Outside of the regression of the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays and the rise of the Baltimore Orioles, the 2022 season hasn’t seen too many huge surprises.
The preseason favorites — the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros — have dominated their respective divisions, while rebuilding teams such as the Cincinnati Reds, Oakland A’s and Chicago Cubs remain bottom-feeders.
With the All-Star break on deck, it’s time to update our rankings for the first time since the start of the season.
Instead of traditional power rankings of the strongest teams, our list is based on overall talent level, ability to withstand injuries, management’s willingness to make in-season adjustments and ownership’s propensity to do whatever it takes to win this year.
(Opening-day rankings in parentheses)
New York Yankees (2)
Is it the best team in baseball history or just media hype in the Twitter age? The Yankees are on pace for 115 wins, but they’re 2-3 against the Houston Astros, the team they should face in the American League Championship Series.
Houston Astros (7)
Dusty Baker’s ninth life might be his best managing job yet. The hated Astros remain America’s best bet to save us from a Yankees-Mets World Series.
New York Mets (10)
No wonder White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t want Steve Cohen buying the Mets. Spending tons of money apparently works, and hiring a wise, old man in Buck Showalter was the correct move to take the Mets to the next level.
Los Angeles Dodgers (1)
The tracks of Freddie Freeman’s tears took on a life of their own, but the former MVP made the best lineup in baseball even stronger. With so many current and former All-Stars on the roster, the Dodgers can cruise into the postseason without adding on. But they will anyway because they’re the Dodgers.
Atlanta Braves (5)
They woke up four games under .500 on June 1 and suddenly remembered they were the world champions. The Braves went on a 14-game winning streak and entered the final weekend of the first half winning 31 of 41 games and challenging the Mets in the NL East.
