In a general sense, I usually begin considering a subject for the Power Rankings introduction around Friday. However, last Sunday, I set a personal guideline: I wouldn’t write about the Brewers again. I had covered them for two consecutive weeks and three out of the last four. Clearly, the foremost team in baseball warrants a significant amount of digital attention, and in scenarios like this, there’s always a stream of «the national media is overlooking us!» noise, but I can’t recall ever concentrating on the same team three weeks in a row in the Power Rankings during my tenure starting in 2012.
Nonetheless, the Brewers are so dominating at this time that they’ve compelled me to write about them once more. Since July 30, they’ve suffered only one defeat, which was an extra-inning loss on Sunday that followed a ninth-inning go-ahead home run. Just think about how crazy that sounds. The trade deadline feels like ages ago, yet the Brewers’ loss on Aug. 17 marked their first since that date. They have an impressive record of 29-5 since July 5 and 53-17 since May 24. Although I’ve frequently used those benchmarks lately, the amusing aspect of the Brewers’ exceptional performance is that I don’t even need them as reference points anymore. Hence, I’m writing about them again.
Looking back over the past decade of baseball, the top regular-season teams that later clinched the World Series were the 2016 Cubs, 2017 Astros, and 2018 Red Sox.
At this specific moment in the season, the records of these three franchises along with the 2025 Brewers are as follows:
- The 2016 Cubs recorded 78-45.
- The 2017 Astros held a record of 76-47.
- The 2018 Red Sox boasted an impressive 87-36.
- The Brewers currently stand at 78-45.
In recent memory, the highest number of regular-season victories was 111 by the 2022 Dodgers. At this stage of the season, they were 86-37. The 2021 Giants notched 107 wins and were 79-44 here. The Dodgers that year achieved 106 victories, holding a record of 77-46 at this point.
So, while the Brewers may not be matching the pace of the ’18 Red Sox or ’22 Dodgers (yet?), they are still in elite company.
There’s still a decent amount of the season remaining, yet it’s becoming increasingly clear that this Brewers squad could be the best in franchise history. The team has previously seen only five squads reach the 95-win threshold.
- 95-66 in 1979
- 95-67 in 1982
- 96-66 in 2011
- 96-67 in 2018
- 95-67 in 2021
To set a new franchise record with 97 wins, the Brewers only need to finish with an 18-21 record for the remainder of the season. Anyone who’s been observing this team lately would find it utterly surreal to envision the Brewers posting a losing record from here on out.
Dare I suggest that it has reached a point where anything less than their inaugural NL pennant would be seen as a letdown for this Brewers team? Who would have even considered such a notion back in mid-May?
Major Movers
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Rays
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Guardians
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
 Brewers |
The bizarre aspect of Sunday’s game was not that the Brewers lost. It was that the blatantly obvious two-run homer in the ninth to give the Brewers the lead wasn’t adequate. It truly felt like a moment that would set off what was destined to be a 25-game winning streak. | — | 79-45 |
2 |
 Blue Jays |
Daulton Varsho is an intriguing talent. He started his career as a catcher, but he has excelled as a defensive center fielder. And consider the power? He’s batting .225 but boasts a .566 slugging percentage. He has 13 home runs in 132 at-bats. | 2 | 73-53 |
3 |
 Dodgers |
Being swept by the Angels only to rebound and sweep the Padres illustrates just how unpredictable baseball can be in short stretches. | — | 71-54 |
4 |
 Phillies |
The reappearance of Aaron Nola was quite concerning, but not nearly as troubling as the blood clot issue with Zack Wheeler. | 2 | 72-53 |
5 |
 Tigers |
The Tigers had seemed pretty disheartened since the week prior to the All-Star break, yet last week they flexed their strength and went 5-2. However, that was against the White Sox and a depleted Twins squad. This coming week will reveal more when they face better teams like the Astros and Royals at home. | 3 | 74-53 |
6 |
 Cubs |
The remainder of the season will be significantly simpler, fellow Cubs supporters, if we disregard the division race and aim for securing a wild card position. | 1 | 70-54 |
7 |
 Padres |
How quintessentially «Little Brother» of the Padres was it to get extremely hot and take first place in the NL West after trailing by as many as eight games, only to get swiftly swept by a previously struggling Dodgers squad? | 2 | 69-56 |
8 |
 Mariners |
Well, George Kirby was pitching really well. Until the Little League Classic on Sunday night. | 2 | 68-58 |
9 |
 Astros |
The Astros are still appearing lackluster overall, recording a 14-20 run since I ranked them first in these Power Rankings. The injury to Josh Hader is also quite worrisome. | 1 | 69-56 |
10 |
 Red Sox |
