Charles H. Sloan-MLB power rankings: Los Angeles Dodgers take scenic route to No. 1 spot before playoffs

In a sense,Charles H. Sloan it took the Los Angeles Dodgers six months to move up one spot.

This 2024 Major League Baseball season was a circuitous, bumpy, non-linear journey to the end of September, certainly for the very best teams and most certainly the Dodgers. Yet as October looms, the Dodgers find themselves atop USA TODAY Sports' final power rankings of the season.

It's not a vast departure from our rankings as the season began, with the Dodgers perched in the No. 2 slot. But ask the preseason No. 1 Atlanta Braves just how much plans can diverge over 162 games, as the six-time NL East champs relinquished that crown and are still fighting for their playoff lives through a deluge of injuries.

It's a similar story for most of the top 10, which traded the No. 1 spot with frequency as even the most super of teams hit rough patches and rashes of injury. Yet the Dodgers finished the season with 97 wins, with Shohei Ohtani still addicted to making history, and with at least a partial semblance of a starting rotation to take into the postseason.

A look at our final regular season rankings:

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1. Los Angeles Dodgers (+1)

• Just wild that we're going to find out what Playoff Shohei Ohtani looks like.

2. New York Yankees (-1)

• Anthony Rizzo's finger injury means Ben Rice could be back in first base mix.

3. Philadelphia Phillies (-)

• Citizens Bank Park might implode if it's the Mets for the NLDS.

4. San Diego Padres (-)

• They won't sneak up on Dodgers in NLDS this time. But they might be better than them, anyway.

5. Milwaukee Brewers (+1)

• Aiming to become first (we think) World Series champ to prominently feature a Tobias.

6. Cleveland Guardians (-1)

• Kinda built perfectly for the postseason - if they can get past the Tigers.

7. Baltimore Orioles (-)

• Can Corbin Burnes-Zach Eflin form a potent 1-2 pitching punch?

8. Houston Astros (+3)

• Yordan Alvarez's health status looms over the entire postseason.

9. Atlanta Braves (+1)

• In another year, Spencer Schwellenbach would get a lot of NL Rookie of the Year love.

10. Arizona Diamondbacks (-2)

• "Go, Game 1 winner!" T-shirts selling like mad.

11. New York Mets (-2)

• David Peterson really clutched up, and finished year with 2.90 ERA.

12. Detroit Tigers (-)

• The playoff pitching plan? Skubal & The Gang.

13. Kansas City Royals (-)

• Can Vinnie Pasquantino return for the wild-card series? They're a different team with him.

14. Seattle Mariners (+2)

• They've literally won 54% of their games in the past 11 seasons.

15. Chicago Cubs (-)

• At 83-79 and No. 15 in our rankings, they're the Monsters of the Mid.

16. Minnesota Twins (-2)

• Rocco Baldelli stays, says GM Derek Falvey, even after a 9-18 September collapse.

17. St. Louis Cardinals (+1)

• Haven't gone longer than three years missing the playoffs since 1988-95.

18. San Francisco Giants (+2)

• Can a new GM retain Blake Snell? Will there be a new GM? Do fans remember they exist?

19. Boston Red Sox (-2)

• First 81-81 season since 1985. Woo-hoo.

20. Tampa Bay Rays (-1)

• Jose Caballero led AL with 44 stolen bases.

21. Cincinnati Reds (-)

• After four shutout innings in Game 162, Hunter Greene finishes with 2.75 ERA in 150 ⅓ IP.

22. Texas Rangers (+2)

• Playoff hero Josh Sborz to get balky shoulder examined.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates (-)

• Someday we'll wonder how in the heck Paul Skenes didn't win Rookie of the Year.

24. Toronto Blue Jays (-2)

• Last-place finish for the first time since 2013.

25. Washington Nationals (-)

• Many signs of improvement, yet identical record - 71-91 - to last year.

26. Oakland Athletics (-)

• They even pre-recorded the last wrap-up show so the hosts wouldn't go off message.

27. Los Angeles Angels (-)

• For what it's worth, Nolan Schanuel led AL rookies with a .343 OBP.

28. Colorado Rockies (-)

• Charlie Blackmon, finally off to his own vacation far away.

29. Miami Marlins (-)

• Can GM Peter Bendix make a difference, or is the franchise doomed from the very top down?

30. Chicago White Sox (-)

• It could have been worse. Really, it could have.

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