MLB: Power Rankings Vol. 3
We just witnessed the Home Run Derby where Aaron Judge defeated Miguel Sano, 11-10, and the All-Star Game in which Robinson Cano's MVP effort, including a solo homer in the top of the 10th inning, propelled the AL over the NL, 2-1, to win it's fifth consecutive Mid-Summer's Classic.
And now, after a couple of days off, we are ready to play baseball again! The second half of the season is on the horizon, which means Charles Post and Blake Stoll came together to form a composite Power Rankings Vol. 3, and on top of that, we added our projected playoff fields.
Just for a quick synopsis of the first half of the year, the world champion Chicago Cubs have been the disappointment of the season, as they are 43-45 and on the outside of the playoffs right now. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, have been playing World Series caliber ball.
Cody Bellinger has been a huge help to this point and Clayton Kershaw is just as unstoppable as always. Another rookie, alongside Bellinger, is the New York Yankees' Judge who leads the entire league in homers and has been a dominate force. Elsewhere, the Arizona Diamondbacks just might make the playoffs. They've been at the bottom of the league for some time now, but Paul Goldschmidt and Zack Greinke have the D-Backs October-bound. Other teams, like the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, and Milwaukee Brewers are currently in the playoff field.
In our Power Rankings Vol. 1 that was released on April 30, the Yankees and Washington Nationals held the top spots. Power Rankings Vol. 2 premiered on June 26, and the Astros and Dodgers took over the highest rankings. Who will be No. 1 squad this time around? Find out below
POWER RANKINGS VOL. 3
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (61-29): Los Angeles has ascended to the top ranking after an incredible first half of the season, highlighted by Cody Bellinger's outstanding rookie campaign, after being called up on April 25. The Dodgers were +13 in our last rankings and they're now the No. 1 overall team in the league, and should be considered the favorites to win the World Series as of now.
2. Houston Astros (60-29): Houston has been one of the most consistent teams in the MLB, starting at No. 4 in our initial rankings, before taking the top spot last month, and now to No. 2. The Astros are 31 (!) games above the .500-mark, which is downright outstanding. Houston is led by MVP candidates Jose Altuve, Carlos Correra, and George Springer, as well as former Cy Young winner Dallas Kuechel.
3. Washington Nationals (52-36): Washington's season has been quite similar to that of Houston's, with a little bit less winning involved, and that's mainly because of the struggles from the bullpen. The Nationals are a very good team, with Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, and Ryan Zimmerman at the dish, and Max Scherzer on the mound, but if they don't make a deadline deal for 'pen help, don't expect the Nats to reach the Fall Classic. Washington has been in the top-5 of our rankings all season long.
4. Boston Red Sox (50-39): Boston's pitching staff took a little while to come around, far more time than most (including myself) expected, but now that they're locked in, the Red Sox are a team to take seriously. Chris Sale is the leading candidate for the AL Cy Young, while David Price is one heck of a secondary option. Craig Kimbrel was also an All-Star, and is having a successful season. Boston has climbed +9 spots since April 30.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (53-36): Arizona may just be the biggest surprise of the season, as we mentioned before, and Paul Goldschmidt has been a huge reason. He's one of the most consistent players we've seen in this decade, and Zack Greinke has looked good. If all goes well, the Diamondbacks will be returning to the playoffs after a lengthy hiatus. Their lowest ranking was No. 9, and for the second edition in a row, they're No. 5.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (50-41): Milwaukee has lucked out by being in a weak division, but that doesn't take away from what they've done so far. The Brewers have been able to win close games, defeat division opponents with consistency, and remain healthy. Unless the Chicago Cubs get it going, the Brewers will reach the postseason with a divisional title. This is Milwaukee's highest ranking to date.
7. Cleveland Indians (47-40): Cleveland's season didn't quite start the way they'd hoped, but it seems things have finally turned a corner for the Indians, as Francisco Lindor and Co. are playing more like they did last fall. Corey Kluber and Andrew Miller will continue to play key roles on the bump, and The Tribe should be able to hold off the Minnesota Twins and surging Kansas City Royals.
8. New York Yankees (45-41): New York was ranked No. 1 in our April 30 edition, but fell to No. 7 in the June 26 standings. Now, the Yankees are one spot lower, but are still in position to reach the playoffs as a Wild Card team. If Aaron Judge continues the way he's been going, hitting 30 home runs already, they should find a way to keep playing into October (and maybe even November). But for that to happen, pitching must improve a bit.
