Power Rankings! Let’s see where
each team is at right before the all-star break. Some big changes, and some
teams stay the same.
1.
Cardinals: 56-36
Last Week: 3
ESPN Rank: 1
You might disagree, but right now their
+123 run differential is really convincing me. Edward Mujica went 26/27 in save
opportunities this half, posting a 2.27 ERA. He helps quality starts from Adam
Wainwright, Shelby Miller, and Lance Lynn not go to waste. Speaking of
Wainwright, he’s back as his usual self with a 12-5 record and a 2.30 ERA. I am
still surprised that the Cardinals won the World Series two years ago even
without Wainwright all season (he had Tommy John surgery). They might have the
NL Rookie of the Year in Shelby Miller too. He’s 9-6 with a 2.92 ERA, and has
2.5 WAR. Pretty good for a youngster. And if I had to pick an NL MVP right now
at half, it’d be catcher Yadier Molina. He bats .334/.381/.473, and is probably
the best defensive catcher in baseball. The Cardinals have four starters
batting over .300 (Molina, Allen Craig, Matt Carpenter, and Carlos Beltran). There’s
still another half to go, but the Cardinals will be the most consistent.
2.
Pirates: 56-36
Last Week: 1
ESPN Rank:3
This Pirates team is much different
from their usual “start well, then choke after the all-star break” motto. I
think almost all of that notion comes from their pitching (because their
hitting is actually sub-par). They have the best ERA (3.06) and batting average
allowed (.225), and they have young talent that’s helped them get there. Jeff
Locke is only 25 years old, and is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA. They only have two
official starters that qualify for titles (Locke and A.J. Burnett), but guys
like Francisco Liriano and future star Gerrit Cole are making this team win.
Liriano is 9-3 with a 2.00 ERA, and Cole is 4-2 with a 3.68 ERA. And we can’t
forget Jason Grilli, who has posted 29 saves already. Don’t let their batting
deceive you though, they still have guys like Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez,
and Starling Marte, who also can play amazing defense and have speed or power
to get on. Marte is the next future star as well. I’m excited to see this team
perform next half.
3.
Red Sox: 58-38
Last Week: 2
ESPN Rank:2
What John Farrell has done to this
team is astounding. He rebounded from a terrible year managed by Bobby
Valentine, and has made the best out of his team. For example, David Ortiz
looked like his career was winding down, but actually his physicality showed
that he still had some stuff in him, which was a great move to keep him by the
organization. He bats .322/.405/.615 with 19 homers and 65 RBI’s. Or how about
the emergence of young talent in Daniel Nava and Jose Iglesias? Or the
brilliance in Clay Buchholz? If he was healthy, he’d probably be on track to
win the Cy Young Award. And when Koji Uehara (my favorite) rescued the bullpen
to close, it seems like Farrell made the right decisions. The Red Sox are on
track to win 98 games, which will get them the top bid in the tough AL East.
4.
Athletics: 55-39
Last Week: 4
ESPN Rank:5
The team only put one person
(Bartolo Colon) into the all-star game. This is a team that has 55 wins. How
this happens, I don’t know. But hey, maybe it’s for the best. Manager Bob
Melvin knows what he’s doing. So if Josh Donaldson, Yoenis Cespedes (who is
hitting in the Home Run Derby, but is not an all-star, and yes that can happen)
and A.J. Griffin don’t get into the all-star game, who cares? They’ll be ready
to see the guys that were in October anyways.
5.
Rangers: 54-40
Last Week: 6
ESPN Rank:7
Finally, the Rangers were the first
team to hand Tigers’ Max Scherzer a loss. One player that has been under the
radar for some reason is 3B Adrian Beltre. This is the guy that finished 3rd
in the MVP Race last year, and would’ve won MVP in 2004 if Bonds didn’t kick
ass that year. This year he’s batting .318/.359/.547 with 21 homers and a 3.4 WAR. In the past week he’s batted .429 too. He is a really good hitter,
probably the best on the Rangers, so I don’t get why nobody talks about him.
6. Braves: 54-40
Last Week: 5
ESPN Rank: 6
Remember when Justin Upton was on
track to have the best year ever? Yeah, he’s batting .219 since May 1st.
B.J. Upton has been doing just as bad. It’s not been a good year for the Upton
brothers. At least they have pitching and future stars Mike Minor and Julio
Teheran. Craig Kimbrel is also pitching like, well you know, Craig Kimbrel.
