MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers clinch, Yelich out for the season, Wild Card races getting tight
By Sean Sears
16. New York Mets, 74-70, 4th in the NL East (ranked 12th last week)
Winners of six of their last 10 games, the Mets are still fighting for the last Wild Card spot. They’ve done themselves a huge favor taking two games from the Diamondbacks in their current four-game series and might have caught an even bigger break with the Brewers losing Christian Yelich for the season.
Both the Cubs and Phillies have been inconsistent all season, it’s not impossible for the Mets to make a run in the final weeks sitting only 3 games back from the final Wild Card spot. They’ll need Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard at their best, particularly Stroman who has a 5.05 ERA in seven starts for the Mets. Without those two pitching at an elite level alongside Jacob deGrom, it won’t matter how many home runs Pete Alonso hits.
15. Milwaukee Brewers, 76-68, 3rd in the NL Central (ranked 15th last week)
The Brewers learned Tuesday night that reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his right knee cap. Without Yelich, Milwaukee doesn’t have much a chance to stay in the postseason hunt, even with Yelich the Brewers were starting to fade. They did win a huge series against the Cubs, taking three of four from their division rival at home, the Brewers need Yelich.
It’s not impossible to envision this resilient Brewers team continuing its strong surge as of late, but their rotation is banged up and suspect at best, their bullpen isn’t the same dominant group it was last season, and the offense relies on so much on Yelich to score runs. Here’s hoping Yelich’s recovery is speedy and doesn’t have any long-lasting effects.