MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs Continue to Lead Majors
The Chicago Cubs have led the way in the Call to the Pen weekly MLB Power Rankings all season long. Now as it is into early June one must start to wonder if the Cubs continue to lead the majors, which, if any, team can catch them?
In their first 55 games of the 2016 season, the Chicago Cubs are leading the way in the majors with 39 wins and 16 losses. In fact, they have as many losses as the Atlanta Braves have in wins, showing everyone the difference between a first-place team in the majors and a last-place team as the Braves have a winning percentage of .286 compared to the Cubs at .709.
The Braves are striving to be the Cubs and building their franchise from the bottom up like the Cubs have done in recent seasons, but right now the feelings of the fan bases of these two franchises are completely opposite when their teams are on the diamond.
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As for others in the majors, the American League Central has become a battle of four teams right now with the Cleveland Indians leading the way in the division at 31-24, while the fourth-place Detroit Tigers are just 3.5 games back of those same Indians.
The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles are still side-by-side in the AL East, and in the AL West, the Texas Rangers are keeping the Seattle Mariners at bay.
As for the NL, the Washington Nationals lead the East by two games, even after losing two games to the Cincinnati Reds, while in the Central the aforementioned Cubs have a 9.5 game lead over the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates, The NL West is a little more exciting with the San Francisco Giants having a 3.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers entering this week, as San Francisco has the second-most wins in baseball with 35.
Even though it is early June, we are starting to see which teams are pretenders and who are the contenders to a certain degree, but there is still a lot of baseball to be played. With the way this season is going, another team could come out of hiding, hit a hot streak and add more to what is an already interesting look at these standings.
Here is how this week’s MLB Power Rankings look.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 30-26
30. team. 17. The Atlanta Braves are just going through the motions of the 2016 season, and it seems as if right now they are in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 overall pick of the draft next year by being one of the last two teams left in baseball with a win total in the teens. The Braves have lost their past four games and have a winning percentage of .286.. (16-40). Previous: . Atlanta Braves
2. Minnesota is the American League’s version of the Atlanta Braves, but even with the same 16-40 record and being the worst team in their league (and the majors), the Twins have the ability to compete a little more within their division and are most likely just a couple steps ahead of the Braves at this point of their franchise rebuild.. (16-40). Previous: . Minnesota Twins. 29. team
(23-35). Previous: . San Diego Padres. 28. team. 127. The Padres have traded away <a href=
Cincinnati Reds. 27. team. 61. Cincinnati is also in a rebuild mode, and one player who has stood out with a power bat is <a href=. (21-36). Previous:
Oakland Athletics. 26. team. 96. Oakland sits in last place in the AL West, and with just 25 wins and being 9.5 games back of first place in their division, if they want to look a little more competitive, they’d better increase their level of play this week. They do have a solid chance to win with a series next against the Milwaukee Brewers. Oakland enters this week with a three-game losing streak.. (25-32). Previous:
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 25-21
![Jun 2, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jonathan Villar (5) and second baseman Scooter Gennett (2) celebrate a victory against the Philadelphia Phillies] at Citizens Bank Park. The Milwaukee Brewers won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/cd76f543a3485cb0bdbbb898082f3c2b8d80cd8a518c2e6573aa10f2f1e3803a.jpg)
25. team. 76. The Brewers moved up in the standings for the fact many teams just dropped below them for their level of play. Milwaukee is 5-5 in their past 10 games and just four games back in the win column of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Though the Brewers are already 14 games back of the division lead, they do have a 15-15 home mark, but their road record leaves them five games under .500 at 11-16.. (26-31). Previous: . Milwaukee Brewers
Previous: . Arizona Diamondbacks. 24. team. 8. Arizona is 4-6 in their past 10 games, and looking at their home record, they haven’t let their fans leave their home ball park happy. Of the 29 games played at Chase Field this season, they have a 9-20 record in those home games. The Diamondbacks don’t have much of a bite right now, and with just 25 wins in 59 games this season could continue to be a tough one for their fan base.. (25-34)
