8/10 MLB Power Rankings; Orioles on the rise

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

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses.)

1.(1) Oakland Athletics (72-44) – Oakland has won four of five. Jon Lester has kept on rolling, winning his first two starts for Oakland while posting a 1.72 ERA over 15.2 innings. – Drew

2.(3) Baltimore Orioles (67-49) – The O’s are playing well despite Chris Davis and Nelson Cruz suffering through slumps. – Michele

3.(4) LA Dodgers (66-52) – The Dodgers seem like the best team, but they were only 31-30 through their first 61 games and can be inconsistent. – Michele

4.(2) LA Angels (68-48) – The Angels had lost four in a row and five of seven before Saturday night’s 19 inning win. C.J. Wilson has been pounded for ten runs in seven innings in two losing starts since returning from the DL. – Drew

5.(5) Detroit Tigers (63-51) – It didn’t look possible a month ago, but the Tigers are in danger of being caught by the Royals in the division. – Joe

6.(7) Milwaukee Brewers (65-52) – The Brewers are hoping Matt Garza‘s oblique injury won’t keep him out too long; the Central race is tight and he’s a key piece to the puzzle. – Joe

7.(8) Washington Nationals (63-52) – Washington has split their last eight games, but are starting to pull away from the sputtering Braves. Doug Fister‘s 2.49 ERA would be sixth in the National League if he had enough innings to qualify. – Drew

8.(9) Pittsburgh Pirates (62-54) – The loss of Andrew McCutchen to a fractured rib leaves a huge hole in the middle of the Pirates lineup. – Joe

9.(13) Kansas City Royals (62-53) – Billy Butler leads the team with a .278 batting average, yet here they are, only 1.5 games back in the division after winning nine of their last 10. – Joe

10.(11) San Francisco Giants (62-55) – The Giants have gone 19-31 since June 8. That’s not a good sign. – Michele

11.(6) Toronto Blue Jays (62-56) – The Blue Jays are starting to look too streaky to gain ground in the division. – Michele

12.(10) St. Louis Cardinals (61-54) – It’s been a tough weekend for the new guys, as both Justin Masterson and John Lackey got roughed up by the Orioles. – Joe

13.(15) Seattle Mariners (61-55) – Seattle has won five of six. Robinson Cano might be down in home runs this season, but he leads the league in batting average and ranks ninth in OPS. – Drew

14.(14) New York Yankees (61-55) – The Yanks are defying the odds and staying relevant. The big question is: how? – Michele

15.(16) Cincinnati Reds (59-58) – The Reds are 6-4 in their last 10 games but just can’t seem to gain any ground on their divisional counterparts. – Joe

16.(12) Atlanta Braves (59-57) – Atlanta has lost eight of nine. ESPN’s player page updates have not replaced Emilio Bonifacio‘s Cubs (former team) references with Braves ones (new team) for the week and a half he has been on the team. – Drew

17.(17) Tampa Bay Rays (57-59) – The Rays are still playing well but are not reaping the benefits in the standings thanks to the O’s playing even better. – Michele

18.(18) Cleveland Indians (58-59) – The Indians are a tough team to figure out. It’s doubtful that they’ll sneak into the playoffs, but they just won’t go away. – Joe

19.(19) Miami Marlins (57-59) – Miami has won four of seven. Brad Penny is back in the majors for the first time since 2012, winning his first start of the year, allowing one earned run in five innings. – Drew

20.(21) New York Mets (56-61) – The Mets have won three of five. Reliever Dana Eveland is the definition of journeyman pitcher; the Mets are his sixth team in his last five major league seasons. – Drew

21.(20) Chicago White Sox (56-62) – A team’s record usually comes into play during MVP voting, but maybe it shouldn’t in the case of Jose Abreu. – Joe

22.(23) Philadelphia Phillies (52-65) – Philadelphia has won three of five. The National League seems to agree with Grady Sizemore; he is batting .326/.363/.442 in 24 games since joining the Phillies. – Drew

23.(22) San Diego Padres (53-62) – The Padres are suddenly playing inspired ball. It’ll be interesting to see how many teams make an attempt to acquire Tyson Ross this offseason. – Joe

24.(24) Boston Red Sox (51-65) – Is it 2015 yet? – Michele

25.(25) Arizona Diamondbacks (51-66) – It’s been a difficult season but there’s great hope for next year. – Michele

26.(26) Minnesota Twins (51-64) – Tommy Milone is finally getting the call-up for the lowly Twins. – Joe

27.(28) Chicago Cubs (49-66) – The Cubs claimed Cole Hamels on waivers but couldn’t strike a deal with the Phillies for him. It’s not surprising a deal didn’t get done, but the move shows the Cubs believe they’re close to having the pieces to be a contender. – Joe

28.(27) Houston Astros (49-68) – Houston has won five of eight. Jose Altuve has slumped to a .231
batting average in August, but remains second in the National League in hitting at .333. – Drew

29.(29) Colorado Rockies (45-71) – Don’t let the team’s bad season overshadow the sudden emergence of Drew Stubbs. – Michele

30.(30) Texas Rangers (45-71) – Texas has lost six of eight as they slip further into the AL West
cellar. The Rangers have lost the last nine games started by Nick Martinez, who has a 7.63 ERA over that span, but they keep sending him out there. – Drew

Biggest Jump: Royals (+4)

Biggest Drop: Blue Jays (-5)