The baseball power rankings got shaken up a bit this week as the leaders stay the same, but they’re trying to hold off a hard-charging team and there is also a new entry on the list.
The Houston Astros continue to impress as they are the best team in baseball. The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles – two teams from the American League East – have the next best records. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have the fourth-best record in baseball but don’t make the cut for the Top 10 power rankings. They’ve been a big surprise.
At any rate, here is our weekly look at the updated baseball power rankings.
1. Chicago Cubs
Last Week: 1
World Series Championship Odds: +500
The Cubs lost two of three in St. Louis, then won the first two of their three-game home set against Cincinnati before Milwaukee and San Francisco come to town. Offensively, the Cubs were poor this week, hitting just .200, although Willson Contreras and Ian Happ hit two homers each. Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta both lost this week posting ERAs of 4.76 and 6.00, respectively. Going into Thursday, the Cubs were two games before Milwaukee, and 1.5 games behind St. Louis, so it’s not time to press the panic button yet. However, the defending World Series champions need to find their groove.
2. Houston Astros
Last Week: 3
World Series Championship Odds: +600
The Astros won three of four in New York against the Yankees, then got a sweep in Miami, and now Cleveland and Detroit visit next. Jose Altuve had a big week, hitting .379 with a homer, three doubles and two triples to go with four RBIs, while the Astros got two wins from Lance McCullers JR., who didn’t allow a run over 12.0 innings of work. Going into Thursday, the Astros’ 29 wins led the entire majors, and they held eight-game leads over Texas and the Los Angeles Angels. They could be at the top of the power rankings very soon.
3. Cleveland Indians
Last Week: 2
World Series Championship Odds: +600
The Indians lost four of six at home to Minnesota and Tampa Bay, and now they visit Houston and Cincinnati (who then head to Cleveland for two games). The Indians hit .233 this week, but Jason Kipnis hit .280 with two homers and six RBIs. The pitching staff had an ERA of 5.17, and Josh Tomlin had a torrid time, losing both starts with an ERA of 6.10.
4. Washington Nationals
Last Week: 5
World Series Championship Odds: +800
The Nationals won two of three at home against Philadelphia (one game was postponed), then split the first two games of a three-game set in Pittsburgh before they head to Atlanta, then Seattle visits the nation’s capital. Bryce Harper celebrated a new contract by hitting .400 with three homers and seven RBIs, while Gio Gonzalez rebounded from his worst outing of the season by allowing a run on four hits over 6.2 innings, taking a no-decision in a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia.
5. Boston Red Sox
Last Week: 4
World Series Championship Odds: +800
The Red Sox lost two of three at home to Tampa Bay, then swept a two-game set in St. Louis before heading to Oakland and then Texas comes to town. Mookie Betts hit just .259, but he also went deep three times with eight RBIs. Craig Kimbrel did what he could for a staff that posted an ERA of 4.23 ERA, claiming two saves and a win in four appearances.
6. New York Yankees
Last Week: 6
World Series Championship Odds: +1000
The Yankees lost three of four to Houston at home, then won the first two of three games in Kansas City before going to Tampa Bay, then the Royals visit next week. No player stop out offensively for the Yankees as they hit .290 as a team and six players went deep once. C.C. Sabathia continued an up-and-down season by pitching a shutout five-hitter over 6.2 innings of a 7-1 win in Kansas City. Still, going into Thursday’s games, the Yankees had a 1.5-game lead over Baltimore in the American League East, and are four games over the Red Sox.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
Last Week: 7
World Series Championship Odds: +1000
The Dodgers split four games in Colorado, then lost two of three in San Francisco, and now Miami and St. Louis come to town this week. Yasmani Grandel had a solid week as he hit .389 with six RBIs, while on the mound, Clayton Kershaw won both of his starts and allowed two earned runs over 14.0 innings, which made up for poor outings from Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Julio Urias.
8. Colorado Rockies
Last Week: 10
World Series Championship Odds: +1500
The Rockies had that split with the Dodgers, then they won the first game of four in Minnesota (the second game was postponed), and then Colorado travels to Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Charlie Blackmon hit .471 over the week, going deep one time and he drove in three RBIs as well. The star of the pitching staff continues to be Greg Holland, who picked up three more saves this week and is a perfect 17-for-17 on the season.
9. St. Louis Cardinals
Last Week: —
World Series Championship Odds: +1500
The Cardinals are this week’s entry into the power rankings after they took two of three from the rival Cubs at home, but they lost two at home to Boston and now San Francisco are their next visitors before heading on the road to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. Yadier Molina hit .273 for the week with two homers and three RBIs, while Mike Leake ran into some bad luck. He got a pair of no-decisions in one-run losses to Boston and Chicago, but he allowed four earned runs in 13.0 innings, striking out 10 and walking just three.
10. Baltimore Orioles
Last Week: 8
World Series Championship Odds: +1800
The Orioles had a tough week as they were swept in Kansas City, then they split two in Detroit before Thursday’s series final, and next they will host Toronto and Minnesota over the week. Chris Davis hit .467 for the week with four home runs and seven RBIs, but the pitching staff was awful, posting an ERA of 6.41. Chris Tillman, Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jimenez all started one game each, and they had ERA of 6.23, 7.20 and 9.00, respectively.
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