Last Thursday, the Atlanta Braves were the most talked-about team in baseball thanks to their red-hot rookie Ronald Acuna getting beaned by a Florida Marlins pitcher who was scared of facing the young slugger.
Entering a four-game series at home against a Colorado Rockies team that had been drubbed 12-1 in Houston the night before, the Braves were in prime position to reel off some wins and shore up their place in the standings.
Instead, the Braves got swept by the hottest team in MLB that too few fans have been talking about.
Now winners of four straight and eight of their last 10, the Rockies have been on quite a run of late and should keep that momentum going to finish out August. They only play three games against an opponent (St. Louis) with a record over .500 for the rest of the month.
In fact, since losing to the miserable Marlins on June 24, the Rockies have gone 30-16 – the best record in the National League over that time.
While the Rockies have been surging, other teams in the NL (looking at you Brewers and Phillies) have hit the skids, tightening up the playoff race and shaping September up to be a very, very interesting month.
How far has Colorado’s strong play pushed them in this week’s edition of RealClearLife‘s Ultimate Power Rankings?
The rankings, which combine ratings from ESPN, CBS and USA Today to get a single rank for all 30 teams in MLB and use segmented tiers to arrange them, are below.
The Best of the Best (1.00-5.00)
No. 1.00, last 1.00, two weeks ago 1.00: Boston Red Sox – (ESPN, 1), (CBS Sports, 1), (USA Today, 1)
No. 2.66, last 2.33, two weeks ago 3.00: New York Yankees – (ESPN, 3), (CBS Sports, 3), (USA Today, 2)
No. 3.00, last 2.33, two weeks ago 2.00: Houston Astros – (ESPN, 2), (CBS Sports, 4), (USA Today, 3)
No. 3.66, last 4.66, two weeks ago 5.33: Oakland Athletics – (ESPN, 5), (CBS Sports, 2), (USA Today, 4)
No. 4.66, last 5.00, two weeks ago 7.00: Cleveland Indians – (ESPN, 4), (CBS Sports, 5), (USA Today, 5)
The Best of the Rest (5.01-10.00)
No. 6.00, last 5.33, two weeks ago 4.66: Chicago Cubs – (ESPN, 6), (CBS Sports, 6), (USA Today, 6)
No. 8.66, last 8.33, two weeks ago 10.66: Atlanta Braves – (ESPN, 7), (CBS Sports, 10), (USA Today, 9)
No. 9.00, last 13.33, two weeks ago 15.66: St. Louis Cardinals – (ESPN, 11), (CBS Sports, 8), (USA Today, 8)
No. 9.33, last 13.66, two weeks ago 12.66: Colorado Rockies – (ESPN, 14), (CBS Sports, 7), (USA Today, 7)
No. 9.66, last 10.66, two weeks ago 9.00: Arizona Diamondbacks – (ESPN, 8), (CBS Sports, 9), (USA Today, 12)
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (10.01-15.00)
No. 10.66, last 9.00, two weeks ago 9.33: Philadelphia Phillies – (ESPN, 10), (CBS Sports, 11), (USA Today, 11)
No. 11.33, last 11.00, two weeks ago 6.66: Los Angeles Dodgers – (ESPN, 9), (CBS Sports, 12), (USA Today, 13)
No. 11.66, last 9.00, two weeks ago 13.00: Seattle Mariners – (ESPN, 12), (CBS Sports, 13), (USA Today, 10)
No. 13.66, last 9.66, two weeks ago 7.33: Milwaukee Brewers – (ESPN, 13), (CBS Sports, 14), (USA Today, 14)
Stuck in the Middle with You (15.01-20.00)
No. 15.66, last 17.33, two weeks ago 18.33: Tampa Bay Rays – (ESPN, 16), (CBS Sports, 15), (USA Today, 16)
No. 16.66, last 14.33, two weeks ago 13.66: Washington Nationals – (ESPN, 15), (CBS Sports, 17), (USA Today, 18)
No. 16.66, last 18.00, two weeks ago 18.00: Los Angeles Angels – (ESPN, 17), (CBS Sports, 18), (USA Today, 15)
No. 17.00, last 15.66, two weeks ago 15.66: Pittsburgh Pirates – (ESPN, 18), (CBS Sports, 16), (USA Today, 17)
No. 19.33, last 18.33, two weeks ago 17.66: San Francisco Giants – (ESPN, 19), (CBS Sports, 20), (USA Today, 19)
No. 20.00, last 20.33, two weeks ago 20.00: Minnesota Twins – (ESPN, 20), (CBS Sports, 19), (USA Today, 21)
It’s Probably Not Your Year (20.01-25.00)
No. 21.66, last 22.00, two weeks ago 22.00: Cincinnati Reds – (ESPN, 22), (CBS Sports, 23), (USA Today, 20)
No. 22.00, last 22.00, two weeks ago 22.66: Texas Rangers – (ESPN, 21), (CBS Sports, 21), (USA Today, 24)
No. 22.33, last 24.00, two weeks ago 24.66: New York Mets – (ESPN, 23), (CBS Sports, 22), (USA Today, 22)
No. 23.66, last 22.00, two weeks ago 21.66: Toronto Blue Jays – (ESPN, 24), (CBS Sports, 24), (USA Today, 23)
See You in 2019 (25.01-30.00)
No. 25.33, last 25.00, two weeks ago 24.00: Detroit Tigers – (ESPN, 26), (CBS Sports, 25), (USA Today, 25)
No. 26.33, last 26.00, two weeks ago 26.66: San Diego Padres – (ESPN, 25), (CBS Sports, 28), (USA Today, 26)
No. 27.00, last 28.00, two weeks ago 27.66: Chicago White Sox – (ESPN, 27), (CBS Sports, 27), (USA Today, 27)
No. 27.33, last 26.66, two weeks ago 26.66: Miami Marlins – (ESPN, 28), (CBS Sports, 26), (USA Today, 28)
No. 29.33, last 29.66, two weeks ago 29.66: Kansas City Royals – (ESPN, 30), (CBS Sports, 29), (USA Today, 29)
No. 29.66, last 29.33, two weeks ago 29.33: Baltimore Orioles – (ESPN, 29), (CBS Sports, 30), (USA Today, 30)
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