We're not going to mince words here: TheMiami Marlinsare for real. We can talk about it now, because the Marlins, arguablyMajor League Baseball's most forgotten franchise, have reached the .500 mark after arousing weekend sweepof the New York Yankees, who have their own issues to worry about. But there's one team – theMilwaukee Brewers– that's played as well as the Marlins since June 13, when they began a roll that's now at 30 wins in 44 games and resulted in them being very much alive rather than a carcass to be picked over at the July 31 trade deadline. Heck, they evenheld onto franchise bulwark Sandy Alcantara, which may or may not portend positive things for a winter to build upon this surprise season. Miami's pitching staff leads the majors in WHIP (1.06) and the NL in ERA (3.16) since June 27, a 31-game stretch. For now, though, the Marlins have zoomed up four more spots in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings – and are even loitering on the fringes of the NL wild-card race, six games out but with three teams to pass. But if they keep up this pace, there's no ceiling that can stop them. A look at our updated rankings: Banged out a franchise-record 56 hits in three-game sweep of Nationals. All-Star Game headed to Wrigley in 2027. Which uniform will Kyle Tucker be wearing? Don't look now, but Max Scherzer has struck out 16, walked none and won each of his past two starts. Can they unlock a closer-like performance from newly acquired Kyle Finnegan? Jhoan Duran's dominant stuff accompanied his personal intro on trip from Minnesota to Philly. Max Muncy is ready to return, with Tommy Edman likely replacing him on the IL. Cedric Mullinswill fit very snugly on their playoff roster. Has anyone ever rebuttedA.J. Prellerwhen he simply asked, "Why not?" Carlos Correa still eight days away from playing his first home game at Minut-, errr, Daikin Park since Game 6 of the 2021 World Series. Once again, a pretty lame deadline, but Steven Matz is low-key a useful bullpen piece. Big series win against a Rangers team suddenly right in their way. Hard for Brian Cashman to blame Aaron Boone when the players he acquired blew up in the skipper's face. Survived the Speedway semi-debacle. Will rest of season be a red flag? Jacob deGrom the fastest to 1,800 strikeouts in both innings (1,493 ⅓) and games (240). A "soft sell" at the deadline, if you will, but now they're back at .500. One more run in 'em? Kyle Stowers with a shot at 40 homers. You'd think Emmanuel Clase would be the cautionary tale that gets ballplayers' attention. .500 looking like their destiny. Mike Yastrzemski kind of a nice "Why the hell not?" pickup. Have now lost 11 of 16 since break. Taylor Ward now with a career-high 26 home runs, his latest a walk-off. The Jordan Montgomery Era really was something. Like many Americans, they're struggling to be debt-free. The deadline decimated entire roster, but lineup has responded; bullpen has not. Don't think anyone will complain if someone calls the Speedway trophy "a piece of metal." Just 23 wins in Yolo County; only Rockies, Nationals have fewer at home. The trade of moderate success story Bailey Falter was moderately depressing. Run differential now minus-134; only Rockies (-277) are worse. Luis Robert is still here. At least a few of their bros on the Yankees give them something to root for. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MLB power rankings: Marlins have been best team in baseball