Power rankings are nearly useless at this point because, in little more than a week, the top eight teams will be clear-cut and entering a race to prove the REAL power rankings. But, with games still to play and pennant races to be won, the projections can come in handy.

Take the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, neither of whom is guaranteed a playoff berth but take sound leads into their last handful of games. Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks are just two games over .500 (79-77) and sitting at No. 16 in our rankings, but could still make a surprising push and knock the Dodgers off their playoff perch. Anything can still happen. Read more »

This edition of our power rankings sees the Los Angeles Angels in the top spot. And, with baseball’s best record, an 11.5 game division lead and a lineup featuring Mark Teixeira, Vlad Guerrero and Torii Hunter, it’s hard to argue.

Xavier Nady has helped bump the New York Yankees into the top five, the Arizona Diamondbacks are taking advantage of a favorable schedule and historically weak division, and the Minnesota Twins, behind a soft-tossing but strike-throwing rotation, have climbed back atop the AL Central and into our top 10. Read more »

The lengthy hiatus between our weeks of power rankings has allowed the steady Los Angeles Angels to claim the major’s best record and our top spot. The Cubs, Red Sox and entire AL East continue to struggle on the road while traditional doormats such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals have been nonpartisan losers.

The four teams from New York and Chicago are firmly entrenched in the upper third of our rankings and the enigmatic, consistently inconsistent Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers haven’t been able to break into the top 10. Read more »