6/29 MLB Power Rankings; A’s and Brewers the two to beat
By Joe Meehan
The MLB Power Rankings were assembled by BoSox Injection writers Joe Meehan, Michele Pettis, and Drew Peabody.
(Last week’s ranking in parentheses.)
1.(1) Oakland Athletics (50-30) – Oakland continues to roll. They have won eight of 10 and lead the majors in runs and OBP; Josh Donaldson paces the team with 55 runs and Coco Crisp‘s .383 OBP leads the club. – Drew
2.(2) Milwaukee Brewers (51-32) – The Brewers are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now and they’re starting to pull away in the division. – Joe
3.(7) Detroit Tigers (44-33) – After briefly losing the division lead to the Royals, the Tigers have shown why they’re still the team to beat in the AL Central. – Joe
4.(5) LA Angels (45-34) – The Angels are keeping pace with Oakland, winning eight of 10. Joe Smith (2.95 ERA, 7 saves) has taken over at closer since the team surprisingly exchanged struggling closers with Pittsburgh, sending Ernesto Frieri to the Bucs for Jason Grilli. – Drew
5.(3) San Francisco Giants (46-35) – The Giants remain at the top of the their division despite the losses piling up. – Michele
6.(4) LA Dodgers (46-37) – The NL West race is really heating up now and the Dodgers are taking advantage of the Giants’ struggles. – Michele
7.(6) St. Louis Cardinals (44-38) – The Cardinals have a real tough stretch of games approaching. Time to find out if this team is for real. – Joe
8.(8) Toronto Blue Jays (45-38) – Still in first place in the AL East despite losing their series with the Yanks. The division is getting tight at the top. – Michele
9.(11) Washington Nationals (43-38) – Washington is playing well, retaining a tie for the division lead while winning six of nine. Bryce Harper may return on Monday from a thumb injury after blasting three homers in a minor league rehab start on Saturday. The young star (younger than Xander and Mookie, Sox fans) has not played in the majors since April 25. – Drew
10.(13) Seattle Mariners (43-38) – Seattle has won six of eight games, as they are benefitting from playing two struggling teams, the Royals and Red Sox. The pitching staff has only allowed 19 runs over their last seven contests. – Drew
11.(14) Atlanta Braves (43-38) – Atlanta has responded to Washington’s breathing down their collective necks, winning seven of 10. Justin Upton has tied Evan Gattis for the team lead in homers with 16, blasting two in an active 8 game hitting-streak in which he has batted .357 with 9 RBI. – Drew
12.(16) Cincinnati Reds (42-38) – We knew Billy Hamilton was fast, but the question was always if he could hit at the major league level. Well, the answer is yes, and he’s helping the Reds get back in the divisional race. – Joe
13.(12) Baltimore Orioles (42-38) – Still sitting in the thick of the AL East race. The potential is there to go up, but will they capitalize on it? – Michele
14.(9) New York Yankees (41-38) – Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting and Masahiro Tanaka is pitching well. Money can buy happiness. (Let’s hope it’s only temporary, Sox fans) – Michele
15.(10) Kansas City Royals (41-39) – The Royals have cooled off considerably, but fortunately for them, so has the rest of the division besides the Tigers. – Joe
16.(18) Pittsburgh Pirates (41-40) – The Pirates are 7-3 in their last 10 games, but still haven’t gained any ground. Life’s not easy in the NL Central. – Joe
17.(17) Miami Marlins (39-42) – Miami has lost seven of 10, falling to 4.0 games back of NL East division leaders Washington and Atlanta. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is batting .292/.415/.542 in eight June games after returning from a concussion DL stay which cost him 16 games, and recovering from a .177/258/.241 May disaster at the plate. – Drew
18.(15) Cleveland Indians (39-41) – The Indians need more from any starting pitcher not named Corey Kluber or Josh Tomlin. – Joe
19.(19) Texas Rangers (37-43) – Texas has lost eight of 10. Starter Nick Tepesch has posted scoreless outings in two of his last three starts. – Drew
20.(25) New York Mets (37-44) – The Mets have won four of seven. Bartolo Colon has stayed hot, winning six decisions over a seven start span, while posting a 1.57 ERA in 51.1 IP in that time. – Drew
21.(22) Chicago White Sox (38-44) – The good news: Jose Abreu. The bad news: everyone else. – Joe
22.(20) Minnesota Twins (36-43) – I was finally starting to believe in the Twins and then they go and drop five in a row and now sit in the basement of the division. – Joe
23.(24) Boston Red Sox (37-44) – Pain, suffering, and frustration for players and fans. Is the call up of Mookie Betts the key to turning things around? Seems like an awful lot of pressure to put on a 21-year old kid who started this year in Double-A. – Michele
24.(23) Colorado Rockies (35-46) – The Rockies are really struggling. As the summer slips away, their chances get thinner and thinner. – Michele
25.(21) Philadelphia Phillies (36-45) – Philadelphia might be making Ruben Amaro Jr.’s decision easier as GM as to whether to buy or sell, as they’ve lost seven of 10 games. Since using his real name of Roberto Hernandez, the former Fausto Carmona (former 19 game winner in Cleveland) is 9-23, over the past three seasons, including losing five of his last six starts this season. – Drew
26.(26) Houston Astros (35-47) – Houston may be returning to reality after a run of success, as they’ve lost nine of 12. One of their few early bright spots, starter Dallas Keuchel, has scuffled, losing his last two starts with a 5.54 ERA (2.38 before that). – Drew
27.(27) Chicago Cubs (34-46) – The Cubs have cooled off a bit after a hot stretch. Get your tickets now while they’re still mildly entertaining to watch; there’s a fire sale coming. – Joe
28.(28) San Diego Padres (34-47) – Shaking up the front office is a sign of accepting there’s a need for change. – Michele
29.(29) Arizona Diamondbacks (35-48) – The worst run differential in baseball is bad; like, really really bad. – Michele
30.(30) Tampa Bay Rays (34-49) – David Price trade rumors flying alongside many other possible fixes. – Michele
Biggest Jump: Mets (+5)
Biggest Drop: Royals, Yankees (-5)