This week\u2019s MLB power rankings showcase a few teams unexpectedly on the ropes and a few teams unexpectedly clawing their way back into the playoff hunt.<\/p>\n
(Previous rankings in brackets)<\/p>\n
1. (1) Detroit Tigers (90-65): <\/strong>Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez deserve all the credit they get. But what about the magic of Doug Fister? 7-1 with a 2.02 ERA since arriving from Seattle in a trade. This is your unsung hero.<\/p>\n 2. (3) New York Yankees (95-60): <\/strong>They continue to hum along and Mariano Rivera\u2019s save record was another nice pat-yourself-on-the-back moment for the Yankees. But if their ragtag pitching staff implodes in the playoffs, no one will look back on 2011 fondly.<\/p>\n 3. (5) Texas Rangers (90-65): <\/strong>With Detroit playing so well and Texas boasting so many dangerous hitters, it\u2019s enough to wonder if the Yankees and Red Sox would enter playoff series against these two teams as the underdogs.<\/p>\n 4. (7) St. Louis Cardinals (86-69); <\/strong>It doesn\u2019t feel like they have the depth to do any damage in a playoff series but you can never count them out because of Albert Pujols. The Cards are just 1.5 games back of Atlanta for the National League Wildcard through Wednesday.<\/p>\n 5. (2) Philadelphia Phillies (98-57): <\/strong>A five-game losing streak knocks them out of the top two for perhaps the first time all year but the slight lull isn\u2019t a surprise for a team that won its division so early.<\/p>\n 6. (10) San Francisco Giants (84-71); <\/strong>The late-season surge is nice (9-1 over their last 10) but it\u2019s probably too late. A weekend series with the Diamondbacks looms large but they have a better shot at the Wildcard than the NL West crown now.<\/p>\n 7. (9) Milwaukee Brewers (91-65): <\/strong>They\u2019ve cooled off of late but I still believe the Brew Crew will challenge the Phillies hard in the playoffs. Don\u2019t forget about Zack Greinke, who has quietly posted great numbers but has gone unnoticed because he started the season late.<\/p>\n 8. (6) Arizona Diamondbacks (90-66): <\/strong>Like the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, they\u2019ve had the young pieces in place for a playoff run for a few seasons now. Nice to see everything finally clicking \u2013 especially for 20-game winner Ian Kennedy.<\/p>\n 9. (8) Los Angeles Angels (85-70): <\/strong>Even if they can\u2019t catch Texas, there\u2019s hope for next year with Jered Weaver signed long-term and Mark Trumbo and (maybe) Mike Trout emerging as sluggers to build around.<\/p>\n 10. (4) Tampa Bay Rays (85-70): <\/strong>If they hadn\u2019t hit a brick wall in the Bronx this week, they would\u2019ve leapfrogged Boston by now. Remaining games include four more against the Yankees and three against Toronto. Not easy.<\/p>\n 11. (13) Toronto Blue Jays (78-77): <\/strong>If they played Boston in a playoff series today, you could make a strong case that the Jays would win the series. Outstanding rookie Brett Lawrie\u2019s season is done after he broke his finger but he should be fresh and healed for 2012.<\/p>\n 12. (11) Atlanta Braves (88-68): <\/strong>Despite their struggles, I still think the Braves have potential to do more damage than the Cards or Giants if they hold on for the NL Wildcard. Better hitting than San Fran, better pitching than St. Louis.<\/p>\n 13. (12) Boston Red Sox (88-68): <\/strong>When injuries are such a big reason for a team\u2019s skid, we can\u2019t write it off as a mental thing that can be overcome. Boston just might not have the horses to reach the finish line before Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n 14. (15) Washington Nationals (75-79): <\/strong>Behold, the Strasburg effect! The kid has a 1.29 ERA and 0.64 WHIP \u2013 with zero walks \u2013 over three starts. He has no wins yet but the Nats are 8-2 over their last 10. His mere presence seems to be buoying the team. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n 15. (20) Baltimore Orioles (65-90): <\/strong>The O\u2019s are taking a page from the Blue Jays and really irritating the AL East contenders, going 7-3 over their last 10.<\/p>\n 16. (22) Los Angeles Dodgers (77-77): <\/strong>Matt Kemp is up to 40 steals but needs five homers over his final eight games to achieve true glory and make the Dodgers\u2019 2011 season meaningful.<\/p>\n 17. (19) Seattle Mariners (66-89): <\/strong>The way Seattle is pushing the youth movement, will Ichiro become a trading chip next July? 2012 is the final year of his current contract.<\/p>\n 18. (14) Cincinnati Reds (76-80): <\/strong>Could the Reds not take a page from Washington and give Aroldis Chapman a few late-season starts, just for fun?<\/p>\n 19. (26) Chicago Cubs (69-87): <\/strong>The days of Sammy Sosa, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Steve Bartman and division titles seem like an eternity ago, don\u2019t they? The Cubbies are officially irrelevant.<\/p>\n 20. (16) Kansas City Royals (68-88): <\/strong>They\u2019ve won eight of 10.Can\u2019t forget about them next year, though we seem to say that every year, don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n 21. (29) San Diego Padres (68-88)<\/strong> We’re almot at the end of another MLB gambling season. It\u2019s time to NOW bring your best\u00a0baseball betting<\/a> hat to the table for gambling on baseball. Cappers Picks all season long provides\u00a0MLB baseball gambling<\/a> predictions, so check back often.<\/p>\n Shea Matthews\u2019s weighs in with another edition the the 2011 MLB power rankings. The Tigers are Number 1. Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez deserve all the credit they get….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":24462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[48291,108,12218,66497,683,3775,1015],"class_list":["post-43706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb-baseball","tag-2011-mlb-baseball-power-rankings","tag-baseball-handicapping","tag-baseball-power-rankings","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-handicapping","tag-mlb-odds","tag-power-ratings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44074,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43706\/revisions\/44074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n22. (25) Chicago White Sox (76-79)<\/strong>
\n23. (21) Cleveland Indians (76-78)<\/strong>
\n24. (18) Oakland Athletics (69-86)<\/strong>
\n25. (28) Florida Marlins (71-85)<\/strong>
\n26. (17) Pittsburgh Pirates (69-87)<\/strong>
\n27. (24) Houston Astros (53-102)<\/strong>
\n28. (27) New York Mets (73-82)<\/strong>
\n29. (23) Colorado Rockies (70-85)<\/strong>
\n30. (30) Minnesota Twins (59-95)<\/strong><\/p>\n**CLICK HERE TO GRAB OUR BEST Picks Packages for 2011 MLB Betting!**<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"