As we enter the final month of the regular season, we have adjusted the SportsTips’ MLB Power Rankings to match each team’s form and likelihood of making the postseason. We have also noticed some big jumps in FanDuel’s World Series odds heading into Week 21 of the 2021 MLB season, making the final month even more exciting.
Here’s where all 30 MLB teams stand after 21 weeks of baseball:
1. Tampa Bay Rays
World Series Championship Odds: +800
Current Record: 83-48
Previous Rankings: 5
Tampa Bay just keeps doing what they need to in order to stay on top of the AL East standings, now eight games clear, and also the best record in the American League. That will hold them in good stead for the postseason and if they continue to have 5-0 weeks, they may become the team to beat.
35 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history
and we’re just gettin’ started.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 31, 2021
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Championship Odds: +270
Current Record: 83-49
Previous Rankings: 1
Beginning the week with three wins in San Diego was great for LA and then hosting the Rockies, while the Giants were struggling in Atlanta, could have been the moment that they took over the lead in the NL West. However, they went 1-2 against Colorado and are still chasing tail. They host the Braves to start the week and will want to out-do San Francisco’s effort while continuing to make up ground in the standings.
3. San Francisco Giants
World Series Championship Odds: +900
Current Record: 84-47
Previous Rankings: 2
A 3-0 sweep of the Mets in New York soon became a disastrous week for the Giants as they went down 1-2 to the Braves and saw their lead in the NL West continue to shrink. They were saved by LA’s poor form to close the week as well, but have to host the Brewers for three games before hosting those Dodgers. What a week they have coming up and it could determine whether they finish on top of the NL West or are a Wild Card team.
4. New York Yankees
World Series Championship Odds: +850
Current Record: 76-55
Previous Rankings: 3
The New York Yankees extended their winning streak to 13 games before dropping the last two of their four game series in Oakland. While it is disappointing to finish the week on two straight losses, the Yankees have well and truly put themselves ahead of the pack chasing the Wild Card slots in the American League.
5. Houston Astros
World Series Championship Odds: +410
Current Record: 78-53
Previous Rankings: 7
The Astros had a good week by going 4-2 however they lost to the Royals, again, and got thumped by the Rangers 2-13 to close out their series. While Houston has been impressive and has the best World Series odds in the American League, they have shown signs of inconsistency that could cost them.
6. Atlanta Braves
World Series Championship Odds: +1300
Current Record: 70-60
Previous Rankings: 6
While they dropped two games to the Yankees, at home, to start the week, the Braves well and truly rectified that. They hosted the Giants, who have the best record in the league, and beat them 2-1 including a 9-0 smashing on Sunday. Their lead in the NL East seems to get smaller and smaller as the days go by, but they are ahead for the moment and have some good form behind them.
7. Milwaukee Brewers
World Series Championship Odds: +900
Current Record: 80-52
Previous Rankings: 4
The Brewers continue to be one of the more confusing divisional leaders. They went 3-3 last week, beating the Reds 2-1 before losing to the Twins 1-2. Milwaukee have all but locked up the top of the NL Central but start the week in San Francisco and that could tell us everything we need to know about their chances in the postseason.
8. Boston Red Sox
World Series Championship Odds: +2400
Current Record: 75-58
Previous Rankings: 10
The Red Sox had a positive week, especially given those beneath them performed worse than they did. Boston went 5-2 and have pushed into the clear lead for the last Wild Card slot in the American League. The worry is that they open next week in Tampa for four games, which could all be losses.
𝗝ust 𝗗ingers pic.twitter.com/iFMy291uGD
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 28, 2021
9. Chicago White Sox
World Series Championship Odds: +800
Current Record: 76-56
Previous Rankings: 8
While they had a positive week, finishing 4-3, the White Sox will be disappointed with their output. Going 2-2 against the Blue Jays may seem impressive because it was in Toronto, but they had been slipping for a while and are only eight games above 0.500. They went 2-1 against the Cubs but lost the middle game 0-7.. Too inconsistent for this time of year.
10. Cincinnati Reds
World Series Championship Odds: +4000
Current Record: 71-62
Previous Rankings: 9
When you are tied for the last Wild Card slot and there isn’t long left in the season, a 2-4 week isn’t going to cut it. Especially when you go 1-2 to a team that is more than 20 games below 0.500. A six game week at home against teams below them in the standings should provide some stability.
11. Oakland Athletics
World Series Championship Odds: +5000
Current Record: 72-59
Previous Rankings: 12
The A’s went 2-4 last week and it may cost them an opportunity at securing a Wild Card berth. Losing two straight to Seattle, at home, is disappointing but splitting a four game series with the Yankees, who brought an 11 game winning streak into the series, is a great result. They are now slightly behind the Red Sox for the last Wild Card slot, but need to up their game if they really want it.
12. Seattle Mariners
World Series Championship Odds: +24000
Current Record: 70-62
Previous Rankings: 11
Seattle is attempting to sneak into the postseason, and boosted their chances by winning two of two games in Oakland, but then dropped three of four games at home to the Royals. They are still in with a chance but that sort of effort at home, against a team below 0.500, isn’t good enough.
13. Kansas City Royals
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 59-71
Previous Rankings: 13
Last week was a successful one by the Royals. They came up against two very good AL West teams, Houston and Seattle, and managed to go 4-3 for the week. A 3-1 series win in Seattle is a massive positive for this side and while they are 13 games below 0.500 for the season, they have shown some promising signs for the future down the stretch.
14. Toronto Blue Jays
World Series Championship Odds: +6000
Current Record: 69-61
Previous Rankings: 18
A 4-3 week saw the Blue Jays go 2-1 in Detroit after splitting a four-game series with the AL Central-leading White Sox. They still sit within striking distance of the last Wild Card slot in the American League and winning more than losing is the right way to go about it, but they need to string some good series together.
