Fansided

MLB Power Rankings: The top 5 teams stay the same

By Sean Sears

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 19: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 19: Gerrit Cole #45 of the Houston Astros throws a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 18: Shane Greene #61 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates with John Hicks #55 of the Detroit Tigers after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates after inter-league play at PNC Park on June 18, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 18: Shane Greene #61 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates with John Hicks #55 of the Detroit Tigers after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates after inter-league play at PNC Park on June 18, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

26. Detroit Tigers, 25-43, 4th in the AL Central (ranked 25th last week)

The Tigers pitching has fallen well below the league average in terms of ERA, settling into the bottom portion of the league at present with a 4.88 ERA. Offensively, they don’t have a single player with an OPS above .800 and JaCoby Jones leads the team with eight home runs on the year. Detroit doesn’t have much upside at the plate right now with Jeimer Candelario struggling and hurt, Nic Castellanos striking out 66 times this year and Miguel Cabrera starting to look like more and more like a 36-year-old.

But on the mound, Spencer Turnbull and Matthew Boyd have both been excellent and look like arms Detroit can build around. However, the Tigers have lost seven of their last 10 games and outside of closer Shane Greene, they don’t really have any tradable assets to add more young talent. They’ll have to hope more in-house talent develops, but most of their best pieces are still years away, meaning more bad days ahead for the Tigers.

25. Seattle Mariners, 31-45, last in the AL West (ranked 26th last week)

The Mariners pitching is still allowing 6.12 runs per game, the most in the league, and their ERA is the second-worst at 5.35 on the season. Losing six of their last 10 games, the Mariners did just take two of three from the Athletics and have a three-game set with the Royals. So they could bounce back a bit, but being 15 games below .500 and 18.5 games back in their division has led to general manager Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners already starting to move pieces.

DH Edwin Encarnacion was traded to the Yankees this weekend, netting the Mariners RHP Juan Then, a solid return for a player that’s likely going to land in the top 15-20 prospect range. SP Mike Leake seems like the next most obvious player to move. He currently leads Seattle with a 2.0 bWAR and is sporting 2.40 ERA over his last four starts.

The 31-year-old Leake is owed the remaining $16 million from this season as well as another $15 million in 2020. Add in his full no-trade clause and Leake is a hard asset to move without taking a loss. Expect trade-happy Dipoto to find some new homes for other players this summer.

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