Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
Baltimore Orioles
No Change at the Top in NL as Phillies, Dodgers Best Bets
- The top five teams remain the same in this week’s National League Power Rankings.
- There are multiple upcoming series featuring the title contenders in the NL.
- The NL-leading Philadelphia Phillies are without two of their best hitters.
Even though the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals have the best records in the National League over the last 10 games, the three division leaders still have little reason to look over their shoulders just yet as the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers all hold division leads of at least six games. That has resulted in little movement from last week’s power rankings.
When the season began, the MLB odds had the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals with the shortest odds of winning the National League pennant. The Dodgers, Braves, Phillies and Cardinals are currently in playoff position as all the teams have played at least 82 games.
The Phillies have the best record in the National League. However, veteran sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber landed on the injured list on the same day. In other MLB news, the Washington Nationals called up top prospect James Wood. A towering outfielder acquired in the Juan Soto trade, Wood was 1-for-4 in his MLB debut on Monday.
There were just four National League teams in action on Monday with the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets each winning in extra innings against the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals.
When looking at MLB futures odds, the Dodgers lead the way with +150 odds of winning the National League pennant followed by the Phillies at +250 and the Braves at +450.
NL Power Rankings Top 5
1. Philadelphia Phillies
Things might get interesting as the Phillies follow up a series with the Chicago Cubs by playing the next six games against either the Atlanta Braves or the Los Angeles Dodgers. All three of those teams are missing key players so there will be little sympathy as the Phillies move forward without Harper and Schwarber.
The Phillies haven’t lost a series to a team from the National League since meeting the San Francisco Giants in late May and they hold down the top spot in the National League power rankings.
Brandon Marsh is hitting .467 with a slugging percentage of .800 over his last five games. He is one of the finalists in the MLB All-Star voting.
The latest in #AllStarGame voting! Judge and Harper already secured their spots, but who else will join them?
Voting closes Wednesday at 12 pm ET, with starters announced later that day at 7 pm ET on @ESPN: https://t.co/AOTyLAgDzZ pic.twitter.com/8Sub1OuewA
— MLB (@MLB) July 1, 2024
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are 8-4 since MVP candidate Mookie Betts was lost for multiple weeks after being hit by a pitch.
The Dodgers saw their 2023 title hopes end when they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The teams begin a three-game series on Tuesday. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have split the first six games between the teams this season with the road team winning four times.
While MVP front-runner Shohei Ohtani continues to lead the offense, the pitching staff got a boost from Gavin Stone, who was 4-0 with a 1.97 ERA in June.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (-1200 to make playoffs)
Milwaukee doesn’t have the star power of some of the other title contenders in the National League, but the Brewers are thriving with the all hands on deck approach.
Seven different Milwaukee hitters had at least two home runs in June while Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio shared the team lead with 16 RBIs. Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers and Colin Rea were a combined 10-1 in June.
The Brewers have a high-profile weekend series coming up against the Dodgers with Peralta expected to pitch in the opener.
4. Atlanta Braves (-2500 to make playoffs)
Atlanta is struggling to close the gap on the Phillies in the National League East race and now the New York Mets are showing signs of life as they picked up 3.5 games on the Braves in June.
The Braves are just 20-22 on the road this season and that is a concern even if the next six games for Atlanta are at home.
Jarred Kelenic is the only starter to hit over .300 in June. Reynaldo Lopez continues to make a case as the Cy Young Award favorite.
5. St. Louis Cardinals (+120 to make playoffs)
St. Louis was hanging right around .500 in both April and May. However, the Cardinals moved into playoff position with a strong showing in June despite some mediocre numbers from the starting pitchers.
Alec Burleson hit seven home runs in June with Brendan Donovan batting .303 last month.
The Cardinals face division rival Pittsburgh in a three-game series with the Pirates looking to pull closer in the race for second place in the NL Central.
6. New York Mets (+150 to make playoffs)
7. San Diego Padres (-130)
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (+220)
9. Washington Nationals (+1400)
10. Pittsburgh Pirates (+600)
11. San Francisco Giants (+275)
12. Cincinnati Reds (+500)
13. Chicago Cubs (+475)
14. Miami Marlins
15. Colorado Rockies
Questions Of The Day
Who is leading the National League in batting average?
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers is leading the NL with a .316 average and 26 home runs while ranking third with 62 RBIs. San Diego teammates Luis Arraez and Jurickson Profar are both hitting .314.
Which National League teams have the best records at home and on the road?
Philadelphia tops the National League with a 33-14 record at home followed by the Milwaukee Brewers at 27-13. The Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers, Mets and Padres are the only National League teams to have a winning road record.
