In a season where the American League is redefining "quality," it's only appropriate that a team exemplifying "mid" is going on a little warm streak at just the right time.
In short: The Texas Rangers are probably going to the playoffs.
They have never been more than three games above or six games below .500. Their greatest player – Corey Seager – has not yet played in 100 games. Yet by winning a series against the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend, the Rangers largely control their own playoff destiny, with two routes to get in – the AL West title or the last wild card.
And their productive and timely spurt pushed them up four spots to No. 14 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.
The Rangers more or less eliminated the Blue Jays this weekend and now
face a tricky but not untenable final week: Three games against the improved New York Mets and three more vs. the Minnesota Twins. They'll take a one-game AL West lead over the Houston Astros into this final lap, and therein lies the danger: The Houston Astros finish with four games against the Athletics in Yolo County and own the tiebreaker over Texas.
Yet they're also just two games behind the Chicago White Sox for the final wild-card spot. Texas – now 76-76 – needs to just win, baby, even if doing so consistently has been a challenge this season.
A look at our updated rankings:
1. Milwaukee Brewers (-)
- One hundred wins? It will probably happen this week.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (-)
- Teo, Tucker and Mookie are heating up and Ohtani is gearing up. Yeah, don't waste your time worrying about these guys.
3. Tampa Bay Rays (-)
- Three walk-off wins put a death grip on the division.
4. Atlanta Braves (-)
- Ronald Acuña Jr. has seven homers and a 1.096 OPS this month and looks like he could carry these guys a while next month.
5. New York Yankees (-)
- Still not wise to sleep on these guys, even sans Aaron Judge.
6. Chicago Cubs (-)
- Finishing strong down the stretch, kind of like their third baseman's horse.
7. San Diego Padres (+2)
- On a 13-1 heater. But are they the team "no one wants to face" come playoff time?
8. Boston Red Sox (-1)
- Trevor Story has a .343/.361/.486 line since coming off the IL.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (-2)
- The lineup is flaccid, the bullpen practically nonexistent, the rotation down its best starter. We miss anything?
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (-)
- Hanging on for dear life – playoff hopes and manager, both.
11. Cleveland Guardians (+1)
- Jose Ramírez has passed 1,000 RBIs – and just three away from 300 homers.
12. Chicago White Sox (-1)
- They've reached the "watching your child ride a tricycle across four lanes of traffic" stage of the season.
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (+4)
- With one start remaining, Paul Skenes' adjusted ERA has been cut almost exactly in half (226 to 114) from his Cy Young season.
14. Texas Rangers (+4)
- They were four games under .500 a little more than a week ago. They'll begin the final week of the season in first place.
15. Houston Astros (-1)
- Too often, Yordan Alvarez bats with no one on base. That's no way to win a Triple Crown.
16. Miami Marlins (-1)
- The Sandy Alcantara save was pretty cool but also a little weird?
17. Toronto Blue Jays (-4)
- With season on line, came up very small against Tigers, Rangers.
18. St. Louis Cardinals (-2)
- Playoff drought stretches to four years, longest under current ownership.
19. Baltimore Orioles (-)
- Weekly ritual: Pete Alonso does something cool, everyone else looks confused.
20. Detroit Tigers (+2)
Their +75 run differential is better than five likely playoff teams.
21. Washington Nationals (+2)
- Cade Cavalli contract extension shows ownership has a pulse, if nothing else.
22. Seattle Mariners (+2)
- In half a century, they've reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons just once (2001-2002).
23. New York Mets (+2)
- September window dressing, or is their serviceable play indicative things are turning around?
24. Minnesota Twins (-4)
- Byron Buxton's hip surgery has estimated recovery time of six months.
25. Cincinnati Reds (-4)
- Acquisition of Oswaldo Cabrera likely means end of TJ Friedl's career in Cincinnati.
26. Kansas City Royals (-)
- Carter Jensen sets both team rookie home run (25) and extra-base hits (60) records.
27. San Francisco Giants (-)
- They've used 67 players this season, 18 for eight games or less.
28. Los Angeles Angels (+1)
- Grayson Rodriguez went two years between quality starts. Now he has three in the past six weeks.
29. Athletics (-1)
- Penultimate season in Yolo County will conclude with four games against Astros, chance to play spoiler.
30. Colorado Rockies (-)
- Progress? Team ERA down to 5.62 from 5.97; home runs allowed drops from 251 to 215.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: Remember the Rangers? Texas has playoff bid in reach
