Seven weeks are in the books for the 2016 MLB season and the power rankings have taken a few swings in the past week, some changes more subtle than others. Let’s see how the squads stack up heading into the final week of May.
30. Minnesota Twins: 11-32 – The Minnesota Twins move into the cellar of the MLB power rankings after a dismal 3-7 stretch that saw them drop three out of four home games against the Blue Jays this past weekend. The Twins are now 4-19 at home and have an American League-worst – 74 run differential.
29. Atlanta Braves: 12-31 – The Braves haven’t looked much better than Minnesota, only that they have won one more game over the past ten than the Twins have. With manager Fredi Gonzales getting the chopping block early last week, maybe better times are on the horizon with Brian Snitker taking over.
28. Cincinnati Reds: 15-29 – The Reds have the longest active losing streak (seven games), an MLB worst run differential of -87, an MLB worst road record of 3-14, and already face a 15.5 game deficit sitting in last place in the NL Central. Ouch.
27. Houston Astros: 17-28 – The Astros suffered a three game sweep at the hands of their cross state rivals, the Texas Rangers, this weekend at Minute-Maid Park. Dallas Keuchel allowed six earned runs over seven innings on Sunday’s 9-2 loss and now has a 6.85 ERA this month. Houston, we have a problem.
26. Oakland Athletics: 19-26 – The A’s completed a three-game home sweep of the Texas Rangers earlier last week before getting swept by the visiting Yankees in four games this weekend. Throw in the Warriors, and it’s been a -rough past few days for East Bay.
25. Milwaukee Brewers: 18-26 – Milwaukee didn’t get any help when the Mets came into Miller Park this weekend and completed a three game sweep, but the Brewers can smile after taking two out of three games from the MLB best Chicago Cubs last week at home. Still a lot of work to be done up north.
24. San Diego Padres: 19-26 – San Diego took the first two games, against the visiting Dodgers this weekend, both via a walk-off before dropping a 17 inning marathon on Sunday afternoon. They still sit in last place, 7.5 games behind the first place Giants, whom they face in the Bay this week.
23. Arizona Diamondbacks: 21-25 – Arizona ended a five game skid last week, and they are now an impressive 14-8 on the road. Zack Greinke also tallied wins in consecutive starts for the first time this year, first against the Yankees and then against the Cardinals on Sunday. The only problem for the D-Backs however is that they are a dismal 7-17 at home. Fix that and a brighter future could be ahead.
22. Toronto Blue Jays: 22-24 – Just a week after Joey Bautista was clocked in the face and suspended one game, the Blue Jays find themselves sitting in last place in the AL East. Toronto was swept by Tampa immediately after their Texas road trip, before taking three of four against Minnesota, ending a 5 game skid in the process. What’s more, manager John Gibbons has failed to manage an entire game five times since last Sunday’s brawl, coincidentally getting ejected twice and sitting three games as a result of the Bautista incident. Toronto is talented, but there are certainly some leadership concerns that must be brought to the table.
21. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 20-24 – Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are finally heating up for a squad that has now won seven of its last three contests. Angels fans can also rejoice in the arrival of free agent Tim Lincecum last week, on top of the news that starting pitcher Garrett Richards opted to not have Tommy John Surgery after all. Nonetheless, the Angels had a rough time dealing with the visiting Baltimore Orioles this past weekend in which they dropped the series 2-1, marred by a 3-1 loss Saturday night that saw them one out away from victory before allowing a three run blast in the bottom of the ninth.
20. Tampa Bay Rays: 20-21 – Tampa escaped the cellar of the AL East last week by sweeping the Blue Jays in Toronto, only to drop two of the next three games while visiting the Detroit Tigers. The Rays batting has been the squad’s downfall this season, as nobody on the team is batting at or above .300. Steven Souza’s batting average of .268 leads all Tampa players this season.
19. Los Angeles Dodgers: 22-23 – Clayton Kershaw has been the lone light for a team that has continued to trend in the wrong direction in recent weeks. The Dodgers split the first leg of the freeway series at Chavez Ravine last week before being swept by the Angels in Anaheim. Los Angeles suffered back to back walk-off losses in San Diego this weekend, one of which was the result of a bases loaded walk, to extend their losing streak to four before outlasting the Padres in a 17 inning marathon on Sunday.
18. Detroit Tigers: 21-22 – The Tigers got a bounce in the right direction this past week, sweeping the Twins and then taking two out of three against Tampa to win six of their past seven games, but suffered a setback when they lost pitcher Jordan Zimmeran to a groin injury in Sunday’s victory. Meanwhile, third baseman Nick Castellanos is continuing to shine this season with a .340 batting average.
17. New York Yankees: 21-22 – The Yankees have won five games in a row and seven of their last ten, including a four game sweep of the Oakland A’s at the O.Co Coliseum. New York has now crept its way up to third place in the AL East, 5.5 games back of the Red Sox and Orioles.
16. Colorado Rockies: 21-21 – The Rockies dropped two out of three against St. Louis last week before splitting two games in Pittsburgh (Sunday’s contest was rained out). Colorado will head to Boston to take on the Red Sox this week, and they will have to rely on their bats to get the job done as they play in a smaller ballpark where offense is abundant. Nolan Arenado continues to lead the team in the mile-high city with 14 homers and a .307 batting average. Can I also brag for a minute that he went to my high school?
15. Miami Marlins: 22-21 – The Marlins maintain a winning record but dropped three game series to Washington and Philadelphia this past week, 2-1 in each instance. Nonetheless, Miami only remains 4.5 games out of first place in the NL East, and are set to host their Sunshine State counterparts – the Tampa Bay Rays – starting Monday night. Giancarlo Stanton leads the team with 11 home runs, but is only batting a mere .211 this season.
