Phillies finally getting respect with big jump up MLB Power Rankings

The Philadelphia Phillies finished the first week of May with the best record in baseball at 26-11 (.703), and currently sit atop the National League East standings in first place with a 3.0 game lead over the rival Atlanta Braves. What a difference a month has made for a Phillies team that lost the first two series of the season. They have since battled their way back to remind the baseball world that they are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball.

The Phillies' poor start during the first week of the season certainly influenced how the baseball world viewed the team. When weekly power rankings were released by MLB.com during the month of April, it was hard not to notice the Phillies found themselves barely cracking the top ten at the bottom of the list. Over the last three weeks alone, the Phillies were ranked No. 8, and, most recently, No. 7 a week ago.

How many series did the Phillies need to win to at least crack the top five?

Well, we're happy to report MLB.com writer Will Leitch has finally come around on the Philadelphia Phillies, and this week the team made quite a jump up the list when the most recent MLB Power Rankings were released on Monday.

Phillies finally getting respect with big jump up MLB Power Rankings

The Phillies have jumped four spots from seventh in MLB's Power Rankings last week to a season-high ranking of No. 3 this week. Leitch explained the reasoning behind the Phillies' recent move up the power rankings.

"After years of being the team in the NL East that was good but not the Braves, the Phillies finally took over first place from them this week," Leitch writes. "The three days they have been in first place are more than the one day they were in first place in 2022 and 2023 combined ... years in which they made the World Series and the NLCS, respectively."

While the Phillies haven't exactly been beating top MLB competition over the last three weeks, the team has done what good teams are supposed to while facing a host of teams that have records of .500 or less. The Phillies' recent 9-1 stretch of dominant baseball coincides with a Braves team that has been scuffling of late. With a record of 4-6 over their last 10 games, the Braves' poor play has helped the Phillies take over first place in the NL East.

Let's hope it stays that way.