summary of the top of the table, the highest teams are: the Milwaukee Brewers in first place, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. According to Bleacher Report, developments over these final two weeks will definitively determine who enters October’s real game and how the playoff matchups will be shaped.