Even after trading their closer, Ryan Helsley, as well as Steven Matz and Phil Maton, the Cardinals are still within striking distance in the NL Wild Card race. They get the Rockies to begin the week before a series against the scuffling Yankees, so there’s opportunity this week.

The line between contenders and non-contenders becomes clearer after the annual trade deadline, but there are inevitably still a handful of teams that will reside on the fringe of contention heading into September.

We’re graduating from our usual MLB power rankings and moving to weekly contender rankings, turning the focus to the teams worth paying attention to down the stretch.