14. Oakland Athletics, 29-26, 2nd in the AL West
The red hot A’s had won 10 straight games coming into Tuesday, beating up on some bad teams like the Tigers, Mariners and Indians. Oakland’s starting pitching has done a much better job of late, with Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas and Chris Bassitt all turning out quality starts. But finally, the runs are coming for the A’s, increasing their scoring to nearly five runs per game, jumping almost a half a run per game over the last week.
Stud 3B Matt Chapman has been the team’s MVP thus far, leading the club in OPS at .908 (among qualified hitters) and in homers, with 14 on the year. The pieces were all there for a good squad, it was just whether or not Oakland could get them all healthy and performing at their expected level. With the pitching improving and the offense clicking, as well as arms like Jharel Cotton, Marco Estrada and Sean Manaea getting closer to returning, Oakland has catapulted themselves back to relevancy.
13. St. Louis Cardinals, 26-27, tied for 3rd in the NL Central
The Cardinals have had a rough 10 games, winning only three of them, with the pitching struggling to keep games close. Starter Jack Flaherty has had a strong month of May with a 3.45 ERA but outside of Flaherty, the Cardinals pitching hasn’t been great. Closer Jordan Hicks gave up three runs and earned the loss against the Braves earlier this week, raising his ERA from 2.65 to 4.24 on the year.
But really, the Cardinals offense hasn’t been producing like it was earlier this year, just barely scoring more runs than they’ve allowed. Paul DeJong and Marcel Ozuna have had great seasons, but the rest of the group including Paul Goldschmidt, have cooled off. Cardinals are too talented to count out now, but in a tough NL Central St. Louis can’t afford to lose ground.