MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs losing some steam?
Teams are starting to sneak up on the Chicago Cubs for the best overall record in the MLB as they begin this week with a 29-13 record, losing their past two games entering Monday’s slate of games.
Will the Cubs keep their lead over the rest of the MLB, or is it the turn of one of the 10 teams who enter this week with at least 25 wins? From the group, four teams (including the Cubs) have 27 or more wins: the San Francisco Giants (27-19), the Washington Nationals (27-17) and the Boston Red Sox (27-17).
At the bottom of the majors, the Minnesota Twins now have the worst winning percentage and lowest number of wins this season with an 11-32 overall record, losing seven of their past 10 games, while the Atlanta Braves are right with the Twins with a 12-31 record. The Cincinnati Reds are the third team in the majors with 15 or fewer wins with an overall record of 15-29, and we’ll talk more about them and their bullpen woes later in these MLB Power Rankings.
With that said, there is a huge difference from the best and the worst teams in the majors, and with the way the season has gone one-fourth of the way thus far, anything can and will occur, it seems, with the 30 MLB franchises. At least at the top of the standings in each division, the largest deficit from first to second is just six games, so it will be interesting to see just how much closer teams can get to overtake the top spot on a weekly basis.
Here are this week’s rankings.
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(11-32). Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 30. team. 2. This is the first time all season a team other than the Atlanta Braves has fallen this low in the MLB Power Rankings, but the Twins have earned that honor with a week where they went 1-6, winning on Saturday, but ultimately losing consecutive series to the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays to put their winning percentage for the season at .256, 13.5 games out of the AL Central lead.
(12-31). Previous: . Atlanta Braves. 29. team. 17. How about the Braves winning a couple games this past week? In fact, they won three games this past week, including one against the Pittsburgh Pirates and over this past weekend they won a series against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 7-1 win on Friday and 2-0 win Saturday. This was one of the better weeks for the Braves thus far in ’16.
team. 61. The only reason the Cincinnati Reds stay in the same spot as last week is because the Twins and Braves have been completely bad all season, but the Reds and their seven-game losing skid are doing their very best to overtake the bottom rung of the MLB standings and most likely will before the end of the season. The Reds have the worst bullpen in baseball, and although they did overhaul it this past weekend with some moves, right now not much is going right for this franchise in terms of their bullpen, and there is no relief in sight.. (15-29). Previous: . Cincinnati Reds. 28
Previous: . Houston Astros. 27. team. 135. There is definitely a problem this season with Houston, and for all they did well to start the week by winning two-of-three against the Chicago White Sox, they ended the week on a four-game losing streak and are now 10 games back in the AL West with a .378 winning percentage. The Astros were swept by their in-state rival, the Texas Rangers, and consistency doesn’t seem like it will happen with the squad.. (17-28)
(18-26). Previous: . Milwaukee Brewers. 26. team. 76. They did defeat the Chicago Cubs two of three this past week, but they wasted any momentum gained by those two wins when they got swept by the New York Mets in the Big Apple. The Brewers played well in those first three games against the Cubs, and the one they lost to Chicago they gave away in extra innings.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 25-21
Oakland Athletics. 25. team. 96. The Oakland Athletics looked like they had some promise earlier in the season but have since fallen eight games back in the AL West, losing their past four games to the New York Yankees, though they began the week with three straight wins against the Texas Rangers, only to see that momentum go away like the Brewers did against the Cubs. Oakland is better than a 19-win team at this point, but they just didn’t get the job finished to end the week.. (19-26). Previous:
Previous: . San Diego Padres. 24. team. 127. San Diego didn’t fare well much this week either, and the only reason they’ve moved up in the MLB Rankings is because of the disappointing weekend of the Athletics, causing them to fall behind the Padres this week. San Diego did win a weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers by scores of 7-6 and 3-2, but they didn’t face <a href=. (19-26)
63. The Tigers sit 4.5 games back in the AL Central. They did sweep the Minnesota Twins to open the week and won a series against the Tampa Bay Rays, and although they still aren’t the team they were in the past, they do have the potential to become that team eventually. Detroit ended the week by winning their past two games.. (21-22). Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 23. team
8. The big free agent signings of the Arizona Diamondbacks haven’t panned out so far, but the Diamondbacks had a productive week finishing 4-2 with series wins over the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals, including one game against each of those teams where they had 10-plus runs. The Diamondbacks are starting to hit their potential, and if that is the case, maybe they will provide the rest of the NL West some better competition.. (21-22). Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks. 22. team
(21-21). Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 21. team. 108. Colorado didn’t have the best week of their season during the past seven days with a 2-3 mark and one postponement, losing a series to the St. Louis Cardinals and splitting two games with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Colorado fell some for their overall play, but also because of the closeness of teams in these MLB Power Rankings, a game here or there can cost a team a few spots on any given week.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 20-16
The Angels had a week where they won three-of-four against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they lost two-of-three against the Baltimore Orioles. They handled the Dodgers fairly well, but if they want to compete in the American League at a high level, they will have to play better against top teams like the Orioles.. (20-24). Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 20. team. 102
Previous: . Miami Marlins. 19. team. 82. Miami lost two series this past week within the NL Central, and if they want to be considered with the likes of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals, they must win more than two of six games against their rivals in a seven-day span. Though the Marlins’ worst loss of the four was by six runs, they are now just one game over .500, but they still have a lot of good baseball ahead of them.. (22-21)
team. 21. Tampa Bay made a nice jump in the MLB Power Rankings this week with a four-spot improvement due to going 4-2 this week against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Detroit Tigers, winning four straight games, only to lose the final two to end the weekend. They are better than a team that is one-game under the .500 mark, but now they must prove it this week with four games against Miami and three vs. the Yankees.. (20-21). Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays. 18