9. Colorado Rockies (52-39): Colorado is in third place in the NL West, and usually that'd mean mediocrity, but for the MLB's best division, it means the Rockies would slide right into the postseason. Colorado hasn't been the same since losing in the 2007 World Series to the Boston Red Sox, but 2017 might be the year they get back into legitimate contention, behind Nolan Arenado's stellar season. Colorado's highest spot was No. 3 a couple of months back.
10. Minnesota Twins (45-43): Minnesota was ranked No. 14 at 11-11 at the end of April, but after a great run where they went 28-23, the Twins climbed all the way to No. 4. Since then, they've gone 6-9 and are out of first place in the AL Central. Even with that said, Minnesota has a shot at reaching the playoffs, and Ervin Santana, who is in the Cy Young discussion, has been an enormous reason.
11. Kansas City Royals (44-43): Kansas City has been one of the best teams in the entire league, after struggling in April and May. The Royals were 7-15 at one point, and were all the way down at No. 28 in our rankings, before reaching No. 15 because of a 37-37 record. Now at 44-43, they're just a couple of games out of a Wild Card seed.
12. Tampa Bay Rays (47-43): Tampa Bay was once one of the top tier teams in the league, reaching the 2008 World Series, where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. There's a chance they get back to the playoffs, namely because of Evan Longoria and Chris Archer, who are a couple of absolute studs. The Rays currently sit in third place in the AL East, ahead of the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.
13. Chicago Cubs (43-45): Chicago is the defending champion, and everyone expected them to pick up right where they left off in early November. Things haven't gone as planned, though. John Lackey and Jon Lester are finally starting to show their age, struggling mightily, while Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are playing well below their MVP level. However, the Cubs just traded multiple prospects for Jose Quintana, a well established starting pitcher on the Chicago White Sox. This squad has more than enough talent to put together a winning streak and snatch up a playoff spot, but it's a matter of if they can utilize that strength in time, because the season is quickly getting away from them.
14. Texas Rangers (43-45): Texas has been good when healthy, but the problem is, they can't seem to do that. Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gomez, and others have spent time on the disabled list. The Rangers' bright spot is Elvis Andrus is having a career year at the plate, hitting a career high in home runs, midway through the season. The Rangers haven't been able to crack the top-10 in 2017 yet.
15. Atlanta Braves (42-45): Atlanta is just barely staying alive, but they're much improved from being a bottom dweller last season. Matt Kemp has looked like his old self, while Freddie Freeman is playing at an All-Star level. In each of the power rankings, the Braves have moved up, from No. 21 to No. 17 to No. 15.
16. Los Angeles Angels (45-47): Los Angeles actually did a pretty good job of playing well without All-Star Mike Trout, but he's healthy again and prepared to return. The Angels are in third place in the AL West, behind the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. Trout will do his best to push Los Angeles to the playoffs, but it's far fetched. There highest ranking was No. 12, while this is their lowest.
17. St. Louis Cardinals (43-45): St. Louis has been an average-at-best team over the last two seasons, missing out on the postseason in 2016, and it looks like they're headed for that again. Carlos Martinez has played pretty well, but he doesn't have enough help. Yadier Molina has been great at catcher, but there's only so much he can do. The Cardinals' highest ranking was No. 10, while their lowest was a couple of weeks ago at No. 23.
18. Baltimore Orioles (42-46): Baltimore's postseason streak may come to a close in 2017, because it's been a disaster for them over the last two months. In April, the Orioles were one of the top teams in the MLB, reaching No. 7 at 14-8, namely because of guys like Adam Jones and Manny Machado, but in less than two months, they limped to a 22-30 record, and since then, they've gone an underwhelming 6-8. Baltimore is in fourth place in the AL East.
19. Miami Marlins (41-46): Miami hasn't been able to find the level of success that they experienced in 2016, even though it didn't result in a playoff berth, it seemed the Marlins were heading in the right direction. Giancarlo Stanton is as good as ever, but there isn't enough around him. I'm not sure if we'll ever see this specific team reach the postseason.
20. Seattle Mariners (43-47): Seattle has the All-Star Game MVP, Robinson Cano, at second base, and he's still very productive, but this team doesn't have enough juice to really compete with the top teams in the league. Seattle was No. 27 on April 30, and No. 16 on June 26. It's hard to tell where this team is headed.
