MLB Power Rankings: First-half recap
The 2017 MLB season has passed its mid-way point. How do the Power Rankings shake out?
The first half of the 2017 MLB season is officially in the books and the second half will kick off on Friday night. The league is coming off the highs of one of its best All-Star breaks in recent years (thanks more to Aaron Judge in the HR Derby than the game itself). The first half was an interesting one. For the first time in MLB history, there were two 60-win teams at the break, most of the American League is within five games of a playoff spot, home runs are way up and the defending World Series champions did not send a single All-Star starter to Miami.
The league is about to get flipped on its head with the upcoming trade deadline, and there has already been one major move that will shake up the playoff picture with Jose Quintana switching Chicago stadiums. These will be the last MLB Power Rankings before the rumor mill and trade deadline activity go to another level. Let’s recap the first half and set the Power Rankings heading into what should be an exciting second half of MLB action.
Philadelphia Phillies 29-58
Last week: 3-7
Last rank: 30
It has been an ugly year for the Phillies. Maikel Franco’s development has stalled out — or even gone backwards. Odubel Herrera has not been able to carry over his All-Star form from last season. Jerad Eickhoff is struggling, while Vince Velasquez is hurt again.
It’s a lost year for the Phillies and their rebuilding process. Give Scott Kingery and Rhys Hoskins a chance to play for the MLB club in the second half. Both played in the MLB Futures Game and impressed. The same cannot be said about former top prospect J.P. Crawford, who nearly fell off every publication’s top-100 list over concerns about his hit tool.
San Francisco Giants 34-56
Last week: 4-7
Last rank: 29
The most interesting thing to watch with the Giants as the trade deadline approaches is whether or not they can stick a contender with Johnny Cueto. The right-hander says he is opting out of his contract at the end of the year but is 6-7 with a 4.51 ERA. His peripheral numbers are even worse in 2017 than in his brief stint with the Kansas City Royals in 2015 where he went 4-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 13 starts.
It could be tough to sell a trade partner on Cueto. There is no guarantee he opts out of his contract. He will be 32 next year and has two very bad half-seasons since the second half of 2015. Can he realistically do much better than the remaining four years and $87 million on his current contract? Betting on Cueto to be a useful MLB starter in his age-36 and age-37 seasons for over $20 million seems like a losing proposition.