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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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 16: Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 16, 2019 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 16: Paul Goldschmidt #46 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 16, 2019 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

14. St. Louis Cardinals, 37-35, 3rd in the NL Central (ranked 13th last week)

The Cardinals have won six of their last 10 games but have faced the Marlins twice and the Mets during that 10-game span. Starter Adam Wainwright is expected to be back later this week from the 10-IL after dealing with a hamstring strain, which hopefully will boost the rotation. But the hitting hasn’t been great, either. Outside of Paul DeJong and Marcel Ozuna, the Cardinal’s haven’t been hitting the ball well.

The good news is that the toughest team they face before the All-Star break is San Diego, who’s also been struggling lately. So while the Cardinals still haven’t been playing their best, facing off against the Marlins again and Mariners should allow them to keep pace and maybe even gain some ground on the Cubs and Brewers in the NL Central.

13. Colorado Rockies, 38-34, 2nd in the NL West (ranked 11th last week)

The Rockies had their home winning streak end at 10 games last week after the Cubs finally beat them, but Colorado has a prime opportunity to push right back into the NL West with two series against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers before the All-Star break. They hold a slim lead over the Dbacks for second in the NL West, and the Dodgers are 10 games up on them at the moment, but if they can beat the Dodgers they can gain some ground in the NL Wild Card.

Charlie Blackmon is back and still OPSing over 1.000 on the season. The veteran outfielder will join SS Trevor Story and 3B Nolan Arenado on an offense that can score a ton of runs at any moment. Their pitching has been suspect, and playing at Coors Field can be tough on pitchers, but the Rockies have been able to overcome some of those moments by just smashing baseballs. That’s not a sustainable formula for winning, but the Rockies will have to hope it’s enough to stay in the playoff conversation.

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