Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers Top Power Rankings... Arizona Makes Their Charge

okay let's get ready to have the final power rankings of August you are locked on MLB your daily MLB podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello Baseball fans and welcome to lockdown m be part of the locked on podcast Network where it's your team every day this is the daily podcast we talk about all the Major League Baseball I am Paul Francis Sullivan please call me Sully I've been a baseball podcaster for a while now this is my sixth full year here it's the lockdown podcast Network and I'm doing double duty this year because I'm also the host of lockon A's for this regular season follows on lockon and M be pods on Twitter or on Instagram I'm your pal s Su Baseball on Twitter Su baseball podcast Instagram and today's episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase terms apply download game time today what time is it it's game time so we are doing the power rankings and as we do every week they are voted upon by the locked on hosts including myself I do not get two votes even though I host two different lock on shows and basically what happens is we are given a ballot and we write out 1 through 30 how we think the teams rank now I don't always agree with the final rankings in fact there's one which I think is egregiously terrible and it could be because I'm a little bit biased as the host of lockdown A's for this year but uh it's a smidge ridiculous but let's get right to it um at the bottom to nobody's surprised even Grady seore cannot save this team from the bottom the Chicago White Socks are at number 30 they dropped eight of their last 10 games and somehow seemed like they were playing better than normal but um the fact of the matter is this is a historically terrible team last week they were at number 30 as well their two and8 record that they had this last week didn't really help matters too much uh number 28 29 seem to have been going flipping back and forth all season long sometimes it's Rockies Marlin sometimes it's Marlins Rockies uh this week it's the Rockies at number 29 as they've gone four and six in their last 10 and the Marlins are at 28 they've dropped eight of their last 10 games no movement those are the exact same uh bottom three as it was last week at number 27 it's ridiculous that they're number 27 are the oak L yes I know I might be a smidge bias because I've been the host of lockdown a this year but I can tell you there was a period of time they looked incompetent they looked White Sox level but the team has played well they've you know they've gone five and five but they're two games ahead of the Angels right now two games and they are some and the angels are falling like a rock and they can't do ply poo and the a at least playing decent competitive baseball so uh fellow locked on host explained to me that the angels are at number 26 and not only I they they have a worse record than the A's but they've dropped eight of their last 10 games the angels are rancid the angels are wretched so naturally they extended the general manager because uh you know good job if the Detroit Tigers finish the season at 500 or better that is just going to basically leave the Angels alone with the longest losing streak I think actually think it's going to be the same anyway but the angels are going to have the longest losing season streak of any team in major league baseball while in that stretch having multiple MVPs on the team and piles of cash so they've extended the general manager that's great and number 25 you have the Washington Nationals who remember through June we're actually a pretty good team they look like one of the surprise teams in baseball but they've continued to play poorly and they have dropped six of their last 10 games at number 24 now granted I will tell you this was the the survey was done on Sunday so it's not taking into account the fact that they have defeated the Red Sox a few times including with time traveler Danny Janson but the Blue Jays are at number 24 the defending World Series champion Rangers are at 23 and they're only a few games ahead of the Oakland A's at this point Point that's right the A's could pass the Rangers it's not outside the realm of possibility and the Reds who have dropped seven of their last 10 games going into Monday's game um I think they have torpedoed any realistic chance that they have to play in October the same goes for The Pirates Who are working you know they could have a great September and finish above 500 that would be good for morale but uh right now the Pirates just look like a rudderless team that was going to put together yet another losing season despite having some star Talent on the team and number 20 you got the Cubs and the Cubs have been playing a weird brand of baseball in that there are times they look very good and look like they could make a run at a playoff spot and there are times they look absolutely wretched they had a decent week last week but they can't seem to put the AF thrusters on to catch Atlanta which by the way is the only way they're going to be making the postseason they are not catching Milwaukee and they're not going to Pat Uh Arizona or San Diego so they just have to aim for the Braves and the Braves have been doing everything in their power to let other teams feel like they got a legitimate shot at it and yet the teams can't take advantage the rays are at number 19 and they remain having a bizarre season filled with injuries yet filled with players coming up and filling in nicely obviously they've got lots of talent but they've also made some big trades last just a couple years ago there were hundred there 100 win team and now here they are and um not you know they are just around 500 as per this recording the Cardinals who could make a run for it could make potentially make a run at the Atlanta Braves it is not likely but that you know as they are currently five games behind Atlanta but the Cardinals could go on a Wild winning streak and the Braves could collapse but it's uh I wouldn't bet on that and the Tigers who had a terrific week winning seven of their last 10 games they're still on the outside looking in remember I picked them to win the division and then you have the team that was the division Leader by 10 freaking games and had images of a pennant dancing in their head in the in the Seattle Mariners yes they fired their manager yes they want up winning the series against San Francisco and started chipping away a tiny bit at the lead uh that the Astros have but they're going to have to go on a massive winning streak I've never seen a team go from 10 games up in June to basically treading water around 500 in August that's a turnaround now they could have a dynamic September and stun us all but until then yeah that's where they belong and the Giants who remain on the outside looking in despite having a lot of Talent on that Squad they're at number 15 I went through it pretty quickly because the middle of the uh the middle of the pack for