And the Twins finally fall back into last place - getting swept in a four game series with the Orioles (at home, no less) will do that.
Just as a reminder: some of the things that go into these rankings include runs scored and allowed, run distributions, wOBA, wRC, FIP, xFIP, DRS, UZR, etc., Base Runs, BABIP and HR/FB% adjustments, and our guts.
| Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Comments |
| 1 | Yankees | 78 | 51 | Not only is David Robertson leading the AL in strike-out rate at 13.6 K/9, but he's the only guy with 50 IP with 0 HR allowed. |
| 2 | Phillies | 83 | 46 | Cliff Lee in August: 0.58 ERA, 2.14 FIP. And yet his 2.59 xFIP makes it only his third best month this year. |
| 3 | Red Sox | 82 | 51 | Jacoby Ellsbury came into 2011 with 20 career home runs in 1,513 PA - he has 23 homers in the 591 PA this year. |
| 4 | Rangers | 75 | 59 | As a flyball pitcher with a 12.3% HR/FB, Colby Lewis has been taken deep more than any other AL pitcher (1.6 HR/9). |
| 5 | Brewers | 80 | 54 | Corey Hart has homered 8 times in the last month, getting his wRC+ up to what would be a career high 135. |
| 6 | Rays | 72 | 59 | James Shields just became the second pitcher in the last 10 years with 10 complete games in a season (CC in '08). |
| 7 | Braves | 79 | 54 | Brandon Beachy is leading all Braves starters - and all major league rookie starters - with a 4.0 K/BB ratio. |
| 8 | Cardinals | 69 | 64 | Marc Rzepczynski has done a nice job in relief since coming over from Toronto; 0.82 ERA with a 2.52 xFIP. |
| 9 | Angels | 72 | 60 | Jerome Williams was very good in his first major league start since 2007; 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K. |
| 10 | Diamondbacks | 74 | 59 | David Hernandez's transition to flame-throwing reliever seems to have gone well; 94.5 mph fastball, 9.8 K/9. |
| 11 | Tigers | 73 | 59 | Justin Verlander - with 20 wins already - has a chance to be the first pitcher since Bob Welch in 1990 with more than 24. |
| 12 | Reds | 66 | 66 | Only 4 Reds - Votto, Phillips, Bruce, and Stubbs - have more than 325 PA this year; fewer than any other team. |
| 13 | White Sox | 65 | 65 | A 3.24 xFIP from their pitchers in August has Chicago above .500 and in second place in the AL Central. |
| 14 | Blue Jays | 66 | 66 | Jose Bautista leads the majors with 106 walks; also with 87 unintentional walks (more than all but 3 guys have total BB). |
| 15 | Mets | 62 | 68 | Chris Capuano's complete game 13 K, 2 H, 0 BB shutout recently was the highest game score (96) of the season. |
| 16 | Rockies | 63 | 70 | Over the last two years, no pitcher in baseball has a better K-BB ratio than Rafael Betancourt's 9.5. |
| 17 | Dodgers | 62 | 69 | James Loney has 4 home runs in August; he hasn't hit more than that many in a month since 9 in September of 2007. |
| 18 | Giants | 71 | 62 | They're still in second place, but have the worst run differential in the division (454 scored, 471 allowed). |
| 19 | Athletics | 60 | 73 | Gio Gonzalez is having a nice season (3.35 ERA), but he has the highest walk rate amongst starters in the majors (4.2 BB/9). |
| 20 | Indians | 65 | 64 | Cleveland recently fell under .500 for the first time since April 3rd, which is also the last time they were in 3rd place (till now). |
| 21 | Padres | 60 | 73 | After a bit of a rougher start this year, Mat Latos has his ERA down to 3.74 with a solid August (2.45 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 3.39 xFIP). |
| 22 | Royals | 54 | 79 | Felipe Paulino has proven to be a nice pick-up for KC; only 2-6 but with a 3.83 ERA, 3.42 FIP, and 3.92 xFIP. |
| 23 | Marlins | 59 | 72 | Since the start of the 2010 season, only Brian McCann and Mike Napoli have hit more homers amongst catchers than John Buck. |
| 24 | Nationals | 62 | 69 | Though he was decent as a starter (4.56 FIP), Tom Gorzelanny has been even better since moving to the pen (1.71 FIP). |
| 25 | Cubs | 57 | 76 | With a strong finish, Marlon Byrd could earn his total contract in both just 2010 (4.3 fWAR) and 2011 (2.6 fWAR in only 94 games). |
| 26 | Mariners | 56 | 75 | For a guy that throws 95+ mph, Brandon League sure relies on limiting walks and flyballs for his success (just 6.4 K/9). |
| 27 | Pirates | 62 | 70 | Before being put on the DL last week, Kevin Correia had given up 8 home runs in his last 20.1 IP. |
| 28 | Orioles | 52 | 77 | Tommy Hunter since joining the Orioles; 5.97 ERA with a 2.8 K/9 (though the 4.39 xFIP isn't awful). Building block! |
| 29 | Astros | 43 | 90 | Yeah he's making a fair bit of money, but Wandy Rodriguez isn't a bad pitcher; 21st in the majors in xFIP from 2008-20111 at 3.63. |
| 30 | Twins | 55 | 77 | Denard Span (+18 UZR/150) plus Ben Revere (+19 UZR/150) plus almost anyone might be the best defensive outfield in the majors. |