The All-Star break is in the rear view mirror and it’s on to the second half of the MLB regular season.
We didn’t do power rankings during the break last week as there would have been just three games played between rankings from the week prior and the All-Star break rankings. Therefore, we have a good chunk of games under our belt at this point to have some movement both up and down in this week’s version.
The Pirates and A’s are white-hot, the Mariners are not, things are tight in a competitive NL West and the Cleveland Indians are lucky they play in the AL Central division.
Let’s see how the league stacks up as we sit less than a week away from the end of July.
1. Boston Red Sox (1st – AL East)
Record: 71-32 | L10: 7-3 | GB: — | Last Week: 1
The Red Sox remain atop their perch in the rankings as they own a league-best .689 win percentage and have built themselves a five-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East.
There are seven matchups between the two rivals left this season including a three-game set September 28-30 at Fenway that we can only hope decides the division.
2. Houston Astros (1st – AL West)
Record: 67-36 | L10: 6-4 | GB: — | Last Week: 2
No one has really pushed the Astros for the second spot in the rankings so we unsurprisingly have a repeat of the top two this week.
The Astros are obviously a tough team to beat at home, but their 35-15 record on the road is the best mark in baseball while their .346 wOBA on the road is tied with the Oakland Athletics for the top mark in the bigs.
3. New York Yankees (2nd – AL East)
Record: 64-35 | L10: 5-5 | GB: 5.0 | Last Week: 3
Make that a repeat of the top three teams in baseball as it’s hard to argue that the Yankees are not a top-three team in the big leagues right now.
Their league-best bullpen got even better less than 24 hours ago with the acquisition of left-hander Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles. New York now has eight relievers with at least 10 innings pitched that have posted an ERA under 3.06 this season. That bodes well for postseason success.
The Cubs overtook the Brewers for the National League Central division lead prior to the All-Star break, and it could be a fun second half as these two duke it out.
This team doesn’t need much upgrading in the bullpen or in the everyday lineup, but they might want an upgrade in the rotation as they have received a 4.04 ERA from their starters this season, good for 13th league-wide.
The Brew Crew have dropped seven of their last 10 and dropped two of three to the Dodgers coming out of the All-Star break.
However, they can sweep the Nationals with a win tonight which could have them within less than a game of the Cubs come tomorrow morning. Look for Milwaukee to have a brand new second baseman this time next week.
They’re a solid 3-2 coming out of the break, but the Dodgers are now the clear favorite in the National League West with the Manny Machado acquisition, even if the standings don’t reflect that right now.
Injuries continue to take their toll on this team, however, as Justin Turner has hit the DL and pushed Machado into his former third base position. When healthy, I have a tough time believing L.A. isn’t the front runner in the entire National League.
Don’t look now, but the A’s are a whopping 16 games over the .500 mark and have been the best team in baseball for almost six weeks now.
They are indeed buyers at the deadline with the Jeurys Familia acquisition and their lineup is dangerous. Perhaps there is one starting pitcher to be had here, but look out for the always-underdog Athletics out west.
This entire division has played some very uninspiring baseball as of late, but the Phillies remain to the team to beat right now in the east.
The best part here is seven of their final 11 games of the season come against the Braves, who sit just one game back at the moment. They also have a chance to put away the Nationals with nine games remaining between the two clubs this season.
The D-backs have rattled off three straight wins as they chase down the Dodgers in a very tight National League West division.
Their offense is a good one when going, but man do they struggle against right-handed pitching. Arizona’s team .298 wOBA against righties ranks 26th in baseball, and their 24.4% strikeout rate against them is the sixth-highest in the bigs. I keep thinking they will come around, but their offense just hasn’t been there against right-handers.
The Mariners take the biggest tumble in the rankings as they have dropped five of their last seven games and are in serious trouble of falling into third place in the American League West for the first time all year.
It’s also extremely concerning that ace James Paxton was scratched from his start last night with a bad back, the same issue that sent him to the Disabled List prior to the All-Star break. One would question whether this team can compete for a postseason berth without the services of The Big Maple.
