Ups, downs and trends from a season of Power Rankings

Throughout the season, MLB.com has power ranked all 30 teams, based on the votes of a panel of writers, editors and researchers. From March 18 to September 23, there were 24 editions of this feature, providing us with a wealth of data with which to track the rollercoaster ride that is the 162-game Major League schedule.

Now, with the final week of the regular season underway, it’s time to take a closer look at that data and identify the ups, downs and trends that tell the story of 2024. Here is what we found:

BIGGEST RISERS

There was so much that our voters didn’t know -- and would have been hard-pressed to foresee -- way back in March. To pick just a few examples: The Guardians bullpen led by Emmanuel Clase and some relatively anonymous rookies would overcome a bottom-10 starting rotation that lost Shane Bieber soon after Opening Day; that the Brewers would not lose a step following the departure of longtime manager Craig Counsell and the trade of ace Corbin Burnes; that the Royals would go from 106 losses to the brink of a postseason berth.

But that, of course, is exactly what did happen.

Comparing that first poll in mid-March with the most recent edition, three clubs improved by exactly seven spots: the Padres (14th to seventh), Mets (16th to ninth) and Tigers (20th to 13th). Only three managed a larger leap.

1. Guardians: +17 (21st to fourth)
2. Brewers: +14 (19th to fifth)
3. Royals: +13 (24th to 11th)

Cleveland and Milwaukee already have clinched division titles, while Kansas City is battling a September swoon that is threatening to drop it from an AL Wild Card spot. But even if that happens, it will have been an amazing turnaround.

BIGGEST FALLERS

If some teams go up, others must go down. Such is life.

It’s easy to be optimistic under the blue skies of Spring Training, when most players are healthy and visions of best-case scenarios dance in our heads. But the realities (and cruelties) of a long season can derail the plans of even the most talented teams. That’s what happened to four 2023 playoff qualifiers who endured double-digit drops from our first Power Rankings to our last.

1. Rangers: -17 (fifth to 22nd)
2. Blue Jays: -15 (eighth to 23rd)
3. Braves: -11 (first to 12th)
4. Rays: -10 (ninth to 19th)

Despite this, Atlanta still has a shot to squeak into the postseason via an NL Wild Card spot after enduring a wave of injuries, including season-enders to ace starter Spencer Strider and superstar outfielder Ronald Acu?a Jr.

The other three clubs will not return to the playoffs, however. The Rangers had designs on becoming MLB’s first back-to-back champs since the 2000 Yankees, but Texas didn't get its big-name rotation (including Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom) healthy enough, while the promising rookie outfield duo of Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford disappointed. The Blue Jays never got it going, either, peaking at three games over .500 in April, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s best season since 2021 was overwhelmed by a lost year for Bo Bichette and a disastrous bullpen, among other issues. The Rays, for once, were unable to find enough solutions to patch an injury-marred rotation and opted to sell at the Trade Deadline, although the club was not yet officially eliminated from the race entering Tuesday.

BACK WHERE THEY STARTED

As the teams above show, the season can be a wild ride. Yet three clubs were ranked in identical spots in both our first and last regular season polls.

• Astros (sixth)
• D-backs (10th)
• Rockies (29th)

That’s not to say that all three of these clubs ran in place all season -- far from it, in fact. (More on that below.) But, in the end, they are who we thought they were.

WIDEST RANGES

Yes, the Astros finished where they started. But in between? Well, that was a very different story. After opening the season at No. 6, Houston plummeted as far as 26th on May 6, shortly before falling to a season-worst 12 games under .500 (12-24).

But the Astros, who trailed in the AL West by as many as 10 games, turned things around under first-year manager Joe Espada. By July 8, they were back in the top 10. And on Sept. 2, they cracked the top five for the first time this season. Houston entered Tuesday on the verge of clinching yet another AL West title.

While 13 MLB teams have at least a 15-place gap between their highest and lowest rankings of the season, the Astros lead that list.

• Astros: 21 places (fifth-26th)
• Guardians: 19 places (second-21st)
• Rangers: 19 places (fourth-23rd)
• Royals: 18 places (sixth-24th)
• Tigers: 17 places (seventh-24th)
• Blue Jays: 17 places (eighth-25th)

NARROWEST RANGES

Not everyone bounced around a lot, however, and the teams that stand out as the most stable tend to be those that stuck either near the top or bottom of the rankings. Five clubs hovered within a range of no more than six spots all season long.

That includes the White Sox, whom our voters pegged as a bottom-three team from the beginning -- but couldn’t foresee piling up an historic loss total. Ultimately, Chicago would rank last in 21 of our 24 polls, including our final 17 in a row.

• Rockies: two places (27th-29th)
• White Sox: two places (28th-30th)
• Angels: four places (24th-28th)
• Dodgers: five places (first-sixth)
• Yankees: six places (first-seventh)

MOST NO. 1 FINISHES

It takes more than a hot streak to lead our Power Rankings. Yes, a team generally has to be playing well to earn that distinction, but voters are also factoring in how that club has looked all season and how it projects going forward.

With that in mind, it’s not too surprising that -- even in a year without a single dominant behemoth -- only five teams jumped up to No. 1 at any point during the season. All five did so multiple times, and each had reached that point for the first time by no later than June 17. And two clubs in particular stood above the rest in terms of first-place finishes.

• Phillies (10 times - most recently Sept. 16)
• Dodgers (seven times - Sept. 23)
• Braves (three times - April 29)
• Orioles (two times - Aug. 12)
• Yankees (two times - June 24)

The Braves, with high expectations, peaked early but dropped out of the top five for good by the end of May as injuries took their toll. The Orioles and Yankees made a couple of cameos apiece but couldn’t find the consistency to stick. The Phillies, though, put together multiple four-week streaks atop the rankings, while the Dodgers led twice in April and four times from Aug. 26-Sept. 23.

MOST TOP-FIVE FINISHES

In addition to the five teams that tasted the No. 1 spot, four others spent time in the top five. Nobody quite managed to run the table by landing there in all 24 polls, although two clubs finished outside the top five only once each.

• Dodgers: 23 times (Lowest finish: sixth)
• Yankees: 23 times (seventh)
• Orioles: 22 times (eighth)
• Phillies: 20 times (eighth)
• Guardians: 14 times (21st)
• Braves: eight times (13th)
• Brewers: five times (19th)
• Rangers: three times (22nd)
• Astros: two times (26th)

The Yankees’ only top-five miss came in the very first poll of the season, prior to Opening Day, before a hot start quickly turned the tables. The Dodgers’ nadir also came early (April 22), while the Orioles didn't drop below fifth until the final two editions of the Power Rankings. The Phillies joined the top five on May 6 and stayed there permanently.

SEASON HIGHS

The baseball season is long. Even very good teams have periods of struggle, and vice versa. So it makes sense that all but six of the 30 clubs ascended into at least the top 12 (which equates roughly to playoff position) at some point between March and September.

Here is a breakdown of each team’s highest Power Rankings finish of 2024.

1 - Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Orioles, Braves
2 - Guardians
4 - Brewers, Rangers
5 - Astros
6 - Royals, Mariners
7 - Padres, D-backs, Tigers, Twins
8 - Cubs, Blue Jays
9 - Mets, Rays, Pirates
11 - Red Sox, Reds
12 - Cardinals, Giants
20 - A’s, Nationals
23 - Marlins
24 - Angels
27 - Rockies
28 - White Sox