MLB Power Rankings: Mets, Cardinals making things tough at the top

Tampa Bay Rays. 11. team. 21. The Rays waited a long time for the arrival of Tim Beckham, but it seems like it was worth it. The number 1 pick of the 2008 draft, Beckham is finally proving his worth with a solid start to 2015. In 19 games, the 25-year-old is hitting .289 with 3 HR and 10 RBI. Granted, he’s living off of a .417 BABIP, but it’s been fun to watch thus far.. . Previous: +8th

. Previous: -4th. Washington Nationals. 12. team. 90. The free fall for Washington continues. Once the World Series favorite, their vaunted pitching staff has surrendered the same number of runs as the Texas Rangers, and we all know about Texas’ pitching woes. The team’s wins leader is a set-up man and the trio of Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, and Jordan Zimmerman have a cumulative ERA of 5.02.

13. team. 108. While the Rockies 4.35 starters’ ERA isn’t great, it is worth noting they are doing so on the back of having issued the most walks in baseball (52). That’ll likely correct itself, but it is encouraging to see the young pitching staff figure out how to work around baserunners. Still, they’ll need to correct that soon if they want to survive in Colorado all summer. . . Previous: +4th. Colorado Rockies

Previous: -5th. Atlanta Braves. 14. team. 17. The Braves made a series of interesting bullpen moves this winter, but none was more risky than trading Craig Kimbrel and handing the closer role to Jason Grilli. Grilli’s responded well, converting all 7 save opportunities and striking out 11 in 7 innings of work..

39. The Blue Jays are an offensive juggernaut. Unfortunately, their pitching staff has been atrocious. Questions in the rotation and in the bullpen mean that no easy fix is likely to come. Aaron Sanchez to the closer role would help, but would further weaken a shallow rotation that is already hurting for innings.. . Previous: +1st. Toronto Blue Jays. 15. team