MLB Power Rankings: Sizzling Braves, ice-cold Brewers
By Tim Boyle
25) MLB Power Rankings: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to have a respectable enough record in comparison to some of baseball’s other bad teams. Their run-differential, however, tells a different tale. It shows just how dreadful some games for them have been. They are a curious club capable of beating some of the best one week and falling flat on their face against their fellow basement dwellers the next.
The Pirates are piling up injuries right now and looking more like a team on the verge of collapsing completely. Starting pitcher JT Brubaker is still winless in 12 tries with a record of 0-6. The Pirates have completely met expectations. They are a mess.
24) MLB Power Rankings: Baltimore Orioles
Mathematically, the Baltimore Orioles are one great week away from getting into the playoff race for a wild card berth. Logically, it’s not going to happen. This still doesn’t mean the season is a complete waste. The Orioles are one of the below .500 teams whose accomplishments this season could help the club next year get a little bit closer toward relevancy.
Orioles fans shouldn’t look at the record as an indication of how well the team is performing. They play in a division with four playoff teams and an imbalanced schedule to remind them of this fact. Losses are going to happen regardless of how well they play. Things haven’t been as bad as they should be for a team in their position.
23) MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs aren’t the worst team in baseball but they might be one of the most frustrating. It all started with their offseason strategy of lightly buying. They look like they can beat any of the bad teams in baseball. When they go against the best clubs, they don’t stand a chance in a three-game series.
Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is having a nice season for them and doing everything possible to increase his trade value and future contract when he does reach free agency. The bullpen is also a major strength, led mostly by closer David Robertson and his amazing comeback. Things could have been different for the Cubs this year. They just made all of the wrong offseason decisions. From the start, they were set up to fail.
22) MLB Power Rankings: Colorado Rockies
It’s difficult to know exactly where to place the Colorado Rockies. They showed a lot of fight earlier this year. Lately, they’ve been losing a ton of games. It’s fair to say they are a worse ball club than their record says they are.
C.J. Cron is no longer one of the league’s offensive leaders which has definitely hurt them. More than anything, this was a team built to target 75 victories or so. They are getting some exceptional bullpen performances this season. Closer Daniel Bard should be shopped at the deadline and the Rockies need to win the trade.
21) MLB Power Rankings: Miami Marlins
There has been plenty of chatter about the hot streaks of some other National League East clubs over the last week. The Miami Marlins have been playing some superb baseball as well. All it took was a closed-door meeting where Jazz Chisholm had fingers pointed at him.
The Marlins are way better than the Nationals but a few notches below other teams in their division. They have the ability to win some tough games. This past weekend, they took a series from one of the best. Victories like that won’t be plentiful. They just don’t have enough depth to sustain success.