MLB Power Rankings: Yankees are the boss, Tigers at a loss
By Tim Boyle
In this week’s MLB Power Rankings, the New York Yankees continue to assert themselves as the boss of baseball while the Detroit Tigers might be the biggest disappointment.
The divide between the best teams in Major League Baseball and the worst is so clear. There are a few teams trapped in the middle of the MLB Power Rankings hoping to get into the field of 12 bound for the playoffs. Some of those teams made some major progress this past week compared to where they ranked the last time we checked in.
The MLB season is a long one and everyone now has fewer than 100 games left on the schedule to point their team in the right direction or begin to think about next year’s draft placement.
How do the 30 teams stack up this week?
30) MLB Power Rankings: Washington Nationals
Nobody is worse in the National League this year than the Washington Nationals. Even some of the usual suspects to finish at or near the bottom aren’t quite as poor as the team that even entered last year with some hopes of making the playoffs.
There’s a very short list of positive things to say about this year’s team. Josh Bell has been really good. That’s about where it all ends. Their pitching has been the major weakness all year but recent slowdowns from most of their hitters have dropped them into a last-place spot on this week’s list.
29) MLB Power Rankings: Oakland Athletics
At least the Nationals have won a championship recently. The Oakland Athletics haven’t been victorious in decades. Based on the way the front office is selling every part they can, the championship drought should follow them to whatever city they end up calling home next.
Despite their poor record, the Athletic have gotten some promising starting pitching performances and do have some decent bullpen pieces they could sell. The one glaring negative is that even if the Athletics are able to acquire good prospects for anyone, they probably won’t have enough talent to put around these players to do much anytime soon.
28) MLB Power Rankings: Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are one of those usual suspects to finish near the bottom of the league. They’ve met expectations this year and that’s a problem. Where is this franchise going? They seem to take a 30-year break from playing any form of competitive baseball. With few signs of a quick turnaround, it could be another long three decades before they are playing winning baseball again.
Kansas City is suffering from the same issues plaguing the rest of baseball’s worst ball clubs. They don’t have very many good hitters and their best-performing pitchers are even fewer. This is another year of development for young players. Any wins they can muster are a bonus.
27) MLB Power Rankings: Detroit Tigers
When it comes to the MLB Power Rankings, the Detroit Tigers should almost be punished a little more because of the expectations. This was supposed to be a year where they began to at least finish near the middle. A completely absent offense puts them among the worst clubs in Major League Baseball.
If there’s any one thing Tigers fans can feel good about, at least Miguel Cabrera is hitting for a high batting average. He has very little power at this point but has shown he can still rack up hits. They’ve received some promising pitching performances from youngsters like Tarik Skubal and Beau Brieske. Riley Greene is performing admirably early on. Maybe next year?
26) MLB Power Rankings: Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds got off to such a bad start that their record barely scratches the surface of what this team really is. But there are a few players to reference to get an idea of how poorly things have gone. Most notably, their best hitter has been Brandon Drury. You aren’t going to win often when this is the case.
The Reds pitching staff has been equally as bad with only a few standout performers. Luis Castillo has helped raise his trade stock. Reliever Jeff Hoffman could have a few suitors looking for some bullpen answers as well. Reds fans shouldn’t be too concerned about the trade deadline this year. Their vision should be aimed at next season—or maybe even the one after that.