They still have an easy lead in the NL East, and unless anyone in the East
wants to change that, they have a slow ride to first place.
7.
Rays: 54-41
Last Week: 12
ESPN Rank:4
They had an easy schedule before
the break, playing the Astros and White Sox. But hey, they took advantage,
going 6-1 against the club. They now have won 9 of their last 10, and are now
only 3.5 games out from Boston. What a great way to end the first half.
8.
Reds: 52-42
Last Week: 7
ESPN Rank:8
The Reds have won only one of their
past six series, in which their only success was sweeping the Giants, and that
was when Homer Bailey threw a no-hitter. They have a comfortable 10 games over
.500, but are now 5 games out of the Pirates and Cardinals. What’s nice to see
is that they still have a comfortable spot in the all-star break. I can see
them coming out of this slump and go hot though.
9. Orioles: 52-43
Last Week: 9
ESPN Rank: 10
Jim Johnson has the most saves in
the MLB, but also the most blown saves. How that happens, I don’t know. But
what I do know is that the Orioles have now lost their spot in the wild card, and
are now 2 games out. Chris Davis has also cooled. They can’t wait for the
all-star break.
10. Tigers: 51-42
Last Week: 8
ESPN Rank:9
The Tigers were able to keep their
lead in the Central after facing the Indians, but now they have the Rangers to
close out, and Max Scherzer is no longer undefeated. They still have one of the
best offenses in the country, if not the best, and I like their chances in
October if they can keep it up.
11.
D-Backs: 50-44
Last Week: 13
ESPN Rank: 14
The D-Backs are still only 6 games
over .500, but hey, they’re in first place and that’s what matters. They have
an easy schedule to start off the second half as well. Patrick Corbin, the 23
year old, is now 11-1 with a 2.35 ERA and a .206 BAA. Paul Goldschmidt bats
.310/.394/.557 with 21 homers and 77 RBI’s. That duo combines for an 8.1 WAR.
Will they win their respective rewards? Goldschmidt might, I don’t think Corbin
will win anything even if he keeps it up.
12.
Yankees: 51-43
Last Week: 10
ESPN Rank:11
The Yankees are eight games over
.500, but only have a +4 run differential. That’s probably because their
hitting is mediocre, being 27th in the league in slugging % (.376).
Without Robinson Cano, who has 21 homers and 64 RBI’s, I don’t know where this
offense would be. They welcome back Derek Jeter though, who made his first
performance ever since getting injured in the ALCS, but don’t expect him to
come back 100% healthy any time soon. He left the game he played after going
1-4.
13.
Indians: 50-44
Last Week: 11
ESPN Rank: 12
Props to Terry Francona and
Cleveland for keeping up with the Tigers, I thought they would fall off by now.
They are only a game and a half out of the Tigers, and could fall back in first
after the break. Their 29-19 record at home can really help with games down the
stretch.
14.
Dodgers: 47-46
Last Week: 15
ESPN Rank: 15
Yasiel Puig didn’t make it into the
all-star game, and rightfully so. But hey, they still have Clayton Kershaw, who
enters the all-star break with an ERA under 2. Though they are only 1 game
above .500, they are only 2.5 games out of first place. Watch Zack Greinke get
red hot after he threw a 2-hit shutout against the Rockies.
15.
Nationals: 47-47
Last Week: 14
ESPN Rank: 13
The Nationals are starting to live
up to expectations, but still can’t play more than .500 ball. For Christ sake,
they’re a team that could win 100 games, but they can’t get past .500! They
were 4 games over .500 earlier before, but now have lost their last 3 games and
are still struggling. They are 20-29 on the road; that needs to change. But
before Strasburg got rocked by the terrible Marlins, he had a 2.40 ERA. Did
anyone realize that?
16.
Phillies: 47-48
Last Week: 19
ESPN Rank:17
The Phillies have moved to what was
four games under to just 1 game under .500. Not bad, but that’s still not going
to get them into the playoffs. Poor Ryan Howard though, he’s back on the DL and
it looks like he’ll stay there. Same with Roy Halladay, he’s on the 60-day DL.
17.
Blue Jays: 45-48
Last Week: 16
ESPN Rank: 18
Right now the Jays are 11.5 games
back from Boston, and are slowly coming out of contention. R.A. Dickey said
earlier that if they can get to .500 by the all-star break, they can “still
take this thing down.” It’ll be quite interesting to see if that will be the
case, or if Dickey is just old news.
18.
