7/6 MLB Power Rankings; California domination
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 (54-33) – Oakland has won six of nine. They’ve gone ahead and moved all their chips to the center of the table, trading for front-line starters Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija with the Cubs. – Drew
2.(2) Milwaukee Brewers (52-36) – The Brewers are the best team in arguably the best division in baseball. They’re going to have to keep up this high level of play though or the Cardinals or Pirates are going to catch them. – Joe
3.(4) LA Angels (50-36) – The Angels have won four of five. The offense continues to produce, ranking in the top five in runs, OBP, SLG, and BA. – Drew
4.(6) LA Dodgers (50-40) – Getting hot and hitting on all cylinders. Clayton Kershaw’s scoreless streak has hit 36 innings. – Michele
5.(11) Atlanta Braves (49-38) – Atlanta has won nine in a row and 11 of 12. During their nine game winning streak, the Braves have averaged 5.6 runs per game. – Drew
6.(3) Detroit Tigers (48-36) – The offense and starting pitching has been excellent, but expect them to be active in searching for some bullpen help. – Joe
7.(10) Seattle Mariners (48-39) – Seattle has won 11 of 14 to move into playoff contention. The pitching is the reason for their recent resurgence, ranking first in the majors in batting-average-against and WHIP. – Drew
8.(9) Washington Nationals (47-39) – Washington has won six of seven. Gio Gonzalez has won his last three starts, tossing 21 scoreless innings while continuing to average more than a strikeout per inning. – Drew
9.(13) Baltimore Orioles (47-40) – Catching on fire at just the right moment; the rest of the division is struggling. – Michele
10.(7) St. Louis Cardinals (47-41) – Matt Adams continues to swing a hot bat since his return from an injury, as he’s currently hitting .320 with 9 HR and 33 RBI. – Joe
11.(5) San Francisco Giants (48-39) – Remember when they had a .600 record and were in first place by a mile? They’re playing decent ball, but just not quite well enough for first place. – Michele
12.(16) Pittsburgh Pirates (46-41) – Watch out for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is playing like he wants another MVP trophy. – Joe
13.(8) Toronto Blue Jays (47-42) – A slight falter this week but they’re still right near the top of the division. – Michele
14.(15) Kansas City Royals (45-41) – Give the Royals credit. There’s no one thing that sticks out about them, but they’re keeping things interesting in the AL Central. – Joe
15.(12) Cincinnati Reds (44-42) – The Reds need to pick up another bat because the big names like Joey Votto and Jay Bruce just aren’t doing enough offensively to help this team climb in the standings. – Joe
16.(14) New York Yankees (43-43) – No Sabathia for the rest of the season. They’ve been doing okay so far without him, but we’ll see how long it lasts. – Michele
17.(17) Miami Marlins (42-45) – Miami has won three of five. Casey McGehee is second on the team with 52 RBI despite only hitting one home run; it could be because he’s batting .317. – Drew
18.(18) Cleveland Indians (42-44) – Will the Indians place a call to old-friend Johnny “I can still outhit half the league” Damon? Doubtful. But if they decide to be buyers, they really need another starting pitcher. – Joe
19.(21) Chicago White Sox (41-47) – Jose Abreu slugged his league-leading 27th HR the other day and is keeping things interesting on the South Side of Chicago. – Joe
20.(27) Chicago Cubs (38-47) – The Cubs finally pulled the trigger, trading Samardzija and Hammel to the A’s. Shortstop Addison Russell is an excellent pickup for them, even with the shortstop talent they already have in the minors. – Joe
21.(22) Minnesota Twins (39-47) – I think it’s safe to say the Twins are finally out of the race. It was fun while it lasted, but Phil Hughes can’t be your top-gun if you have playoff aspirations. – Joe
22.(28) San Diego Padres (39-48) – A five-game winning streak is very encouraging. They’re still nine games under .500, but they’re looking up. – Michele
23.(30) Tampa Bay Rays (40-50) – They may be able to rise out of the AL East basement if only because the Sox sink lower, faster. – Michele
24.(23) Boston Red Sox (39-48) – Offensive woes continue to sink the Sox. – Michele
25.(20) New York Mets (38-49) – The Mets have lost five of six. David Wright is leading the team in exactly one offensive category: doubles with 21. – Drew
26.(19) Texas Rangers (38-49) – Texas continues to slide, losing 14 of 17 since they were last at .500 on June 16. Adrian Beltre leads the team with 11 HR, 46 RBI and a .903 OPS. – Drew
27.(24) Colorado Rockies (37-51) – They were able to beat the hot Dodgers, but they’re still 2-8 in their last 10 games. – Michele
28.(25) Philadelphia Phillies (37-50) – Philadelphia has lost 12 of 15 games. You know you are having a rough season if, in July, your team leader in wins has five (A.J. Burnett). – Drew
29.(26) Houston Astros (36-53) – Houston has lost five in a row and 10 of 13. George Springer is living up to the hype, smashing 17 HR so far this season. – Drew
30.(29) Arizona Diamondbacks (36-53) – They’re just not a good baseball team. (I swear we don’t just cut and paste this sentence every week!) – Michele
Biggest Jump: Cubs, Rays (+7)
Biggest Fall: Rangers (-7)