the teams that are in the you know they're trying to contend are borderline indistinguishable oh by the way uh I'm not even going to correct this but I realize I have the wrong background on there you go that's the correct background my bad we are perilously close to being able to call it for those teams we are perilously close to be able to say all right fine it's going to be September in just a few days and with that if you're having a losing record and are not one or two games out of a playoff spot do you know what it might just be over so when we come back I'm going to be talking about 14 through one which includes one team that very well could be in a position where it's all over passion Drive patience the is the winning formula for a championship and it's also what keeps you ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranted to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusion Supply eBay guaranteed fit is only available for us customers all right let's hear from our good friends over at prize picks you know all about prize picks don't you prize picks is America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members price is the easi is the most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports unlike other sports on price such you against the numbers all you have to do is pick more or less on two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll in get in on the daily action with your friends and become part of the prize picks Community you can now win up to 100 times your money on prize picks with as little as four correct picks you could turn $10 into ,000 and price is available in more than 30 States across the country including California Texas and Georgia download the priz book app today use code lock down MLB you get $50 instantly when you play $5 that's code lock on mob on Price Books to get $50 instantly when you play $5 you don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus it's guaranteed prize picks you what you should do you should control your game hey this is a reminder that lockdown has begun the first National Sports 24 streaming channel lock on sports today is there to bring you all the best news takes and opinions from the lockon podcast network available on YouTube and Amazon TV and the free Fire TV channel app locked on sports today check it out all right at number 14 we have the Mets and do you want the Mets so many Met fans got on me for saying for me saying I think they should sell I said that and oh they had a great couple of Bs so they got back into it but they're still not a playoff team and they will win some games they had they won six of their last 10 but they're still trailing Atlanta and while Atlanta has not exactly been World beaters the Mets can't afford to lose any big games the Mets can't afford anything but a dynamic September and September again about a week away and once you get in September on you're trailing it you it will take something like what happened with the Cardinals in 2021 where they had a massive wi streak or last year when you had basically three teams Seattle Texas and Houston all in a scrum but it's not really a scrum yet so the Mets are getting real close to being bye-bye to to L now why the Red Sox are at 13 I don't understand because the Red Sox are done they're done they're a nice team they're nice they're a nice team de is having a nice year they've made some nice adjustments Durant's a nice Allstar and I think that they should be going after Juan stto with everything and all guns of Blazing because you have you put stto on that team granted would be a little bit left-handed heavy but that being said I would go after just so you have another franchise caliber player on the team and it would also hurt the Yankees but the Red Sox are not a playoff Contender why they're as high as 13 I don't know and number 12 you got the Astros who are going to win the division I do not see Seattle having a huge run prove me wrong Seattle I would love to see I've said before the Mariners are one of the teams that I would love to see win the pennant they've never won a pennant the city of Seattle is the only current Major League City to never host a World Series game I want to see that I like J erational events like last year the Texas Rangers winning so far their only world series title so uh I would love to see that but the Astros are just showing that they're pretty dang good even with some of the injuries that they've been having and if they win the division are you going to count them out all right and number 11 and again this was clearly before the events on Monday are the Kansas City Royals who right now are have the Cleveland Guardians in their sights remember this team lost 100 sub OD games last year and if things go right over the next day or so they could be in first place in late August Salvador Perez is well his numbers going to be retired whether or not he's a Hall of Famer he could be but he is now an alltime beloved Kansas City Royal hit that huge grand slam the other day we are they are an exciting fun team and they could win the division they could win the pennant I'm not not saying I'm just saying Minnesota is at number 10 and they're a strange team they've had so many injuries to key players and yet they keep on winning and they keep putting themselves in a position to hold on to that playoff spot so I I don't know what this twins team would do if they make the postseason it's looking more and more like they're going to I have no real sense of who they are as a postseason Club but give them credit they've been staying in it despite losing buckton and kareah for long stretches of time and then we're entering the top 10 the San Diego Padres are playing like a team obsessed they're playing like a team that just wants to finally win that pennant they are at number nine that's actually down two spots from the other day I would not want to face jerks of proar and Company and Jackson Maryland company and L Orizon company in a short Series this Padres team is a dangerous club and at number eight uh up four spots from last week are the Atlanta Braves who took six of their last 10 games and are starting to have a slightly more secure hold on the final playoff spot in the National League okay that leaves the top seven and all seven of these teams now granted any team that makes the post season has a shot to win it all but right now these seven teams to me look like the teams most likely to go to the World Series hey it's hot here in California you got to stay hydrated and if you're going to go to a ball game do you what you should do you should do something more than just like eating ice cream out of that helmet or pounding sodas you got to use Liquid IV when you're taking in an America's pastime don't forget to hydrate with liquid IV's popsicle firecracker firecracker flavor it's a Sure Fire summer hit get hydrated with electrolytes essential vitamins and clinically tested nutrients from the number one powdered hydration brand in America because baseball and summer go together like