First, I offer apologies for not getting a Week 18 Power Rankings piece out. The end result works for me though as there is plenty of movement up and down the rankings as there is a larger, two-week sample of games to create the movement.
The Oakland Athletics make yet another jump up the rankings, but the biggest jump goes to both the white-hot St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians who both make seven-spot jumps thanks to some dynamite play of late.
The Brewers, Dodgers and Pirates all take a four-spot tumble down the rankings due to some recent poor play, but all three remain in playoff contention.
Let’s get into Week 19 and see how the teams stack up across the league.
*All information as of before play on 8/15/18
1. Boston Red Sox (1st – AL East)
Record: 86-35 | L10: 9-1 | GB: — | Last Week: 1
At 51 games over the .500 mark, the Red Sox are making a mockery of every other team in baseball.
They are 11 wins better than the next closest team, which isn’t supposed to happen in this league. Also interesting is the fact that Mookie Betts and his 7.9 WAR may not even be the MVP of his own team. J.D. Martinez took home AL Player of the Week honors last week and now leads baseball with 37 home runs and 104 RBI. Betts still likely has the edge, especially with that giant WAR figure, but the traditionalists will still give some love to J.D., and he deserves every bit of it.
It stinks being 31 games over .500 and 10 games back in your division, but that is life in this year’ AL East that includes a possibly historic Red Sox club.
J.A. Happ showing why he was the top pitching target as this year’s deadline. In three starts as a Yankee, Happ has spun 19 innings of four-run ball, yielding just eight hits while striking out 15. That’s good for a 1.89 ERA and 0.73 WHIP. He’s also racked up a win in all three outings.
Boy, the Oakland Athletics make baseball fun, don’t they?
Oakland refuses to slow down, and it’s by bet that they overtake the Astros for top spot in the division sooner rather than later. On June 15th, the A’s were two games under .500 at 34-36 and 11.5 games back in the division. Since then, they are 38-12 and have climbed 10.5 games in the process. They improved their bullpen again by acquiring veteran Fernando Rodney, and this team can hit. What a story.
When I look back at the last rankings, I am a little disappointed I had the Indians at 11th as these rankings are supposed to incorporate some forward-thinking towards year-end results.
The fact is Cleveland is a scary team to face in the postseason as you have to go through Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer (if healthy) and Carlos Carrasco. If you do that, Mike Clevinger and his 3.38 ERA awaits. That’s a tough task, before you are forced to deal with two MVP candidates atop the Indians lineup in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. Yikes.
5. Houston Astros (1st – AL West)
Record: 73-47 | L10: 4-6 | GB: — | Last Week: 5
After completing the most puzzling move of the trade deadline for embattled closer Roberto Osuna, nothing has went right for Houston.
Jose Altuve and George Springer have since hit the DL, Justin Verlander yielded six earned runs in two innings before being ejected and Houston’s once-vaunted offense ranks 18th over the last two weeks. Now, they are excruciatingly close to blowing a huge division lead and ceding the division to the Oakland A’s.
Despite opening up a three-game lead in the division, the Cubs have largely failed to run away with this thing due to some inconsistent results.
David Bote’s pinch-hit, walk off grand slam to stun the Nationals was an epic moment and one to build off, but instead were clobbered 7-0 by the Brewers to begin a pivotal series on Tuesday. Yu Darvish is nearing a rehab assignment, which should help. And hey, this just acquired famed playoff pinch runner Terrance Gore from the Royals, so that’s pretty cool.
The dogfight between the Braves and Phillies for NL East supremacy continues.
The Braves have rattled off four straight wins and own a two-game lead over the Phils at the moment, thanks to one man in particular. Ronald Acuna Jr., over the last week, owns a .765 ISO, 1.749 OPS, .705 wOBA with eight homers, 13 runs, 15 RBI and two steals in eight games. Is that good?
The Brewers slide down a little in the rankings as they have fallen a couple of games back in the Central, however I still like this team as a sneaky World Series pick.
Why? Well, they have two things you need to win the World Series: offense and bullpen. Yes, the starters aren’t as good as others across baseball, but they are good enough to go, say, four or five innings before turning it over to the 10th best bullpen in baseball. The Royals of 2015 showed us this can work.
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (1st – NL West)
Record: 66-55 | L10: 5-5 | GB: — | Last Week: 9
The D-backs lead a tight AL West by one game over the Rockies and two games over the Dodgers, and it’s likely this puppy goes down to the wire.
Over the last month, the D-backs have received the third-best starter’s ERA in baseball at 3.07. As it stands, they have the best five-man group in the division, and their bullpen ranks second next to only the Astros with a 3.14 ERA on the year. Throw in the offense, and Arizona has plenty to work with.
The Dodgers are scuffling right now, and they fall a four-spot in the rankings as a result.
Closer Kenley Jansen’s status is up in the air due to an irregular heartbeat, which is no good. Also of no good have been the results to date from the biggest trade deadline acquisition in baseball, Manny Machado. As a Dodger, Machado is hitting .258 with a .737 OPS and only two homers in 110 plate appearances. Not yet as advertised, to be sure.
I love me a good comeback story, and the Cardinals are making an Oakland A’s-like ascension up the NL Central standings.
The Cardinals shipped Tommy Pham to the Rays at the deadline in what appeared to be a seller’s move. Well, since then, they are 10-2 and actually have a chance to win the division. Best of all? Their final six games of the season come against the Brewers and Cubs. Oh, baseball.
The Rockies have done some damage over the last little while and have been yet another stick in the favored Dodgers’ craw in the NL West.
