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) San Francisco Giants (41-21) – The heat continues in the Bay area. The Giants are the first team to 40 wins. – Michele
2.(2) Oakland Athletics (38-24) – Oakland has won six of eight games. Their +118 run differential is first in the American League by more than double; Toronto is second at +48. – Drew
3.(3) Toronto Blue Jays (38-25) – Holding steady at the top of the division. Quietly playing really strong baseball. – Michele
4.(5) Milwaukee Brewers (37-26) – The Brewers have the Mets, Reds and Diamondbacks over the next week and a half, which could help them create some separation in the division. – Joe
5.(4) Detroit Tigers (33-25) – The Tigers were swept by the Blue Jays but are taking advantage of the once-again-struggling Red Sox. – Joe
6.(6) LA Angels (33-28) – The Angels have lost five of seven. Josh Hamilton has returned to the lineup after missing nearly two months with a thumb injury, homering in his first game back. – Drew
7.(9) Atlanta Braves (32-28) – Atlanta has won four of six. Craig Kimbrel is dominating once again this year, converting 16 of 18 saves with a 1.66 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. – Drew
8.(11) Miami Marlins (32-30) – Miami has lost their last two games, but won four in a row before that. Casey McGehee has been a nice surprise for the Marlins, batting .300 with 38 RBI after returning from a year in Japan. – Drew
9.(18) Seattle Mariners (32-29) – Seattle has won six of seven. Cuban lefty Roenis Elias twirled a three-hit shutout against the formidable lineup of the Tigers on June 1, defeating Max Scherzer. – Drew
10.(16) Washington Nationals (31-29) – Washington has won six of seven, moving to within one game of first place Atlanta. Ryan Zimmerman has moved from third base to left field to keep his bat in the lineup, as he tries to return from a broken thumb sustained in mid-April. – Drew
11.(14) Baltimore Orioles (31-29) – Johan Santana tried to make a comeback but was lost for the season after he tore his Achilles tendon. Meanwhile, Miguel Gonzalez is headed to the DL. Can the O’s stay at .500? – Michele
12.(7) St. Louis Cardinals (32-31) – The Cardinals were looking like they were ready to shoot past Milwaukee in the division, but instead they’ve gone 3-7 over their last 10. – Joe
13.(10) LA Dodgers (32-31) – Both Yasiel Puig and Dee Gordon were injured in Saturday’s game. Could this be a major setback or just a bump in the road? – Michele
14.(8) New York Yankees (31-30) – Masahiro Tanaka is 9-1, and the Yanks drafted Mariano Rivera‘s son. Carlos Beltran has gone 0-for-7 in his first two games back from the DL. Seems the Yanks have been hanging in there well. – Michele
15.(25) Cleveland Indians (31-31) – Sweeps of both the Rockies and the Red Sox have the Tribe in second place, only four games behind the Tigers. – Joe
16.(17) Chicago White Sox (31-32) – A future top of the rotation featuring Chris Sale and recently drafted Carlos Rodon could be dangerous for the rest of the league. For now though, Sale must carry the staff alone. – Joe
17.(13) Texas Rangers (31-31) – Texas has lost five of eight. Joakim Soria has settled in as the Rangers closer, converting 13 of 14 chances and posting a 2.05 ERA, allowing only one run in his last 17 innings. – Drew
18.(19) Kansas City Royals (30-32) – The Central division is tight, and the Royals are a win away from second place and a loss away from last place. – Joe
19.(20) Minnesota Twins (29-31) – Ditto^. – Joe
20.(23) Cincinnati Reds (28-32) – The Reds could really use some offensive help. Otherwise, expect more of the up-and-down play that we’ve seen from them all year. – Joe
21.(12) Colorado Rockies (29-32) – The Rockies are just three games under .500 and Justin Mourneau is back after his concussion, but they’ve lost eight of their last 10. – Michele
22.(22) Pittsburgh Pirates (29-32) – The Pirates are creeping back into divisional relevance. A series win versus the Brewers before hosting the Cubs for a four-game set would be extremely beneficial. – Joe
23.(15) Boston Red Sox (27-34) – Following up a ten-game losing streak with a seven-game winning streak is good. Following up a seven-game winning streak with a five-game losing streak is not good. – Michele
24.(24) Sand Diego Padres (28-34) – The Padres selected QB Johnny Manziel in the 28th round of the draft. Shot in the dark or brilliant PR move? Anything to distract from their record. – Michele
25.(21) New York Mets (28-34) – The Mets have lost four straight. Bartolo Colon, at age 41, has settled into a groove, winning his last three starts and allowing only 4 ER over 22.1 IP in that stretch (1.61 ERA) before Saturday’s action. – Drew
26.(26) Houston Astros (27-36) – Houston split their six games this week. Dallas Keuchel continues to dazzle, winning five of his last six starts with an ERA of 1.36 over 46.1 IP in those starts. He has a 2.50 ERA and 1.03 WHIP for the season. – Drew
27.(29) Arizona Diamondbacks (27-37) – Potentially getting ready to make some trades. Maybe they can’t claw their way up from the basement this year but there’s always next year to think about. – Michele
28.(30) Chicago Cubs (25-34) – The Cubs have been the subject of most of my jokes this year, but they’ve won five in a row, so I’ll give them a pass this week. – Joe
29.(27) Philadelphia Phillies (25-35) – Philadelphia has lost seven of eight. Ryan Howard is hitting more like the pre-Achilles injury slugger. After two down seasons since the injury, Howard is producing again, knocking in 41 runs this year, good for third in the National League. – Drew
30.(28) Tampa Bay Rays (24-39) – It seems Boston isn’t the only team that’s vulnerable to ten-game losing streaks. – Michele
Biggest Jump: Indians (+10)
Biggest Drop: Rockies (-9)