MLB Power Rankings: Week 14

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

Well, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.

1. Dodgers | Record: 53-30 | Previous Week: 1
Randy Wolf has an excellent shot at shedding a dubious distinction this year. Wolf's 259 starts are the most by any active National League pitcher who hasn't pitched in the playoffs. Roy Halladay leads the AL with 271, and he'll need a trade to snap his streak. - Jeff Fletcher
2. Red Sox| Record: 50-33 | Previous Week: 2
It took three months, but the cracks are starting to show. Given how last season ended for him, the Red Sox have to be concerned about Mike Lowell, and they might need some sort of infielder. Of course now, with Daisuke Matsuzaka's season in jeopardy, it's a lot harder for Boston to deal from its pitching depth. - Andrew Johnson
3. Yankees| Record: 49-34 | Previous Week: 3
Whether it was the "rest" he got in South Florida or the rejuvenative powers of actress Kate Hudson, Alex Rodriguez has been on fire since the drama in Miami passed. Entering play Tuesday night, he was hitting .341 with five homers and 17 RBI since June 21. Not coincidentally, the Yankees have closed the gap in the AL East over that span. - AJ
4. Angels | Record: 46-35 | Previous Week: 5
The bats have been on fire for more than a month now. Since May 30, the Angels have hit .289, best in the league, and averaged 6.0 runs per game. (Ed. Note: And the Rangers would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you darned kids!) - JF
5. Cardinals| Record: 46-39 | Previous Week: 11
Since June 1, rookie Colby Rasmus has an OPS that's hanging around 1.000 and has hit six of his 11 homers on the year. Combined with Albert Pujols, that might be all the offense that this pitching staff, led by a revitalized Chris Carpenter, needs to stay in front of the NL Central. - Pat Lackey
6. Rangers | Record: 45-36 | Previous Week: 8
And yet, despite the Angels' success, the Rangers remain. Of course, Chris Davis is the worst human being to ever walk the planet (fantasy-related exaggeration applies) but at least there's the potential call up of Justin Smoak, whose addition to all my keeper-league teams has paved the way for the cult-fueled, best fantasy team name ever: "Smoakstack Lightning."
7. Giants | Record: 45-38 | Previous Week: 9
Randy Johnson's injury could leave the Giants with a vulnerable rotation. While he's out, they'll have two outstanding starters and three question marks. The Giants' prediction that Johnson will only miss three weeks is also iffy. He's 45. - JF
8. Tigers | Record: 45-38 | Previous Week: 6
It's kind of odd to see Brandon Inge edge Miguel Cabrera onto the final fan vote All-Star ballot, but when you account for his defense at third, he's probably more valuable than his teammate. Inge is also leading all Tigers in home runs with 19 on the year. - AJ
9. Phillies | Record: 43-38 | Previous Week: 10
Woo, mediocrity. You know things are getting bad/awkward for the Phils in the pitching department when they're looking at Pedro Martinez as a potential starter. For crying out loud, fellas, just go make a play for Halladay. Adding Doc to this squad would not only lock up a repeat in the division, but it would probably make the Phils the favorite to repeat. Yes, I do know it's easier said than done.
10. Rays | Record: 45-39 | Previous Week: 4
Don't look now, but manager Joe Maddon is quietly making the oft-maligned bullpen by committee work. No one in the bullpen has more than six saves -- J.P. Howell and the injured Troy Percival are tied for the team lead -- and five other relievers have closed out a game for the Rays this season. - AJ
11. Brewers | Record: 43-40 | Previous Week: 7
They're bringing Manny Parra back up from Triple-A, but he won't fix their rotation woes. If the Brewers don't find someone to back Yovani Gallardo soon, they might find themselves behind both the Cardinals and the suddenly surging Cubbies in the standings. - PL
12. Rockies | Record: 44-39 | Previous Week: 13
I love it when teams that are supposed ot be rebuilding -- a winter removed from shipping face-of-the-franchise Matt Holliday out of town -- somehow don't get the memo and manage to contend despite the lack of pitching on paper. OK, Jason Marquis kind of counts because he throws the ball towards the plate at varying speeds. But still, this just can't last.
13. White Sox | Record: 43-40 | Previous Week: 17
Paul Konerko became the first White Sox player since Harold Baines in 1982 to hit three home runs in a game in the Windy City Tuesday night. Ranked 11th in the American League in runs scored, that's just the type of boost the offensively-challenged Pale Hose need heading into the second half of the season. - AJ
14. Mariners | Record: 43-39 | Previous Week: 18
Admit it, you didn't think that Russell Branyan would still be putting up monster numbers halfway through the season. The guy is ahead of Mark Teixeira in average, homers, OBP and SLG. And he doesn't play in a ballpark where popups to right are homers. - JF
15. Marlins | Record: 44-41 | Previous Week: 16
Of course, on the other hand, maybe semi-shoddy teams can compete.That's probably because Ricky Nolasco is as hot as they come right now, striking out 42 in his last five games (four of which were wins) while walking only four over that same span. Fuego.
16. Twins | Record: 43-31 | Previous Week: 14
With a loss to the Yankees and the White Sox's win over the Indians, the Twins slipped back into third place in the AL Central Tuesday night, but, possessing the best run differential in the divison, it figures to be Minnesota, not the South Siders, pressing the Tigers for the division crown as the summer presses on. - AJ
17. Braves | Record: 41-43 | Previous Week: 21
Javier Vazquez has to be the most frustrated man on the planet right now. He's pitching Cy Young-caliber ball, but the Braves refuse to score for him. Of course, Derek Lowe and all the other pitchers probably aren't thrilled either. Nate McLouth has been a welcome addition and this team is starting to improve a little, but one has to wonder if an, ahem, Holliday vacation would be helpful.
