MLB Power Rankings: Cleveland Indians rising
The Call to the Pen staff assembled their power rankings and brought them together for another edition of our weekly rankings. Each writer ranked every team from 1st to 30th, with the 1st place vote being worth three points and the last place team earning 0.1 points. The numbers were crunched, and below are your official Call to the Pen power rankings.
1. Texas Rangers– Was one second-place finish away from being the consensus No. 1 pick overall for yet another week.
“Yu Darvish continues to shine.”- Blaine Blontz
“The move of Nefalti Feliz, who wasn’t a great closer, to the rotation could pay off with serious dividends. He’s got nasty stuff.” – Glenn DuPaul
2. St. Louis Cardinals– “Everyone wants to talk about Josh Hamilton and the Rangers, but the addition of Carlos Beltran to the defending WS champs has made them even more stellar” – Glenn
“Even with a regression from the starting rotation, Berkman and Craig are back to spur on even more offensive attacks.” – Brian Vaughan
3. Tampa Bay Rays– Rose to third place in our power rankings, and they look like the team with the best chance of winning the AL East.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers–
“The Dodgers very well may be playing over their heads, but that
doesn’t mean they can’t hang tough in their division all year. How
they hold the fort down with Matt Kemp on the DL could have a big
bearing on their rest-of-season outlook.” – Kyle Davis
“Andre Either is going to have to carry this club with Matt Kemp’s hamstring in question” – Glenn
“Despite their lengthening disabled list, the Dodgers continue to hold a comfortable lead in the National League West.” – Blaine
5. Washington Nationals–
“The pitching should keep the Nationals in it all season, but a fast ascent from Bryce Harper and the healthy return of Mike Morse could be the difference in their finish.” – Brian
“Bryce Harper homered two days in a row, and that’s a scary thing to see if you’re a member of the NL East.” – Glenn
6. Atlanta Braves– The Braves and Nats will be going at it for a long time, and things will get even more interesting in the NL East if the Philadelphia Phillies get back on track.
“Brandon Beachy is the best NL pitcher not named Zack Greinke, at the moment, and hardly anyone is talking about it.” – Glenn
“The Braves aren’t the sexiest team in their division, but they might be the most balanced.” – Brian
7. New York Yankees–
“Mark Teixeira needs to either find himself fast, or find his way to the bench, because he’s holding the Bombers’ lineup back” – Glenn
“Losing the greatest closer of all-time, while very much a bummer, is
no reason to panic when you have one of the best current set-up men
primed to take over the role. But lose that guy? Now you’re bullpen is
hanging on by a thread and one more injury away from becoming a huge
issue.” – Kyle
8. Baltimore Orioles–
“What lineup has the most power in baseball right now? The Orioles, of course, with a team ISO of .198” – Glenn
“The Orioles have played very well, but the team is scoring more runs than it should and the rest of the division is too strong.” – Brian
“After getting hammered by the Rangers, the O’s showed they aren’t going anywhere yet by winning and then splitting a series with the Rays and Yankees.” – Blaine
9. Toronto Blue Jays– Man, the AL East is crazy good, with four teams in the top ten.
“The Jays quietly have the best run differential in the AL East.” – Brian
“It will be interesting to see how Brett Lawrie‘s suspension effects Toronto’s team in the near future.”- Glenn
10. Cleveland Indians– Four AL East teams top the top team in the AL Central, and the Indians deserve some more credit for being in this position against the odds for the second straight season.
“With the way people are talking, you’d think the Tigers are leading the AL Central.” – Blaine
11. Cincinnati Reds– The Reds are 19-18 and in second in the NL Central, with Joey Votto killing it at the plate with a 184 wRC+ and 2.2 WAR so far this year.
12. Detroit Tigers–
“Max Scherzer does this funny thing where he’s really bad for a while,
then really good, and then really bad again. If he could ever find a
way to settle on “good” mode for an extended period of time, the
Tigers would probably enjoy that.” – Kyle
“Detroit isn’t playing well, but all of this is just a dry run for the team’s postseason berth anyway.” – Brian
“Their starting pitching has to be a concern.” – Blaine
13. Miami Marlins–
“Giancarlo Stanton is putting this team on his back, and they’re going to start living up to all of that hype” – Glenn
“The Marlins are 12-3 in May and making a charge at the top of the NL East.” – Brian
14. New York Mets– The Mets are third in a division that is the best in baseball by record, with each team having 20 wins under their belts. David Wright has been worth 3 WAR this season, and it will be interesting to see how the front office handles Wright.
15. Chicago White Sox–
“Adam Dunn and Jake Peavy are back. The South Side Sox have a legitimate shot at dethroning everyone’s pre season favorite, Detroit.” – Glenn
16. San Francisco Giants– The .500 Giants have received a 2.97 FIP from Tim Lincecum, so it isn’t time to worry about the bloated 5.77 ERA. Both he and Matt Cain have easily been the most valuable players on the team with both having identical 3.47 xFIP totals.
17. Boston Red Sox–
“The End of the Kevin Youkillis Era could be upon us in Boston.” – Glenn
“Josh Beckett provided fans with hope during his latest start.” – Blaine
18. Philadelphia Phillies–
“Philadelphia is going to be a seller at the trade deadline? I find that hard to believe, but if they keep playing like this, it’s actually possible.” – Glenn
“A recent streak has propelled them back to .500 territory. Can they keep it going?” – Blaine
19. Oakland Athletics– Josh Reddick has been a slugging machine on his new team with ten homers this year.
20. Arizona Diamondbacks–
21. Milwaukee Brewers–
22. Los Angeles Angels–
“With a great pitching staff, the Angels just need the offense to pick up. Mike Trout and a more Pujolsy Pujols will help accomplish just that.” – Brian
23. Pittsburgh Pirates–
24. Colorado Rockies–
25. Seattle Mariners–
26. Houston Astros– Jose Altuve is a solid second baseman in a division filled with talent at the position.
“The Astros have been very surprising in that they haven’t completely tanked. Guys like Jose Altuve and Bud Norris make this team interesting to watch.” – Brian
27. Kansas City Royals–
28. Chicago Cubs– Kerry Wood has retired from Major League Baseball, and I already feel a void in my gut. Seriously, he’s a veteran who I watched since I first got into baseball as a little kid, and I always enjoyed watching him back when he was a 20 K monster.
29. San Diego Padres–
30. Minnesota Twins– Our unanimous, last placed team.
“Derek Lowe shut out the Twins this week, that’s how bad they are.” – Glenn
“Thank God they’re not triplets.” – Brian