NL Power Rankings Week 27
The 2019 regular season is over and we have the final NL Power Rankings ready for you. There will be no Game 163 after having two of the last season. The playoffs are set and we are ready for the Postseason. How did your team finish in 2019?
Embed from Getty Images1. Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56) Last Week: 2
The Dodgers won their last seven games and ten of their last twelve to secure the best record in the National League. They are peaking at the perfect time as they await the winner of the Nationals and Brewers Wild Card Game. The Dodgers will be playing in their seventh consecutive Postseason.
2. Atlanta Braves (97-65) Last Week: 1
The Braves are limping into the playoffs, losers of five of their last six games. They will be hosting the Cardinals in the best of five NLDS starting on October 3. The Braves are in the playoffs as a division winner for the second straight year.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (91-71) Last Week: 4
The Cardinals held off the surging Brewers and have claimed the NL Central crown. They will be facing a tough Braves team in the NLDS. St. Louis is back in the Postseason for the first time since 2015.
4. Washington Nationals (93-69) Last Week: 5
The Nationals finished strong, winning eight straight and ten of their last eleven. That streak earned them the right to host the Brewers in the NL Wild Card Game. The Nationals are in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and the fifth time since moving from Montreal.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (89-73) Last Week: 3
The Brewers were surging until they got swept by the Rockies in the final weekend. They still managed to make the Postseason for the second year in a row, a feat that they had not done since 1981 and 1982. Milwaukee will travel to Washington to face the Nationals in the one and done Wild Card Game.
Embed from Getty Images6. New York Mets (86-76) Last Week: 6
The Mets swept the NL East champions over the weekend, but it was too little, too late. They finished three games behind the Brewers for the final Wild Card spot and will sit out the Postseason. This is the third season in a row that the Mets missed the playoffs.
7. Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77) Last Week: 9
The Diamondbacks may have had a disappointing season, but they managed to win their final five games. Arizona did a great job of hanging around up to the end. The Diamondbacks last Postseason appearance was in 2017.
8. Chicago Cubs (84-78) Last Week: 7
The Cubs could not hold off the Brewers, as they were eliminated from the playoffs. For the second year in a row, they had a four-game lead over Milwaukee on September 1st, and for the second year in a row, that lead vanished. The Cubs are missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (81-81) Last Week: 8
The Phillies had high hopes for this season after making some high profile signings in the offseason. Those hopes were dashed as they slumped to a .500 record for the year. The Phillies Postseason drought is now up to eight years.
10. San Francisco Giants (77-85) Last Week: 10
The Giants were flying high after going 19-6 in July, but had back-to-back 11-16 months that brought them back to Earth. They held on to their trade pieces with the thought of having a shot at a Wild Card spot, but that did not pan out. Winning three World Series in six years seems like a distant memory.
Embed from Getty Images11. Cincinnati Reds (75-87) Last Week: 11
The Reds were hoping that their offseason acquisitions would help them contend for a playoff spot. That would not be the case, as they were out of it after losing eight of their first nine games. The Reds did enjoy their best finish since 2014 when they also finished in fourth.
12. Colorado Rockies (71-91) Last Week: 12
The Rockies avenged their NLDS sweep at the hands of the Brewers by keeping Milwaukee from winning the NL Central. That is about as good as it gets for a team that went from the playoffs to 20 games under .500 in a single season. The Rockies are hoping that this is just a blip on the radar.
13. San Diego Padres (70-92) Last Week: 13
The Padres lost their last six and 16 of their last 18 games to finish off 2019. They have finished last or next to last 10 times since back-to-back division titles in 2005-2006. The Padres did get a glimpse of the future, though, and it appears to be bright.
14. Pittsburgh Pirates (69-93) Last Week: 15
The Pirates finished a miserable season, this one the worst since their 105-loss campaign in 2010. An epic second-half collapse led to the club firing their manager before their last game. The Pirates are the only NL Central not to have won the division while the rest of the teams have won it at least twice.
15. Miami Marlins (57-105) Last Week: 14
The Marlins had four months, including March/April, with fewer than 10 wins. That could be a major reason why their attendance was a pitiful 811,302, by far the worst in the National League. The Marlins have not had a season above .500 since 2009 and have not made the playoffs since they won it all in 2003.
Check out our AL Power Rankings.
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