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MLB power rankings: Phillies floundering at a crucial time

Jesse Yomtov
USA TODAY

Losers of seven in a row through Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies have seen a 3 ½-game lead in the National League East become a 6 ½-game deficit in less than a month and find themselves at a crossroads nearing the season's midway point.

Andrew McCutchen's season-ending injury in early June certainly changed everything. The team has struggled to get things going since he went down, unable to fill the void left by the former MVP's .378 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot.

With closer David Robertson out since mid-April, the bullpen has struggled to get outs consistently. They missed out on signing Craig Kimbrel and will have to be aggressive in pursuing some relievers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.

But it's not just relief help they need. They could stand to upgrade significantly at a handful of positions – i.e. wherever Scott Kingery isn't playing that day – and need another starter to ease the pressure on the bullpen.

There's still plenty of time left, but these weeks leading up the All-Star break may end up defining the Phillies' season.

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The Phillies have lost seven in a row through Sunday.

Here's how USA TODAY Sports' eight-person panel voted this week:

RANK (movement from last week)

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (–)

  • Firing on all cylinders, but should really add another reliever for October.

2. New York Yankees (+3)

  • With Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton back, they could run away with the AL East.

t-3. Houston Astros (-1)

  • Hitting a wall, but Jose Altuve is off the IL and George Springer returns soon.

t-3. Minnesota Twins (–)

  • Jake Odorizzi's 10-game winning streak came to an end.

5. Atlanta Braves (+1)

  • Freddie Freeman had 29 RBI in his first 20 games of June.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (-2)

  • Blake Snell's last four starts: 16 earned runs in 14 innings.

7. Chicago Cubs (–)

  • Jose Quintana has a 6.75 ERA (23 ER in 30.2 IP) over his last six starts.

8. Boston Red Sox (+2)

  • Rafael Devers, only 22 years old, is coming into his own this year.

9. Milwaukee Brewers (-1)

10. Texas Rangers (+1)

  • They've only got a month to decide if they're going to commit to this wild-card race.

11. St. Louis Cardinals (+3)

12. Colorado Rockies (–)

  • Trevor Story hits the IL and Brendan Rodgers need to step up in his absence.

13. Cleveland Indians (+2)

  • Will they trade Trevor Bauer in the middle of a wild-card push?

14. Philadelphia Phillies (-5)

  • Bryce Harper, the $330 million slugger, now getting a run in the leadoff spot.

15. Oakland Athletics (+1)

16. Washington Nationals (+3)

  • Trevor Rosenthal recorded 19 outs as a National, giving up 16 earned runs with 15 walks.

17. San Diego Padres (–)

  • Manny Machado starting to come on: .325 average with 7 HR, 20 RBI in first 20 June games.

18. New York Mets (–)

  • Pete Alonso broke Darryl Strawberry's club rookie homer record ... on June 23.

19. Cincinnati Reds (+3)

  • Derek Dietrich's OPS is almost 200 points higher than his career mark.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks (-7)

  • Ketel Marte has to cool off at some point ... right?

21. Los Angeles Angels (-1)

  • Justin Upton homered three times in his first six games of the season.

22. Chicago White Sox (-1)

  • Catcher James McCann among the All-Star Game voting finalists.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates (–)

  • Tough stretch ahead of All-Star break: Six vs. Brewers, four vs. Cubs, three vs. Astros.

24. San Francisco Giants (–)

  • Drew Pomeranz has kept his rotation spot despite a 7.09 ERA in 13 starts.

25. Seattle Mariners (–)

  • 19-year-old Jared Kelenic, acquired in the Cano/Diaz trade, just keeps on hitting in high-Class A.

26. Miami Marlins (+2)

  • Rotation's 3.71 ERA through June 22 was third in the National League.

27. Toronto Blue Jays (–)

  • They'll be patient with prospect Bo Bichette in Class AAA.

28. Detroit Tigers (-2)

  • Likely to be traded, Nicholas Castellanos is on pace to top 50 doubles.

29. Kansas City Royals (–)

  • All-Star voting finalist Hunter Dozier returns after missing three weeks.

30. Baltimore Orioles (–)

  • Lost 17 of their first 21 games in June.
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