MLB Power Rankings: Cardinals heating up, chaos in the AL West

Apr 14, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (41) is congratulated by Matt Carpenter (13) after hitting a two run home run off of Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Chris Capuano (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the game 7-0. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (41) is congratulated by Matt Carpenter (13) after hitting a two run home run off of Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Chris Capuano (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the game 7-0. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
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Two weeks really flies by, doesn’t it? It feels as though Opening Day was just yesterday, and now, we’re already starting to see teams separate themselves from the pack, while others may have fallen into a hole they cannot get out of.

Now that we’ve had time to analyze all 30 MLB clubs, it’s time for another Power Rankings release.

There isn’t a method to my madness, no formula which spits out numbers or projections. My criteria is based on injuries, roster talent and run differential, plus current form.

Fair warning: you will be upset at some point this season because I ranked your team too low. I welcome all comments in the section below, or hit me up on Twitter @corey_adams. Fire away.

Next: 30-21: Vincent Velasquez!

FIP game strong

Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

17. . (3-9). Previous: . Atlanta Braves. 30. team

2. . (3-9). Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 29. team

28. team. 76. . (5-7). Previous: . Milwaukee Brewers

127. . (4-9). Previous: . San Diego Padres. 27. team

(6-7). Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 26. team. 6.

When browsing pitching data across the Web, FIP is the category I view most often. To help simplify things, FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, which is based on outcomes that do not involve defense. There’s a long formula, but put simply, it’s a better judgment of a pitching standpoint as compared to ERA.

Anyways, the three clubs with the lowest FIP in the league are the Cubs, Mets and…the Philadelphia Phillies.

You heard that correctly. Sitting at a 3.10 FIP, the number is nearly a point below their team ERA of 4.05. Philly can thank Vincent Velasquez for that.

In two starts, the former Astro is 2-0 with 0.40 FIP. In other words, Velasquez has not allowed a run in 15 innings thus far. His success can be credited to his fastball, a foursean he has thrown 65 percent of the time in 2016, leading to batters whiffing on it 20 percent of the time.

In his masterful three-hit shutout against the Padres, Velasquez struck on 13 of 16 batters on his fastball, pinpointing it up in the zone to force hitters to chase.

In the San Diego series, 25-year-old Jared Eickhoff had a career day, striking out nine over seven innings with four hits allowed. He’s got a killer curveball with hard bite, dropping roughly 9.5 inches per pitch, plus the righty has walked just two batters.

Aaron Nola, the team’s “ace” entering the season, has gone 0-2 in his first two outings, but his, along with Jeremy Hellickson’s, numbers aren’t as poor as they appear. Nola’s 5.68 ERA looks atrocious, but his FIP is sitting comfortably at 3.24. Meanwhile, Hellickson has been a serviceable starter, which is all the Phillies are asking for in the rebuilding year.

. (6-6). Previous: . Cincinnati Reds. 25. team. 61

24. team. 82. . (3-7). Previous: . Miami Marlins

102. . (5-7). Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 23. team

Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 22. team. 108. . (7-5)

team. 8. . (5-8). Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks. 21

Next: 20-11: AL West...?

Cover jinx?

Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

. (6-7). Previous: . Oakland Athletics. 20. team. 96

Tampa Bay Rays. 19. team. 21. . (5-7). Previous:

Houston Astros. 17. team. 135. . (5-8). Previous:

Sports Illustrated is already feeling nervous about its World Series prediction.

The Houston Astros were a popular pick amongst experts leading into the regular season. Other than the Cubs, the Astros have the deepest young talent pool in the big leagues,

So, what’s the problem?

Dallas Keuchel, while not posting eye-popping numbers, has been solid, relying on groundballs outs with just one game of over five strikeouts. Maybe there’s reason to be concerned there, but it’s the backend of the Houston rotation which has been a wreck.

Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and newly acquired Doug Fister have combined to allow 23 runs in 29 innings. Fiers, in particular, has gotten off a very tough start (6.55 ERA), with opposing hitting .463 on his fastball. His velocity is down just a bit from 2015, as evidenced by three homers given up to open the season. Once Lance McCullers returns from rehab stints, Fiers would be the guy to slide into the long relief role.

Offensively, the Astros have relied heavily on the top of the order as guys such as Carlos Gomez (.190, 0 HR), Luis Valbuena (.182, 0 HR) and Jason Castro (42 K%) have struggled. Thankfully, the emergence of Tyler White, who leads the team with a .395 average and four homers, has been a pleasant surprise.

16. team. 43. . (5-6). Previous: . New York Yankees

. (5-7). Previous: . Seattle Mariners. 15. team. 62

(6-5). Previous: . Boston Red Sox. 14. team. 14.

126. . (7-6). Previous: . Texas Rangers. 13. team

. (7-6). Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates. 12. team. 4

New York Mets. 11. team. 3. . (5-6). Previous:

Next: 10-1: NL Central clash awaits

Young Cards heating up

Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports /

team. 39. . (6-7). Previous: . Toronto Blue Jays. 10

San Francisco Giants. 9. team. 40. . (7-6). Previous:

63. . (7-4). Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 8. team

128. . (8-4). Previous: . Chicago White Sox. 7. team

11. . (8-3). Previous: . Baltimore Orioles. 6. team

Kansas City Royals. 5. team. 7. . (8-4). Previous:

4. team. 33. . (7-5). Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals

Despite a 7-5 record, the St. Louis Cardinals have the second-highest run differential in the majors (+35).

Sure, the Cardinals have played mediocre teams such as the Braves, Brewers and Reds to open the season, but 85 runs in 12 games is hard not to be impressed by. The majority of this courtesy of guys named Aledmys and Hazelbaker.

It’s the Cardinal way to find capable hitters to plug into the lineup, with Diaz and Hazelbaker being no exception. Diaz (.406, 2 HR) has been held hitless in a game just once this season, while the latter has been on a torrid pace, including a 4-for-5 outing against Milwaukee.

In that series, we were all reminded of how good Jaime Garcia can be on any given day. Garcia allowed just one hit over nine innings, striking 13 with one walk as the righty never threw more than 14 pitches in a frame.

Next: Your season is already over

But we’re also reminded of how dreadful the St. Louis defense can be without Jhonny Peralta at shortstop. The Cards have committed 12 errors, tied for second-most in the league, five charged to middle infielders Jedd Gyorko and Kolten Wong, combined.

71. . (8-5). Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers. 3. team

Previous: . Washington Nationals. 2. team. 90. . (9-2)

9. . (9-3). Previous: . Chicago Cubs. 1. team

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