18. Cubs | Record: 41-41 | Previous Week: 20
Even with a loss to the Braves Tuesday night, the Cubs have won five of seven. Ryan Dempster's out, but Aramis Ramirez is back and Milton Bradley had an .839 OPS and a .453 OBP in the 19 games before the most recent loss. Despite their inconsistency this year, the division hasn't run away from them and they're still very much in contention for a playoff spot. - PL
19. Reds | Record: 41-41 | Previous Week: 15
Dusty Baker alert: Johnny Cueto is on pace for more than 200 innings after throwing only 174 last year. He's already starting to fade; in his last four starts (including Monday's debacle against the Phillies) his ERA is 9.87 and opponents are OPSing 1.016 against him. - PL
20. Astros | Record: 44-42 | Previous Week: 22
The 'Stros are two games over .500, but they've been outscored by more than 30 runs this season. This team is currently relying on big performances from past-their-prime guys like Miguel Tejada and Mike Hampton, which kind of makes it feel like they're held together by duct tape. I just can't see them hanging around in contention much longer. - PL
21. Blue Jays | Record: 43-42 | Previous Week: 12
It seems like every couple of months J.P. Ricciardi says he'd be open to trading Roy Halladay and then nothing happens. The reason? Because he's just being realistic. Of course, he'd consider dealing Halladay -- as good as he is. There isn't an executive in the game who wouldn't. - AJ
22. Mets | Record: 39-43 | Previous Week: 23
WTF, man. When you add two high-quality closers to a team that only needs bullpen help in a surprisingly mediocre division, that's supposed to be a recipe for a trip to the playoffs. Unfortunately for management, the Red Cross has been permanently stationed at Citi Field this season and even under the NYC microscope, they seem to be getting a bit of a free pass. For now.
23. Pirates | Record: 38-47 | Previous Week: 23
Trading away 2/3rds of your starting outfield is a sure-fire way to make sure runs are hard to come by. The Pirates' front office is building for the future, which is fine, but their current offense, which only stands to get worse with the trade deadline and potential deals for Adam LaRoche and Freddy Sanchez looming, is pathetic and probably won't get them out of the cellar this season. - PL
24. Orioles | Record: 36-47 | Previous Week: 24
Baltimore has plenty of extremely talented hitters in its lineup. Who would have thought that designated hitter Luke Scott would be leading the team in OPS (.949) at this point in the season, though? The next closest regular is Adam Jones, who had an .858 OPS entering play Tuesday. - AJ
25. Royals | Record: 36-47 | Previous Week: 25
Number of regular Kansas City contributors with an on-base percentage above .350: three. Number with an on-base percentage below .300: Five. That goes a long way toward explaining why the Royals are last in the junior circuit in runs, and why they never had much of a chance to hang in the divison race all year. - AJ
26. Padres | Record: 35-47 | Previous Week: 26
Tony Gwynn Jr., who wasn't even good enough to be in the big leagues with the Brewers, has hit .304 since he was acquired by the Padres. Gwynn's success also cleared the way for the Padres to unload Scott Hairston for three more players. Kevin Towers: Super Genius. - JF
27. Athletics | Record: 35-47 | Previous Week: 27
When Brett Anderson shut out the Red Sox on Monday, it snapped the team's 151-game streak without a complete game, which was the longest in Oakland history by 55 games. (Ed. Note: On the downside, the team still stinks, Holliday has to be moved and Moneyball looks dead. So there's that.) - JF
28. Diamondbacks | Record: 34-49 | Previous Week: 29
You want the easy answer? Brandon Webb. He's basically done for the year and potentially as a Diamondback. Although it obviously makes way more sense to point out that I had them in the World Series (it's cool, it happens every year). At least -- and I feel like a broken record saying this -- Justin Upton is a total stud. Also: Dan Haren; he's quite good.
29. Indians | Record: 33-51 | Previous Week: 28
The Cleveland front office has already declared manager Eric Wedge's job safe for the rest of the season, but most observers are still trying to figure out how things went so horribly wrong. You can start with Fausto Carmona, a soft back-end of the rotation and a softer bullpen, but it seems like the problems run deeper than that. - AJ
30. Nationals | Record: 24-58 | Previous Week: 30
And now we reach the point in the show when I get angry that I used up all my (potentially) funny "Guess what? This team still sucks really, really badly!" song titles. So I'm stuck trying to think of things that might be amusing. Then I remember if you're a Nationals fan, you're not reading Power Rankings anyway and just move on.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-08-2009 @ 7:33PM

CANDIMIKE said...

Will, you sound surprised that the Rockies are doing so well. Well four of the five starting pitchers have ERAs under 4 and Huston Street has 21 saves. That's for starters and the offence is warming up, keep an eye on them, I believe they are for real. Manager change to Jim Tracy was perhaps the tonic they needed.

7-08-2009 @ 11:42PM

omniguardeas said...

OK, here are the records of the top 3 spots over the past 8 weeks (since 5/9);

Dodgers - 31 - 20
Red Sox - 32 - 21
Yankees - 36 - 18

Why exactly, have the Yankees been 3rd or lower every single week during this stretch? Is there genuine logic involved here, or is it just a list of your favorite teams? Yes, I know the Sox have swept the Yanks so far. Even so, they hold on to a meager 1 game lead. That actually means the Yanks have won 7 more games than the Sox when not playing each other. Are you telling me that not even in one of the weeks during that stretch did the Yanks deserved a higher ranking while compiling the Major's best record? Even if the Sox, Yanks thing is argumentative, the Dodgers have not been worthy of their weekly #1 spot. They have certainly been outplayed on a weekly basis numerous times during the past 2 months.