team. 21. Tampa Bay sits in last place in the AL East, seven games back of the division lead and a half-game back of fourth place in the division. Tampa Bay has won three games in a row, but they still trail the New York Yankees in the division, as they are one of six teams this week to fall one spot in the rankings.. (25-30). Previous: . Tampa Bay Rays. 23
Previous: . Colorado Rockies. 22. team. 108. The Rockies are in the same boat as the Diamondbacks where not a lot is going right for them this season. They trail the San Francisco Giants by nearly nine games in the standings and have won just three games the past 10 times they’ve taken the field. They have a losing record at home as well and sadly lost three of four to the Cincinnati Reds this past week.. (25-31)
Previous: . Los Angeles Angels. 21. team. 102. Though the Angels have jumped up two spots in the MLB Power Rankings, they still should be a better team than what they’ve shown thus far this season They are 5-5 in their past 10 games and have a losing record at home at 12-17. This jump is basically based on the play of how poorly other teams looked this week, as the Angels are still four games under .500 for the season.. (26-30)
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 20-16
Houston has had a problem for most of the season, but as of late, their 8-2 record in their past 10 games is really starting to make them look like a much better baseball team. They sit two games under .500 but have won three in a row. Houston is seven games back of the AL West lead, and with the way this division looks, seven games isn’t a lock to keep them out of a chance of pursuing the division lead sometime this season, but they need to continue to stay consistent on the winning side.. (28-30). Previous: . Houston Astros. 20. team. 135
New York Yankees. 19. team. 43. Being one of seven American League teams entering Monday without a winning record, the Yankees and their average play is continuing this season, and they really need to fix this team soon if they want to have a chance at winning anything and if they want to stay out of last place in the AL East as well. The Yankees are 6.5 games back in the East standings, and if they can get to their 7-8-9th inning guys from the bullpen with a lead, they could become a very dangerous team.. (26-30). Previous:
Previous: . Philadelphia Phillies. 18. team. 6. The Philadelphia Phillies have come back to Earth quickly, following a red-hot start to the season. The Phillies are two games under .500, have won just twice in their past 10 games and trail the Washington Nationals by six games in the NL East. Though the Phillies won on Sunday, they are just 2-3 in five games this month.. (28-29)
128. The Chicago White Sox have gone from being the darlings of the American League in April to struggling to stay above .500 early in June, as they are now one game over the .500 mark. They were swept over the weekend against the Tigers, the same weekend where they had <a href=. (29-28). Previous: . Chicago White Sox. 17. team
Miami Marlins. 16. team. 82. Miami sits in third place in the AL East and surprisingly are just four games back of the Washington Nationals for the NL East lead and two games back of the New York Mets for second place. That could be for the fact the Nationals had a bad weekend or the fact the Marlins are playing better baseball. Time will tell... (30-27). Previous:
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 15-11
The Tigers are just 3.5 games back of the AL Central lead and swept the Chicago White Sox over the weekend, proving they aren’t giving up in the AL Central anytime soon. With their weekend play, Detroit moved their home record from the .500 mark to 15-12 on the season, and if their pitching can keep pace with the rest of the team, maybe the Tigers could be a formidable opponent in the AL Central after all.. (28-28). Previous: . Detroit Tigers. 15. team. 63
14. team. 39. Toronto is now four games over the .500 mark for the season and 8-2 in their past 10 games. They are just 2.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles in the AL East and seem to be catching some momentum with their current wave of winning. Before long, Toronto could make the East interesting, but they next face the Detroit Tigers, who are also on a roll as of this past weekend.. (31-27). Previous: . Toronto Blue Jays
team. 71. The Dodgers are still a mystery to me, but they are still challenging near the very top of the NL West with a nice battle going on with the San Francisco Giants for first place. They trail the Giants by 3.5 games and have won their past three games, thanks to the good fortune of it being their turn to face the Atlanta Braves over the weekend. Next, the Dodgers have the Colorado Rockies, and it will be interesting to see if LA can keep the winning going.. (31-27). Previous: . Los Angeles Dodgers. 13
