Tim Kurkjian and Dallas Braden look at this week's MLB power rankings, with the Cubs standing their ground at the top and the Nationals moving up one spot to number two. (1:43)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the latest entrant into the top five this week. While losing two of three to the Miami Marlins was a disappointing way to finish the week, the Dodgers won four of six and finished the week with a 3½-game lead in the NL West.

A little lower in the rankings, the New York Yankees moved into the top 10, jumping from No. 14 to No. 9. A loss Sunday to the Tampa Bay Rays put a dent in the Yankees' playoff hopes, but they're still one of baseball's hottest teams. The Yankees won six of seven for the week, but might have to keep playing at a similar clip to keep their playoff hopes alive.

This week's voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.

Past rankings: Week 22 | Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason

Record: 91-51

Week 22 ranking: No. 1

This figures to be a fun week for the Cubs as they should clinch the division title, and have a chance to do it against St. Louis. Fans also get to see the ongoing saga of Anthony Rizzo vs. Wily Peralta. In 32 at-bats against Peralta, Rizzo is hitting .500/.568 /1.250 with seven homers. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers

Record: 85-58

Week 22 ranking: No. 3

Trea Turner has been worth 2.9 WAR in 54 games. Prorate that over 162 games and you're looking at 8.7 WAR -- or better than Kris Bryant's 8.1 162-game rate. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot

Record: 85-59

Week 22 ranking: No. 2

On Sunday, Adrian Beltre clubbed his 28th and 29th home runs of the season, and he's still finding ways to make a name for himself despite a crop of young stars crowding his position throughout the sport. Perhaps more impressive is that, at 37 years of age, Beltre finds himself neck-and-neck with Manny Machado for the title of the AL's best defensive third baseman. -- Brandon Land (@onestrikeaway), One Strike Away

Record: 83-59

Week 22 ranking: No. 4

Both Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana cleared the 30-homer threshold this week, the first time the Indians had two players with 30 or more since 2002 (Jim Thome and Ellis Burks). Napoli's 32 home runs and Santana's 31 are career highs for both players. -- Stephanie Liscio, It's Pronounced Lajaway

Record: 80-62

Week 22 ranking: No. 7

After seven perfect frames Saturday, Rich Hill's Dodgers résumé is as follows: 3-0 with 19 scoreless innings, 20 strikeouts and just two walks. Clayton Kershaw said on Saturday that he was physically fine one day after his first start in more than two months. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

Record: 80-62

Week 22 ranking: No. 6

The Red Sox pulled into first place in the AL East for the first time since late July, and stayed there by taking two of three from the Blue Jays. David Ortiz passed Jimmie Foxx with his 535th career homer, which drove in the go-ahead runs on Sunday, and is now one bomb shy of Mickey Mantle at 17th on the all-time list. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona

Record: 78-64

Week 22 ranking: No. 5

A seven-game trip to Anaheim and Seattle starts Thursday, and then Toronto finishes the season with 10 games against the teams fighting for the AL East and wild card (Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox). -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

Record: 78-64

Week 22 ranking: No. 8

The Orioles, who are two games behind the Red Sox in the AL East and tied with the Blue Jays for the wild-card lead, are in a nice position with 20 games left. But if they want to make the playoffs, they'll have to take care of things in the division. Seventeen of their remaining games are against teams in the AL East, with 13 coming against the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees (all teams still in the playoff hunt). -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot

Record: 76-66

Week 22 ranking: No. 14

That we are even mentioning playoff odds in mid-September speaks volumes about how well this team has turned it around recently. A seven-game win streak ended on Sunday, dropping the Yanks' chances at making the playoffs to 13.2 percent, which is approximately 13.2 percentage points higher than everyone expected at the trade deadline. Meaningful games, people! -- Jason Rosenberg (@Jason_IIATMS), It's About the Money

Record: 77-65

Week 22 ranking: No. 9

The Giants lost three of four to the Cubs and two of three to the Rockies, but the Diamondbacks showed up on their schedule just in time. Since Arizona swept San Francisco early in the season, the Giants have gone 13-3 against their division foe, keeping them afloat in the wild-card race. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

Record: 76-66

Week 22 ranking: No. 10

Eight of the Tigers' last 10 wins have come by three runs or fewer. The last time they beat their opponent by five runs or more was on Aug. 26. A win's a win, but a blowout win would give the bullpen a rest and might help manager Brad Ausmus' hairline. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers

Record: 76-67

Week 22 ranking: No. 15

Yoenis Cespedes has eight homers and 19 RBIs and is batting .307 since returning from the disabled list on Aug. 19. The Mets are 15-4 in the 19 games he has started since that date. -- Joe Janish, (@metstoday), MetsToday.com

Record: 75-67

Week 22 ranking: No. 11

After splitting four games with the Brewers, the Cards are a half-game behind the Mets for the wild card. Now comes the tough part of the schedule: a series this week against the Cubs at home (where the Cards are just 32-39) and then four in San Francisco. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot

