MLB Power Rankings

Once again there's a new team atop the Rankings as the Nationals have surged past last week's #1 the Reds.

Aside from the top spot being in constant movement the last few weeks there is an ongoing shift throughout the rest of the Top 15 teams. With the added Wild Card and teams having hot and col stretches teams are flying up and down the rankings. The bottom half is actually much more stable than the top half.

The biggest reason is the glut of teams in the 8 through 15 spots. All 8 teams are in playoff contention and have almost identical records. From week to week they make pushes forward while some cool off a drop back.

The Angels are a prime example having fallen out of the Top 10 going from 7 to 13 this week. The Cardinals on the other hand make their first appearance in the Top 10 this season having swapped spots with the Angels, moving from 13 into the 7th spot. The Braves moved one spot up and make their first appearance in the Top 5 this season.

Let's get on with the rest of the rankings.

1. Washington Nationals (70-43) Last week: 2 - Stephen Strasburg is now at 133.1 IP for the season. Can the Nationals really afford to shut him down at 160 or 180 (whatever the number is now)?

2. Cincinnati Reds (67-46) Last week: 1 - Had lost 4 in a row before beating the Cubs on Friday. Fortunately their next 10 games are against the Cubs and Mets.

3. New York Yankees (66-46) Last week: 3 - The lead in the East is down to 5.5 games (over the Orioles). On July 18th that lead was almost double (10 games).

4. Texas Rangers (65-46) Last week: 4 - Are 6-3 since the trade deadline and have extended their lead in the West back up to a healthy 5.5 games.

5. Atlanta Braves (65-47) Last week: 6 - How amazing has closer Craig Kimbrel been this season? He's sporting a 1.26 ERA with 31 saves. He's struck out 75 batters and only walked 11 in 43 IP.

MLB Power Rankings

Having seen the July 31st Trade Deadline come and go a number of teams have positioned themselves for a run at October. Of course that also means a number of teams appear to have accepted their fate - a season without playoff baseball.

We have a new #1 atop the rankings in the form of the Cincinnati Reds. They've been surging lately and hold the best record in the Majors.

The biggest fall belongs to the Detroit Tigers who appeared as they'd returned to form. They've since dropped back in the standings and subsequently these rankings. They fell seven spots from 5 to 12.

1. Cincinnati Reds (62-41) Last week: 4 - A 19-7 month of July has seen the Reds rocket to the top of the standings in the NL. As of the moment they appear to be the team to beat in the NL.

2. Washington Nationals (61-41) Last week: 3 - Stuck behind the Yankees and Rangers in the Rankings for a month the Nats have finally surged into 2nd as they have a better record than both AL foes.

3. New York Yankees (60-43) Last week: 1 - Since Ichiro joined the Bombers they've gone 3-5 and ichiro has only scored 3 runs. Not exactly what they were hoping for.

4. Texas Rangers (59-43) Last week: 2 - The Rangers were easily the most active at the deadline rumored to be involved in talks for Cliff Lee and Josh Beckett. They didn't get either but won the Dempster sweepstakes.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates (59-44) Last week: 6 - OF Travis Snider needed a fresh start after being up and down from the minors with Toronto. Now the Pirates OF is packed with young talent.

MLB Power Rankings

It's that time of week again. With so many trades occurring in the last few days there has been some shake up in the Rankings and we'll likely see further change in the coming weeks as teams position themselves for a run at October or a run at a higher draft pick.

This weeks big gainers were, of course, the Oakland A's. They've won 6 straight games, including a 4 game sweep of the Yankees on the weekend, and have joined even with the Angels for 2nd in the West (and for the lead in the Wild Card race). They moved up 6 spots from 16th.

Conversely the Angels fell from grace a little bit this week and dropped 3 spots, out of the Top 5, and into 8th. They're still a good team but after a 3-4 week and so many other teams playing better than them at the moment a drop was necessary.

The other big gainers of the week were the Detroit Tigers (who also jumped 6 spots) and are now tied with the White Sox for 1st in the Central. The Orioles also regained some of the ground they lost last week and moved back up 4 spots. Injuries haven't hurt that team as much as they should have as they posted a 5-2 week.

The other big losers of the week were the White Sox (-7) and the Mets (-5). They turned in 2-5 and 1-6 week's respectively and have each fallen out of the Top 10 in recent weeks. The White Sox biggest problem was the sweep they suffered at the hands of their division rival Tigers over the weekend. It showed many baseball fans what we've been expected all season, a team that will dominate the Central. The White Sox did pull back into a tie for the lead though so such a drastic drop was also forced by teams in the Top 10 playing better baseball than the White Sox and likely having more staying power in the rankings.

Let's get on with them.

1. New York Yankees (58-39) Last week: 1 - They acquired Ichiro from the Mariners to replace Brett Gardner who is lost for the season but they just lost A-Rod to a broken hand. How long can they stay on top?

2. Texas Rangers (57-39) Last week: 2 - Josh Hamilton has knocked in only 24 runs in his last 42 games. He's still managed to hold onto the MLB lead (now tied with Miguel Cabrera at 81).