15. St Louis Cardinals
World Series Championship Odds: +21000
Current Record: 67-63
Previous Rankings: 19
The Cardinals are fighting for a Wild Card slot but probably don’t deserve one based on last week’s effort. They went 3-3 in games against the Tigers and Pirates. That is no way for a postseason hopeful to be playing and they will need to turn things around heading down the stretch, given there is not long left in the regular season.
16. Philadelphia Phillies
World Series Championship Odds: +8000
Current Record: 67-64
Previous Rankings: 14
While they’ll be kicking themselves that they dropped both games at home to the Rays, Philadelphia managed to salvage their week by going 3-1 against the Diamondbacks. A 3-3 week is acceptable however they’ll need to do better than that down the stretch, given they are just a couple of games back from a postseason berth.
🔥 1st time shutting out the Dodgers since 2016
🔥 Senzatela is the 4th Rockie in history to throw 7 or more shutout innings at Dodger Stadium while allowing 2 or fewer hits@wynnbet | #RoxWynn
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 30, 2021
17. Colorado Rockies
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 60-71
Previous Rankings: 21
Another team that is hard to judge, the Rockies lost two of three to the lowly Cubs but then came out and beat the Dodgers 2-1, in LA. Keeping the World Series favorites runless on Sunday shows this team has promise, on both sides of the ball.
18. Minnesota Twins
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 58-73
Previous Rankings: 22
A 3-3 week is all you could ask for from the Twins, considering they were playing the Red Sox and Brewers. Stealing a game in Boston is impressive but taking two of three from Milwaukee saw Minnesota return to their upsetting ways over the last month.
19. San Diego Padres
World Series Championship Odds: +6500
Current Record: 70-62
Previous Rankings: 15
The Padres are tussling with the Reds for the last Wild Card slot in the National League. However, like Cinicinnati, San Diego isn’t playing like they want it. They went just 1-4 last week and while they played the Dodgers for three of those, all losses, they lost to the Angels 2-10, who had just lost back to back games to the Orioles…
20. New York Mets
World Series Championship Odds: +10000
Current Record: 63-67
Previous Rankings: 16
The Mets opened the week by hosting the Giants and dropping all three games in that series, so it was positive to see them recover against the struggling Nationals to close it out. However, going just 2-4 isn’t going to cut it when there is a postseason spot up for grabs.
21. Cleveland Indians
World Series Championship Odds: +60000
Current Record: 64-64
Previous Rankings: 17
The Indians dropped a game, at home, to the Rangers but then managed to steal a game off the Red Sox. If you call that a net even, and given they had a 3-3 week, Cleveland dished up the middle of the road sort of performance that you expect from them this season.
22. Detroit Tigers
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 62-70
Previous Rankings: 23
The Tigers had a light week, playing just five games, but they couldn’t use the rest to their advantage. They went just 2-3 for the week and are now nine games below 0.500.
23. Los Angeles Angels
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 65-67
Previous Rankings: 20
The Angels were in the news for all of the wrong reasons. They were the team that gave the Orioles the win that ended their losing streak, and then lost to them again the next night. Their World Series odds have now been taken off FanDuel’s site, which is good as they don’t deserve to still be up there after their performance last week.
Sunday Service. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/Q0ozPAVwuf
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 29, 2021
24. Miami Marlins
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 55-76
Previous Rankings: 29
You couldn’t ask for a better response from the Marlins. A 4-2 week saw them win both series, which included hosting the Reds, who are potentially going to be a playoff team. Restricting Cincinnati to just two runs across their two wins over them shows why this team was a top 10 bullpen earlier in the season.
25. Pittsburgh Pirates
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 48-83
Previous Rankings: 27
The Pirates had a positive week, going 4-3 but were still officially eliminated from postseason contention. A 2-1 series win over Arizona was expected but to split a four game series with St Louis, who are contesting for a Wild Card slot, is impressive.
26. Chicago Cubs
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 57-75
Previous Rankings: 26
The highlight of Chicago’s 3-3 week was defeating the White Sox 7-0 on Saturday. The only issue is they gave up 30 runs across the other two games in the series. Their offense seemed to find some form but their bullpen couldn’t back them up, typical mediocre behaviour really.
27. Washington Nationals
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 55-75
Previous Rankings: 25
It is hard to see what Washington is trying to do down the stretch. A 2-4 week is terrible, losing to the struggling Marlins and the inconsistent Mets. They are now just half a game ahead of Miami, who are on the bottom of the division.
28. Arizona Diamondbacks
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 44-89
Previous Rankings: 24
Arizona don’t really have anything left to play for and their 2-5 week exemplified that. They could aim to play homewrecker to some postseason hopefuls, given there are three in their division, but it is time to blood some younger players and look towards the future.
29. Texas Rangers
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 46-85
Previous Rankings: 28
While Texas only managed to go 2-5 last week, they pulled off another massive upset, beating the Astros 13-2. This is the second straight week they have piled on the runs in a dominant performance against a top level team, following on from their 10-1 in Boston the week before.
The streak is over… The Orioles snap a 19-game losing streak with a 10-6 win over the Angels.
It had been the longest losing streak since the 2005 Royals also lost 19 straight. pic.twitter.com/lWEatBue7d
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 26, 2021
30. Baltimore Orioles
World Series Championship Odds: Off the charts
Current Record: 40-90
Previous Rankings: 30
They finally broke the streak! The Orioles were looking down the barrel of their worst losing streak in franchise history but took two games off the Angels, ending their slim hopes of a postseason berth in the process. They then followed that up with three big losses to the Rays, but two wins in a row is a massive accomplishment for this team.
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our MLB hub page for all your baseball needs!
