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MLB Power Rankings (Aug. 4): Fastball On SI Poll
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich (22) celebrates after scoring a run against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

MLB Power Rankings (Aug. 4): Fastball On SI Poll

Originally posted on Fastball on SI  |  By Jack Ankony  |  Last updated Aug 4, 2025 2:01 PM ET

As the calendar turns to August, parity continues to be a theme of the 2025 MLB season. With series wins over the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals last week, the Milwaukee Brewers own baseball's best record at 67-44 and became the fifth team to hold the No. 1 spot in the MLB power rankings poll from the Fastball On SI staff.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and Cubs have each been ranked No. 1 at some point this season, while the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and New Yorke Mets fell just short. Twelve teams have between 60 and 67 wins as of Monday morning, so it's looking like anyone's game come playoff time.

The Blue Jays currently hold the No. 1 seed in the American League, though they scuffled this week with series losses to the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles. Toronto holds a three-game lead in the AL East over the Red Sox, who swept the Astros over the weekend and passed the Yankees for second place in the division.

Detroit maintains a comfortable eight-game lead in the AL Central despite a 13-16 record since July 1 and a series loss to the Phillies over the weekend. The AL West race figures to come down to the wire, as the Astros lead the Mariners by 2.5 games and the Rangers by 4.5 games. Texas looked out of the race a few weeks ago, but they're 11-5 since July 21.

In the National League, the Brewers and Cubs are fighting for the No. 1 seed and the NL Central title. The Cubs host a crucial five-game series against the Brewers from Aug. 18-21, which will go a long way in deciding the division race. The NL East should have a close finish, too, as the Phillies lead the Mets by half a game.

The Dodgers went on the road and picked up series wins over the Reds and Rays last week to maintain a three-game lead in the NL West. But with the San Diego Padres making several big moves at the trade deadline, they're not to be overlooked.

Here are the Fastball On SI MLB power rankings for Aug. 4.

(This poll takes into account votes from five Fastball On SI MLB writers: Tom Brew, Brady Farkas, Jack Ankony, Teren Kowatsch and Sam Connon. First-place votes are worth 30 points, and last-place votes are worth one point. Ties broken by highest vote or votes, followed by overall win percentage, then head-to-head record. Total points and first-place votes in parentheses.)

  1. Milwaukee Brewers (150) (5)
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers (142)
  3. Chicago Cubs (138)
  4. Philadelphia Phillies (130)
  5. Detroit Tigers (129)
  6. Toronto Blue Jays (128)
  7. New York Mets (120)
  8. San Diego Padres (115)
  9. Boston Red Sox (115)
  10. Seattle Mariners (103)
  11. Houston Astros (103)
  12. New York Yankees (97)
  13. Cincinnati Reds (88)
  14. Texas Rangers (86)
  15. Miami Marlins (78)
  16. Cleveland Guardians (72)
  17. Kansas City Royals (70)
  18. San Francisco Giants (67)
  19. St. Louis Cardinals (58)
  20. Tampa Bay Rays (58)
  21. Los Angeles Angels (53)
  22. Arizona Diamondbacks (44)
  23. Baltimore Orioles (38)
  24. Minnesota Twins (36)
  25. Atlanta Braves (26)
  26. Athletics (24)
  27. Pittsburgh Pirates (22)
  28. Chicago White Sox (16)
  29. Washington Nationals (14)
  30. Colorado Rockies (5)

Here's how each writer voted.

Tom Brew

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers 
  3. Chicago Cubs
  4. Toronto Blue Jays
  5. Detroit Tigers
  6. New York Mets
  7. Philadelphia Phillies
  8. Seattle Mariners
  9. San Diego Padres
  10. Boston Red Sox
  11. Houston Astros
  12. New York Yankees
  13. Texas Rangers
  14. Cincinnati Reds
  15. San Francisco Giants
  16. Cleveland Guardians
  17. Miami Marlins 
  18. Kansas City Royals
  19. Tampa Bay Rays
  20. Los Angeles Angels
  21. St. Louis Cardinals 
  22. Arizona Diamondbacks
  23. Minnesota Twins
  24. Baltimore Orioles
  25. The Athletics
  26. Pittsburgh Pirates
  27. Atlanta Braves
  28. Washington Nationals
  29. Chicago White Sox 
  30. Colorado Rockies

Comments: I've been the one holdout all year on the Los Angeles Dodgers being the best team in the game, and I saw them in person in Tampa this weekend. Even though Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani barrel up everything, I still think much of the rest of their offense. Sure, they won two of three, but they also went 18 innings in a row without scoring a run. On the plus side, Tyler Glasnow is back in the rotation and Blake Snell made his first start in four months, though it didn't go well. Their rotation is lights out.

The Toronto Blue Jays came back to earth and dropped out of my No. 1 spot. The Milwaukee Brewers are the clear No. 1 now, because they are playing great baseball. They scored 38 runs in the sweep of Washington and at 67-44, they now have the best record in baseball. Hard to believe they were three under .500 on May 24.