Still, that darn bullpen. Colorado’s bullpen ERA ranks 28th at 5.13 for the year. Over the last month, they rank 20th at 4.78. Over the last week, they rank 21st at 5.06. They just refuse to consistently improve, and it’s going to be wildly difficult to secure a postseason berth with that type of ‘pen production.
The Phils have ceded the division to the Braves for now, but things are looking up.
Philly is set to activate trade deadline acquisition Wilson Ramos from the DL, which should help an offense that ranks 23rd with a .301 wOBA over the last 30 days. Their rotation is playoff-caliber, but if their offense doesn’t improve or begin to limit the strikeouts, their postseason quest may come up short.
Seattle has been victimized by the white-hot A’s, and things appear to have just gotten worse.
While he should miss only one start, James Paxton just hit the DL after taking a line drive off his throwing forearm last night. Paxton’s DL stint comes at a time when Felix Hernandez can no longer be trusted as a starter and surprising lefty Marco Gonzalez has been lit up for 11 earned runs on 20 hits over his last 10 innings and two starts. Get well soon, James.
Despite losing two straight and six of their last 10, I refuse to stop lending props to a Rays team that continues to sit above .500 in a division against the two best teams in baseball.
The Chris Archer trade as paid nice dividends already for Tampa. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, the Pirates’ top prospect from 2015 and 2016, has started three games for the Rays (while being stretched out) and has hurled 12 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and only three walks to go along with a whopping 20 strikeouts. Perhaps he has found that release point after a change of scenery.
Don’t forget about the Giants who are hanging tough in a very competitive NL West.
How about Pudge Jr.? Dereck Rodriguez, the son of Hall of Famer Pudge Rodriguez, has posted a 2.25 ERA while going 6-1 across 12 starts for the Giants. He, Andrew Suarez and Derek Holland have all been rock-solid in the Giants’ rotation, a group that may soon get right-hander Jeff Samardzija back after he’s made just two starts since May 29th.
The Pirates slide down the rankings as they have been surpassed by the Cardinals in the NL Central, and even sit five games back of a competitive Wild Card race in the National League.
As good as the Archer deal has worked for the Rays, the same cannot be said for the Bucs. Archer has posted a 4.82 ERA and 6.27 FIP in his first two starts with the Pirates, and they will need more for him down the stretch to increase their dire playoff chances.
The Angels aren’t going to be playing October baseball this season, so it’s time to give playing time to youngsters.
One youngster getting an opportunity that you may want to keep an eye on is Taylor Ward. The 24-year-old Ward powered his way to a .352/.442/.537 slash line at Triple-A this season and went 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI in his big league debut.
The Nationals own a similar record to the four teams immediately above them in the rankings, but they fall three spots as they are doing the accomplishing the least with the most talent available to them.
It should be an interesting offseason in D.C. if this team indeed misses the playoffs. Harper could be gone, and the team is also riddled with veterans like Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez who may be moved while they still hold value. In other words, things could get ugly in a hurry.
The Twins own the best record of any team not listed above, so they move up three spots to number 20.
Miguel Sano has posted an OPS 142 points better since being called back up as opposed to the mark he posted before going down. That is a bat this team needs to their future.
The Blue Jays’ youth movement is fully underway as Sean-Reid Foley and Danny Jansen were the first Blue Jays in history to make their MLB debuts as battery mates.
Jansen homered in last night’s contest with Reid-Foley hurled five innings of three-run ball in his debut Monday night. Is Vlad Jr. next? Fans north of the border can only hope.
I have been harsh on the Mets for the last couple of rankings, so I am going to show some love this time around by moving them up four spots.
Like many team at this point, some youngsters are getting a shot at everyday playing time, including second baseman Jeff McNeil. After posting a .299 ISO and 1.028 OPS at Double-A and a .232 ISO and 1.027 OPS at Triple-A, McNeil is getting full-time duties at the keystone thanks to the Asdrubal Cabrera trade. While he hasn’t shown quite the same power yet, he owns a minuscule 8.6% strikeout rate in the big leagues so far in 70 plate appearances. Impressive.
The Reds played some real good ball there for a while, but it’s now the dog days and things are quiet at Great American at the moment.
The Reds are hoping right-hander Robert Stephenson can fare better in tonight’s start against the Indians than his three runs and five walks allowed in four innings against the Mets in his season debut. They could use another young starter developing in that rotation.
From June 15-17, the Tigers went into Chicago and swept the White Sox to get within three games of the Indians in the AL Central with a pivot series coming the next weekend in Cleveland.
Well, the Tigers lost their next 11 games in a row, and have went 14-33 since. With some excellent pitching prospects on the way, Detroit could realistically somewhat contend in 2020.
This version of the San Diego Padres is tough to watch, but good times lay ahead.
San Diego has the top-ranked farm system in all of baseball, some of who are contributing at the big league level already. Should be an interesting young team to watch for the next couple of seasons.
Derek Jeter’s rebuild of this team may take a while.
I don’t blame the legendary Yankee for doing it, but there just aren’t any arms in that rotation that can keep their low-scoring offense in games. That said, if I lived in Miami, I’d be interested in some season tickets still.
The White Sox are rolling out the best lineup they can these days, but are they the team with the biggest prospect to watch for in September?
Eloy Jimenez, the third-ranked prospect in baseball, has produced a massive .348/.389/.659 slash line to go along with a small 12.8% strikeout rate at Triple-A so far. He will likely show up when rosters expand in September, and they can thank their cross-town rivals for this one.
Now that the trade deadline has passed, there just isn’t much going on or to look forward to with this organization.
One bright spot I do like, however, is 22-year-old middle infielder Adalberto Mondesi, the son for former major league Raul Mondesi. Mondesi stole three bases last night to move his total for the season to 15 in just 38 games. He could be a real nice player by the time the Royals are contending again.
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.
