Shea’s MLB Power Rankings (as of 24/05/2011)
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The cream is rising to the top, with one noteworthy exception, as we revisit the MLB power rankings.
(Previous week’s rankings in brackets)
1. (1) Cleveland Indians (29-15): Hard to pick a standout among all the youngsters but Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley turned heads over the last week.
2. (2) Philadelphia Phillies (29-18): The reinforcements have arrived! Chase Utley and Domonic Brown could do wonders for their offense.
3. (10) San Francisco Giants (27-19): When the defending champs win five straight games, you take notice.
4. (14) Boston Red Sox (25-21): Through Sunday, they’d won eight of nine. Will Kevin Millwood fix their back-of-the-rotation woes?
5. (7) Tampa Bay Rays (26-21): Is David Price not the best pitcher on his own team this season? James Shields continues to absolutely tear it up.
6. (3) Florida Marlins (26-19): In a division that includes Philadelphia and Atlanta, there’s no margin for error, so Josh Johnson’s shoulder injury is devastating news.
7. (5) St. Louis Cardinals (28-20): The Lance Berkman injury was inevitable. Could it signal the start of a slide?
8. (15) Texas Rangers (25-23): Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz announced their return from DL by homering in the same game. The Rangers are back.
9. (19) Milwaukee Brewers (24-23): The Brew Crew are turning things around as expected now that Greinke is back and especially now that Yovani Gallardo is dealing again.
10. (23) Toronto Blue Jays (24-23): Jose Bautista just won’t stop. As long as his explosion continues, the Jays may stay in the AL East race.
11. (4) New York Yankees (25-21): Curtis Granderson’s huge power numbers distract from the fact that several star Yankee hitters have cooled off – most notably Robinson Cano.
12. (26) Arizona Diamondbacks (23-23): I don’t think it will last but a six-game winning streak and player of the week honors for Daniel Hudson are at least worth a temporary spike in the rankings.
13. (6) Atlanta Braves (26-23): There comes a time when we have to stop forgiving players for their bad starts and start acknowledging that it isn’t their year. The clock is ticking for Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward.
14. (24) Seattle Mariners (22-24): Like the D-backs, they’re riding a nice little winning streak. But King Felix, Ichiro, Justin Smoak and Michael Pineda can’t carry the team on their own forever.
15. (11) Detroit Tigers (23-23): Rick Porcello is returning to the stellar form he showed as a rookie. Remember, he’s still just 22 years old.
16. (8) Los Angeles Angels (24-24): Mark Trumbo may not be an upgrade over Kendrys Morales but the Angels sure like his bat over Vernon Wells’ in the lineup.
17. (20) New York Mets (22-24): How will Jose Reyes and David Wright respond to being called out by team chairman Fred Wilpon?
18. (15) Colorado Rockies (23-22): Unless Ubaldo Jimenez can turn things around and be the ace he’s supposed to be – the velocity drop is concerning – the Rockies may not compete for the NL West crown after all.
19. (9) Cincinnati Reds (25-23): That they optioned their Opening Day starter, Edinson Volquez, to Triple-A tells you all you need to know about what’s wrong with the Reds.
20. (27) Chicago White Sox (22-27): Still 10 games behind Cleveland as of press time but the White Sox still have the depth and talent to climb back into the Wildcard hunt.
21. (22) Baltimore Orioles (21-24)
22. (16) Kansas City Royals (22-24)
23. (17) Pittsburgh Pirates (22-24)
24. (25) Chicago Cubs (20-25)
25. (21) Los Angeles Dodgers (21-27)
26. (12) Oakland Athletics (22-25)
27. (18) Washington Nationals (21-26)
28. (29) Houston Astros (17-30)
29. (28) San Diego Padres (19-28)
30. (30) Minnesota Twins (15-30)
