8/17 MLB Power Rankings; A’s barely holding on
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 (73-50) – Oakland has lost six of seven, which includes running into the buzzsaw that is Kansas City right now. Since the departure of Yoenis Cespedes, the team has only managed to score four runs on four occasions in 15 games. – Drew
2.(4) LA Angels (72-49) – The Angels have won five of six to catch the Athletics. Mike Scioscia is not going to make any friends in the clubhouse, calling out Josh Hamilton by saying he’s not the player they saw when he was in Texas. Ouch. – Drew
3.(3) LA Dodgers (70-55) – Still have a comfortable lead despite losing Hyun-Jin Ryu to the DL. – Michele
4.(2) Baltimore Orioles (69-52) – The Orioles are maintaining an impressive lead in the AL East as the rest of the division struggles. – Michele
5.(7) Washington Nationals (68-53) – Washington has won eight of ten, opening up a six game lead on the struggling Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Ian Desmond leads the team in home runs and RBI, but it is a balanced attack that wins games for Washington; four players are on pace for 90 RBI this season (Desmond, Anthony Rendon, Jason Werth, Adam LaRoche). – Drew
6.(6) Milwaukee Brewers (69-55) – The division is struggling and the Brewers are taking full advantage, including a win against Clayton Kershaw last night. – Joe
7.(9) Kansas City Royals (67-55) – The Royals are beating up on everyone they play lately, including taking three of four from the A’s and sweeping the Giants. – Joe
8.(5) Detroit Tigers (66-55) – The Tigers are hoping that some rest for Justin Verlander will help him become the dominant starter that they need down the stretch. – Joe
9.(12) St. Louis Cardinals (65-57) – The Cardinals are going to need to score some runs if they’re going to catch the Brewers; they’re 29th in the majors in runs scored. – Joe
10.(13) Seattle Mariners (66-56) – Seattle is streaking, winning nine of their last 11 games, including an 8-1 homestand. Yoervis Medina is getting the ball to Fernando Rodney at a rate which makes their talented pitching staff even deeper. Medina has a 2.18 ERA and has recorded 19 holds, good for fourth in the AL. – Drew
11.(10) San Francisco Giants (64-58) – Ryan Howard continued his career-long hot streak against Tim Hudson, and the Giants have dropped seven of their last 10. – Michele
12.(8) Pittsburgh Pirates (64-59) – Injuries are sinking the Pirates right now, as they’ve lost Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole to the DL, while Neil Walker has missed some time with a back injury. – Joe
13.(11) Toronto Blue Jays (64-60) – The Blue Jays are doing well thanks in part to the great work of Marcus Stroman. – Michele
14.(16) Atlanta Braves (63-60) – Atlanta has won three of four. The Braves continue to stay in the playoff hunt with pitching, but they are 28th in the majors in runs scored. – Drew
15.(17) Tampa Bay Rays (61-62) – The Little Rays That Could have battled back to almost .500. – Michele
16.(15) Cincinnati Reds (61-61) – Pitching has been keeping the Reds afloat, so losing Homer Bailey to the DL certainly won’t help things. – Joe
17.(14) New York Yankees (62-59) – The Red Sox fan in me has enjoyed their recent losing streak but the practical side of me says they’ll bounce back. The question remains though if it will happen in time for them to make the playoffs. – Michele
18.(18) Cleveland Indians (62-60) – The Indians are somehow only five games back in the Central Division. Corey Kluber is the best pitcher you’ve never heard of and deserves to be in the Cy Young conversation. – Joe
19.(19) Miami Marlins (61-62) – Miami has won six of nine, remaining only three and and half games out of the second NL Wild Card spot. Henderson Alvarez has stepped into Jose Fernandez‘ role as ace, winning seven of his last nine decisions. Alvarez is fourth in the NL in ERA (2.43). – Drew
20.(23) San Diego Padres (58-64) – Young pitcher Tyson Ross gives the team hope for the future. – Michele
21.(20) New York Mets (59-65) – The Mets have split their last 12 games. The team may be set on the right side of the infield for awhile, as first baseman Lucas Duda leads the team in homers, RBI, and on base percentage, while second baseman Daniel Murphy leads the team in hits and batting average. – Drew
22.(21) Chicago White Sox (58-65) – Chris Sale would be fun to watch on a contender. – Joe
23.(24) Boston Red Sox (56-66) – They may not make the playoffs. They may not make it out of last place. But watching David Ortiz join the ranks of Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski for home runs is worth the price of admission. – Michele
24.(22) Philadelphia Phillies (54-69) – Philadelphia has lost six of eight. Once Jonathan Papelbon‘s contract has run its course, Ken Giles may be an option for closer. Giles has a 1.33 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 27 innings in a relief role this season. – Drew
25.(26) Minnesota Twins (55-66) – The Twins are proof that you can only go so far with terrible pitching. – Joe
26.(25) Arizona Diamondbacks (53-70) – The D-backs are another team that has been attacked by the DL bug. – Michele
27.(27) Chicago Cubs (52-70) – Javier Baez‘ promotion coupled with Kris Bryant‘s enormous power in Triple-A has generated some buzz in the windy city. – Joe
28.(28) Houston Astros (51-73) – Houston has lost five of seven. Chris Carter has put himself among the leaders in the AL in homers (29) with eight this month, as well as a torrid batting line of .367/.391/.800 and 20 RBI. – Drew
29.(29) Colorado Rockies (47-75) – Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are both out for the rest of the season. Tough to be a fan in Colorado. – Michele
30.(30) Texas Rangers (47-76) – Texas has lost seven of nine. For a team that was able to get to the World Series twice this decade, it is difficult to believe the Rangers are on pace to lose 100 games this year. – Drew
Biggest Jump: Padres, Mariners, Cardinals (+3)
Biggest Drop: Pirates (-4)