MLB Power Rankings: Week 4
12 - Chicago Cubs (12-9)
The Cubs continue to get breakout performances from Patrick Wisdom (9 HR, 18 RBI) and Justin Steele (1.44 ERA) and are playing very well as a team. They got to play the A’s last week which helped boost their win total but ended up losing 3 of 4 at home to the Dodgers. I have a feeling they are going to slip a bit here soon but for now they make the list.
11 - Los Angeles Dodgers (12-11)
The Dodgers continue to battle inconsistency as they finally won back-to-back games last weekend for the first time since April 6. Despite all the struggles, they find themselves in a tie for the division lead. Max Muncy leads the league with 11 home runs and James Outman is the early front runner for Rookie of the Year. LA needs to find a way to maintain consistency.
10 - Baltimore Orioles (14-7)
With the help of an easy schedule last week, the Orioles are 2nd in the best division in baseball. This is a team that’s going to be in the conversation all year but the pitching staff is young and doesn’t inspire much confidence that they can maintain this level of production all season. They’re great at celebrations though.
9 - Houston Astros (12-10)
I knew it wouldn’t be long that we’d see the Astros back on the power rankings. After a slow start to the season, Houston has started to look like themselves again, winning 5 of their last 6 (including a sweep of the Atlanta Braves). A surprising lack of power is the only major area of concern for this team and they look to climb their way back to the top of the division standings.
8 - Pittsburgh Pirates (16-7)
You gotta love what’s going on in Pittsburgh right now. Currently on a 7-game win streak, the Pirates are first in the division and there is no doubt there is some energy back with this team we haven’t seen for a long time. They have some big tests coming up in series with the Dodgers, Rays, and Blue Jays. If they can get through that with a winning record, it might be time to take this team more seriously.
7 - Texas Rangers (14-7)
Another team that is back playing well after years of losing are the Rangers. Winners of 6 of their last 7 games, Texas holds a 2.5 game lead over Houston in the AL West. The deGrom injury scare is over, as we struck out 11 batters in last week’s outing. Adolis Garcia has a 3 home run game to bring his total to 7 and has batted in 28. And if you’re a fan of run differential, the Rangers are second in the league at +60, only behind the Rays.
6 - New York Mets (14-9)
For how banged up and sticky their pitching staff is right now, the Mets are weathering the storm well. They went 4-3 on a west coast trip and are just 0.5 game back of the Braves in the division. Verlander should return soon and will get a home series against Atlanta this weekend for a shot at taking the division lead.
5 - Toronto Blue Jays (13-9)
The Blue Jays have gotten big series wins against the Rays and Yankees. Despite that, they are fourth of the division and 6 games back, which says more to how good the AL East is and not how poorly the Blue Jays have played.
4 - New York Yankees (13-9)
We might be seeing the best season ever out of Gerrit Cole, currently with a 0.79 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. The bats however, have not been the strength of this team as they rank 25th in team batting average and 20th in runs scored. I do think those numbers will improve but it might be a problem the team needs to address come trade deadline time.
3 - Milwaukee Brewers (15-7)
The Brew Crew got a road sweep of the Mariners, then dropped 2 of 3 at home to the Red Sox last week. If not for the Pirates hot start, they would be sitting atop the NL Central. The Brewers continue to look good both with pitching and hitting and will be a problem for teams all season long.
2 - Atlanta Braves (14-8)
The Braves got a reality check by the Astros last weekend but make no mistake this is still the elite team of the National League. They have a chance to expand their division lead against the Mets this weekend in Queens.
1 - Tampa Bay Rays (19-3)
The Rays continue to stay undefeated at home with a weekend sweep of the White Sox and have set a new MLB record by hitting a home run in the first 21 games of the season (they extended that record to 22 on Sunday). Throw any team stat out there and the Rays are probably first - runs, batting average, slugging, ERA, WHIP, run differential…list goes on and on.