WHERE DO TEAMS STAND IN MLB?
Two more weeks have passed in Major League Baseball – summer is officially here! As the season has worn on it has become abundantly clear that there is one team that sits in a class all by themselves – the Cubs have been atop the Power Rankings all season long with little reason to think they won’t remain there.
Version 5.0 – 2016 MLB Power Rankings
There are certainly some other teams worthy of being called contenders – the Rangers, the Giants and the Nationals are right there waiting for Chicago to stumble.
So where does your team stand as we officially head into summer? Let’s break it down in the June 20 edition of Dave B’s MLB Power Rankings.
1. Chicago Cubs
(46-20) Two Weeks Ago: 1
What’s not to love? The Cubs now have a 12.5 game lead in the NL Central behind insane starting pitching and one of the best offenses in the game.
Simply put there are no holes on this team whatsoever – even their most recent callups from the minors Albert Almora and Willson Contreras have been making some noise. Everything the Cubs touch is gold right now.
2. Texas Rangers
(45-25) Two Weeks Ago: 2
The Rangers are quickly becoming the class of the AL – they haven’t lost two straight games since mid-May and have gone 23-6 in their last 29 games overall.
When Prince Fielder, Shin-Soo Choo and Yu Darvish round into form the Rangers will be tough to beat indeed!
3. San Francisco Giants
(44-26) Two Weeks Ago: 3
The Giants are more like a 2B rather than a #3 on the Rankings – they have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games and have won 8 straight heading into the week. The pitching has been typically outstanding and the offense led by an overachieving Brandon Belt.
The Giants are hitting on all cylinders and are in absolute control of the NL West.
4. Washington Nationals
(43-27) Two Weeks Ago: 4
The Nationals have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games and actually took a series from the Cubs last week. Steven Strasburg continues to be dominant (10-0 on the season) and Max Scherzer has been off-the-charts.
Any team with Bryce Harper is a contender folks – having the insane pitching is an added bonus for sure.
5. Baltimore Orioles
(40-28) Two Weeks Ago: 6
The Orioles made a statement last week with series wins against the Red Sox and the Blue Jays. We all knew the offense would be strong – it’s the starting pitching that has made this team a contender this year.
Yovani Gallardo and Tyler Wilson were have been very good and Chris Tillman has exceeded all expectations so far.
6. Boston Red Sox
(39-29) Two Weeks Ago: 5
Boston continues to hang around and although they went just 5-5 last week they are still pressing the O’s in the AL East.
Boston is still the best offense in the game – if the starters David Price, Steven Wright and Rick Porcello can ever gain some consistency the Sox are a threat.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
(38-33) Two Weeks Ago: 8
The Dodgers have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games overall – 19 year old starter Julio Urias was sensational last week and is a great compliment to the best pitcher in the game Clayton Kershaw.
The re-emergence of Justin Turner helps the offense – he will be a key cog if the Dodgers hope to catch the Giants.
8. Kansas City Royals
(38-31) Two Weeks Ago: 14
That’s more like it! The KC Royals have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and finally look like the two-time defending AL Champs. They swept the Indians last week and took three of four from the Tigers as well.
How about catcher Salvador Perez? We all knew about his superb work behind the plate but at the dish he’s hitting .307 with 12 HRs this year.
9. Cleveland Indians
(38-30) Two Weeks Ago: 7
The Indians have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games and have just a ½ game lead in the AL Central now. My guess is that they lose that lead to the Royals in the next couple of weeks.
They were swept by the Royals last week and scored just seven runs in the three games – yikes!
10. Toronto Blue Jays
(39-33) Two Weeks Ago: 11
The Jays arrived in Baltimore red-hot but lost two of three against their AL East foe. Still, they are 7-3 in their last 10 games overall and have scored at least 10 runs in five of their last nine games.
The team has scored 6.22 runs per game in June and is starting to resemble the team that took the AL by storm last year. With Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson on fire there is little reason to think the Jays don’t climb the Rankings.
11. New York Mets
(36-32) Two Weeks Ago: 9
Injuries are definitely plaguing this team – they have gone just 4-6 in their last 10 games overall and they were swept over the weekend by the lowly Braves. New York scored just four runs in the three games!
Scoring is an issue for this team as the tumble further down the Rankings – at this rate they will be out of the dirty dozen in two week’s time!
12. St. Louis Cardinals
(35-33) Two Weeks Ago: 12
The Cards had been hot before cooling off the last couple of weeks with a 5-5 record. Their play at home has been a real concern – they are six games under .500 at Busch Stadium.
13. Miami Marlins (37-32) Two Weeks Ago: 17
14. Seattle Mariners (36-33) Two Weeks Ago: 10
15. Houston Astros (34-36) Two Weeks Ago: 18
16. Detroit Tigers (34-35) Two Weeks Ago: 16
17. New York Yankees (34-35) Two Weeks Ago: 21
18. Pittsburgh Pirates (33-35) Two Weeks Ago: 13
19. Tampa Bay Rays (31-36) Two Weeks Ago: 22
20. Los Angeles Angels (31-38) Two Weeks Ago: 20
21. Colorado Rockies (32-36) Two Weeks Ago: 23
22. Chicago White Sox (33-36) Two Weeks Ago: 15
23. Arizona Diamondbacks (32-39) Two Weeks Ago: 25
24. Milwaukee Brewers (31-39) Two Weeks Ago: 24
25. Philadelphia Phillies (30-40) Two Weeks Ago: 10
26. San Diego Padres (29-42) Two Weeks Ago: 27
27. Cincinnati Reds (27-43) Two Weeks Ago: 28
28. Oakland Athletics (28-41) Two Weeks Ago: 26
29. Atlanta Braves (23-46) Two Weeks Ago: 29
30. Minnesota Twins (28-41) Two Weeks Ago: 30
What do you think of our 2016 MLB Power Rankings + Handicapping Analysis? Comments are welcome below.
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