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Week 8 MLB Power Rankings
1.) St Louis Cardinals (32-17) - The Cardinals seem to have the best pitching in baseball no matter who is on the mound with a team ERA of 3.11. Their lineup isn’t to shabby either, as they are 10th in runs scored. Good hitting and even better pitching is why the Cardinals are back in the top spot.
2.) Texas Rangers (32-18) - Even with Ian Kinsler on the DL the Rangers are still winning, with a little help from and easy schedule. Top Prospect Jurickson Profar has been called up, so when Kinsler is back Manager Ron Washington will have some decisions to make.
3.) Pittsburgh Pirates (31-19) - The young exciting Outfield combination of Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen are both playing very well right now, as they are looking to lead the Pirates to an above .500 record, and the playoffs.
4.) Cincinnati Reds (31-19) - Joey Votto is back healthy and having a great season for the Reds, as he has an OBP of a ridiculous .479. With Votto getting on base almost half the time it’s easy to understand how Brandon Phillips has 42 RBIs batting behind him.
5.) Atlanta Braves (30-19) - The Braves are 11 games over .500 and in first place in the NL East despite having three everyday players in B.J. Upton, Jason Heyward, and Dan Uggla all batting under .200.
6.) Boston Red Sox (31-20) - The second half of the month of May looks a lot like the month of April has for the Red Sox as they are rolling since May 15th going (9-3). David Ortiz has been great this season, as he is hitting .341 with eight homeruns and 34 RBIs.
7.) New York Yankees (30-19) - Curtis Granderson made his return to the Yankees lineup, but he only lasted about a week before he was hit by another pitch this time on his hand, breaking his pinkie, and sending him back to the DL.
8.) Detroit Tigers (28-20) - Miguel Cabrera is on the hunt for another Triple Crown, as he is batting .385 with 14 homeruns, and 57 RBIs. The Tigers offense overall has been great, as they are first in runs scored, batting average, and OBP.
9.) Arizona Diamondbacks (28-22) - Patrick Corban is an outstanding (8-0) leading the Diamondbacks rotation and Paul Goldschmidt is carrying the offense with 12 homeruns and 39 RBIs.
10.) San Francisco Giants (28-22) - The Giants offense continues to hit well while the pitching struggles, but the bright spot in their rotation is that Matt Cain has only given up four runs in his last two starts, as he seems to be bouncing back from his slow start.
11.) Oakland Athletics (28-23) - The Athletics are sixth in the majors in runs scored with their best hitter Yoenis Cespedes only hitting .219. They do seem to struggle against teams that aren’t the Astros though, as they are under .500 vs. the rest of baseball.
12.) Colorado Rockies (27-23) - The Rockies are still hanging tough in the NL West only one game behind the division leaders, which has to be one of baseballs big surprises. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are both having great seasons to help the Rockies have a winning record.
13.) Cleveland Indians (27-22) - The Indians have cooled of a bit this week losing five of their last six games to the Tigers and Red Sox, as they allowed five or more runs in all of their losses in that span.
14.) Baltimore Orioles (27-23) - Closer Jim Johnson has struggled for the Orioles this season, as an ERA over five, and has blown four saves already this season. The offense for the Orioles is great however scoring the second most runs in baseball.
15.) Chicago White Sox (24-24) - The White sox have been riding the top of their rotation in Chris Sale and Jake Peavy, as they have gotten to the .500 mark. Sale and Peavy have combined for 11 wins this season, and both have an ERA under three.
16.) Washington Nationals (26-24) - Pitching has been very good for the Nationals thus far this season, but their lineup hasn’t given them any run support. Bryce Harper has been their best hitter and he is going to be missing a few games to rest his sore knee in the upcoming week.
17.) Tampa Bay Rays (25-24) - Fernando Rodney was arguably the best Closer in baseball last season with 48 saves and a 0.60 ERA, but this year Rodney has blown five saves already, and has an ERA over six.
18.) Los Angeles Angels (23-27) - The Angels are the hottest team in baseball riding an eight-game winning streak. Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout are hitting it very well lately, and with series against the Dodgers, Astros, and Cubs coming up the Angels should be above .500 very soon.
19.) Philadelphia Phillies (24-26) - The Phillies have been struggling to hit this season, and now with Chase Utley on the DL the Phillies need someone in their lineup to start hitting.
20.) San Diego Padres (22-27) - Andrew Cashner has seemed to hit his groove in the rotation, as he is (4-2) with an ERA of 3.38. The Padres do need Carlos Quentin and Chase Headley to start hitting better if they want to make it to .500.
21.) Toronto Blue Jays (21-29) - Another winning week for the Blue Jays makes it three straight, and a big come from behind win on Sunday against the Orioles may just be the win the Blue Jays needed to go on a nice run.
22.) Kansas City Royals (21-26) - The Royals are on a five game losing streak, which included being swept in a four-game series at home to the Angels. They also lost a series to the Astros in the beginning of the week, which is inexcusable.
23.) Los Angeles Dodgers (20-28) - The Dodgers need their superstar Matt Kemp to start hitting like he is capable of if they want to turn it around. Kemp is hitting just .260 with two homeruns and 17 RBIs, which is a main reason for the Dodgers struggles.
24.) Seattle Mariners (21-29) - Seattle is free falling in the standings, as Starting Pitchers besides Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma have been awful. Scoring continues to be a problem for the Mariners as well, hitting just .211 with RISP.
25.) Milwaukee Brewers (19-29) - The Brewers season hasn’t been very good and it got worse on Friday night, as Closer Jim Henderson, who was perfect in save chances went down with a hamstring injury and will be heading to the DL.
26.) Minnesota Twins (19-28) - The Twins have had a major reality check lately losing 11 of their last 12 games after their nice start to the season. Pitching has been the big problem for the Twins, as they rank 28th in team ERA.
27.) New York Mets (18-29) - Ike Davis has been struggling and their were rumors of him being sent down to the minors, but a clutch hit on Sunday Night Baseball got the Mets a win over the Braves, and may have kept Davis in the majors for a little longer.
28.) Chicago Cubs (19-30) - Matt Garza made his return this week for the Cubs and pitched five scoreless inning against the Pirates in his first start, but gave up four runs in four innings against the Reds. Cubs Starting Pitching has been good all year, and getting Garza back will just make the rotation even better.
29.) Houston Astros (14-36) - Pitching is the biggest issue for the Astros, as they have a team ERA of 5.47. Bud Norris seems to be the only pitcher worth anything on the Astros, as he (4-4, 3.86) on the year.
30.) Miami Marlins (13-37) - The Marlins are the worst hitting team in baseball, and are even worse at the plate without Giancarlo Stanton, who is still on the DL. Without being able to score runs the Marlins cant seems to beat anyone, which is why they are last in the rankings.
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