This week's MLB power rankings take a look at which MLB teams have been conquerors away from their home stadiums, ranking teams by their road records.
When play begins on Monday, all MLB teams will be hovering somewhere around the 100-game mark of the 162-game season. With plenty of focus on the upcoming MLB trade deadline, the 100-game mark is another milestone on the road to meaningful October baseball.
So which teams have been the strongest away from home? Let's look at the records, rank the teams, and add some commentary to the rankings as well. Note: All records posted are entering games on Sunday, July 23.
30) MLB Power Rankings: Kansas City Royals
The Royals are last by just percentage points thanks to a 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Saturday. With that defeat, Kansas City is now 13-36 on the road this season, including losing eight of their last nine games away from Kauffman Stadium. It's a young team and the makeup of the roster may change even more with the trade deadline coming up and rumors swirling about reliever Scott Barlow and others.
29) MLB Power Rankings: Oakland A's
At 13-35 on the season, there isn't much separating the A's and Royals, and Oakland finds themselves in the same boat with their colleagues in Kansas City as an active trade deadline could change the look of their roster as well. After wrapping up a homestand with Houston on Sunday, Oakland heads out on an eight-game road trip across the bay to San Francisco, then on to Colorado and Chavez Ravine to face the Dodgers.
28) MLB Power Rankings: Colorado Rockies
It's been well documented how tough it is to bounce between altitude and sea level for the Rockies through the years, and this year's road record of 16-33 shows it's been another season of unsuccessfully trying to figure out that puzzle. The good news? Colorado won the first two games in Miami this weekend, helping kick off a six-game road trip to south Florida and Washington, D.C., on the right foot.
27) MLB Power Rankings: Chicago White Sox
It hasn't been a good year on the South Side … even with the White Sox haven't played on the South Side. At 20-34, things could get worse for Chicago before they get better if pitchers like Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Joe Kelly (as rumors suggest) are traded away before next week's deadline.
26) MLB Power Rankings: Pittsburgh Pirates
A season that started with such promise has developed into just another season in the Steel City. With a 20-29 road record and a three-game series coming up this week in San Diego against a Padres team trying to stay in Wild Card contention, things aren't pointing to a turnaround away from PNC Park any time soon.
25) MLB Power Rankings: St. Louis Cardinals
Before the season began, few would have expected to see the Cardinals this low on this list, coming in with a 22-29 record away from Busch Stadium. However, this has been an unexpected season on a number of levels for St. Louis. John Mozeliak and company can only hope that it's a one-season blip on the radar and the moves they make at the trade deadline have them on solid footing to compete again in 2024.
24) MLB Power Rankings: New York Mets
Like the Cardinals, the Mets haven't found much luck on the road, posting a 23-30 mark outside of Queens. However, at Citi Field, the Mets at least have a winning record (23-22). That's the good news. What's the bad news? No other team below New York has won more at home than lost, meaning it's truly been the road Mets that have cost them this season, especially when you look at New York's 47-34 road record last season.
23) MLB Power Rankings: San Diego Padres
Perhaps it's ironic that three teams that were all expected to contend for deep postseason runs are lined up near the bottom of the power rankings when it comes to their road performances. San Diego checks in with a 23-28 road mark, and those numbers have improved greatly by winning four of their last five road games (against Toronto and Detroit).
22) MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs
The Friendly Confines have at least been somewhat friendly to the Cubs this season, logging a 26-26 mark at Clark and Addison. However, Chicago's 21-25 record away from home is about on par with what the Cubs did last season on the road (37-44). After spending to bring in veterans like Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer and others, it's clear the roster moves didn't give Chicago that much of a bump.
21) MLB Power Rankings: Los Angeles Angels
The team we ranked last week as the one with the most pressure on it as the MLB trade deadline approached is just 22-26 on the road and has a nine-game road trip to Toronto, Detroit and Atlanta beginning on Tuesday. Could struggles to open the journey be the final straw in determining the fate of Shohei Ohtani in an Angels uniform?