14. Kansas City Royals: 22-21 – The Royals are back to above .500 by taking consecutive series against the White Sox and Red Sox, two games to one each time. The defending world champs may be able to tack even some more wins this week as they head north to play the MLB worst Minnesota Twins. Eric Hosmer leads the team in batting average and homers, hitting .318 while launching eight balls over the fence this season.
13. St. Louis Cardinals: 23-21 – The Cardinals are playing pretty similar to their Missouri counterparts, hovering just above .500 over the past two weeks throughout. After returning from Los Angeles, the Red Birds took two out of three from Colorado in the Gateway City before dropping two out of three to Arizona this weekend. It’s rather surprising that St. Louis is where they are at considering they have batted in 241 runs, the second most in the majors.
12. Cleveland Indians: 22-19 – The Tribe lost consecutive games in Boston Saturday and Sunday, but Cleveland caught some fire with a five game winning streak last week, largely in part to a four game -sweep against the lowly Cincinnati Reds. Cleveland is now only 2.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox out of first place, who they will face on the south side this week. SS Francisco Lindor is having himself quite a year with a .325 batting average and a OBP of .383.
11. Pittsburgh Pirates: 23-19 – Pittsburgh has now won five of its last seven games, and will take on the Diamondbacks at PNC Park this week. Left-fielder Starling Marte leads all Pittsburgh batters with a .325 batting average and SP Gerrit Cole now has 5 wins with a 2.79 ERA. That however does not change the fact that the Pirates are six games out of first place in the NL Central despite sitting in second place.
10. Philadelphia Phillies: 25-19 – After taking two out of three games against the Marlins last week to move into a virtual tie for first place in the NL East, the Phillies looked vulnerable over the weekend losing two out of three games to the NL worst Braves at home over the weekend. Ryan Howard is only batting a mere .161 but leads the team with eight homers this season.
9. Texas Rangers: 25-19 – Life after the fight was tough for the Rangers out of the gate, as they suffered a three game sweep in Oakland, including a walk-off grand slam that ultimately got Shawn Tolleson demoted from his role of closer. The Rangers however would bounce right back to sweep the struggling Astros in Houston this weekend, and they can be excited for the long awaited return of SP Yu Darvish in the coming week.
8. New York Mets: 25-18 – The Mets got a bit of a break this weekend when they swept Milwaukee after coming off a 2-1 series loss at home to the first place Nationals. Now they will have to face the challenge Daniel Murphy and Washington all over again this week, this time heading to the nation’s capital. If the Mets are going to take the series and move into first place, they will have to rely on solid pitching across the board. New York’s pitching staff has a combined 3.18 ERA, with Noah Syndergaard leading the way at 1.94.
7. Chicago White Sox: 26-18 – Chicago maintains a 2.5 lead over Cleveland for first place in the Al Central, but the team on the south side may becoming back to earth after an incredibly hot start. The Sox have now lost seven of their last ten games, and will host the Tribe for a series this week with first place on the line. Chicago’s recent struggles however should not undermine the fact that Chris Sale is an incredible 9-0 with a 62 strikeouts and a 1.54 ERA to begin the season, making him an early AL Cy Young favorite.
6. Seattle Mariners: 26-18 – Seattle’s surprisingly hot start to the 2016 campaign continues, maintaining a one game lead over the Rangers for first place in the AL West. The Mariners completed a three game sweep of the Reds this weekend and have now won four straight entering a series against Oakland at Safeco Field this week. SP Felix Hernandez only has four wins but boasts a solid 2.21 ERA this season.
5. San Francisco Giants: 27-19 – Here they come. The Giants may be the hottest team in the majors right now, winning 10 of their last 11 games. Last week, the Giants successfully completed a perfect seven game road trip sweep, the first time they had done so in 103 years. Despite running in to some trouble from Jake Arrieta on Friday night, the Giants also ride the momentum of a 2-1 series victory against the MLB leading Chicago Cubs this weekend, shutting them out 1-0 Sunday night behind a quality start from Madison Bumgarner. That hot streak may continue this week as the Giants host the last place Padres this week.
4. Baltimore Orioles: 26-16 – Baltimore now sits right alongside Boston in a first place tie for the AL East after being the sole leader of the division from day until this past week. Nonetheless, the bats for Baltimore continue to stay hot – Mark Trumbo already at 13 homers this season. Manny Machado also continues to dominate, boasting a team best .308 batting average and .610 slugging percentage. It may be a fun week for the the Baltimore Bats as they travel to Houston to face the Astros’ struggling pitching staff.
3. Washington Nationals: 27-17 – The Nats have won four of their last five contests, taking two of three against the Mets in New York and then again against Miami over the weekend. Daniel Murphy has stolen the show with a super human-like batting average of .387, and SP Gio Gonzales now has a team-leading 1.86 ERA, not to mention hot streaks by other pitchers such as Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Talk about a complete team.
2. Boston Red Sox: 27-17 – The Red Sox continue to stay red hot, going 10-4 in their last 14 games. Batting has been the story, highlighted by center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.’s 27 game hit streak. David Ortiz has 11 home runs and a total of eight batters are hitting .300 or better. What’s more, SP David Price has 70 strikeouts already. Good times for baseball in Bean-town.
1. Chicago Cubs: 29-12 – The Cubs remain in the No. 1 spot for their record alone, but we cannot ignore the fact that this was their roughest week of the season – dropping two three-game series to Milwaukee and then San Francisco. Sunday night’s 1-0 loss in the Bay was only the third time the Cubs have been blanked all season. That however does not change the fact the Jake Arrieta continues to dominate baseball with an otherworldly ERA of 1.29 and an 8-0 record. Next up: a trip to St. Louis to play their arch-rival Cardinals.