Power Rankings 6 10 13

Power Rankings! 

1.      Cardinals: 41-22

Last Week: 1

ESPN Rank: 1

Yadier Molina is showing that he’s the best catcher by having a .354/.394/.493, even though he served that suspension. The Cards have the best pitching and a solid offense, and just took 2 of 3 from the Reds. They really can’t be beat. 

2.      Braves: 39-24

Last Week: 7

ESPN Rank: 3

Sweeping the Pirates and taking 3 of 4 from the Nationals is the reason for the big jump. Right now they have no trouble in taking the NL East.

3.      Red Sox: 39-25

Last Week: 4

ESPN Rank: 2

The Red Sox have a tough week ahead, playing the red hot Rays, then having a four game series with the Orioles. They’re going to need to win at least 4 of the 7 to try and stay in first place of the AL East.

4.      A’s: 38-27

Last Week: 5

ESPN Rank: 4

Bartolo Colon has been hot like the rest of the team, having a 1.50 ERA in his last 5 starts. They should be worried though with him since he was on the Miami list. Yoenis Cespedes has been a great young player though, he’s leading the team with 13 homers. 

5.      Rangers: 37-25

Last Week: 2

ESPN Rank: 6

Not surprised that the A’s have come back to a half game back from the Rangers. They are slowly losing it, which is why I have the A’s ahead of them. In June, they’ve only hit .209 with a .286 OBP in June. That’s good for the Marlins, but not for the Rangers.

6.      Reds: 37-26

Last Week: 3

ESPN Rank: 5

Cincy has an amazing starting rotation, with Jhonny Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake, Homer Bailey, and Bronson Arroyo. However, their bullpen has stunk it up this past week, giving up 23 runs in 18.2 innings. That’s so surprising when they have Aroldis Chapman, Sam LeCure, Jonathan Broxton, and J.J. Hoover in the ‘pen. 

7.      Pirates: 37-26

Last Week: 6

ESPN Rank: 8

Jeff Locke continues to be dazzling as he’s 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA. Their closer, Jason Grilli, is like Fernando Rodney last year: he has a .98 ERA with 23 saves, and a 14.96 K/9 ratio. Aaaaah! Get some more from their offense and they could be the top team in the Central, but it’s too tough of a division to even try. 

8.      Yankees: 37-26

Last Week: 11

ESPN Rank: 9

Good for the Yankees for coming back after a small downfall in the rankings. Mo Rivera looks as good as always, being tied in the league with 23 saves. Also congrats to Andy Pettite for his 250^th career win. I don’t know if he’s hall of fame worthy, but what an amazing career nonetheless. 

9.      D-Backs: 35-28

Last Week: 8

ESPN Rank: 10

I know everyone can’t stop talking about him, but how can you not? Paul Goldschmidt is batting .431 with a .914 slugging % with runners in scoring position. Right now it’s between him and Troy Tulowitzki in the NL MVP Race.

10.  Tigers: 35-26

Last Week: 12

ESPN Rank: 7

There’s Justin Verlander, and Anibal Sanchez, but how about Max Scherzer? He has the 3^rd most strikeouts and has a .185 batting average against. And there’s no problem with their offense, being possibly the best statistically, as well as having Miguel Cabrera play better than last year, which I thought wasn’t possible.

11.  Orioles: 35-28

Last Week: 9

ESPN Rank: 12

Luckily the O’s have the best slugging percentage in baseball, because their pitching rotation is one of the worst in the league. This week they play the Angels and the Red Sox, both at home. Their 15-13 record at home won’t put them up much this week, as they are 3.5 games back from the Red Sox.

12.  Rays: 34-28

Last Week: 10

ESPN Rank: 11

Just when the Rays pitching starts to come together, when Alex Cobb is throwing lights out, and David Price coming back by the end of the month, Matt Moore decides to suck and get crushed by teams. Don’t worry, Rays fans. Matt Moore got rocked by one of the best offenses in the league, the Orioles, and he doesn’t have to face the Red Sox this week. He needs to get back on track, but with Cobb having a 2.35 ERA, there’s no need to worry. 

13.  Giants: 33-29

Last Week: 14

ESPN Rank: 14

One of my favorite players, Marco Scutaro, is batting over .400 since the month of May. It’s not often when someone is hitting in their prime when they are 37 years old. But that’s what the Giants have: random guys that can play the game. Take Barry Zito, for example. He hasn’t pitched as well since his miraculous ’02 year, but his postseason pitching has always been spectacular. When you’re on a playoff team like the Giants, it helps a lot. I still do think that this team can get into the playoffs, but they do need to be more than only 4 games over .500.