12. team. 33. The St. Louis Cardinals still aren’t the team we are used to watching, and even though they are 10 games back of their Chicago Cubs in the NL Central standings, the Cardinals are just 0.5 games back in the race for one of the two Wild Card spots. That should be how St. Louis is judged this season – not if they win the division, but if they can make the postseason with one of the Wild Card spots.. (30-27). Previous: . St. Louis Cardinals
7. Kansas City hit a bump in the road this week, losing four straight to the Cleveland Indians, and in the process of all the losing, the reigning World Series champions lost their hold on first place in the AL Central. KC is 1.5 games back of the Indians in the division standings, and their slate of games won’t be any easier starting this week with the Baltimore Orioles up next.. (30-26). Previous: . Kansas City Royals. 11. team
Next: MLB Power Rankings: 10-6
team. 4. Pittsburgh stays in the same spot again this week, as they haven’t played their best as of yet, but they are still better than a lot of the majors in the grand scheme of things. Pittsburgh sits in second place in the NL Central but are 9.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs. They are most likely going to fight all season long for one of the two Wild Card spots in the NL, but to do that, they can’t have many stretches where they are 3-7 in a 10-game span.. (30-26). Previous: . Pittsburgh Pirates. 9
Previous: . Seattle Mariners. 8. team. 62. Seattle still trails the Texas Rangers in the AL West standings, entering this week down by three games. They’ve also lost their past three games and are 3-7 in their past 10 games. Seattle needs to play much better at Safeco Field (they are 12-14 at home), and it didn’t help matters their past three losses came against the Rangers.. (31-25)
New York Mets. 7. team. 3. The New York Mets have 31 wins so far in ’16 but have been average in their past 10 games with a 5-5 mark, but with the help of the Nationals struggling against the Cincinnati Reds, the Mets are just two games back of first place in the NL East. The top three teams in that division could be pulling away, so the Mets are going to make the division exciting as we enter the hotter months of the year … and it helps <a href=. (31-24). Previous:
team. 90. Washington falls two spots in these rankings because they lost twice to the Reds, a team they had no business losing once, much less twice, to in a single weekend. Washington still leads the NL East by two games, but this past weekend would have been a great opportunity for them to add to their lead, and they didn’t.. (34-23). Previous: . Washington Nationals. 6
Next: MLB Power Rankings: The Top 5
Previous: . Texas Rangers. 5. team. 126. The Texas Rangers let it be known over the weekend the Seattle Mariners were going to be in for a season-long battle for the AL West title by sweeping their rival over the weekend. The Rangers are hot as of late, winning eight out of 10 games, and they are great at home with a 21-9 record. Even on the road, they are very respectable with a 13-13 record. That’s a great formula, as they have the most wins in the AL thus far this season.. (34-22)
team. 11. Baltimore keeps staying on pace with the Boston Red Sox with 32 wins so far this season and have won six games (of the past 10 played). They are very good at home at 21-11, but it would be better for them to not be one game under .500 on the road, as eventually a losing road record could catch up with them once Boston heats back up again.. (32-23). Previous: . Baltimore Orioles. 4
(33-24). Previous: . Boston Red Sox. 3. team. 14. The Boston Red Sox are not the runners-up this week in the MLB Power Rankings, falling one spot to third place, and that’s OK. The Red Sox are tied for the AL East lead with the Orioles, are one of the better hitting teams in the majors and what really stands out is they have winning records at home and away from Fenway Park as well. Boston will need to not have many more stretches where they are 4-6 in a 10-game span, though.
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San Francisco Giants. 2. team. 40. The Giants are 5-5 in their past 10 games, have a two-game losing streak, but with 35 wins and a first-place spot in the NL West, they move up to the runner-up spot in the rankings. They didn’t help themselves by losing two games to the Cardinals to end the weekend, but with Boston next on the schedule beginning Tuesday, that series could be a preview of this thing called the World Series in October. First, the Giants might want to make sure they can replace <a href=. (35-24). Previous:
With 39 wins and a .709 winning percentage, the Chicago Cubs are making it very hard for any team to surpass them in the MLB Power Rankings. They have rebounded after a little bump in the road a couple weeks ago, and with eight wins in their past 10 games, plus an amazing 22-8 record at home (they are 17-8 on the road), the Cubs are the best team in baseball right now without question.. (39-16). Previous: . Chicago Cubs. 1. team. 9