6/22 MLB Power Rankings; A’s on the rise

The MLB Power Rankings were assembled by BoSox Injection writers Joe Meehan, Michele Pettis, and Drew Peabody.

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses.)

1.(2) Oakland Athletics (47-28) – Oakland has won seven of eight. Compounded with San Francisco’s struggles, they are the best team in the majors. With his next RBI, Yoenis Cespedes will join teammates Brandon Moss (55) and Josh Donaldson (55) with at least 50 RBI before the season’s halfway point. – Drew

2.(3) Milwaukee Brewers (46-30) – The Brewers are taking care of business against some weak opponents. If they can replace Marco Estrada, their rotation will be one of the best in baseball. – Joe

3.(1) San Francisco Giants (44-30) – Despite a six game losing streak this past week, they’re still in first place in their division and 14 games over .500, which is impressive. – Michele

4.(12) LA Dodgers (41-35) – Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter is just another example of stellar Dodger pitching. – Michele

5.(5) LA Angels (40-33) – The Angels have split their last eight. Mike Trout is a really good baseball
player; he leads the team in all offensive categories. And his June hitting line? Only .357/.464/.804. And he’s stolen nine bases this season without being caught. Give the guy the MVP now. – Drew

6.(9) St. Louis Cardinals (40-35) – The rotation is strong, but they could be in the market for another bat if they want to catch Milwaukee. – Joe

7.(6) Detroit Tigers (39-32) – Detroit fans have to be hoping that Justin Verlander’s latest outing is a sign of his return to form. – Joe

8.(4) Toronto Blue Jays (42-34) – Losing Ricky Romero for the season and being swept by the Yanks hasn’t been pleasant. The Jays are still in first place but for how much longer? – Michele

9.(10) New York Yankees (39-34) – The Yankees made major progress towards taking over the division by sweeping first place Toronto. – Michele

10.(11) Kansas City Royals (39-35) – The Royals stay atop the division didn’t last long, but they’ll be in the hunt for the rest of the season. This is a solid team. – Joe

11.(7) Washington Nationals (38-35) – Washington has lost six of nine and continues to flip-flop with Atlanta for the NL East lead. Though he only has a 4-3 record to show for it, Tanner Roark has posted a 1.92 ERA over his last eight starts. – Drew

12.(13) Baltimore Orioles (38-35) – The O’s were dealt a huge blow when Matt Wieters went down. – Michele

13.(16) Seattle Mariners (39-36) – Seattle has won five of seven. Former elite Yankees’ prospect Jesus Montero has been called up to the majors to try to help a struggling offense that sees Robinson Cano (.834) as its only hitter above .800 in OPS. – Drew

14.(8) Atlanta Braves (38-36) – Atlanta has lost four of six. Evan Gattis is making a strong case to go to the All-Star game. He’s pounded six homers in the month of June (to bring him to 16 for the season) to go along with an otherworldly .394/.437/.712 hitting line for the month. – Drew

15.(17) Cleveland Indians (37-38) – It’s tough to know what to make of the Indians. The offense is strong, but they’re going to need some help on the hill. – Joe

16.(19) Cincinnati Reds (36-37) – The offense has quietly got the Reds back in the hunt. They’re 8.5 out in the division, but only 3.0 games back of the second-place Cardinals. – Joe

17.(14) Miami Marlins (37-37) – Miami has lost seven of 11. Henderson Alvarez is making the Blue Jays regret including him in the trade that sent Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle to Toronto in 2012. Alvarez sports a 2.39 ERA for the season, including 0.91 over his last six starts. – Drew

18.(15) Pittsburgh Pirates (36-38) – Just like the Reds, the Pirates are creeping their way back into the picture in the Central. – Joe

19.(20) Texas Rangers (35-39) – Texas has lost four in a row. A frequent object of trade rumors, Alex Rios has hit .319/.352/.461 this season to go along with 13 steals in an injury-depleted lineup. – Drew

20.(21) Minnesota Twins (35-38) – The Twins are three games below .500, but only five games back in the division. They really need some pitching help. – Joe

21.(26) Philadelphia Phillies (34-39) – The Phillies have won nine of 12. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. will have a tough decision regarding whether to be a buyer or seller at the trading deadline if the recent winning ways continue, since they are only four games out of the division lead despite their losing record. – Drew

22.(22) Chicago White Sox (35-40) – The White Sox have taken a downhill turn and will find themselves out of the hunt soon if they’re not careful. – Joe

23.(18) Colorado Rockies (34-40) – Silver lining in what’s turning into a very cloudy season: LaTroy Hawkins has only blown one save out of 15 chances. – Michele

24.(23) Boston Red Sox (34-41) – Offense, Offense, where for art thou, Offense? The bats are dead. The starting pitching has some strength but with no one to back them up, it’s useless. – Michele

25.(25) New York Mets (34-41) – The Mets have won three of four. Former Red Sox gyroball artist Daisuke Matsuzaka is making something of a comeback in the NL this season, posting a 2.68 ERA for the Mets in 22 games (5 starts), after not being able to crack the majors in the Cleveland system last season, though he did start 7 games for the Mets in 2013. – Drew

26.(24) Houston Astros (33-43) – Houston has lost five of six. Since a blown save on April 19, closer Chad Qualls has posted a 0.48 ERA (18.2 IP, 1 ER), while converting eight of nine subsequent chances. – Drew

27.(27) Chicago Cubs (31-41) – The Cubs have no shot this season, but give them credit. They’re playing some decent baseball finally (which will last until they trade any decent player on the roster at the deadline). – Joe

28.(29) Sand Diego Padres (32-43) – Not a very good team, but at least fans can root for Seth Smith to keep hitting the Dodgers and watch rookie Jake Goebbert. – Michele

29.(28) Arizona Diamondbacks (32-46) – Another silver lining: a three-game series against San Diego is an opportunity to win some games even if it probably won’t help much in the standings. – Michele

30.(30) Tampa Bay Rays (30-46) – They’re so bad that instead of describing them as being 16 games under .500 one could say they’re one game under .400. – Michele

Biggest jump: Dodgers (+8)

Biggest drop: Braves (-6)