14.  Rockies: 34-30

Last Week: 15

ESPN Rank: 13

Frankly there is no difference between the Giants and the Rockies right now in record, but I give props to the Rockies for keeping pace with the D-Backs and Giants. It helps when you have a plus 36 run differential, as well as being 21-16 in the NL West. What also helps is having a guy like Troy Tulowitzki, who is batting over .350 and is one of the best defensive shortstop in the game. 

15.  Phillies: 31-33

Last Week: 18

ESPN Rank: 15

Before losing 3 in a row, the Phillies went on a tear that put them in 2^nd place in the NL East. Watch them try to buy some players at the deadline, and watch those players not be able to put the Phils in a playoff position. But they do have Domonic Brown, who has carried the team in hitting with his 19 HR's. watch out for him, he's only 25 years old.

16.  Indians: 30-32

Last Week:

ESPN Rank: 16

The Tribe have lost 7 in a row, yet they are still in 2^nd place in the Central. Detroit is starting to pull away now, and Cleveland cannot keep up. 

17.  Nats: 31-31

Last Week: 16

ESPN Rank: 17

The Nationals’ offense is really starting to click, but my god somebody needs to tell them that they’re not a .500 team and should start playing better ball. That is all. 

18.  Padres: 29-34

Last Week: 17

ESPN Rank: 19

Evereth Cabrera leads the league again in steals, but this time he’s batted much more. Right now he has a WAR of 2.7 and is a top candidate in the all-star ballot. Expect him and Jedd Gyorko to be a dominating force in the later years. 

19.  Royals: 28-32

Last Week: 28

ESPN Rank: 18

The Royals? What? They’ve won their last 7 of 10, and are almost back to .500. It might be because they hired a new hitting coach, but also is because their pitching has been stellar. They might be streaky, but right now they are hot. 

20.  Twins: 27-33

Last Week: 19

ESPN Rank: 20

The Twins have lots of potential in their farm system, and have moved out of last place in the AL Central, but they still need to improve their pitching rotation. Vance Worley has had 10 starts, and has only gotten 1 win. 

21.  Dodgers: 27-35

Last Week: 22

ESPN Rank: 21

Who is Yasiel Puig? He is the next big thing in L.A. Check out my blog on him from a couple of days ago and you’ll see why. Not only can he hit for power and contact, but he can gun a man out from right field on a fly. 

22.  Cubs: 25-35

Last Week: 20

ESPN Rank: 25

After winning 5 games in a row, the Cubs split with the Angels and lost the series to the Pirates. They are now 1-5 against Pittsburgh, and continue to struggle in games against opponents above .500. They did, however, gain some power in the draft by selecting the 2^nd overall draft pick, Kris Bryant.

23.  Angels: 27-36

Last Week: 21

ESPN Rank: 22

This week, the Angels have to go through both the Yankees and the Orioles. Now is the time where America’s bandwagon team falls down even more. 

24.  Mariners: 27-37

Last Week: 25

ESPN Rank: 24

Hisashi Iwakuma and King Felix have a combined 2.23 ERA. They just might be the best duo in the American League. But when only 3 starters bat over .250, you’re gonna have a bad time.

25.  Blue Jays: 27-35

Last Week: 24

ESPN Rank: 23

What was expected in the offseason was that reigning Cy Young pitcher R.A. Dickey would be the Blue Jays’ best pitcher. What they didn’t expect: him having only 5 wins with a 4.66 ERA. However, their bullpen has been stellar.

26.  White Sox: 27-34

Last Week: 23

ESPN Rank: 26

After losing 8 in a row, the White Sox pulled out a victory in 16 innings. Unfortunately, they’re playing the hottest team in baseball, the Oakland Athletics. They have dropped to last place in arguably the worst division in baseball, as well as forming what is becoming the worst offense in the American League.

27.  Brewers: 25-37

Last Week: 27

ESPN Rank: 27

After a pretty good start, the Brewers have just lost it. After the alleged suspensions with Ryan Braun and steroid usage, they may lose their best player too.

28.  Mets: 23-35

Last Week: 26

ESPN Rank: 28

The Mets have given the Marlins 8 of their 18 wins. How? I don’t know. Something needs to change with that.

29.  Astros: 22-42

Last Week: 29

ESPN Rank: 29

They played better ball this past week, but now have lost 4 in a row. They need pitching, that’s for sure, but they just received the #1 draft pick, Mark Appel. Appel is a hard throwing righty who people are comparing to Mark Prior. It was kind of a surprise pick for the ‘stros, but a good pick. He could be pitching at the end of next year and be a good starter in 2015.

30.  Marlins: 18-44

Last Week: 30

ESPN Rank: 30

Good for the Marlins in beating the Mets in 20 innings. However, it seems like the Mets are the only team the Marlins can beat. That’s a problem. Another problem: their best batting average with a minimum of games played is Juan Pierre, batting .238.

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd

“Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?” –Jim Bouton