20) MLB Power Rankings: Cleveland Guardians
In the head-shaking race to the top of the American League Central, the Guardians have struggled away from Cleveland, going 23-27. Compare that to last season's 46-35 record on the road and it's easy to see why Cleveland hasn't risen to the top of the division again this year. A seven-game series to Chicago to face the White Sox before traveling to meet the Astros in south Texas at the MLB trade deadline will be very interesting to watch.
19) MLB Power Rankings: Miami Marlins
The Marlins have hit a skid at a bad time, with the trade deadline looming and the team reportedly still trying to decide exactly what it will do before August 1. Miami has lost six consecutive road games (pushing their road record to 23-27) before dropping two of three to Colorado at home over the weekend. After an off day on Monday, Miami will travel across the Sunshine State to Tampa Bay for a two-game series? Can they shake off their road struggles inside the Trop?
18) MLB Power Rankings: Seattle Mariners
Yet another team that seems stuck in the middle of exactly which way it will go at the trade deadline and how aggressive it will be, the Mariners are 21-24 outside the Pacific Northwest. Seattle faces two big road tests this week, with a three-game set at Minnesota followed by three games in the desert against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
17) MLB Power Rankings: Washington Nationals
The Nationals are a fascinating team that has actually played better on the road (23-26) versus home (17-32). If these MLB power rankings were based on home records, Washington would be near the bottom. With three games at home against Colorado to open the week and four games in New York against the Mets to close it out, we'll see if those trends continue to hold true.
16) MLB Power Rankings: Detroit Tigers
Another interesting team to have inserted near the middle of the power rankings since the Tigers are 20-27 at home but 24-27 on the road. Detroit got a recent boost in the road strength by grabbing two of three games in Seattle right after the All-Star break, and following that by winning three of four contests in Kansas City against the Royals.
15) MLB Power Rankings: New York Yankees
In July alone, the Yankees are 2-7 outside the Bronx, and five of those losses came against St. Louis and Colorado, teams that the Yankees (at least on paper) were better than. A tough July start on the road has dropped the Yankees to 22-24 on the road. When exactly is Aaron Judge coming back from that toe injury? It may not come in time for what will be a big three-game road series against the Orioles this weekend.
14) MLB Power Rankings: Minnesota Twins
Ah, our first division leader enters the power rankings just above the average line. Perhaps it's fitting for the American League Central-pacing Twins to be here as the division has been such a hodgepodge of mediocrity this season. At 24-26 on the season, Minnesota is just the road average schedule of all MLB teams at 23-25. If Minnesota is to win the division, the team will have to figure out how to win on the road to avoid another quick postseason exit.
13) MLB Power Rankings: Philadelphia Phillies
We learned last season to never count the Phillies out, right? In our power rankings, the Phillies are the last team to come in with a losing record on the road (26-27) and have done well for themselves at home this season so far (26-19). It was on the road last season (in St. Louis in the Wild Card round) where Philadelphia started its improbable march to the Fall Classic. Will it find magic on the road again in the final two months of the season?
12) MLB Power Rankings: Boston Red Sox
Here's to the Red Sox, a team that continues to surprise this season by staying in the postseason conversation after many left them buried for dead in the preseason projections. At 25-24 away from Fenway Park this season, Boston has a West Coast test ahead of them, starting next weekend with three games in San Francisco before three games in Seattle at the MLB trade deadline.
11) MLB Power Rankings: Tampa Bay Rays
Admit it … you didn't expect to see the Rays so low on the list, did you? For all of the talk about the team's hot start to the season, the Rays have floundered outside Tropicana Field in a big way this month, winning just two of eight road games. Consecutive trips to New York for the Yankees and Houston for the defending World Champions at the end of the month will be something to watch.
