TPFSports MLB Power Rankings: Week Seven
30. Washington Nationals (Last Rank: 29)
- It takes a truly awful pitching staff to keep a team with the 3rd highest OPS in the league (.789) buried this deep in the cellar.
29. Baltimore Orioles (Last Rank:26)
- Japanese import Koji Uehara (4.09) is the lone starter with an ERA below the league average. It doesn’t help that the O’s are stuck in the best division in baseball, but their rotation would be terrible in the offensively inept NL West.
28. Houston Astros (Last Rank:27)
- Houston might very well sport the worst rotation in baseball. Behind Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez, the 3-5 starters are a combined 4-9 with a 6.55 ERA.
27. Oakland Athletics (Last Rank:18)
- In a season of disappointment, Josh Outman appears to be a welcome bright spot. The 24-year-old lefty has impressed with a 2.90 ERA and a 2.38 K/BB ratio in his first seven starts, despite having only two wins to show for it.
26. Florida Marlins (Last Rank:19)
- The Fish continue their freefall. They are now 9-24 since their blistering 11-1 start to the season. The team OPS has dropped nearly 100 points over that span and is now third lowest in the National League.
25. Chicago White Sox (Last Rank:17)
- After his hot start it looked like Carlos Quentin was in line for a repeat of his breakout 2008 campaign. The .181/.261/.253 line over his last 25 games suggest otherwise, as he’s hit only 1 home run and knocked in only 6 runs over that span.
24. Arizona Diamondbacks (Last Rank:25)
- Juston Upton continues to mash, but his counterpart in center field Chris Young is falling fast. He’s hitting a meek .171/.216/.314 and is on pace for nearly 200 strikeouts.
23. Cleveland Indians (Last Rank:28)
- Cleveland RF Shin-Soo Choo is one of the most underrated young hitters in the game. After a strong half-season in 2008, he’s hitting .303/.426/.474 in over nearly 200 PAs this season.
22. Colorado Rockies (Last Rank:20)
- Following a miserable 2008, Todd Helton appears to have found his old stroke. His .340/.391/.535 line is a massive improvement, and his 6 HRs are only one shy of last year’s total. And yes, he is absolutely a Hall of Famer.
21. San Francisco Giants (Last Rank:21)
- Looking for some explanation for the Barry Zito resurgence? He is throwing the slider more and curve ball less. In fact, he is throwing the curveball less often than he ever has, and the pitches effectiveness has increased dramatically.
20. Pittsburgh Pirates (Last Rank:24)
- When a team features only one player with an OPS over .800 (Nate McLouth), it’s easy to see why they can barely score over 4 runs a game.
19. Seattle Mariners (Last Rank:23)
- The Mariners could be a dangerous team if they were never had to face a righty. They are 11-20 against right-handed starters and 9-4 against southpaws.
18. San Diego Padres (Last Rank:30)
- Since consecutive poor starts to close April, Peavy has gone 2-2, 1.50 in five May starts. He has posted a 47/10 strikeout-to-walk ratio and holding hitters to a .144 batting average over that span.
17. Cincinnati Reds (Last Rank:14)
- Jay Bruce may have had more hype as a prospect, but Joey Votto looks like a future MVP. The league leading .370 batting average is nice, but increasing his walks is a great sign of his ultimate potential.
16. Kansas City Royals (Last Rank:8)
- Dreams of contention may be fading fast as the Royals have won only four times in their last 15 games, including series losses to the Orioles and Indians. The offense has scored a mere 3.2 runs a game over that span.
15. Chicago Cubs (Last Rank:11)
- Mike Fontenot continues to disappoint at the plate. The Aramis Ramirez injury should buy him more time to break out of his season-long slump (.205/.298/.369). The bounce back should come at some point, as his .217 BABIP is fourth lowest in the league.
14. Atlanta Braves (Last Rank:15)
- The Braves are creeping back into contention (7-3 in their last 10) despite an offensively inept outfield that is being LED by Jeff Francoeur’s .666 OPS.
13. Los Angeles Angels (Last Rank:13)
- 33-year-old Torii Hunter is having the best season of his career at the plate. His .310/.391/.587 would set career highs across the board.
12. Minnesota Twins (Last Rank:22)
- Joe Mauer has shown more power in the last three weeks than ever before. Over a quarter of his flyballs are leaving the park despite a career HR/FB rate of only 5.9%.
11. New York Mets (Last Rank:3)
- With Beltran and Church hurting, Fernando Martinez might want to start packing for Queens. F-Mart is hitting .295/.343/.551 with 7 HRs at AAA Buffalo.
10. New York Yankees (Last Rank:12)
- A performance enhancer? Mark Teixeira is hitting .375/.446/.839 since Alex Rodriguez returned from hip surgery on May 8th.
9. Detroit Tigers (Last Rank:7)
- Rick Porcello is 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA in his last four starts. He has not allowed a homer over that span after giving up six bombs in his first four starts.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (Last Rank:10)
- The Phils definitely like to win in style. They’re six games over .500 despite having a losing record through the 7th inning this season (17-20-3).
7. Tampa Bay Rays (Last Rank:9)
- It’s a shame that two of these AL East teams will miss the postseason. The Rays sit in 4th place in the division despite the third best run differential in all of baseball and having reeled of 7 wins in their last 10 games.
6. Toronto Blue Jays (Last Rank:1)
- Many were hesitant to believe in the Jays before proving themselves against the Yankees and Red Sox. In their first six games against the division powers, they went 1-5 and scored a paltry 14 runs in the two series.
5. St. Louis Cardinals (Last Rank:5)
- After losing five of six to the Pirates and Brewers, the Cardinals bounced back to sweep the rival Cubsand take two of three from the Royals.
4. Boston Red Sox (Last Rank:4)
- Kevin Youkilis looks unstoppable at the dish, as he’s posting career highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Unfortunately, his league-leading BABIP of .466 is completely unsustainable.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (Last Rank:6)
- Trevor Hoffman has been dominant in his new surroundings. He is a perfect 11 for 11 in save opportunities and has yet to allow either a walk or a run.
2. Texas Rangers (Last Rank:14)
- What’s happening in Texas? The Rangers are actually riding their pitching to a division lead? The team is 15-5 in their last 20 games thanks in large part to a pitching staff that has posted a 3.01 ERA over the same span.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (Last Rank: 2)
- The Dodgers are they easy choice here, as they’ve extended their lead over the rest of baseball to three games despite Andre Ethier’s prolonged slump (.419 OPS in his last 70 PA).
