MLB Power Rankings: The top 5 teams stay the same
By Sean Sears
6. Chicago Cubs, 39-32, 2nd in the NL Central (ranked 6th last week)
The Cubs were put through a tough road trip out West, facing the Rockies and Dodgers and coming out of the trip winning only two of the seven games. They are now facing the White Sox who always seems to play the Cubs tough despite the Crosstown Classic being more about the fans than anything else. Kyle Hendricks hit the 10-day IL last week and is expected to be out until the All-Star break.
Top pitching prospect Adbert Alzolay has been rumored as a potential spot-start fill-in after Theo Epstein teased the idea last week, but the 24-year-old has yet to get the call. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have both had a great few weeks, but Javier Baez is batting .172 in the month of June, so expect that change shortly. Plus, closer Craig Kimbrel is expected to join the big league club next week, which will be a huge boost to the bullpen that has good numbers but has lacked a true late-innings difference-maker. Kimbrel fixes that and then some for the Cubs.
5. Tampa Bay Rays, 43-29, 2nd in the AL East (ranked 5th last week)
The Rays had a rough series with the Yankees that push them back to now-2.5 games behind New York in the AL East. They’re 4-6 over their last 10 games as the Rays have struggled to stay in games when their pitching has been off. That hasn’t happened much with their league-leading 3.02 ERA on the season, but Oakland and then New York were able to solve their arms.
On offense, Austin Meadows and Brandon Lowe have been excellent all season. Add in Yandy Diaz and his bat plus Tommy Pham making great plays in the field along with his .877 OPS, and this team is legitimately good. The only question is whether this group can rely on this much young hitting to score runs. Right now it’s working, but in four-game series, it’s hard to say what the Rays can expect from their offense.