The Braves maintain their spot in the rankings, but have some things to work on during their postseason push.
Starting pitching is a serious need for the Braves at the moment as Julio Teheran was shelled for nine runs in his start yesterday against a weak Marlins offense in a pitcher-friendly venue in Miami. They are well behind the Phillies, Nationals, Cubs, Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the starting pitching department among NL contenders and will need an upgrade or two within the next week if they aspire to seriously contend.
12. Cleveland Indians (1st – AL Central)
Record: 54-46 | L10: 5-5 | GB: — | Last Week: 12
Losing three in a row and isn’t a good way to keep your spot in the rankings from last week, but they did address a major need in the bullpen by acquiring Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the San Diego Padres, which should help moving forward.
Still, I really wonder where this club would be without simultaneous MVP-type seasons from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. Even Corey Kluber is showing cracks in his armor by allowing 13 runs (nine earned) over his last 11.1 innings while allowing six earned runs in two of his last five starts. As mentioned, they’re lucky to be in the AL Central as six of their next seven games come against the lowly Twins and Tigers.
The biggest single-week jump in our power rankings all year goes to the Pirates who are baseball’s hottest club at the moment.
Pittsburgh has rattled off 11 straight wins that has included a monumental four-game sweep of the second-place Brewers, while also sweeping the Reds. They can sweep the Indians with a win today before an extremely winnable four-game set at home against the lowly Mets. Their offense easily owns a league-best .940 OPS, .263 ISO and .397 wOBA over the last 14 days. They now sit just three games back of the second Wild Card spot in the NL.
The Rockies also make a significant jump in the rankings after winning seven straight games surrounding the All-Star break prior to dropping their last two.
Still, there’s plenty of optimism surrounding a club with the league’s second-best OPS over the last two weeks at .885. However, let’s keep in mind they still require big-time bullpen help as their pen as pitched to a 7.43 ERA over the last seven days and owns a 5.29 ERA for the season, good for the second-worst mark in baseball.
The Giants are a mediocre 2-2 coming out of the All-Star break, however no one across the league has stepped up and deserved a jump up the standings into this spot, so we will move the Giants up a tick as they stay relevant in the NL West.
It’s exciting to see a four-team race developing in the west, and the Giants could use a healthy and productive return from right-hander Jeff Samardzija who is expected to avoid the DL despite some shoulder inflammation.
The Rays entered the All-Star break by losing three of four and came out of it by losing two of three to a weak Marlins’ squad.
They sell is on in Tampa as they just traded right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the Red Sox, which is nice considering he pitched himself into being a valuable trade chip in only 10 big league starts since August of 2016. They have still done very well to hover around .500, but all that will likely mean is a mid-first-round draft pick next June.
The Cardinals have fell to fourth in the Central and simply aren’t getting it done right now.
That said, the last two days have been interesting. Two rookie pitchers vying for a rotation spot both pitched into the seventh inning with no-hitters intact on back-to-back days. However, the Cardinals went just 1-1 in those outings, showing just what kind of year it is has been in St. Louis.
It was a fantastic All-Star week in Washington with hometown hero Bryce Harper taking down the Home Run Derby followed by one of the most exciting All-Star games in recent memory.
And then the regular season resumed and the Nationals lost three of four. This club just can’t find its footing, and they have one last chance to go on a run as their next 10 games after today come against the Marlins, Mets and Reds.
The Angels are officially out of postseason contention barring a 10.5-game comeback to overtake the Seattle Mariners for the second Wild Card spot while leapfrogging the white-hot A’s in the process. They need to sell parts. Ian Kinsler and their top performing relievers should be dealt and perhaps this team can attempt to retool in the offseason and take another run at a postseason berth next year.
The Blue Jays have been one step forward, two steps back for most of the season, but this is a team to keep an eye on over the next week.
J.A. Happ will be traded for a nice return while bullpen pieces like John Axford and veterans like Curtis Granderson will be appealing as pieces for contending clubs. This team will plan on contending in 2019.
Being just 7.5 games back in a two-team division at this point almost makes you want to pump the breaks on selling and give the Indians a run for their money.
