Hi everyone, fun game in Iowa eh!! Let’s go to the Week 21 MLB Power Rankings shall we.
Playing out the String
30. Diamondbacks 38-81 5th in NL West LW: 30
Congrats to Tyler Gilbert on throwing a no hitter, great story.
29. Orioles 38-79 5th in AL East LW: 29
10 losses and counting for the Orioles, really close to taking over bottom spot.
28. Pirates 42-77 5th in NL Central LW: 27
Since the Pirates traded Adam Frazier wheels have came off, Over 58 Wins now in Question.
27. Rangers 42-76 5th in AL West LW: 28
Rangers got a nice series win over the A’s which bumps them up a spot.
26. Nationals 50-68 5th in NL East LW: 26
The Nationals were once 40-39. Have gone 9-29 since and really fallen apart after trading many vets.
25. Royals 50-67 5th in NL Central LW: 24
The Royals 16-7 start seems like light years ago. Baseball truly is a marathon not a sprint.
24. Cubs 52-69 4th in NL Central LW: 22
The Cubs are 1-15 in August. I don’t know if I’ll ever slate them in bottom 4 but they are playing worst than any team in baseball except the Orioles.
23. Marlins 51-68 4th in NL East LW: 26
With the domination of the Cubs over the weekend we will move the Marlins up a few spots in the rankings.
22. Twins 53-66 4th in NL Central LW: 25
The Twins have enough talent that getting to 78 to 80 wins is not unrealistic, still a disappointing season.
21. Rockies 53-66 4th in NL West LW: 21
The Rockies predictably went 1-5 in a Houston/San Fran road trip. Now 14-45 on the road.
20. Tigers 58-62 3rd in AL Central LW: 20
The Tigers lost a series to the Indians over the weekend but still have a great shot to finish in 2nd place, even after an 8-25 start.
19. Indians 57-60 2nd in AL Central LW: 17
The Indians are clinging onto 2nd place in the AL Central, even with offseason departures not where they expected to be in 2020.
18. Angels 59-61 4th in AL West LW: 18
The Angels have been pretty consistent of beating the bad teams and losing to the good teams 81 wins almost seems like their destiny.
Playoff Hopefuls
17. Mets 59-59 3rd in NL East LW: 16
Getting swept at home by the Dodgers is not a killer but falling to 3.5 games behind the Braves is. Almost in panic mode in Queens.
16. Phillies 61-57 2nd in NL East LW: 13
Tough home series loss to the Reds. It’s likely going to be NL East or bust for the Phillies who do have the easiest remaining strength of schedule.
15. Cardinals 61-56 3rd in NL Central LW: 19
The Cardinals continue to dominate the poor teams and lose to the good ones. Have vaulted themselves into fringe wild card contenders
14. Mariners 63-56 3rd in AL West LW: 14
It’s hard to really take the Mariners playoff chances seriously but a winning record would be considered an success in the Northwest.
13. Braves 63-56 1st in NL East LW: 15
All of the metrics say the Braves are by far the best team in the NL East. I think they still win this thing but Phillies strength of schedule gives me pause.
12. Blue Jays 63-54 4th in AL East LW: 11
The Blue Jays keep mashing but their rotation outside of a resurgent Robbie Ray and Always steady Hyun-Jin Ryu, the rotation is not elite.
11. Reds 65-55 2nd in NL Central LW: 12
With a resurgent Joey Votto leading the charge only a very bad bullpen is keeping the Reds from being in the upper echelon of the National League.
10. Padres 67-54 3rd in NL West LW: 7
A 1-4 road trip (including getting no hit by a pitcher in his first career start) in Az/Col is not how the Friars wrote things up. At least Tatis is back!
9. Yankees 67-52 3rd in AL East LW: 10
It’s tough not to envision the Yankees not sneaking into the playoffs. There is just too much top end talent on the roster.
8. Red Sox 69-52 2nd in AL East LW: 9
The Red Sox got a little bit of a reprieve playing the Orioles over the Weekend. This team is still trending in the wrong direction.
7. Athletics 68-51 2nd in AL West LW: 8
The A’s lost a series to the Rangers which stunted some momentum. Still their recent 2nd half history suggest that the Astros should still be on high alert.
The Contenders
6. White Sox 69-50 1st in AL Central LW: 4
The White Sox pulling off the walk off in the field of dreams game was the highlight in all of baseball this season. Sox just playing for seeding at this point.
5. Astros 70-48 1st in AL West LW: 6
The Astros are the only team in top 6 that is still fighting for the playoffs. But I think their offense and schedule will keep them above the Red Sox/Yankees.
4. Brewers 72-47 1st in NL Central LW: 5
What a beatdown of the Cubs in Wrigleyville last week. Outscoring them 37-9 in the four games. They have 3 of the Top 5 ERA starters in all of baseball.
3. Rays 72-47 1st in AL East LW: 2
How can Brett Phillips not be one of the most beloved players in all of baseball. He does something awesome almost every day.
2. Dodgers 73-46 2nd in NL West LW: 3
The Dodgers are so stacked and healthy now, it would be a shock if they don’t win about the amount of games I predicted they would at start of year (103 W’s).
1.Giants 77-42 1st in NL West LW: 1
The Giants keep winning despite Jake McGee’s recent struggles. It is a special year in the bay area but going to be real tough to hold off L.A down stretch.