3. Washington Nationals (57-39) Last week: 3 - Just lost team HR leader, SS Ian Desmond, to a left oblique injury. It's bad timing for an offense that's already struggling.

4. Cincinnati Reds (57-40) Last week: 6 - Despite being without MVP Candidate Joey Votto the Reds have won six straight and opened up a 2.5 game lead over the Pirates in the Central.

5. Detroit Tigers (52-45) Last week: 11 - It took almost 4 months but it appears that the team everyone expected in Spring Training has finally arrived. A weekend sweep of the White Sox has vaulted them into 1st.

MLB Power Rankings

MLB's first week back after the All-Star Break and there is a new #1 in town, the New York Yankees. On the strength of a 4-1 start to the second half the Yankees have rose to the top of the chart replacing the Texas Rangers who held a two week reign.

The biggest gainers were the Tigers and Braves who moved up 5 and 4 spots respectively. The Tigers are finally starting to look like the team that many predicted they'd be before the season started. On an 8-2 stretch the Tigers have risen to 3 games above .500 and see themselves 3.5 back in the Central entering play today. The Braves, also on an 8-2 run, have climbed closer to the Nationals in the East sitting 3.5 games back.

The big losers of the week were the Orioles and Mets who dropped 5 and 6 spots respectively. Both teams are on 3-7 stretches and have fallen out of 2nd place in each of the leagues East divisions. After Cinderella first halves reality may finally be hitting these squads. The O's dropped all the way down to 18th after sitting 7th just two weeks ago. The Mets were also in the Top 10 last week (#9) have fallen out and into 15th.

On to the rest of the rankings.

1. New York Yankees (56-34) Last week: 2 - People worry about their aging stars but what about Granderson and Cano who are taking the torch, they're both 30+?

2. Texas Rangers (55-35) Last week: 1 - Josh Hamilton is having a tough time at the plate the last few months. In April and May combined he hit .368 with 21 HR. So far for June at July he's at .206 and 7.

3. Washington Nationals (52-36) Last week: 3 - The Nationals lead in the East has dropped to 3.5 over the Braves. It's their smallest lead in almost a month (June 22nd).

4. Chicago White Sox (50-40) Last week: 5 - The White Sox have been playing well lately but their bullpen could be their doom if they don't acquire some veterans. They have six relievers who have less than 50 career innings pitched.

5. Los Angeles Angels (50-41) Last week: 4 - The Angels need to play better on the road if they are going to catch the Rangers in the West. Currently they sit at 25-23 away from Angels Stadium.

MLB Power Rankings

With the All-Star Game now in the books we know that the NL will once again have home field advantage in the World Series. The second half is set to begin tomorrow and this is how the teams stack up as things kick back off.

For the second week in a row the top 4 teams remain the same with the Texas Rangers leading the way atop the rankings. The biggest movers of the week were the Pittsburgh Pirates who jumped from the 14 spot to the 6th spot. Powered by an 8-2 stretch the Pirates entered the All-Star Break in first place in the NL Central and look to make the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. The biggest drop came from the Baltimore Orioles. They continue to hold onto second place in the AL East but look destined to fall back. They are the only team in the division that holds a negative run differential. Let's get on with the rest of the rankings.

1. Texas Rangers (52-34) Last week: 1 - The Rangers are one powerful team. They have 7 players on their roster who have clubbed at least 9 HRs this season including MLB leader Josh Hamilton (27).

2. New York Yankees (52-33) Last week: 2 - The Yankees entered the All-Star break with the best record in baseball, percentage points ahead of the Rangers.

3. Washington Nationals (49-34) Last week: 3 - The Nats will likely need to find some offense if they wish to continue as NL East leaders. They rank 1st in team ERA but only 20th in runs scored in MLB.

4. Los Angeles Angels (48-38) Last week: 4 - Rookie Mike Trout has been a beast this season. Already a favorite for Rookie of the Year some are predicting he'll also win MVP. He leads the AL in RC27 at 9.12.

5. Chicago White Sox (47-38) Last week: 8 - Quietly the White Sox have opened up a three game lead in the Central and going into last weekend swept the Rangers in a 3 game set.

MLB Power Rankings

The Power Rankings serve as a tool to measure how likely it is each MLB team will succeed throughout the remainder of the 2012 season. The higher the ranking the more likely it is that a particular team will make the playoffs and ultimately compete for a World Series Title. Let's get to it.

1. Texas Rangers (50-31) - When you own the best run differential in baseball it is easy to see why a third straight World Series birth is a reasonable expectation for this club.

2. New York Yankees (48-32) - Since losing Mariano Rivera to season ending knee surgery the Yanks have posted a 35-20 record.

3. Washington Nationals (46-32) - Their young stars continue to get headlines but how about the starting rotation? The top 4 starters all have an ERA below 3.60.

4. Los Angeles Angels (45-36) - When Albert Pujols started hitting the Angels started winning. Coincidence? Probably not. Since May 1st they've gone 37-21.

5. San Francisco Giants (45-36) - On May 27th they were a season high 7.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. They now hold a half game lead.