Record: 75-68

Week 22 ranking: No. 12

Carlos Correa batted just once on Sunday after missing the previous four games with inflammation in his shoulder. He was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the fourth. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot

Record: 75-68

Week 22 ranking: No. 17

The M's made up some ground by taking three of four from the Texas Rangers and then all three from the Oakland A's. They remain in the wild-card hunt, but time is running short. Key series loom with Houston (six games) and Toronto (three games). -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

Record: 74-68

Week 22 ranking: No. 13

Talk about hot: In his past 11 games, Kendrys Morales has hit .349 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs to help keep the Royals' wild-card chances alive. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot

Record: 71-72

Week 22 ranking: No. 18

A wild-card berth seems unlikely now, especially since Miami has only three games remaining versus any of the teams they're competing against. A winning season is still doable, but would require nearly sweeping the 10 games remaining versus Atlanta and Philadelphia. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

Record: 69-72

Week 22 ranking: No. 16

The Pirates' eight-game losing streak came to an end last week when the team salvaged a win against the Cardinals, but a sweep at the hands of the Reds over the weekend dropped them to six games back in the wild-card race with just 21 games to play. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the 'Zona

Record: 69-74

Week 22 ranking: No. 19

One reason why DJ LeMahieu is pushing for a batting title is the power he has added to his profile. He has set a career high in doubles (27), triples (8) and home runs (10). While he's peppering Coors Field with hits, a .297 road batting average is nothing to sneeze at, either. -- Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers

Record: 68-74

Week 22 ranking: No. 20

Carlos Rodon has emerged as a solid complement to All-Star hurlers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. An improved changeup -- a pitch he's throwing more often and more effectively -- has helped spark his breakout second half. With Rodon clicking, will Chicago reconsider trading Sale or Quintana this winter? -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

Record: 64-79

Week 22 ranking: No. 24

Milwaukee has been playing competitive baseball against teams flirting with the playoffs as of late. After sweeping the Pirates, the Brewers took a series against the Cubs and played competitively against the Cardinals. Jonathan Villar has been tearing things up in the past week, batting .320/.370/.880 with four home runs. He also became the fourth Brewer in history to homer from both sides of the plate in a game. -- Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker

Record: 63-79

Week 22 ranking: No. 21

Sometimes it's not how many runs you score and allow, but when you score them. The Angels' run differential is minus-21, while the Yankees' is only slightly better at minus-7. But one team is a disaster and the other is one of the feel-good stories of 2016. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot

Record: 63-80

Week 22 ranking: No. 22

Offense will clearly be something the Phillies focus on improving for 2017. The Phillies have scored the fewest runs in baseball (520) and have the lowest team OBP (.295) and OPS (.676). -- ESPN.com

Record: 60-82

Week 22 ranking: No. 25

The Billy Butler $30 million contract was much criticized when the A's signed him last year, and now they've released him (in part because of a fight with a teammate, but mostly because he's not good). Moral of the story: Signing a guy nicknamed "Country Breakfast" is probably a bad risk. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot

Record: 60-82

Week 22 ranking: No. 23

With the changing of the guard at hitting coach from Derek Shelton to Chad Mottola, it makes you wonder just how warm the chair is under manager Kevin Cash. -- Jason Hanselman (@sandykazmir), The Process Report

Record: 60-82

Week 22 ranking: No. 26

Joey Votto celebrated his birthday this week by going 4-for-5 with a double and a homer. He's now hitting .427 in the second half, and his OPS of 1.187 after the All-Star break is 85 points higher than the second-best OPS in either league. -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation

Record: 59-84

Week 22 ranking: No. 27

San Diego clinched its sixth consecutive losing season this past week and is on pace to finish with its worst record since 2008, when it went 63-99. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit

Record: 58-84

Week 22 ranking: No. 28

Can the D-backs scrape together a plan to compete in 2017? One of the team's biggest question marks has become what to expect from Paul Goldschmidt, who just celebrated his 29th birthday, but has hit .200 over the past two weeks and has just six homers in his past 300 plate appearances. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the 'Zona

Record: 55-88

Week 22 ranking: No. 29

While there may not be anything left to play for this year in Atlanta, Braves fans are turning their attention to the minor leagues, where the organization's Triple-A, Double-A and low-A clubs all won their first playoff series. The team's philosophy of "starting pitching wins championships" was on full display. The 11 starting pitchers used across those three minor league teams -- a group that included seven first-rounders -- combined for a 1.71 ERA. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County

Record: 53-90

Week 22 ranking: No. 30

It's tough to feel optimistic about a turnaround from Minnesota's league-worst rotation when rookie Jose Berrios, its brightest beacon of hope for the future, continues to flounder. He sits at 2-6 with a 9.27 ERA after Sunday's clunker. -- Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN), Twins Daily