Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 12 (06/18 - 06/24)

Based on the way this past week has played out, we continue to see that there are clearly the elite teams along with the haves and have nots. However, the Texas Rangers came out of nowhere this past week and have been on a nice run, while the Cincinnati Reds also made some noise. It's refreshing to see because it keeps things competitive for all 30 teams regardless of where they are within the standings! With that being said, here is this week's Week In Review and Top 15 Power Rankings report:

Week In Review

• Kelvin Herrera Trade - The week started off with some fireworks as we found out on Monday evening that Royals closer, Kelvin Herrera, had been traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange of three prospects. While it was certainly surprising, you can't argue with the fact about Washington adding a power arm to their bullpen like they did in Herrera. As we have seen the past couple of postseasons, bullpens are more important than ever. 
• Bauer Outage - Trevor Bauer finished Monday's game recording at least 10 strikeouts and repeated that performance on Saturday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers. Bauer has recorded at least 10 or more strikeouts in 5 of the 6 games he started this month. It's fair to say that a Bauer Outage has officially taken over The Land! 
• Big Sexy Fascination Continues - On Monday night, Bartolo Colon set yet another record, this time surpassing, Juan Marichal, for the most wins by a Dominican-born starting pitcher. Big Sexy might have turned 45 last month, but he has certainly put the notion that, old dog's can't learn new tricks, to rest. 
• Rockies Hit Three Taters in a Row - If you're a fan of the Home Run Derby, then you always relish games where there are Mini Home Run Derby's incorporated in them. That's exactly what happened on Tuesday night as the Rockies went back-to-back-to-back against the New York Mets at Coors Field. I guess the Blake Street Bombers might be back in action in the Mile High City! 
• Mike Clevinger Mic Drop - Mike Clevinger, who wasn't even guaranteed to make the Indians starting rotation heading into Spring Training, finished Tuesday night's game with 10 strikeouts and certainly dropped the mic on the haters out there. Clevinger now has a 3.00 ERA over 99.0 IP with 90 strikeouts and a 1.16 WHIP. 
• Johan Camargo Becomes Johan Ca-Mar-Goat - Braves third baseman, Johan Camargo, had himself quite a night on Tuesday when he went 4-for-5 at the plate a double, home run, and 5 RBI. The Braves are having a magical season and Johan Camargo is one of the many reasons why. Some might think they need a third baseman at the trade deadline, but it seems pretty valid that they have a good one in-house. 
• Houston Astros Reach 50 Wins - If the Rockies Mini Home Run Derby wasn't enough on Tuesday, the reigning World Series Champions followed suit on Wednesday and did exactly the same as Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Alex Bregman all went back-to-back-to-back. If that wasn't enough for Astros fans, the team also became the first team to lock down 50 wins. 
• Red Sox Surpass 50 Wins - As mentioned earlier, right now in the game, we are seeing a clear division between the three elite teams at the top as well as the haves and have nots. The Red Sox fall in that elite category and continued to show how strong of a team they are as they captured their 50th win of the season on Thursday afternoon. Now, it comes down to trying to decide which of the the three is better than the other two, which seems kind of impossible! 
• Red Sox/Mariners Slug Fest - On Friday night, Red Sox and Mariners fans were treated to a classic slugfest at Fenway Park. The final score of the game was 14-10 and featured a promising starting pitching matchup between James Paxton and Steven Wright that did not deliver at all. No wonder why they say the game isn't played on paper. 
• Patrick Corbin/Ivan Nova Pitching Duel - On the same night just south of the state of Massachusetts in Pennsylvania, specifically Pittsburgh, Patrick Corbin and Ivan Nova faced off in an intense pitcher's duel. Corbin nailed down 12 strikeouts, while Nova locked down 8 and the game eventually went on for 13 innings before the Dbacks came out on top, 2-1. 
• Jesus Aguilar Walkoff Hero - As if Jesus Aguilar couldn't get more spectacular, he provided the Brew Crew and their fans some magic on Friday night with a walkoff home run against the division rival, St. Louis Cardinals. The best part about it is that he broke up a no-no and came on home turf at Miller Park. 
• Grand Slam Palooza - For those that like Grand Slams, Saturday was the day for you as we saw a total of four Grand Slams hit, tying the record for the most so far this season. One of the Grand Slams came via Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher, Anthony DeSclafani, which was the first by a Reds starter since 1959! As they say, we always love, pitchers who rake! 
• Future Hall of Famer Continues Greatness - Also on Saturday, Adrian Beltre recorded his 227th career three-hit game against the Minnesota Twins. That gives Beltre one more than Babe Ruth and two more three-hit games than Ted Williams. Impressive! 
• Kyle Seager Double Madness - During Saturday's game against the Red Sox, Mariners third baseman, Kyle Seager, recorded his 232nd career double, putting him 4th on the list for the most doubles in franchise history. The other three you may ask? Edgar Martinez (514 doubles), Ken Griffey Jr. (341), and Ichiro Suzuki (295). 
• Reds Win 7 in a Row - The Reds completed a sweep of the Chicago Cubs yesterday afternoon when the Cubs blew a 6-1 lead in the 7th inning. Cincinnati might not be destined for the postseason, but this is a nice stretch they're on and a sign that the firing of Bryan Price was probably the right decision afterall, given that they have a record over 500 under the guidance of their new skipper, Jim Riggleman. 
• Tribe is Sizzling - As if we couldn't get any more Cleveland Indians highlights from this week, the best one of them all is the fact that just like their neighbors, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians have also won 7 games in a row. Who knows if this will finally be the spark that the Tribe needs to go on a run, but it looks like the AL Central will once again, run through Cleveland. 
• Hunter Pence Walkoff - Yesterday afternoon was a good day for fans in San Francisco and those fans around the country of the Giants as Hunter Pence hit a wlakoff home run during the 11th inning. The Giants still haven't caught fire and sit 5 games back of the division leading, Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West, but who knows if this will cause them to go on a bit of a roll. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Houston Astros (52-27) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

