Today is Around The Corn’s 4th birthday! The frequency of posts on the site may be taking a hit this summer, but I felt like I had to do something special to mark the birth of one of the few things that I can truly call mine.
So to celebrate, here’s a fresh MLB Power Rankings list.
As always, the number in parenthesis next to the team name is the position that team was in for the last Power Rankings.
1. Pittsburgh Pirates (4)- Normally I think I’d have to be a little crazy to put the Bucs at the top of the Power Rankings, but clearly I’m not the only one that is buying into Pittsburgh…
2. Boston Red Sox (2)
3. Atlanta Braves (7)
4. Oakland Athletics (3)
5. Baltimore Orioles (11)- It shouldn’t be too surprising that the Orioles’ potent offense and serviceable pitching have them in a pretty good position just a couple of weeks before the All-Star break. What’s surprising is that Boston is getting it done on both ends even better.
6. Texas Rangers (6)
7. Detroit Tigers (8)
8. Washington Nationals (14)- Is a Top 10 ranking too high for the Nationals at this point? Maybe, but assuming that they eventually get healthy sometime this season, why put off the inevitable?
9. Cincinnati Reds (5)
10. Cleveland Indians (18)- Naturally, the Indians quickly righted the ship after that horrendous stretch in early June. But they’ve lost two straight now in July, and are heading into a crucial four game series with Detroit tomorrow. Gut check time, gentlemen.
11. St. Louis Cardinals (1)
12. New York Yankees (10)
13. Arizona Diamondbacks (9)- The Diamondbacks are currently the leaders of the weakest division in baseball. It’s hard to find a team playing worse baseball right now, though…
14. Tampa Bay Rays (13)
15. Los Angeles Dodgers (25)- Look at the Dodgers! They still aren’t that good, but Los Angeles can finally take their hands away from their eyes when going to games; this team is in contention again.
16. Los Angeles Angels (26)
17. Colorado Rockies (12)- I still haven’t gotten around to writing that article about the Rockies being legitimate contenders, and sure enough, they’re making it increasingly difficult to do so. The saving grace is that the NL West is so bad, making Colorado look like they still have a shot.
18. Kansas City Royals (16)
19. Philadelphia Phillies (19)
20. Toronto Blue Jays (21)- The winning streak was nice while it lasted, but now the Blue Jays must face reality: they’re still over 10 games back in the best division in baseball. Things aren’t going to be easy for Toronto.
21. San Diego Padres (17)
22. Seattle Mariners (22)
23. San Francisco Giants (15)- Oh, wait…here they are. A team playing worse baseball than the Diamondbacks right now.
24. Chicago Cubs (27)
25. New York Mets (28)
26. Minnesota Twins (20)
27. Milwaukee Brewers (24)
28. Chicago White Sox (23)
29. Miami Marlins (30)
30. Houston Astros (29)- Due to some sort of undetected seismic shift, the Marlins have been playing well lately, relegating Houston back to the spot we all thought they’d be in for the entire season: dead last.
– K. Becks
