Power Rankings: July 10th

Its that time of the month again to look at the Power Rankings.  As I look at the stats I’ve collected I notice that a shack up is in order.  So lets look at what has changed from the pervious week, who’s the hot team and who’s cooled off.

1)   St Louis Cardinals- Having a bit of a slow 2 weeks but I still see them as a top team and don’t pay to much to the last 2 weeks.  The team as a whole has been very good and baring injury should end up on top.

2)   Boston Red Sox- They’ve really shown that they can survive without a known closer and let the hitting do the work.  Hitting .307 recently with a .365 OBP which is a very nice team total.  Pitching has been average and maybe a little lucky but not much.

3)   Atlanta Braves- They’ve been very strong recently being lead by potential All Star Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann.  Pitching has been a little weak but nothing that they couldn’t overcome.

4)   Oakland Athletics- This is a team that does nothing special hitting wise, but they do nothing wrong either.  This is a surprise team for me and I admit I may have been wrong on them.  Its going to be a 3 horse race in that division from this point forward and at the moment they’re in the lead.

5)   Detroit Tigers- I still worry about them greatly but for now they are surviving.  The team holds their breath when they have to use the bullpen and it’s lucky that they have Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to help eat innings.

6)   Pittsburg Pirates- I’ve been very reluctant to put them on this list for many a weeks but I can’t keep them off anymore.  They have one of the best bullpens in baseball lead by first time closer journeyman Jason Grilli and the resurgence of Francisco Liriano.  The hitting is still very solid and while it has its moments of weakness that may end up being its downfall for now they can hang with the best of teams.

7)   Texas Rangers- The hitting has gotten better but still well before what we all expected and the pitching has actually gotten better and has now been average with the league.  The hitting is still a mystery to me and I’m not sure when or even if they will snap this.  A’s may at some point run away from the Rangers if they don’t pick it up.

8)   Cincinnati Reds- Injuries continue to plague the team but at the same time they are adapting very well.  I’ve said from day one that the Reds were going to be the team to clip the Cards wings, but I’m wavering on that now time will tell.

9)   Baltimore Orioles- While I still believe in them and I believe they can still be in the mix but they have fallen in the last few weeks.  With the trade for Scott Feldman it can help the rotation, look for them to try and get bullpen help if possible.

10)         Las Angeles Angels of Anaheim- I’m impressed with the team and how they’ve become very hot recently.  Mike Trout has rewarded the teams trust and the fans love for him with another MVP type year and with other players like Josh Hamilton starting to come back to form.  The pitching is still a worry but for now they could take the 2^nd place spot away from the Rangers if they don’t pick up the hitting.

So there we have it my top 10.  With the changes in the top of the list lets see who’s been worst than the worst.

            26) Seattle Mariners- I feel stupid for at one point thinking this team will be a “spoiler”.  They have been very bad and I don’t see them getting better this season though they do have a good future.

            27) New York Mets- Still bad, I don’t see any reason to think they’re going to improve much this season.

            28) Milwaukee Brewers- With no Braun they got bad and now that he’s back…they’re still a terrible team, its actually interesting to note that the Brewers actually have 3 guys that can and are fantasy giants right now in Ryan Braun, Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez.

            29) Miami Marlins- No they didn’t improve at all.  In fact with the trade of Ricky Nolasco they go down hill.  I still don’t see them keeping Giancalro Stanton at the deadline so look for them to get worse before they get average.

            30) Houston Astros- they’re hitting .199 for 2 weeks as a team…ya the Marlins are laughing at us.