2. New York Yankees (50-25) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

3. Boston Red Sox (52-27) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

4. Cleveland Indians (43-33) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

5. Arizona Diamondbacks (44-33) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

6. Atlanta Braves (44-32) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

7. Philadelphia Phillies (41-34) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

8. Los Angeles Dodgers (41-35) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

9. Milwaukee Brewers (45-32) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

10. Seattle Mariners (47-31) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

11. San Francisco Giants (40-39) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

12. Chicago Cubs (42-33) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

13. St. Louis Cardinals (40-36) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

14. Oakland Athletics (40-38) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

15. Los Angeles Angels (41-37) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

Summary of Thoughts

Once again, as repetitive as it sounds, the top three teams are the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox. The order is different this week, but the theme remains the same: all three of those teams have the makings of a World Series Championship caliber team and there is plenty to like  in all departments on each 25-man roster. The Astros still have the advantage when it comes to the starting rotation, almost all three are identical offensively, and the Yankees take home the title of best bullpen when discussing those three. Not to mention the fact that all three of those teams are above the 50 win plateau so far this season. Many Astros fans probably remember when it would take an entire season to get to 50 wins and even that was a struggle during those lean years! 

Outside of those three, the Cleveland Indians made a nice climb this week given the run they've been on as did the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cleveland continues to receive outstanding performances from each of their starting pitchers and the offense has finally come into form. Early on this season, it seemed like the bats just weren't hitting whatsoever for the Tribe, but that seems to have been washed away and the lineup is finally back to rolling. As for the Diamondbacks, Arizona's starting rotation combined for a 0.75 ERA over this past four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and no one can overlook the fact that the Dbacks still have the best bullpen in all of baseball. Both the Indians and Dbacks will be fun teams to watch at the trade deadline, as both are expected to be aggressive, but on different fronts. Arizona could afford to add another bat to their lineup and potentially another arm, while the Indians will likely be focused solely on bullpen help. 

Another team that made a huge leap was the Philadelphia Phillies who jumped up to the 7th spot from the 13th hole last week. Philadelphia might have lost last night's Sunday Night Baseball matchup against the division rival, Washington Nationals, but they still sport a 7-3 record over their last 10 games and there is plenty to like about their team. Just two weeks ago, it seemed as though the Phillies might be fading into dusk, but they are right back in the thick of this thing and remain 2 and 1/2 games back of first place in the NL East.

As for the team that had the biggest downward spiral this week, that honor belongs to the Chicago Cubs. Chicago has been very hot and cold all season long, but are still relevant in second place in the NL Central and only 2 games back of the division leading, Milwaukee Brewers. Still the Cubs have lost 4 games in a row and was swept over the weekend by a team that was expected to be one of the worst in all of baseball. Over the past week, the Cubs pitching staff has posted a 4.80 ERA over 60 IP and has surrendered 32 earned runs along with 36 walks during that stretch. On the offensive side of things, the Cubs lineup recorded 59 strikeouts over the past week and combined for a .220 batting average along with a .314 on-base percentage. 

MVPs of the Week

American League: 

1. Nelson Cruz (Seattle Mariners): 12-for-24 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 2 walks, a .500 batting average, and a .538 on-base percentage 

2. Francisco Lindor (Cleveland Indians): 8-for-20 with 1 double, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 5 walks, a .400 batting average, and a .519 on-base percentage
3. Jose Berrios (Minnesota Twins): 0.68 ERA over 13.1 IP with 18 strikeouts and a 0.98 WHIP
4. Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox): 1.29 ERA over 14.0 IP with a .146 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 0.64 WHIP

National League: 

1. Derek Dietrich (Miami Marlins): 10-for-21 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 4 RBI, 1 walk, a .476 batting average, and a .522 on-base percentage
2. Jose Bautista (New York Mets): 6-for-13 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 RBI, 10 walks, a .462 batting average, and a .696 on-base percentage
3. Eric Lauer (San Diego Padres): 0.75 ERA over 12.0 IP with a 0.92 WHIP and 11 strikeouts
4. Trevor Williams (Pittsburgh Pirates): 2.08 ERA over 13.0 IP with a .133 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 0.62 WHIP