Baseball America MLB Power Rankings: Final Update Of 2020

SEE THE FULL POWER RANKINGS

Amidst the most challenging circumstances in recent history, Major League Baseball completed a regular season.

It was a season unlike any other. A 60-game schedule. Seven-inning doubleheaders. Extra innings starting with a runner on second base. The designated hitter in both leagues.

The coronavirus pandemic upended the traditional rules and structures we’ve all grown accustomed to, both in baseball and the world at large. From the moment camps shut down in March, there was considerable anxiety if a season would be played at all, or if one could be completed safely.

That anxiety was only heightened when COVID-19 outbreaks swept the Marlins and Cardinals clubhouses within days of the season beginning. Prominent players and coaches opted out, while others voiced concern whether playing was the wisest course of action.

But through it all, games were played and larger outbreaks were avoided. The Cardinals and Marlins, miraculously, rebounded to clinch playoff berths. The Padres and Reds ended long postseason droughts. The Dodgers steamrolled everyone as expected, while the Rays assumed supremacy in the AL East.

Now comes a postseason that will also be unlike any other. A 16-team field with a neutral site World Series is just the latest chapter of an unprecedented year for Major League Baseball. Games begin Tuesday starting with the best-of-three Wild Card round, which never existed before this season.

Here are our final power rankings for the 2020 season. All statistics are through Sept. 27.

1. Dodgers (43-17)

The Dodgers, not the Indians, posted the lowest ERA in MLB this year (3.02). Now, they open the wild-card series with their best matchup possible – a three-game set against the punchless Brewers, who finished 26th in the majors in scoring this season.

2. Rays (40-20)

The Rays inserted OF Randy Arozarena into the starting lineup for the first time on Aug. 31. Since then, he’s hit seven home runs in 76 plate appearances and risen to the No. 3 spot in the order, giving the Rays the consistent righthanded thumper they’ve needed to pair with 2B Brandon Lowe.

3. Padres (37-23)

The Padres playoff hopes likely hinge on the health of RHPs Dinelson Lamet (biceps tightness) and Mike Clevinger (elbow impingement). The good news? SS Fernando Tatis Jr. appears to have shaken off his slump, hitting .292 with a pair of monster home runs in the final seven games.