Angels: 44-48
Last Week: 17
ESPN Rank: 16
Josh Hamilton has surged these last
few weeks, but that doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough for them to get back into
the race. The Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and Josh Hamilton combo should be
unstoppable, and it actually has been working, but haven’t had much pitching to
accompany it. Jered Weaver needs to be healthy this second half. Also, they
just got shutout by Felix Hernandez, and today they have to play Hisashi
Iwakuma. Man do they want the all-star break to come.
19.
Rockies: 45-50
Last Week: 18
ESPN Rank:20
Even though they’re plagued by
injuries, the Rockies will get Troy Tulowitzki and Dexter Fowler back soon.
Until then, they need to keep playing at least .500 ball, or they will be out
of contention. Watch them trade for a pitcher before the deadline, because they
really need something to carry them.
20. Royals: 43-48
Last Week: 20
ESPN Rank: 19
OF Alex Gordon and C Salvador Perez
are the first duo named to the all-star team for the Royals in 10 years. That’s
kind of sad, but hey, good for them. Ervin Santana, James Shields, and Jaime
Guthrie are a trio that are doing pretty well now for the team, but can pitch
even better in the next few years. I don’t see this team fading away this year,
but I certainly don’t see them making any run.
21.
Giants: 43-50
Last Week: 21
ESPN Rank: 21
Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter
yesterday, but he also threw 148 PITCHES. Good lord! They need to stop
celebrating that though and focus on getting back into the race. They are 12
games under .500 on the road, and have struggled mightily in July. They might
not need a break though as they have won 3 in a row.
22.
Cubs: 42-50
Last Week: 25
ESPN Rank:22
The Cubs dominated their crosstown
rivals, sweeping the Sox and putting up 8 or more runs each game. They have
actually won 5 of their last 7 series, including against the Pirates, and look
to win 3 of four games against the Cardinals tonight. That’d be a great way to
end the first half, but the second half will be filled with who’s going to get
traded and who’s going where. I can actually see the Cubs going .500 at some
point this year though.
23.
Mariners: 42-52
Last Week: 23
ESPN Rank: 24
Nick Franklin started for the
Mariners on May 28th, and now only trails All-stars Matt Carpenter
and Jason Kipnis for most extra base hits as a second baseman. Hisashi Iwakuma
and King Felix Hernandez might be the best duo in pitching as well. Both have
ERA’s under 3, and could easily be contenders in the Cy Young voting.
24.
Mets: 40-50
Last Week: 26
ESPN Rank: 23
If David Wright keeps it up, he
could really be an MVP candidate. He now bats .306/.381/.404 with a 4.8 WAR.
Unfortunately he’s on the Mets, who rank 28th in batting average.
25.
Padres: 41-54
Last Week: 22
ESPN Rank: 25
The Padres fell and they fell hard.
After losing 11 in a row, they look like they could sell their stuff by the
deadline. They’re not getting help from their hitting or pitching; they bat
.242, which is 26th in the MLB, and have a .265 BAA, which is 27th
in the MLB. Then they just got no hit by Lincecum, and crushed 10-1 two days
ago. All-star break, can you come any sooner?
26.
Twins: 38-53
Last Week: 24
ESPN Rank: 26
I turn my back for one second and
the Twins lose 11 of their last 13. After hanging around .500, they have
dropped hard. Joe Mauer still bats .319 though!
27.
White Sox: 37-54
Last Week: 27
ESPN Rank: 27
The White Sox might move out of
last place now, but that’s only because the Twins fell hard. The White Sox
still are poor, having only Chris Sale to talk about. If the MLB took the
highest WAR by position and put them to start in the all-star break, Sale would
be the starter for the AL. Watch several players get moved before the deadline.
28.
Brewers: 37-56
Last Week: 28
ESPN Rank: 28
Ryan Bruan continues to announce
that he has not used PED’s nor will in his career. Will he still get suspended?
Probably.
29. Marlins: 35-57
Last Week: 29
ESPN Rank: 29
Congrats to the Marlins, who moved
out of 30th before the all-star break. They are out of contention in
the playoffs, so watch out for them making moves to trade some guys, most
notably OF Giancarlo Stanton.
30.
Astros: 33-60
Last Week: 30
ESPN Rank: 30
The Astros are the first team to 60
losses, and could easily finish with the worst record in MLB history. They have
a -138 run differential, not because their offense is terrible or their
pitching is struggling, but because both just suck. They cannot wait for #1
pick Mark Appel anytime soon.
Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com with any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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