Power
Rankings

Rollie Fingers rolled down a bit to second, close enough to bother Seam Heads but not close enough to actually pass them. The roster is still monstrous on paper, 100 points in the standings, and the active group is still like a real title threat. This offense is doing exactly what it was built to do: maxing out homers and RBI and making every pitching stumble feel survivable. The pressure is on strikeouts and ERA, where the cushion is thinner than the lineup makes it look. PCA went beast-mode with a 1.401 OPS and four homers, and Matt Chapman followed with a 1.137 OPS, three homers, and 14 RBI. Gregory Soto contributed a 40.50 ERA, which is also a statline from this roster. The whole profile is still championship-grade, but there is just a whiff of bullpen smoke coming out of the engine that second place feels fair.

Melonheads move up to third because no matter the lens you look at this team tells the same story. The standings like them, the roster quality likes them, and the active-roster projection likes them, I don't like them, and all in all that makes this the least controversial ranking on the page. The shape is weird in a good way: steals and quality starts are both maxed, so the team is winning with speed and innings instead of leaning on more obvious paths. ERA and WHIP are the spots that keep the ceiling from getting higher. Hunter Goodman gave the lineup a 1.113 OPS, four homers, and two steals, while Isaac Paredes added a 1.117 OPS with three homers and nine RBI. David Sandlin filed the weekly objection at a 13.50 ERA and was politely ignored. This is what a top-three team looks like when it has no need to shout about it.

John Henry climbs to fourth because the active roster continues to look better than the standings. Fifth place and 75 points is solid, but the projection sees a group that should be more dangerous than that. The ratios and speed are carrying a lot of the argument, with WHIP at 11 points and steals at 10. RBI and saves-plus-holds are the obvious drag, and the bullpen category in particular is starting to feel like a recurring bit no one thinks is funny. Yordan Alvarez and José Ramírez did the superstar thing, combining for five homers and 11 RBI while both clearing a 1.000 OPS. Joel Kuhnel’s 18.00 ERA made sure the week still had texture. The strangest part is the 13 lineup sessions. That is a very calm way to handle one of the league’s best rosters, unless calm is just what we are calling unattended leverage now?

Vin jumps two spots because the active-roster outlook is much kinder than the long-term roster grade and is exactly the problem I'm hoping the new model will fix. Sixth in the standings at 65.5 points does not scream contender, but the players currently available are doing enough to force the model’s hand. The pitching is the whole sales pitch right now: 11 points in both quality starts and strikeouts. The offense is not holding up its end, with two points in OPS and one lonely point in runs. Noah Cameron threw 13 innings at a 0.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts, which is exactly the sort of week that can drag a lopsided roster into the top five. Alec Burleson helped with a 1.045 OPS and seven RBI; Michael Wacha gave some of it back with an 8.44 ERA. This is a contender if either the bats wake up or the teams above falter. If neither happens, it is a pitching staff carrying furniture up three flights of stairs by itself.

philbell takes the week’s loudest fall, dropping from third to sixth even with a fourth-place standings line and 89.5 points. That is exactly what changed in the formula: the model is now asking who can help right now, not who looks nice in storage. The headline categories are still strong, especially ERA at 11 points and homers at 10. OPS and WHIP are fine, but not strong enough to hide the active-roster projection once IL and minor-league value gets nerfed. Jake Bauers popped a 1.326 OPS with three homers, and Casey Schmitt added three more. Colson Montgomery, still carrying real long-term shine, put up a .690 OPS week that captured the whole problem: the future is exciting, but Week 12 is happening now. Zero trades all season makes the gap harder to ignore. The cupboard has assets; the lineup has questions.

Mommy makes the funniest move on the board, jumping five spots while still sitting last in the standings at 20.5 points. What makes it even funnier is he won't even notice. This is not a season-long endorsement; it is the recency meter getting briefly blinded by two bats on fire, so do not be alarmed: the category foundation is still mostly wet cardboard. Saves-plus-holds at 4.5 and steals at 4 are the closest things to strengths, while strikeouts and WHIP are sitting at one point each. Willy Adames went off for a 1.210 OPS, four homers, and 10 RBI, and Matt McLain somehow topped him with a 1.327 OPS and three homers. Edward Cabrera answered from the other side of the roster with a 19.64 ERA, because balance is important. The model let the hot week speak. The standings are already clearing their throat.

