8/3 MLB Power Rankings; New-look A’s on top

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 (67-42) – Oakland has won four of seven. Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes went from the World Champions to the team favored to be this year’s champs. Lester won his first start and Gomes drove in two runs to continue the Athletics’ winning ways. – Drew

2.(2) LA Angels (65-44) – The Angels have won five of seven. Huston Street has yet to allow a
 run as the team’s new closer, converting all five of his save opportunities and lowering his season ERA to 0.92. – Drew

3.(8) Baltimore Orioles (61-48) – The Orioles took two out of three from the Angels and showed that they are for real. – Michele

4.(4) LA Dodgers (63-48) – Matt Kemp is heating up and the Dodgers look like the team to beat in the NL. – Michele

5.(5) Detroit Tigers (60-47) – The Tigers, in an effort to keep up with the arms race started by the A’s, made a move to acquire David Price at the deadline for a relatively cheap price. – Joe

6.(13) Toronto Blue Jays (60-52) – The Blue Jay were confident enough not to make any moves at the deadline. Time will tell if this will pay off. – Michele

7.(3) Milwaukee Brewers (61-50) – It’ll be interesting to see where the Brewers are at this time next week, as they host the Giants and the Dodgers over the next seven days. – Joe

8.(6) Washington Nationals (59-49) – Washington has lost four of five but continues to lead the NL East. Despite his 7-9 record, Stephen Strasburg leads the league in strikeouts with 167 in just 144 innings (10.4 per nine innings). – Drew

9.(10) Pittsburgh Pirates (59-51) – The Pirates continue to make a push toward the top of the division, so it was interesting that they decided to stand pat at the deadline. One move could have been enough to separate them from the rest of the division. – Joe

10.(11) St. Louis Cardinals (58-51) – The Cardinals were very active at the deadline, acquiring Justin Masterson and John Lackey to strengthen the rotation. They went for an aggressive approach while the rest of the division was quiet. – Joe

11.(7) San Francisco Giants (59-51) – Losing Matt Cain is a huge blow. – Michele

12.(9) Atlanta Braves (58-53) – Atlanta has lost five in a row. The Braves acquired Emilio Bonifacio from the Cubs to kickstart an offense still ranked only 25th in the majors in runs. – Drew

13.(16) Kansas City Royals (56-53) – The Royals are 7-3 in their last ten, but I just don’t think they have enough to catch the Tigers in the division. – Joe

14.(12) New York Yankees (56-53) – Small but important moves made at deadline may be the key to a chance at the playoffs. – Michele

15.(14) Seattle Mariners (57-53) – Seattle has lost six of nine as they continue to slide. Felix Hernandez is only 3-2 in his last ten starts despite sporting a 1.33 ERA. He has had more than three runs of support only twice in that span, which is part of a record 14 straight starts with seven or 
more innings and two or fewer earned runs. – Drew

16.(17) Cincinnati Reds (55-55) – While the Reds are only 5.5 games out, there are rumors that they were actually looking to be sellers at the deadline. If true, it doesn’t show much confidence in a group that’s not that far from a playoff spot. – Joe

17.(15) Tampa Bay Rays (54-56) – There are only two players left from their red-hot 2008 team. Not a lot of hope left for the playoffs this year. – Michele

18.(19) Cleveland Indians (55-55) – Michael Brantley is killing the ball lately, registering multi-hit games in five of his last seven starts. – Joe

19.(20) Miami Marlins (54-56) – Miami won six in a row before losing their last three games. Acting as buyers at the deadline, the team acquired starter Jarred Cosart from Houston, who lost his debut, though he pitched better than the 8.02 ERA he had put up in July. – Drew

20.(18) Chicago White Sox (54-57) – Jose Abreu! Jose Abreu! Jose Abreu! And a side of Chris Sale! – Joe

21.(21) New York Mets (53-57) – The Mets have won four of six. Jenrry Mejia has thrived in his closer role since moving to the bullpen in May, converting his last eight save chances, 16 of 18 overall, while posting 1.91 ERA in that time. – Drew

22.(23) San Diego Padres (50-60) – The Padres made only one move at the trade deadline. Looks like any big moves are reserved for the offseason. – Michele

23.(26) Philadelphia Phillies (49-62) – Philadelphia has won four of seven. A.J. Burnett has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his last eleven starts, though 18 runs in the three bad ones. The remainder of Burnett’s $15M salary for this year and $7.5M player option for next season makes him a
candidate to be moved before the playoff deadline. A team would not likely be inclined to put in a waiver claim to be on the hook for that salary. – Drew

24.(22) Boston Red Sox (49-61) – Wild trade deadline moves look great for 2015. – Michele

25.(25) Arizona Diamondbacks (48-63) – Kirk Gibson has something to celebrate as he became the winningest manager in team history. – Michele

26.(24) Minnesota Twins (49-60) – I like the move to acquire Tommy Milone by only giving up Sam Fuld, a player who fit a need for the A’s but had little value to the Twins. – Joe

27.(28) Houston Astros (46-65) – Houston has won three of five. Lefthander Tony Sipp (2.51 ERA, no 
earned runs in nine out of his last ten appearances) was considered to be prime trade bait for a contender at the trade deadline but stayed with the Astros. – Drew

28.(29) Chicago Cubs (46-63) – With the Cubs, it’s all about the future. Theo Epstein has done a great job of stocking the farm system. – Joe

29.(27) Colorado Rockies (44-66) – Misspelling the name of your best player during a t-shirt giveaway is a fitting way to sum up the season. – Michele

30.(30) Texas Rangers (43-67) – Texas has lost six of nine. The Rangers did not part with Alex Rios or Adrian Beltre at the trade deadline, hoping to rebound next season after an injury-marred season for the team. – Drew