MLB Power Rankings: Phillies lose McCutchen, Twins beat Rays and Marlins get out of the basement

By Sean Sears | Jun 5, 2019

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JUNE 04: Outfielders Alex Verdugo #27, Chris Taylor #3 and Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB game at Chase Field on June 04, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Dodgers defeated the Diamondbacks 9-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

4 of 15

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 04: Derek Holland #45 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates with Shawon Dunston #21 of the San Francisco Giants after defeating the New York Mets during the inning at Citi Field on June 04, 2019 in New York City. The San Francisco Giants defeated the New York Mets, 9-3. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /

24. San Francisco Giants, 24-34, last in the NL West (ranked 25th last week)

The Giants won their series with the Orioles and beat the Mets Tuesday night to put themselves a nice three-game winning streak, but San Francisco is 4-6 over their last 10 games and sitting now 16.5 games out of first place. Madison Bumgarner has had a so-so 2019 season overall but has been much better in May, lowering his ERA to 4.01 after posting a 3.79 ERA with 39 K’s to just nine BB’s last month.

At just 29-years-old, Bumgarner still has life left in the tank despite throwing more than 1,700 innings over his career, and while many are ready to write off “Mad-Bum” he’s still an intriguing trade piece for the Giants. He’s likely one of the best arms available along with Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays, and as an unrestricted free-agent after 2019 he’s a low-risk move for a team in need of a starter for the playoff push and postseason. Expect the Giants to attempt to flip more than just Bumgarner if they do decide to pull the trigger this summer.

23. Washington Nationals, 27-33, 4th in the NL East (ranked 24th last week)

The Nationals have been streaking as of late, winning of eight of their last 10 games, with much of that having to do with their excellent starting pitching and Anthony Rendon finally getting some help on offense from OF Juan Soto. The 20-year-old Soto has hit .354/.429/.620 with four home runs, 16 RBI and 18 runs scored since May 1. He’s now currently tied for the team lead in homers with 10 and a .926 OPS on the season.

Howie Kendrick has also stepped up his play, OPSing .943 with nine home runs while playing all over the infield for Washington. And while on the season, the Nationals bullpen still has the worst ERA in the league at 6.81, over the last week they’ve posted a respectable 3.14 ERA with three saves. They’re still 6.5 games back of the Phillies in the division, but after being 10 games back a week ago, the Nationals have made up some decent ground in a short amount of time.

Home/MLB