Wilyer Abreu’s home run on Sunday (check out the highlight if you missed it) evoked memories of the Bullpen Cop. That was such a blast (unless you’re a Tigers fan). | 1 | 68-58 |
11 |
 Yankees |
The Yankees are not entirely back on track with a 5-1 week, but this marks the first time they seem like a genuinely strong team since a five-game winning streak right before the All-Star break. | 1 | 67-57 |
12 |
 Mets |
Maybe last Friday was the lowest point and the Mets are set to turn their season around now? | 1 | 66-58 |
13 |
 Reds |
The Reds appear to be sticking around and are set to make the competition for the last NL playoff berth an exciting one. They certainly have their hands full; among contenders, the Reds face the toughest remaining schedule. | 1 | 66-60 |
14 |
 Royals |
Last week I remarked that if the Royals hoped for a surprising playoff run, immediate action was necessary. They went 5-1 over the week. That’s a promising start! | 2 | 64-61 |
15 |
 Guardians |
They edged close to a playoff position but were subsequently swept at home by the Braves. | 4 | 64-60 |
16 |
 Rangers |
I remembered a particularly dreadful stretch of baseball in August 2023 before the Rangers bounced back to win the World Series. Indeed, they lost 16 of 20 starting August 16. The 2025 Rangers are currently down, having just lost eight of their last nine. They were definitely in more difficult waters compared to the 2023 team prior to this downturn. | 1 | 62-64 |
17 |
 Rays |
Back in mid-June, I highlighted several times the daunting schedule facing the Rays due to the number of road games in July and August. Thankfully, that’s nearly finished. They have 19 home games against 18 on the road remaining. | 4 | 61-64 |
18 |
 Cardinals |
Have the Cardinals ever had a shortstop recognized as the best defensive player in baseball before? Masyn Winn is certainly in that conversation right now. He can’t be the first. Hmm… | 1 | 62-64 |
19 |
 Diamondbacks |
Corbin Carroll tied Tony Womack’s franchise record with 14 triples last year. He has matched that total this season, setting him up for a new single-season record with his next. He is also on pace to break the franchise career mark of 52, held by Stephen Drew, soon enough. | — | 60-66 |
20 |
 Angels |
The opportunity for Jo Adell to become a star seems to be slipping away, yet he has hit 19 home runs with 52 RBIs over his last 66 games. He could very well be one of those power hitters who can be comfortably placed in the middle of the lineup and enjoyed for his slugging ability. | 3 | 60-65 |
21 |
 Giants |
The Giants have endured three distinct losing streaks of at least six games since July 11. | 3 | 61-64 |
22 |
 Marlins |
Remember when the Marlins swept the Yankees and reached .500, putting them in contention for the playoffs? That was enjoyable. They have since gone 4-10. | 2 | 59-66 |
23 |
 Braves |
Ozzie Albies has shown improvement, yet remains not quite good enough, during the second half, while Michael Harris II is blazing hot. These are promising indicators for a rebound in 2026. | 3 | 56-69 |
24 |
 Orioles |
Rookie Samuel Basallo was struck by a pitch in his first career at-bat on Sunday. This marks the first occurrence of such an event for this franchise since 1929 with Red Badgro of the St. Louis Browns. Badgro is honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (kudos to my CBS Sports colleague Dan Weiner for this trivia). | 1 | 58-67 |
25 |
 Athletics |
Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, and Shea Langeliers are all on track to reach 30 home runs this season. The A’s have only seen four seasons in their history with three players hitting 30 home runs (the last was 2019 with Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Marcus Semien). Furthermore, Tyler Soderstrom has 22 homers. Could it be possible for the A’s to have all four players hit 30? They’ve never achieved that feat before. | 1 | 56-70 |
26 |
 Twins |
Byron Buxton has now hit 25 home runs. It would be exciting if he could finally achieve 30, considering the Twins have not had a 30-home run player since 2021 (Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano). | 4 | 58-66 |
27 |
 Pirates |
Bryan Reynolds has looked much more like his former self with an impressive second half. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pirates try to move this contract in the offseason, considering there are five years and $65 million remaining on it. | — | 53-73 |
28 |
 Nationals |
We’ve witnessed a few positive signs from Dylan Crews during his four games since his return from the minors. He has the remainder of the season to generate momentum for what’s hoped to be a breakout year in 2026. | — | 50-74 |
29 |
 White Sox |
Uh oh. The White Sox appeared to be a solid bet to exceed their over (53.5 wins), but they have now dropped 11 of their last 13. Don’t let me down, boys. | — | 45-80 |
30 |
 Rockies |
I was asked last week about the earliest year in the future that the Rockies could realistically make the playoffs. I couldn’t come up with a sensible answer. It’s truly disheartening. | — | 36-89 |
