Power Rankings: 7 6 13

Pirates Stay On Top

I’ll admit, this week was tough to pick some teams. It was hard in the middle range, because apparently only 14 teams have winning records now. Ah well, you’ll see the surprises and such.

Note: ESPN Rankings don’t come out until Monday, so until then, these are the ones from last Monday.

1.      Pittsburgh: 53-32

Last Week: 1

ESPN Rank: 1

Pirates fans are now starting to believe that this really is the year for the Pirates. They could be right. I really love watching this team because they can do everything. For offense they use their speed and their amazing ability to score with RISP. Starling Marte gets on with a bloop single or even a bunt, then steals. Neil Walker then moves him to third or drives him in. Then the next two batters are Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez. We’ve seen how well McCutchen can play, but have you noticed Alvarez? The guy has 21 homers and 56 RBI’s. They have power, speed, and contact on their offense. Don’t be fooled by their offensive stats because they can hit well. But when they don’t, they have some amazing pitching to pick up a win. Francisco Liriano pitched the first complete game yesterday for the team. If they don’t get support from their starters though, Jason Grilli can help close it with no worries. Yeah, Pirates fans should start thinking that this could be the year.

2.      Red Sox: 54-34

Last Week: 3

ESPN Rank: 3

Their offense is 1^st in runs (451), OBP (.351), and Slugging % (.449), as well as 2^nd in batting average (.279). There is no doubt that their offense is good. With Clayton Buchholz out still though, they have only three main starters, all of whom have ERA’s over 4. 

3.      Cardinals: 51-34

Last Week: 2

ESPN Rank: 2

The Cardinals are still an amazing team, and probably should be your favorite to win the pennant since they’re so good in the playoffs. Though they are two games out from the Pirates, they hold one wild card spot with ease. They also have the highest run differential at +120. 

4.      A’s: 51-36

Last Week: 5

ESPN Rank: 5

The A’s lost Brett Anderson to the 60-Day DL yesterday, but the pitching will still be fine, as Anderson went 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA. Grant Balfour now has 22 saves and a 1.82 ERA. Also someone please notice Josh Donaldson; he bats .313/.381/.522 with 14 homers, 55 RBI’s, and a 3.8 WAR.

5.      Braves: 49-37

Last Week: 6

ESPN Rank: 6

Atlanta has now lost 3 in a row, but have no problem trying to win out the East. They still have the 2^nd best ERA (3.24) and the 4^th best batting average allowed (.243). After his red hot start though, Justin Upton now only bats .248 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs. He only hit one homer in June, and two in May. The last time he hit a homer was June 12^th. 

6.      Rangers: 50-36

Last Week: 4

ESPN Rank: 4

The Rangers lost first place to the A’s, but no worries, they are only a half game out. They have the best road record in the American League at 24-18, and a nice 26-18 record at home. They have dealt with plenty of injuries though. Starting Pitchers Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison, as well as reliever Joakim Soria are all on the 60-Day DL. 

7.      Reds: 49-37

Last Week: 8

ESPN Rank: 8

Homer Bailey's no hitter was the first one this year, and threw the last no hitter last year. They have such a great pitching roster that could be scary if they keep it up by the end of the year. Yes, they are in 3^rd place, but if they were in any other division, they’d be in first or second place. 

8.      Tigers: 47-38

Last Week: 9

ESPN Rank: 9

Yes Max Scherzer is 13-0, and he is a good pitcher, but remember he has one of the best offenses to back him up. If Clayton Kershaw was on the Tigers, he’d be 13-0 as well. That’s why I think Scherzer is having the season of his career, but should not win the Cy Young Award (see my post on the Mariners below). Miguel Cabrera should win the MVP though, leading the team in literally every category on offense, especially with his .451 OBP and his 5.7 offensive WAR. 

9.      Orioles: 48-39

Last Week: 7

ESPN Rank: 7

The Orioles acquired pitcher Scott Feldman from the Cubs, which could really help this poor, poor pitching organization. Jim Johnson is pitching just like last year, and now leads the MLB with 29 saves. However, he’s blown plenty of saves, and is now 2-7 on the year.