Jonesin’ rises to eighth because the recent week and active-roster outlook were both respectable enough to pull a 10th-place team upward. The dynasty roster is still more interesting than the standings, which is either hope or branding. RBI and strikeouts are both sitting at six points, giving the team a workable middle. The ratios are the problem: two points in WHIP and one in ERA leaves every pitching line feeling like it needs a warning label. Carson Benge gave the week real juice with a 1.215 OPS and four homers, while Dalton Rushing added a 1.196 OPS. Andrew Painter’s 11.25 ERA went the other direction, and Keaton Winn’s 267-spot Oracle climb softened the mood without changing the math. This is a roster with enough interesting pieces to talk yourself into it, which is also how a lot of eighth-place teams happen.

Millville holds ninth because every input more or less shrugs and points to ninth. The standings, projection, and roster quality all cluster in the same neighborhood, which is not thrilling but is at least honest. Quality starts and homers are keeping the lights on. Saves-plus-holds and steals are not, with two points in one and one point in the other. Jackson Chourio looked like the real franchise piece with a 1.179 OPS, two homers, and eight RBI, and Dillon Dingler backed him up with a 1.109 OPS, three homers, and 10 RBI. Mike Trout posted a... .337 OPS... Auth did climb to 11 lineup sessions after only two the week before. That is movement, even if the ranking is not.

Sam drops four spots because the week was heavier than the standings imply. Seventh place and 60 points is still respectable, but losing 6.5 roto points and carrying a thin active outlook is a bad combination in this version of the rankings. The Devin Williams-for-Mauricio Dubón trade tilts the roster away from bullpen depth and toward a useful bat. That makes sense if the offense needs volume, though it also pokes at a saves-plus-holds category that had been one of the team’s real strengths. OPS and saves-plus-holds are both at 11 points, so the strengths are still legit. Strikeouts and quality starts are not close to matching them, which leaves Yoshinobu Yamamoto doing an awful lot of dignified labor. Yamamoto threw 13.1 innings at a 0.68 ERA with 14 strikeouts, and Dubón immediately helped with a 1.173 OPS and three homers. Jaden Hill’s 37.80 ERA made the pitching staff look like two different teams sharing a login. Hey, we've all been there.

Pat the "Waiver Wire Gambler" falls to 11th, which feels harsh until you get to the active-roster outlook: 0.00. Maybe we need to tune the model or maybe this is the punishment Patrick deserves for neglecting this team for a year and a half? The standings still say eighth with 58 points, but the model is not buying the path forward. Adding Devin Williams for Mauricio Dubón is a direct attempt to shore up saves-plus-holds, and the intent makes sense. The larger issue is that RBI and runs are doing the heavy lifting while ERA and WHIP are still leaking a ton of value. Brice Turang was excellent, posting a 1.106 OPS with two homers and two steals. Justin Slaten went the other way with a 21.60 ERA, which is not the kind of bullpen reinforcement anyone was trying to manifest. The effort level is not in question: 57 lineup sessions were second-most in the league. The trouble is that the model sees a manager working very hard on the roster it likes least.

And, at last, we find the bottom of the pit. Trazadone slides to last because the season resume gives the model very little room to be generous. And if you'll recall, no model iteration liked this roster much more than the current version. Thirty-five standings points, weak recent form, and only a middling outlook is not a cocktail that climbs rankings. The funny part is that ERA and WHIP are both genuinely useful at seven points apiece. The less funny part is everything around them, especially two points in strikeouts and one in homers. Brandon Marsh (? really?) tried to drag the offense into relevance with a 1.298 OPS and three homers, and Nick Gonzales added a 1.043 OPS with seven RBI (best hitter in baseball, LGB). Leody Taveras answered with a .243 OPS, because every rally needs a trapdoor. Eight lineup sessions were the fewest in the league. Maybe that is restraint, maybe it is resignation, but either way the standings did not mistake it for momentum.