We’re cruising along through the month of August, and we’ve seen a few division races really start to heat up. Things are getting wild in the National League East as the Braves, Phillies, and Mets are all still very much alive. Meanwhile in the American League East, the Yankees are back from the dead and looking to reel in the Rays and Red Sox and find themselves in a playoff spot.

If we flip over to the west, the Giants are still leading their division over the Dodgers and the (suddenly sliding) Padres, and the Astros and Athletics look to be in a heated race for the American League West crown over the next few weeks.

Things are about to get interesting, folks. Hold on to your butts!

  

• The Rays are back in the top 3 as they jump over the Astros! They’ve won 8 of their last 11 games and look like they’re ready to run away with their division if the Red Sox and the Yankees aren’t careful.
• The Milwaukee Brewers climb up a spot to number 6 in this weeks ratings. Their offense has come alive, and behind some stellar starting pitching, this can be a very dangerous club come October.
• The Padres suddenly don’t look like an elite ballclub. They’ve fallen all the way to 9th in our rankings, and they’ve found themselves in a wild card race with the Reds, Cardinals, and possible a few NL East teams.
• Speaking of the Cardinals, they’ve won 6 straight games and have gotten back into the playoff race. They’ll need to stay hot to grab a wild card spot, but they’ve been playing better as of late, and just got their ace Jack Flaherty back from injury.
• The bottom 10 in our rankings are… ugly. The Cubs are bad. The Nationals are bad. The Pirates, Rangers, Orioles… all bad. It feels like the gap between the league’s best teams and the league’s worst teams is larger this year than it typically is.

• The Mets find them in a brutal part of their schedule with back-to-back series’ with the Giants and the Dodgers. Can they go .500 through this part of the schedule and keep pace in their division?
• Atlanta has taken over the NL East, and they may push their lead further as they take on the Marlins and the Orioles this week.
• A huge three-game series between the Red Sox and the Yankees could have a big say in the American League wild card race.
• The Reds hope to continue climbing the National League wild card race as they take on the ice-cold Chicago Cubs and the Miami Marlins this week.
• Oakland will have to get some wins against some pretty good teams in the White Sox and the Giants this week if they want to keep pace with the division-leading Astros.