Baseball Power Rankings

As we mentioned yesterday, it's championship season. Some championships just ended (NHL, French Open) and some are ongoing (US Open, NBA, NCAA Baseball). But soon the focus will be solely on Major League Baseball. So as summer is gearing up, I'll take a look today at what teams are best geared up so far this season.

Power Rankings

1. Texas Rangers: 37-26 - The don't boast the best record in baseball, but they do have the best lineup. I love their pitching staff as well, led by newly minted ace Yu Darvish. They also have a league best +80 in run differential. That's incredible.

2. LA Dodgers: 40-24 - They do boast the majors best record. They may not be as loaded as Texas, but when Kemp is healthy they are just as dangerous. Old vet Jerry Hairston Jr. is having a flashback season so season.

3. Washington Nationals: 38-23 - We all knew the Nats would improve this year and be competitive. Many even said they may snag one of the two wildcard slots. But this good? Phenoms Strasberg and Harper have been as great as advertised.

4. New York Yankees: 37-25 - Coming off a sweep of the Braves, the Yankees are playing very good baseball. Old Andy has solidified the staff, and the veteran bats are heating up too.

5. San Francisco Giants: 36-27 - Cain delivered the performance of the season last night by pitching the first perfect game in Giants history. He had 14 K's too! They have played well and with Kung Fu Panda returning from his injury, they should start producing even more offensively.

6. Tampa Bay Rays: 35-27 - Every year analysts count them off and every year they compete well. It doesn't even matter that mighty Longoria has been out the majority of the year. They still find ways to get it done.

7. Cincinnati Reds: 34-27 - Votto is putting together one of those seasons again but continues to fly slightly under the radar. Chapman is the player to watch in baseball this year when he gets in to close games. The starters need to pitch a little more consistent though to let these studs around them produce.

8. New York Mets: 34-29 - The lineup is suspect on paper but they are giving everything they got. And when you got a pitching staff like they have, you're going to be in most games.

9. Atlanta Braves: 34-29 - My Braves have been a bit streaky this season getting hot, then cooling off. They just got swept by the Yanks, but before that had been playing great. They don't have many stars on the roster, but they don't have weaknesses either.

10. Baltimore Orioles: 36-26 - They have the fifth best record in baseball but I don't fully buy into them. Despite ten more wins than losses, they only have a +4 run differential. Sooner or later the luck and close wins will go against them and being in the AL East will take its toll.

11. Chicago White Sox: 34-28 - The rode that massive win streak a couple weeks ago but have cooled off a little recently. Similar to the Orioles, I don't know if they can last all season. The difference however is that the boast a very good +39 in runs.

12. LA Angels: 34-30 - This was supposed to be an all-star type team that got assembled in the offseason. They have been too up and down but at least Pujols has produced better over the last month.

13. St. Louis Cardinals: 32-31 - Their run differential is nearly the same as the Dodgers, but they find ways to lose games. There is not much to complain about... the pitching has been good, the hitting has been good considering the loss of Albert and injury to Matt.

14. Miami Marlins: 32-31 - Another team from the NL East and another team that was assembled to be great in the offseason. And even though they haven't been great this year, I still think they have too much talent to be lower on this list.

15-16. Toronto and Boston: 31-32 - Just under .500 but have been better than their record indicates. They play in a great division but really aren't far behind at all. We know they have the players, but they are fighting different stigmas. Toronto hasn't been good in a long time while Boston is expected to be great.

17-18. Pittsburgh and Cleveland: 32-29 - On the flip side, these two teams aren't as good as their record indicates. They are both up in the standings and it will be fun to see if they can continue to compete all year.

19. Philadelphia Phillies: 30-34 - We have seen over the last few years that the franchise is in a good spot. The health of this team however, is in a bad one. All over the field they are beat up and are missing key guys. Their division has caught up with them, and based on the standings have passed them.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks: 30-32 - A team capable of greatness. They produce against lesser teams(like they did last week) but still struggle against the games elite (like this week).

21. Detroit Tigers: 29-33 - This has been the most disappointing team in the game this year. I have been waiting for them to kick into into high gear and make up some ground in the standings. They still haven't and now I'm doubting if they will this season.

22 - 30: Everybody else - Nobody else is worth talking about. For the record, the Cubs are the worst team in the majors in my estimation this year. The remaining teams will be important though as they will be involved in trades as the deadline approaches.

Enjoy your summers and don't forget about baseball!

Andrew