21. Pittsburgh Pirates (42-47): Pittsburgh had a stretch for five years or so when it looked like a World Series title was a real possibility, but that idea has evaporated, and the Pirates are struggling to keep up in the division for the second consecutive year. And because of that, Andrew McCutchen has been mentioned in trade talks. It remains to be seen if McCutchen will be dealt at the deadline, but I'm certain Pittsburgh would be in a better position if Sterling Marte wasn't suspended for a failed PED test. The Pirates' peak was No. 18 last month.
22. Detroit Tigers (39-48): Detroit, it's time to blow it up! Trade Ian Kinsler. Trade Victor Martinez. Trade Justin Upton. Trade Justin Verlander. Heck, while we're at it, test the market on Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez. All-Star Michael Fulmer is only major asset that the Tigers should keep. It's time to rebuild in Detroit, and the longer it's put off, the more time it will take to see results. Detroit's low was No. 27, at 33-42.
23. New York Mets (39-47): New York was supposed to have the best pitching staff of the decade, right? Well, it's hard to blame the organization, since this season has been lost to injury on all accounts. The Mets are 10.5 games back for the second Wild Card slot, and it seems their back-to-back playoff appearances will go out the window in a couple of months. It'd take a miracle for New York to make up that much ground.
24. Toronto Blue Jays (41-47): Toronto - the most disappointing team in baseball, has looked absolutely lost at times during the season, as they're in last place in the AL East. Many expected this team to compete with the big boys, as they have for much of the last few seasons, but Jose Bautista has been horrible, while Josh Donaldson has been injured. And somehow, someway, the Blue Jays could still get to the playoffs, since they're only five games back of the Wild Card, given how weak the middle of the American League has been.
25. San Diego Padres (38-50): San Diego hasn't been good in what feels like a generation, and this month is nothing new. The Padres sat at No. 24 in each of our first two rankings, and have fallen another spot to No. 24, even though they went 7-5 since June 26. At least San Diego isn't in last place, though, right?
26. Cincinnati Reds (39-49): Cincinnati actually started the season pretty well. They were leading the NL Central for a couple of days, ahead of the likes of the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. Oh how times have changed. Unfortunately for Reds fans, No. 26 is tied for their peak in 2017. At least Cincinnati gets to watch Billy Hamilton on a regular basis. He's one of the games' most exciting talents.
27. Oakland Athletics (39-50): Oakland has been consistently bad, if nothing else. They've moved down exactly two slots in every rankings, going from No. 23 to No. 25 and now to No. 27. Since April 30, the Athletics are an abysmal 28-37. It could be worse.
28. Chicago White Sox (38-49): Chicago has a tendency to start the season fast, I'm not sure if it's catching opponents by surprise, poor scheduling, or a mixture of the two, but in 2016 and 2017, the White Sox have appeared in the top-5 before June, before completing imploding and falling to the bottom of the ranks. Chicago has taken quite a fall, -23 in fact, since April 30.
29. San Francisco Giants (34-56): San Francisco has seen a career year from Buster Posey at the plate, and it's all going to be for naught, because the Giants have been terrible almost everywhere else. Only so much can be placed on Madison Bumgarner's injury, which has made a difference, but not this much. It may be time for the Giants to get a little younger, and see how that goes. They've been No. 29 in all three of our power rankings.
30. Philadelphia Phillies (29-58): Philadelphia has the worst record in the majors, and because of that, they're dead last in our power rankings. It's hard to find a slimmer of hope in the Phillies' organization, but over the last few years, they've been attempting to rebuild through their farm system, and obviously that transition hasn't produced yet. On April 30, the Phillies were ranked all the way up at No. 11. It's been a couple of tough months since, as they've gone an embarrassing 18-47.
CHARLES POST'S PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS:
AL West: Houston Astros (60-29)
AL East: Boston Red Sox (50-39)
AL Central: Cleveland Indians (47-40)
Wild Card 1: New York Yankees (45-41)
Wild Card 2: Kansas City Royals (44-43)
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (61-29)
NL East: Washington Nationals (52-36)
NL Central: Chicago Cubs (43-45)
Wild Card 1: Arizona Diamondbacks (53-36)
Wild Card 2: Colorado Rockies (52-39)
BLAKE STOLL'S PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS:
AL West: Houston Astros (60-29)
AL East: New York Yankees (45-41)
AL Central: Cleveland Indians (47-40)
AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox (50-39)
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays (47-43)
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (61-29)
NL East: Washington Nationals (52-36)
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers (50-41)
NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs (43-45)
NL Wild Card: Arizona Diamondbacks (53-36)
Photo Credit: CBS Sports and Sporting News.