liquid IV and indulgent hydration blast off with the iconic summer flavor of popsicle firecracker a festive blend of citrus fueled lemon lime tart cherry and raspberry flavors find all your favorite flavors on the website from a berry and lemon lime to P colada tear pour live more one stick plus 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone powered by livv hydroscience which is trademarked an optimized ratio of electrolytes essential vitamins that clinically tested nutrients that turn ordinary water into extraordinary hydration three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink eight essential vitamins and nutrients always non GMO vegan gluten-free dairy free and soy free no more thirsty Summers when you indulge in hydration with liquid IV get 20% off your first order of liquid IV when you go to liquid iv.com and use code MLB at checkout that's 20% off your first order when you shop better hydration today using promo code MLB at liquid iv.com that's liquid iv.com all right let's hear from our good friends over at game time you know all about game time right you should if you've been listening to us I love going to live events I love going to concerts I love going to ball games and I'm going be going to a bunch of ball games as the season winds down and I always use game time to get my tickets game time is a new feature called Game Time picks that makes getting tickets for your favorite Live Events even easier game time picks filters out the fluff to show you incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste timeing sech in for thousands of tickets game time picks lets you have curation and makes it easy to save more on Sports concerts comedy and more get a panoramic view from your seat in the app before you buy and the lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you 110% of the difference take the guest work out of buying tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use the code lock on MLB for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem the code l c e d o n MLB for $20 off download game time today game time what time is it it's game time thanks so much for making locked on MLB your first listen for your second listen why don't listen to more of your P I'm the host of the locked on A's program where we talk about the Oakland A's in this strange last year sure we talk about the season they played a little bit better than we thought they were going to but there's lots to talk about the move to Sacramento the weird non news coming out regarding the Vegas move and everything like that follows at lock on a wherever you get your podcasts all right now the Guardians just a couple weeks ago looked like they had an absolutely insurmountable lead and at images of winning the franchise's first world series title since since 1948 dancing in their heads and then the Kansas City Royals woke up the Guardians look like they were the I think the best pick to win the pennant and now they are a tiny bit wobbly I still think the Guardians have what it takes to go very far I think this is a slight hiccup but we'll see it all depends on the Royals and if the Guardians could dust themselves off they're at number seven which is up one spot from last week at number six you have the Baltimore Orioles remember them I picked them to win the pennant Baltimore has had its ups and had its downs but they've dropped six of their last 10 and are down four spots from last week they've allowed the Yankees to get a little bit of a strugger hold in first place now it's probably going to be the two of them going back and forth and back and forth throughout the month of September and both teams have had moments where they looked unbeatable and both teams have had moments where they look vulnerable right now the Orioles I'd put them in the latter part at number five slow and steady wins the race up a spot from last week are the Milwaukee Brewers who've won seven out of their last 10 games they haven't had a huge slump they haven't had a big winning streak they've just been super steady good pitching good hitting even losing Yelich for the year they're probably going to Breeze to a division title and if they're relatively healthy for the postseason I don't count them out at number four up four spots from last week are the absolutely dominating Arizona Diamondbacks who are currently as I'm recording this on a six-game winning streak they've won seven of their last 10 games and are actually breathing down the necks of the Dodgers remember the Diamondbacks won the pennant last year they're trying to make sure people knew that was not a fluke then you go to the top three the Philadelphia Phillies are at number three down three spots from last week they had a couple of bad losses recently but they're probably still in position to win the East now will that mean a buy will they have to play a wild card series if the Brewers finish ahead of them and have we determined whether or not that's a good thing or not we've seen that teams that have had that basically week off have come back a little bit Rusty who knows but I'm not a big fan of hey you want to lose to get this because that always puts you in a lousy place the top two spots or two teams that have been playing quite well recently the New York Yankees have won six of their last 10 games and Aaron judge I think has hit four home runs since I've started this sentence they're at number two and at number one up two spots after winning seven of their last 10 games and Sh Otani putting on an absolutely epic show you got the LA Dodgers once again in a position where they are win the World Series or bust well the Dodgers are sitting now with the best record in baseball in late August and with Yaba possibly coming back and Bets already back hitting big home runs this could be a team at full strength which is really scary so to review uh one through 10 would be Dodgers Yankees Phillies Diamondbacks Brewers Orioles Guardians Braves Padres and twins 11 through 20 would be royals who should be higher Astros Red Sox Mets who should be lower Red Sox should be a lot lower Giants Mariners Tigers Cardinals rays and Cubs and the bottom 10 are the Pirates Reds Rangers blue jays the gats the Angels the A's who should be higher the Marlins the Rockies and the perfectly placed white socks so there you have it next time we do a power ranking is going to be September and you're going to be feeling the pressure of autumn for some of these teams that want to make it to the postseason I didn't get a chance to get any answers to the trivia question yet because of when I'm recording this so I'm going to repeat it what three Young Award winners were drafted in the 2008 draft we know David Price was one of them who were the other ones so follow us at lock on MLB pods on Twitter or whatever it's called now and on Instagram I am your pal Sully about Sul baseball Twitter Su baseball podcast and Instagram going over the power rankings and getting through this week this has been locked on in mb I am your Paul Francis Sullivan please call me Sully