The Los Angeles Dodgers replaced the Atlanta Braves as the No. 1 spot in ESPN’s Week 12 MLB Power Rankings.
The Braves took the top spot for the Dodgers in the seventh week of the season, and the Dodgers have closely tailed them in second since. The Dodgers played the Braves at the beginning of May, and while they lost that series, they avoided losing any of their following nine. Their three-game sweep over the AL powerhouse Tampa Bay Rays gave them the edge and propelled them to first.
Los Angeles has an MLB-best 48-27 record, and leads their division by nine games, which is also the most in the league. Halfway through the month, they hold a 10-6 record and have only faced one team currently below .500.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield chimed in on some of the positives from the Dodgers’ past week which propelled them to the top spot.
“The highlight of the past week was Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s near perfect game/no-hitter against the White Sox,” Schoenfield wrote. “He lost the perfect game when Mookie Betts booted a ground ball with two outs in the eighth and then lost the no-hitter when Tristan Peters homered leading off the ninth — reminiscent of last season, when Yamamoto lost a no-hitter on a home run with two outs in the ninth in Baltimore. Speaking of Betts, should there be concern about his batting average hovering around .200 and his OBP well under .300? The weird thing is his plate discipline remains elite, but his walk rate has plummeted from the 94th percentile just two years ago to the 24th percentile. Pitchers are going after him more than ever.”
Who Has Produced for the Dodgers Over the Past Week?
Since the Dodgers’ final game of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, the usual suspects have been on fire for the Dodgers. It goes without saying Shohei Ohtani has been the most impressive of the group offensively, as he has a 233 wRC+ over the last seven games.
Also pulling their own weight are Miguel Rojas, who comes in just behind Ohtani with a 214 wRC+, andMax Muncy, who has been on fire for the Dodgers all season.
Muncy leads the team in homers, and is well on his way to his first All-Star appearance since 2021.
What has impressed you the most from the Dodgers over the past week?
