It’s June, which means that the honeymoon period for every MLB team has long been over, but most teams will continue to push hard until the All-Star break to see if what they’ve got is worth holding onto for the rest of the season. However, it’s becoming quite clear which teams are capable of continuing their strong play, and which teams just got out to a fast start. Teams will now begin to take long, hard looks at their roster and determine whether it will look similar in August, or whether building for the future is in their best interest.
Here is this week’s Power Rankings. The number in parenthesis after the team name is where that team was ranked in the previous Power Rankings.
1. Boston Red Sox (3)- The Sox have won five straight and have the best record in the American League. For icing on the cake, Boston is 7-1 against the Yankees so far.
2. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (5)- It definitely helps to be able to hit. St. Louis has the best batting average in the MLB (.278), as well as the best OBP (.352).
4. San Francisco Giants (8)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (6)- Prince Fielder is hot, and all is well with the Brew Crew. It took a couple of months, but it looks like the bats have finally come alive in Milwaukee.
6. Detroit Tigers (14)- As Cleveland continues its freefall at the top of the AL Central, Detroit is winning games by doing something that Cleveland has not been able to do as of late: score runs.
7. Texas Rangers (9)
8. Atlanta Braves (11)
9. Cleveland Indians (2)- Maybe it was too good to be true. The Tribe have lost four of their last five series, including their most recent one, dropping two out of three to the lowly Twins.
10. New York Yankees (4)
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (10)- Arizona probably doesn’t have the pitching to keep pace with San Francisco the entire summer, but the longer they hang around, the more confidence they will gain.
12. Tampa Bay Rays (12)
13. Toronto Blue Jays (18)
14. Seattle Mariners (17)
15. Cincinnati Reds (13)
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (24)- Sixty games in, and the Pirates are still playing .500 baseball. The last time they were playing this well this late into the season was 2005. Hurry, someone call Jack Wilson before their luck runs out!
17. Baltimore Orioles (15)
18. Florida Marlins (7)- Hanley Ramirez being on the DL is not helping Florida’s offensive issues at all. The Marlins cannot afford to continue slumping, or catching Philadelphia will become near impossible.
19. New York Mets (20)
20. Colorado Rockies (16)
21. Chicago White Sox (21)
22. Los Angeles Dodgers (25)
23. Los Angeles Angels (19)- The AL West is a very winnable division, and Mike Scioscia has to be getting on his team about their poor performance lately. Perhaps their upcoming series with Kansas City can serve as a spark.
24. San Diego Padres (28)
25. Washington Nationals (27)
26. Kansas City Royals (26)
27. Oakland Athletics (22)
28. Chicago Cubs (23)
29. Minnesota Twins (30)- Progress is being made. Minnesota had been 30th in the Power Rankings for quite some time…
30. Houston Astros (29)
– K. Becks