10) MLB Power Rankings: Toronto Blue Jays
At 27-25 this season in games played in the United States, the Blue Jays are keeping a hold of a Wild Card spot in the American League. A big test begins on Monday as Toronto ventures to Chavez Ravine to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Toronto goes into that series after dropping two of three in Seattle (despite a partisan crowd inside T-Mobile Park), so can the Blue Jays find more success by flying further south?
9) MLB Power Rankings: Los Angeles Dodgers
At 28-24 on the road, of all of the division leaders, only the Minnesota Twins are worse when it comes to road winning percentage than the Dodgers. Los Angeles doesn't go back on the road until August 4 when it starts a four-game set in San Diego followed by two games in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks. Will the Dodgers continue their winning ways, perhaps being even stronger for their next road trip after the MLB trade deadline?
8) MLB Power Rankings: Texas Rangers
Everything is bigger in Texas, right? Well, it must be true since both the Rangers and their cross-state rivals from Houston haven't been our list yet. The road winning percentage for the Rangers (25-21) is certainly bigger and better than it was last season (34-47 overall), so that's not only a testament to the talent Texas puts on the field every night, but perhaps also a tip of the cap to new manager Bruce Bochy and the steady presence he brings to the team, no matter where they are playing.
7) MLB Power Rankings: San Francisco Giants
With a nod and tribute to the late legend Tony Bennett, these Giants are not leaving their hearts in San Francisco in 2023, posting a 28-23 mark away from the Bay. Like Texas, San Francisco has turned things around on the road this season, after going 37-44 in 2022. After a one-game makeup is played in Detroit on Monday (from a rainout in April), San Francisco doesn't leave the state of California again until taking on the Braves on August 18. That stretch includes a trip across the bay to meet the A's and down Interstate 5 to take on the Angels.
6) MLB Power Rankings: Milwaukee Brewers
Sure, everyone loves the Reds and the youth movement happening in Cincinnati (more about that in a moment), but the Brewers just keep winning and grinding away, showing they aren't going anywhere any time soon. A 28-22 record outside of Wisconsin is part of the reason why Milwaukee is wrestling with the Reds for the top of the division.
5) MLB Power Rankings: Arizona Diamondbacks
It has been hot in the desert this summer, and it isn't just because of the rising mercury that has tormented Phoenix in recent days. The Diamondbacks are playing solid baseball, both inside Chase Field and away from home as well, going 28-21 on the road. Those road successes will be tested at the end of the month with a trip to San Francisco and Minnesota, both teams that, like the Diamondbacks, are expected to be better after the trade deadline.
4) MLB Power Rankings: Cincinnati Reds
Who says that young players may get intimidated playing on the road? Cincinnati's young stars like Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer and Matt McLain have been a part of the Reds posting a 27-20 mark away from home in 2023. There are plenty of things that seem to be going right for the Reds right now, but will it continue with a long road stretch starting on Monday that will take the team to Milwaukee, Los Angeles (Dodgers) and Chicago (Cubs)? This could be a division-changing stretch for Cincinnati.
3) MLB Power Rankings: Houston Astros
They're the defending World Champions, so is it any wonder that the Astros are this high on the list. This is battled-tested team that is always facing a hostile environment wherever it goes, so Houston's ability to go 30-22 on the road is a testament to the team's talent and mental toughness. We're already looking ahead to August 3 when the Astros play consecutive three-game series in New York against the Yankees and in Baltimore.
2) MLB Power Rankings: Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore showed it had the ability to contend for a postseason spot last year, and an impressive 30-18 mark away from Camden Yards this season is showing that the Orioles learned from their experiences of a year ago. Trips to Philadelphia and New York for the Yankees over the next two weeks will provide another glimpse into just how real these Orioles are.
1) MLB Power Rankings: Atlanta Braves
When you have the best overall record in the league, it shouldn't be a surprise that you have the best road record as well, and that's just what the Braves have done this season so far, recording a 31-15 mark away from Truist Park. A two-game set in Boston awaits this week, Atlanta's only road test before the MLB trade deadline. Atlanta could get better before its next long road trip, and that's a scary thought for the other 29 MLB teams.