Jack Ankony

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers
  3. Chicago Cubs
  4. Toronto Blue Jays
  5. Philadelphia Phillies
  6. Detroit Tigers
  7. San Diego Padres
  8. New York Mets
  9. Boston Red Sox
  10. Houston Astros
  11. Seattle Mariners
  12. New York Yankees
  13. Texas Rangers
  14. Cincinnati Reds
  15. Miami Marlins
  16. Kansas City Royals
  17. Cleveland Guardians
  18. San Francisco Giants
  19. Tampa Bay Rays
  20. St. Louis Cardinals
  21. Los Angeles Angels
  22. Baltimore Orioles
  23. Arizona Diamondbacks
  24. Minnesota Twins
  25. Atlanta Braves
  26. Chicago White Sox
  27. The Athletics
  28. Pittsburgh Pirates
  29. Washington Nationals
  30. Colorado Rockies

Comments: The Brewers have the best record in MLB since June 1 at 36-16 and took a two-game lead over the Cubs in the NL Central with a pair of wins this past week. With the Dodgers playing better of late, it looks like the NL has the three best teams in baseball. But don't sleep on the Padres, who made perhaps the most improvements at the trade deadline. It may not be enough to reach the playoffs, but the Marlins deserve some credit for a 9-2 record since July 22 to get back to .500.

The AL is much more difficult to figure out. The Blue Jays had the best record for a moment, only to lose six of eight games, and the Tigers are 27-27 since June 1. The Red Sox and Yankees have gone in opposite directions over the last month, but just 1.5 games separate them in the standings. The Astros and Mariners are 5-5 in head-to-head matchups this season, and the Rangers have also made a surge to keep the AL West close.

Brady Farkas

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers
  3. Philadelphia Phillies
  4. Chicago Cubs
  5. Detroit Tigers
  6. Boston Red Sox
  7. New York Mets
  8. Toronto Blue Jays
  9. San Diego Padres
  10. New York Yankees
  11. Seattle Mariners
  12. Houston Astros
  13. Cincinnati Reds
  14. Miami Marlins
  15. Texas Rangers
  16. Cleveland Guardians
  17. Kansas City Royals
  18. St. Louis Cardinals
  19. Los Angeles Angels
  20. Tampa Bay Rays 
  21. San Francisco Giants
  22. Arizona Diamondbacks
  23. Minnesota Twins
  24. Baltimore Orioles
  25. Atlanta Braves
  26. Chicago White Sox
  27. Athletics
  28. Washington Nationals
  29. Pittsburgh Pirates
  30. Colorado Rockies

Comments: We are certainly starting to see the teams separate and it looks like my prediction of the Red Sox winning the world series could come to fruition. They are absolutely rolling now. The Astros have slumped bad, will they get Yordan Alvarez back this season to help hang onto the West? And Tigers-Phillies was fun, with Philadelphia's bullpen addition of Jhoan Duran paying big dividends.

Teren Kowatsch

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Toronto Blue Jays
  3. Detroit Tigers
  4. Los Angeles Dodgers
  5. Chicago Cubs
  6. Philadelphia Phillies
  7. Boston Red Sox
  8. New York Mets
  9. Houston Astros
  10. San Diego Padres
  11. Seattle Mariners
  12. New York Yankees
  13. Cincinnati Reds
  14. Texas Rangers
  15. Cleveland Guardians
  16. Miami Marlins
  17. Kansas City Royals
  18. San Francisco Giants
  19. Tampa Bay Rays
  20. St. Louis Cardinals
  21. Los Angeles Angels
  22. Arizona Diamondbacks
  23. Minnesota Twins
  24. Baltimore Orioles
  25. The Athletics
  26. Pittsburgh Pirates
  27. Atlanta Braves
  28. Washington Nationals
  29. Chicago White Sox
  30. Colorado Rockies

Comments: The dust has settled from the MLB trade deadline. But there's still a lot of baseball left to play, and the postseason picture still can take many different shapes. The top two placers in every National League division are separated by three games or less, the Boston Red Sox are creeping on the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East and the Seattle Mariners are within three games of the Houston Astros in the AL West. At the current rate the season is progressing, a lot of the postseason picture might come down to the final week.

Sam Connon

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Chicago Cubs
  3. Los Angeles Dodgers
  4. Philadelphia Phillies
  5. San Diego Padres
  6. New York Mets
  7. Detroit Tigers
  8. Boston Red Sox
  9. Toronto Blue Jays
  10. Houston Astros
  11. Seattle Mariners
  12. New York Yankees
  13. Cincinnati Reds
  14. Texas Rangers
  15. Miami Marlins
  16. San Francisco Giants
  17. Kansas City Royals
  18. St. Louis Cardinals
  19. Cleveland Guardians
  20. Tampa Bay Rays
  21. Los Angeles Angels
  22. Arizona Diamondbacks
  23. Baltimore Orioles
  24. Pittsburgh Pirates
  25. Atlanta Braves
  26. Minnesota Twins
  27. Athletics
  28. Washington Nationals
  29. Chicago White Sox
  30. Colorado Rockies

Comments: The Padres, who were viewed as potential sellers at the deadline, instead shelled out half their farm system for one final push. That already seems like a justified decision, considering they swept the Mets and have won seven of eight. Meanwhile, the Yankees look lost without Aaron Judge, leaving the AL wide open for the surging Red Sox, steady Tigers and all-in Mariners to really assert themselves in the final stretch.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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