The Atlanta Braves aren’t ranked in the top 5 on the latest power rankings from CBS Sports, Bleacher Report or MLB.com. But their winning streak hasn’t gone unnoticed either.
After winning eight of their last 10 games, the Braves have moved up at least one spot on all three of those power rankings. At CBS Sports and Bleacher Report, the Braves jumped at least three spots to be ranked at No. 6 overall.
“Here they come?” CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder wrote of the Braves moving up from No. 9 to 6 on his power rankings. “The Braves have won eight of their last 10 and the offense is showing real signs of life with Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Austin Riley starting to pick things up a bit.
“Also, Jarred Kelenic might be taking to the leadoff spot.”
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter had the Braves leap from No. 10 to 6 on his latest power rankings.
“Here come the Braves! After a rocky month of May and a slow start to June, they have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games, including a big series win on the road at Yankee Stadium over the weekend,” Reuter wrote. “The recent performance of outfielder Ramón Laureano and starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach has potentially plugged two major holes on the roster.”
Of course, the Braves still have work to do. Although they have gained three games in the NL East standings over the last week and a half, they still sit seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
Furthermore, in part because the Braves took two out of three from the New York Yankees over the weekend (and the Baltimore Orioles suffered a sweep in Houston), the Phillies have moved to the top spot in the MLB power rankings at CBS Sports and Bleacher Report.
MLB.com had the Phillies ranked No. 2 still behind the Yankees.
There seemed to be less movement on the recent MLB.com power rankings. The Braves only moved up one spot on that list from No. 10 to 9.
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The Philadelphia Phillies struck a deal to land a big bullpen arm in Jhoan Duran on Wednesday night, not only boosting their own relief corps but also putting more pressure on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both the Dodgers and Phillies had been linked to Duran, a right-hander who posted 12 saves along with a 2.01 ERA so far this season. However, it was Philadelphia that struck the pre-trade-deadline deal, bringing the 27-year-old on board in exchange for a pair of the franchise's top 10 prospects. Now the next move belongs to Los Angeles. Both the Phillies and Dodgers are expected to be among the teams competing for the National League title in October, but Los Angeles is in desperate need to reinforce its bullpen before that happens. Dodger relievers Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol have all spent time on the injured list this year, and the Los Angeles bullpen has suffered with their absences. Entering Wednesday's action, Dodgers relievers had posted a minus-3.4 Wins Above Average (WAA), placing Los Angeles 25th among MLB's 30 teams in that category. Additionally, Dodgers starters have thrown just 493.1 innings this year. That's the lowest number in MLB and makes Los Angeles the only MLB team to have their starters not cross the 500-inning threshold. With L.A. starters not going deep into the game and current Dodger relievers struggling with health and performance when called upon, it's clear that Duran would have been a big piece for the Dodgers to add to their personnel puzzle. With Duran heading to Philadelphia and Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase off the trading block after being the subject of an MLB investigation, the number of true impact relievers is dwindling ahead of Thursday's 6 p.m. (Eastern) MLB trade deadline. Minnesota's Griffin Jax is still a possibility, as is David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the clock is ticking on the Dodgers to make a move ... and it will likely be a costly one in terms of prospects. In the wake of the Phillies claiming arguably the biggest bullpen prize of the trade deadline, Los Angeles can't afford to wait.
The Indianapolis Colts wish they had made a different decision in 2023. The Colts selected Richardson with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft after the dual-threat quarterback had an incredible third season at Florida. He threw for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns and added 654 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground in his first season as a full-time starter. Given the momentum Richardson had at Florida in 2022 and with Indianapolis during OTAs, then-first-year head coach Shane Steichen named the former Gators quarterback the Colts' starter in the middle of preseason. Per Zak Keefer of The Athletic, Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard has "regret" in not waiting to start Richardson until he was better adjusted to the league. "The regret is real, from both player and team," Keefer wrote. "Ballard wishes he’d resisted the urge to hand Richardson the job right away, a move late owner Jim Irsay pushed for at the time. What the young quarterback needed was the chance to acclimate to the NFL, to learn the job, to watch a veteran’s daily habits and build his own." “He just doesn’t know yet,” Ballard told The Athletic. “He didn’t have enough experience, both from a play standpoint but also a professional standpoint of how to get ready.” But, Ballard concedes, “when you take one high, there’s an expectation. The pressure to play the kid is real.” Richardson suffered a couple of injuries in his rookie season before his campaign ended in October when he had to have shoulder surgery. He also dealt with injuries and a brief benching in favor of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in 2024. In his 15 games played in two seasons, Richardson has thrown for 2,391 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while adding 635 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Before training camp this summer, the team declared Richardson and former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones would compete for the starting job for 2025. Despite Richardson's status as a starter being unknown this year, Ballard isn't considering releasing or trading the 23-year-old quarterback. He thinks Richardson can be a starter by 2026. The tricky part now for the Colts is that they must unlock Richardson's talent while also encouraging the young quarterback. Frankly, it won't be good for his confidence if he gets beaten out by Jones in training camp. As the No. 4 pick in the draft, 2023 should have been the year for a real quarterback competition. Instead, a difficult situation has been created for the Colts and Richardson, and it serves as a lesson for overeager general managers and coaches.
The Detroit Lions had substantial success under Ben Johnson, but the receiver corps likes the scheme that new offensive coordinator John Morton is cooking up. Johnson is now with the Bears as their head coach. Per most reports coming out of Chicago, the offense is behind the defense in knowing the scheme. During Tuesday's practice, Johnson screamed at and threw receiver Luther Buren III out of a team drill after the rookie failed to line up correctly. Knowing where to line up has been an issue for tight ends and receivers in Chicago this summer. Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is happy that Morton is trusting his receivers to make this year. He told NFL Network's Stacey Dales on Tuesday that his route tree has grown and the team's playbook has expanded from the one Johnson used with Detroit. “I think he’s allowing the receivers to be receivers," Williams said of Morton. "He’s lining up and giving us routes and telling us to go win. He knows our abilities, he knows we can win one-on-one routes, he knows how open we can get when we get those one-on-one coverages. “He’s putting his faith in his guys and I love that about him. He’s aggressive, too. It’s not just me; everyone gets to run more routes. We expanded the offense. We expanded the playbook a little bit.” Williams didn't do too shabby in Johnson's offense. The 2022 first-round pick caught 58 passes for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. There was speculation that the Lions could have some drop-off on offense after losing Johnson to Chicago. It seems young and hungry players like Williams have confidence in the new offense run by Morton.
If the Green Bay Packers are to go places in the 2025 NFL season, it would very likely be with star quarterback Jordan Love playing his role excellently under center. The Packers need him to be in top form, and if he’s to put together a remarkable campaign in his third year as the team’s regular starter, it would also mean his weapons downfield stepping up to make more things happen in the passing attack. To that end, Packers rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden is someone many believe is capable of shining as part of Love’s set of targets. Love acknowledges Green Bay Packers rookie’s social media post On Wednesday, Golden shared a deeply reflective social media post on Instagram. “Long as I’m putting 1 foot in front the other , I’m heading right where God want me #brickbybrick”,” the former Texas Longhorns star wide receiver wrote. That was a caption for a series of photos, including one showing a black-and-white image of Golden and Love with their backs on the camera while standing side by side during training camp. Love later shared that post via Instagram story. It seems that Love and Golden are getting along just fine, and that’s important for the Packers as a whole, considering how significant the chemistry between the quarterback and his receivers plays in the success of a team’s offense.
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