That said, the Twins have too many pieces that can bring back a solid return. Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar are two such pieces while right-handers Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn can bring some type of prospect back as well. The truth is, this team is a long way away from contention after a disappointing 2018 campaign.
Will they or won’t they trade Scooter Gennett, who would surely bring back a solid return.
I wouldn’t. Teams aren’t paying up for power bats these days and the Reds could theoretically contend next season. They also have to like the recent performance of promising right-hander Luis Castillo who owns a 3.00 ERA and 2.82 FIP across four starts in the month of July.
You know, it’s funny. Derek Jeter was public enemy number one when he came in and lowered payroll and improved their system via trades for the Marlins’ best players.
Now, they aren’t even going to be the worst team in their division while a team like the Mets has a worse farm system and are holding onto their prized possessions on a poor big league roster, for some reason. The Marlins still have one player who could bring back a King’s ransom in catcher J.T. Realmuto who has been baseball’s best catcher this season with a .304/.355/.529 slash line with 13 homers and impeccable defense.
The Rangers may have dropped eight of their last 10, but I still like the long-term outlook of this club compared to the rest of the teams not listed yet, but mostly on the offense side.
Keep an eye on prospect Willie Calhoun. Calhoun homered in last night’s game against Oakland, and has posted an ISO of .215 or better in each minor league stop prior to this season. He posted a .257 ISO and .911 OPS at Triple-A after coming over from the Dodgers in the Yu Darvish trade last season. His power could work real well at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
The Padres have also dropped eight of their last 10, but at least there is some hope with his club.
They own the league’s top-rated farm system, a system that got even better with the Hand/Cimber deal as they acquired the top catching prospect in all of baseball in Francisco Mejia. Mejia may not be long for the catching position, but he’s got plenty of offensive upside and is essentially big league ready at this point.
The Tigers are a team that we will very likely see in the bottom five of the league again next season, but there is optimism in the minor league system.
The newest Top-100 prospect list has four Tigers pitchers included, but that will not bear fruit until about the 2020 season. For now, Detroit can further stock their system with a couple of pieces at this year’s deadline and hold tryouts again in 2019.
The White Sox are pretty much out of tradable assets at this point unless they get an appealing offer for Jose Abreu or Avisail Garcia.
This team could look a little better next season when a couple of top prospects compete for big league jobs, so the pain could be over within a year or two for White Sox fans.
There is still time, but I really thought the Mets were going to trade Jacob deGrom in a pitching market that is truly lacking any ace-type starters.
Jacob deGrom owns a 1.71 ERA, 2.27 FIP and a 30.8% strikeout rate. He also had two years of club control remaining after this season, something extremely valuable on the trade market. Yet, the Mets look poised to hold onto their ace as his club control diminishes while the team won’t be competitive again until well after he is free-agent eligible. I suppose there is always next year.
The Royals have won six of their last 10 and four of their last five to climb out of the basement in these rankings.
One prospect that is starting to produce at the MLB level is Adalberto Mondesi, formerly Raul Mondesi Jr. He’s got big-time power/speed upside with a .242 ISO and 10 steals at Triple-A this season before posting a .194 ISO and five steals in 74 big league plate appearances since his call up. At least the Royals are covered at shortstop for the future with the 22-year-old.
The Orioles are back in the basement, but that’s irrelevant at this point.
The trades are underway with Machado and Britton already out the door while players like reliever Brad Brach, reliever Michael Givens, second baseman Jonathan Schoop and long-time Orioles’ outfielder Adam Jones could all still be on the move. Dan Duquette is a popular man right now and it should be real interesting to see what this club looks like at this time next week.
Brenton Kemp
Brenton is a lifelong sports fan who resides in Ontario, Canada. Brenton is a fan of most all sports but specializes in hockey, baseball, football, basketball, and golf. He’s a fierce researcher with a strong appetite to deliver accurate and relevant facts that in turn have led to past success with picks and DFS advice across the board. Brenton’s biggest goal is to deliver readers with the picks and advice that can build their bankroll. He takes great pride in his success and loves nothing more than to share that success for the benefit of everyone involved.