10.  Yankees: 47-39

Last Week: 13

ESPN Rank: 12

The Yankees are hot, and have been winning in dramatic fashion. They just stunned the Orioles to walk off with their 5^th win in a row. Their run differential is exactly 0, and are still dealing with injuries, but are not out of this race yet. 

11.  Indians: 45-41

Last Week: 11

ESPN Rank: 11

The Indians had first place before the Tigers won 5 in a row, and are now 2.5 games out of first. They’ve lost 3 in a row now, and are only 4 games above .500. What sucks more is that while they’re cold and the Tigers are hot, guess who they have to play? The Tigers, of course.

12.  Rays: 47-40

Last Week: 12

ESPN Rank: 13

They Rays have won 7 of their last 10, and although they are in 4^th place, they have above a 50% chance of getting into the playoffs. This is now their chance to gain some ground before the all-star break, as they play the White Sox, Twins, and Astros, all at home.

13.  D-Backs: 45-41

Last Week: 10

ESPN Rank: 11

The D-Backs were close to going .500 and still be in first place in their division, which infuriated me. Luckily, they have won 3 in a row, and Paul Goldschmidt is playing like an MVP still. But good god, they need more than just 4 games above .500! If they were in any other league, they would be getting rocked!

14.  Nationals: 44-42

Last Week: 14

ESPN Rank: 14

This could be the time where the Nationals start to play more than just .500 ball. They have won 2 in a row, and have two more games at home against the Padres. They then go on a 7 game road trip before the break, but are playing the Phillies and the Marlins. They could seriously capitalize if they try.

15.  Dodgers: 41-44

Last Week: 20

ESPN Rank: 20

The Dodgers brought them out of a hole and back into the race, now only 3.5 games out of the D-Backs. Yesterday, Juan Uribe had 7 RBI’s as the Dodgers crushed the Giants, 10-2. That’s what Dodgers fans want to see more. They have the potential, marked by their highest salary cap in baseball, but they just need to get it done. 

16.  Blue Jays: 42-44

Last Week: 15

ESPN Rank: 16

The Blue Jays are 11 games out of first place, and I doubt they’ll get back in, but at least they’re playing better than when they started. They need more from their position at 2^nd base, as they bat only .219 at that position. They could go for Chase Utley, the highest 2^nd baseman at the trading block right now.

17.  Angels: 41-45

Last Week: 21

ESPN Rank: 21

The Angels won 7 in a row before to get the back to 3 games under .500, and look to win their next two games against Boston to win the series. They could finish the half at .500, but they need to play real well on the road, as they go to Chicago (Cubs) and Seattle. Also, congrats to Jered Weaver, whose wife just had a baby.

18.  Rockies: 42-45

Last Week: 16

ESPN Rank: 15

The Rockies are just 3.5 games out of Arizona, but their pitching needs to do better if they want to win anything. Although their hitting is very good, as it should be in Colorado, but it would be even better if they had Troy Tulowitzki back. 

19.  Phillies: 42-45

Last Week: 22

ESPN Rank: 19

The Phillies have some really good young talent in Ben Revere and Domonic Brown. Both are 25, and are probably the best offensive players for them right now. It would be a shame to see Chase Utley leave, as he was such an amazing player on the Phillies, but I can see it happening this month. I’m glad Ryan Howard is back this season, but he doesn’t have the power as he did before. He only has 11 homers and 43 RBI’s this year, which is good, but not for him. 

20.  Royals: 40-43

Last Week: 18

ESPN Rank: 22

The Ervin Santana and James Shields combo is pretty good. Santana has a 2.84 ERA and a 2.1 WAR, while Shields has a 3.23 ERA and 107 K’s. However, they both combine for only 8 wins. 

