MLB Power Rankings: Brewers are kings of the Central, Astros invading the West
By Tim Boyle
25) MLB Power Rankings: Oakland Athletics
The biggest check anyone on the Oakland Athletics received this week was a reality one. Following a fine start where it was impossible to leave them near the bottom of the MLB Power Rankings, the club didn’t win a single game last week. They are now in last place within the American League West.
While Frankie Montas continues to raise his trade value, closer Dany Jimenez has entered the conversation as an option for the Athletics to flip later this year. Most importantly, does it really matter what they do? Fans aren’t showing up and good for them. Ownership doesn’t deserve to sell tickets for the way they’ve dismantled the franchise.
24) MLB Power Rankings: Baltimore Orioles
Credit the Baltimore Orioles for playing some fine baseball over the last week. Although some will want to argue they should be ahead of a certain colored footwear club within the division, they will need to continue to have success over the next week to jump ahead of them.
Some of the exciting young Orioles hitters are finally fattening up their statistics. Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays lead the way. Cedric Mullins, while still pulling in some ugly numbers early on, has heated up and should have another one of those awesome seasons he proved he is capable of. This could turn into a fourth-place finish season for the Orioles. No promises, though.
23) MLB Power Rankings: Texas Rangers
Maybe the Texas Rangers aren’t dead yet. A strong week from them has lifted this club a little closer to the teens where they’re still falling short of expectations but at least not completely embarrassing themselves.
It’s hard to get used to a Rangers team where pitching is the greater strength. That has been the case this year although to call the pitching a strength is like gloating you could bench press a pink dumbbell. The team does not have a full rotation of reliable arms and the bullpen’s success may be nothing long-lasting. If they were winning with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien hitting home runs, it would be worth buying in. Because this isn’t the case, it’s hard to trust them.
22) MLB Power Rankings: Pittsburgh Pirates
Only the Reds have a worse run-differential than the Pittsburgh Pirates so even though they’re presently in third-place within the National League Central, it’s hardly worth celebrating. The club has not played anything close to .500 baseball. They just happen to have two good teams in front of them and two of the worst trying to catch up.
Ke’Bryan Hates is off to a nice start despite not having a single home run and only having 7 RBI in his first 103 trips to the plate. The overall offense has been underwhelming and the same thing could be said about their entire pitching staff with a few positives sprinkled in. Closer David Bednar should become everybody else’s favorite trade deadline target as could a few of the other role-players on this team.
21) MLB Power Rankings: Boston Red Sox
Wow! Who saw this coming? The Boston Red Sox could probably be lower on this week’s MLB Power Rankings. Their lousy week, which included five straight losses, has dropped them behind the Orioles in the standings. At least for now, they remain ahead of them in the MLB Power Rankings merely because they have to have simply had a string of bad luck, right?
The Red Sox are a weird team because they have the name value and a couple of guys playing well. On offense, it’s the Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers show plus a few featured guests hitting under .200. On the pitching side of things, the starting rotation is leaking oil but the bullpen is keeping things from getting too far out of hand—other than Matt Barnes. The Red Sox are capable of winning a lot more. They just need to put that capability into action.