Guardians Make Big Move Up In Latest Power Rankings

The Cleveland Guardians’ season could have taken a major turn for the worse when they lost Chase DeLauter, Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez to injury in the same game a month ago. Yet, they were able to enter the All-Star break tied for first place in the AL Central and in a relatively comfortable position in the wild-card race.

An argument could be made that treading water is not good enough for a team with big postseason aspirations. But the Guardians should be given credit for not falling apart when they had every opportunity to do so.

Thanks to a sweep of the Miami Marlins that closed the first half, the Guardians have made a big move up in Bleacher Report’s latest power rankings, climbing from No. 15 to No. 12.

“We noted in last week’s power rankings that the Guardians had gone six consecutive weeks with a .500 or worse record. Well, they finally got off that schneid by sweeping what had been a scorching hot Marlins team, ending the first half on a four-game winning streak. The offense was still lacking, scoring five or fewer runs in all six games this week. But the starting rotation was on point, especially Joey Cantillo making two starts with a combined 16 strikeouts and just one earned run allowed,” Kerry Miller wrote.

When DeLauter, Ramirez and Martinez were sidelined on June 13, Cleveland had a one-half game lead over the second-place Chicago White Sox. With a 12-13 record since then, the Guardians ended play on July 12 tied with the White Sox for first place. Despite that status, Chicago is ranked at No. 9 in these power rankings.

The notable development in that time period is the rise of the Minnesota Twins in the standings. They have turned the division race into a three-team battle, as they sit just three games behind, while coming in at No. 16 in the power rankings.

DeLauter returned from his rib injury and put up impressive numbers over the past 14 games. The rookie outfielder has a 1.010 OPS in July, with at least one hit in nine of the last 11 games before the break.

Ramirez and Martinez look to be on track to possibly return before the end of the month, so the Guardians’ lineup should improve even before they make an expected move for another hitter before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. With much more pennant-race experience than either the White Sox or Twins, the Guardians should have a very good chance to threepeat as division champions.

Sometimes, it isn’t about overwhelming the opposition as much as it is about preventing bad times from getting out of hand, and the Guardians seem to have weathered a tough stretch in good shape entering the second half of the 2026 season.