21.  Giants: 39-46

Last Week: 19

ESPN Rank: 18

Not only did the Giants get no-hit this week, but they also got crushed by teams, especially last night against the Dodgers. There’s nothing that stands out with this team, in my opinion. Marco Scutaro has a .313 batting average, while Madison Bumgarner has a 3.08 ERA with 107 K’s. That’s about it though. It’ll be interesting to hear today who gets the all-star nod for the team. 

22.  Padres: 40-47

Last Week: 17

ESPN Rank: 17

Remember last week when the Padres were .500? Yeah, they’re 7 games under now. So, if you do the math, yes, they have lost 7 games in a row. Will they win a game in July?!? My guess is yes.

That was a joke, I hope you got that.

23.  Mariners: 38-48

Last Week: 25

ESPN Rank: 24

Hisashi Iwakuma right now deserves the AL Cy Young Award. He’s 7-4 with a 2.60 ERA, a .882 WHIP, and a 5.72 K/BB ratio. Everything except for his record is the best in the AL. He also has a 3.8 WAR. Him and Felix Hernandez are a scary duo, and if anyone else I think deserves the Cy Young Award, it be Hernandez. Had enough with Max Scherzer?

24.  Twins: 36-47

Last Week: 23

ESPN Rank: 23

The lowest ERA for starters on the Twins is Kevin Correia, with a 4.19 ERA. Eeeeh. That explains their team 4.47 ERA (29^th in MLB), 31 quality starts (30^th), 1.41 WHIP (29^th) and .284 batting average allowed (30^th). It looks like Mauer will get the call again for the all-star game.

25.  Cubs: 36-48

Last Week: 24

ESPN Rank: 25

The Cubs began the trading process, as they traded away pitchers Scott Feldman and Carlos Marmol, as well as catcher Steve Clevenger, for starter Jake Arrieta and relievers Matt Guerrier and Pedro Strop. They are banking on international players, though. They signed Gleyber Torres, Jefferson Mejia, Erling Moreno, Johan Matos, and Eloy Jimenez to contracts. Jimenez is the number 1 international prospect at 16 years of age.

26.  Mets: 36-47

Last Week: 28

ESPN Rank: 28

We’ll find out tonight if Matt Harvey will get the nod to start the all-star game. They need more hitting though, David Wright can’t do it all. I don’t see them going big in trading this month, but they do have some prospects that they might want to bring up.

27.  White Sox: 34-49

Last Week: 26

ESPN Rank: 26

Chris Sale has a 2.79 ERA this year, a .96 WHIP, and a .202 BAA. He’s only 24 years old, and could easily be the face of the White Sox for the next ten years. Speaking of faces, Paul Konerko went on the DL, so now the Sox really do have nothing on offense.

28.  Brewers: 34-51

Last Week: 27

ESPN Rank: 28

Good news for the Brewers, in that Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez should get the starts for the NL all-star game. Bad news: everything else on their team is crappy. 

29.  Marlins: 32-53

Last Week: 30

ESPN Rank: 30

Congrats to the Marlins! For the first time in all of my power rankings, they have moved out of 30^th place! Woo! Even with that, though, they still have the number 30 in their lives. They are 30^th in the four main categories of offense, runs (277), batting average (.232), OBP (.290) and SLG % (.339). That’s jus miserable. But they have played well, though. They’ve now won 7 of their last 10, and have had some quality starts from pitchers like Jose Fernandez, Jacob Turner, and Nate Eovaldi. Say goodbye to Ricky Nolasco though, because he’s so gone by the trade deadline. 

30.  Astros: 31-56

Last Week: 29

ESPN Rank: 29

The Astros already have a -136 run differential, which is absolutely horrible. But not only can they not hit, but they can’t pitch! They have a league worst 4.83 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. They have plenty of stuff to build upon, but the way it’s looking, it won’t come until #1 draft pick Mark Appel is a star. Speaking of Appel, his first outing in Single A didn’t go to well, as he gave up 2 runs in 2 innings while striking out 1. Welcome to the big leagues.

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

-Evan Boyd