17. team. 39. Toronto falls one spot for a 2-4 week these past seven days, but they still sit two games over the .500 mark as the week begins. They struggled against the Rays but did win three of four against the Twins, though that is expected against the worst team in baseball right now. Toronto will see how they fare right now in the AL East with six games combined coming up against the Yankees and Red Sox.. (22-24). Previous: . Toronto Blue Jays
71. There isn’t a lot of positive from this past week for the Los Angeles Dodgers because they did go 2-5 in their past seven games, losing three-of-four to the Angels, then two-of-three to the Padres. Los Angeles has too talented of a roster to play that poorly this past seven days, but luckily they have the Reds on the schedule for the next three days, so maybe that will cure what ails them.. (22-23). Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers. 16. team
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 15-11
The Royals impressed this week with a 4-2 mark by winning series against two of the best teams in the American League, starting the week with two wins over the Red Sox and two wins against the White Sox, allowing them to get over the .500 mark with 22 wins and 21 losses. The Royals can be a solid team and will need more weeks like this past one to get back to the top of the AL Central.. (22-21). Previous: . Kansas City Royals. 15. team. 7
team. 43. Are the Yankees quietly sneaking back into the mix of things in the AL? They started off slow last week with two losses to the Diamondbacks but ended the week with five straight wins with one against the Diamondbacks and four straight wins against the Athletics to put them up six spots in these MLB Power Rankings and just 5.5 games back in the AL East. Maybe the Yankees are on the way back to relevancy when it looked bleak in part of April.. (21-22). Previous: . New York Yankees. 13
Just a couple weeks ago, the Cardinals were a .500 team, and now they are two games over that mark and are third in the NL Central, just one game back of the second-place spot. St. Louis went 3-3 this past week, and though it could have been just a tad bit better, this team is starting to slowly gain some games in their division. Who knows what happens this week with a tough slate against the Cubs and Nationals ahead.. (23-21). Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals. 12. team. 33
(23-19). Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates. 11. team. 4. This ball club is still battling tough within a very tough division as they battle the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL Central standings. They went 4-2 this past week with wins against the Braves and Rockies, and this week they have a chance to gain some ground with one more against the Rockies and three vs. the Diamondbacks. They end the week with a test against the Texas Rangers for three.
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126. It was a strange week for the Rangers, losing three straight to the Athletics, then winning three straight when facing the Astros. There isn’t much of an excuse to lose all three to the Athletics, but it is baseball, and that happens from time to time, but it costs them a spot in the MLB Power Rankings.. (25-19). Previous: . Texas Rangers. 10. team
It is never a positive week in 2016 when you lose two-of-three to the Atlanta Braves, and that’s what happened to the Phillies this past week. They also won a series to the Marlins to begin last week, but in all, when one of the top teams in the majors loses twice to the Braves, that hurts a little.. (25-19). Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 9. team. 6
Previous: . New York Mets. 8. team. 3. The Mets had a solid week by winning four of six outings, including winning a three-game series against the Brewers to end this past week, but it did hurt just a little when they lost two-of-three to the Nationals in a divisional showdown. The two losses were by a combined 16-2 score, and the fans booed <a href=. (25-18)
128. The White Sox fell down three spots this week with some uncharacteristic series losses to the Astros and the Royals, going just 2-4 in their past six games. In their past 10 games, they are 3-7, but every team hits a bump during the season, and that’s what this is. Once they start adding more runs to their side of the scoreboard, it will help their pitching greatly. Speaking of pitching, the White Sox did see <a href=. (26-18). Previous: . Chicago White Sox. 7. team
40. The Giants showed they are big-time players in the NL this week by winning two-of-three against the Cubs, and before those wins, they swept the Padres in three straight. This every-other-year World Series streak by the Giants seems to be possibly setting up for them again, and this is a long season, but that is something to keep in the back of your mind as they continue to play well.. (27-19). Previous: . San Francisco Giants. 6. team
Next: MLB Power Rankings: The Top 5
5. team. 62. Seattle had a very impressive week, allowing them to move up five spots in the MLB Rankings due to the fact they beat the Orioles twice by scores of 10-0 and 7-2, plus they swept the Reds in three straight, which was pretty well expected. Seattle is playing good baseball right now, and <a href=. (26-17). Previous: . Seattle Mariners
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(26-16). Previous: . Baltimore Orioles. 4. team. 11. The Orioles fall because they had a bit of a rough patch against the Mariners to start the week, but that doesn’t mean they still aren’t one of the best teams in the majors as they are tied in the standings with the Red Sox. After the Seattle series, the O’s rebounded by winning two-of-three against the Angels, so they are still in a very good place entering this week.
90. This team is fun to watch, and as of right now, they are living up to their potential with their talented roster. They won two-of-three against a good Mets team and won two-of-three against the Marlins as well, so with three more against the Mets and four against the Cardinals this week, we’ll see if the Nationals can keep up the great pace of winning they have built thus far.. (27-17). Previous: . Washington Nationals. 3. team
The Red Sox were a .500 team this past week with a series loss to the Royals, then a series win over the weekend against the Indians. Boston is still the best team in the American League, but the AL is very tough right now, and though they should fare well with their schedule this week of the Rockies and Blue Jays, a series win against the Blue Jays would be nice to have in their division standings.. (27-17). Previous: . Boston Red Sox. 2. team. 14
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Chicago Cubs. 1. team. 9. Chicago took a small step backwards this past week, ending the weekend with two straight losses, and are 4-6 in their past 10 games. They lost both series they had this week with the Brewers and Giants but are still the best team in all of baseball, though the gap closed a decent amount this past week. The schedule this week for the Cubs includes three on the road in St. Louis and three games at Wrigley vs. the Phillies, both no walks in the park.. (29-13). Previous: