Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 15 (07/09 - 07/15)

Here we are at the All-Star Break with the final Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings for the Pre-All Star Break stretch of games. It's a little more than halfway through the season and theres 15 days for teams with needs to address those needs before the final bell rings at Noon Pacific Standard Time on July 31st. Regardless, there should be a lot of excitement before the end of the month with the Home Run Derby tonight, All-Star Game tomorrow, and plenty of trade rumors and potential blockbuster trades.

Here is a summary of the main things that happened this past week throughout the league.

Week In Review

• Maniac Noladay: Monday started off with a bang for Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher, Aaron Nola, who pitched a gem of a game and knocked in 3 runs thanks to a double. In fact, those three runs were the only ones that the Phillies needed to pull off the W in Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader against the New York Mets. 
• Red Sox Magic: The Boston Red Sox locked down their 63rd win of the season on Monday which was only the third time in franchise history that the team managed to accomplish that feat prior to the All-Star Break. Boston still has the best record in all of baseball heading into play today. 
• Rays Future Stadium Revealed: On Monday afternoon, Tampa Bay Rays fans got to see renderings of the teams new potential home in Ybor City, which was a step forward for the organization. It still has yet to be seen how the stadium and complex will be funded, but nonetheless it is exciting news and hopefully the move that keeps the Rays in Tampa Bay. 
• Jed Lowrie Replaces Gleyber Torres: Tuesday brought word that Oakland Athletics second baseman, Jed Lowrie, who has had himself a phenomenal year, would be replacing New York Yankees second baseman, Gleyber Torres, on the All-Star roster. The move was well deserved as some had said that Lowrie got snubbed big time in the first place. 
• Reds Comeback Win: The Cincinnati Reds had themselves quite a game on Tuesday night as they were able to comeback and win against the Indians in the well-known, but rare, Ohio Cup. Cincinnati ended up winning the series. 
• Astros/A's Drama: Tuesday night also was the night that Alex Bregman walked things off for the Houston Astros after a mishap by Oakland A's catcher, Jonathan Lucroy, near home plate. It also was the night that Astros closer, Ken Giles, decided to tell his manager off which later resulted in him being demoted to Triple-A the following day. 
• Manny Machado Dazzles: Manny Machado was in show-off mode against his potential future team, the New York Yankees, on Tuesday night as he hit two home runs. At the time it was looking pretty likely that the Yankees could land Machado, but since then, it appears as though there might be other teams with better odds to acquire him. 
• Jesus Aguilar/Jean Segura Named in Final Vote Contest: Congratulations to both Jesus Aguilar of the Milwaukee Brewers and Jean Segura of the Seattle Mariners, who were the NL and AL winners of the Final Vote contest, which was announced on Wednesday. Both Aguilar and Segura were deserving of the win based on the season that each one is having this year. 
• Moose on the Loose in Minneapolis: Wednesday afternoon at Target Field, a moose was on the loose, as in Mike Moustakas, who jacked two home runs during the game. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to propel the Royals to a win over the Twins, but nonetheless, it's always exciting when there's a moose on the loose highlight! 
• Buck Showalter Milestone: Orioles skipper, Buck Showalter, managed his 3,000th game on Wednesday evening against the division rival, New York Yankees. Showalter has had himself a great managerial career with a career record of 1,531-1,471 or a winning percentage of .510. 
• Indians/Rockies Offensive Explosion: Both the Indians and Rockies lineups came out swinging on Wednesday as both teams scored 19 runs a piece. We all know the potential that both lineups have on a daily basis, but goodness! 
• Zack Greinke Named to NL All-Star Team: For Dbacks fans that couldn't handle the 19-2 loss against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, there was exciting news on Thursday that, Zack Greinke, had been named to the NL All-Star team in place of Cubs starter, Jon Lester. 
• Severino vs. Kluber Matchup: It's pretty rare that we get treated to a pitching matchup like the one that we all anticipated on Thursday night between Luis Severino and Corey Kluber. Unfortunately, the matchup didn't live up to expectations, but it sure had a lot of potential to be a blockbuster game between two aces! 
• Pujols Full Throttle: Albert Pujols jacked two home runs on Thursday night as he tied Ken Griffey Jr. for 6th place on the all-time home runs list with 630 to date in his career. Pujols could easily get to 700 here before his career is said and done. 
• Dodgers Assume First Place in the NL West: Following their win on Thursday night, the Dodgers assumed first place in the NL West. However, their lead wouldn't last a long time as the Diamondbacks assumed first place once again following their victory on Saturday, but once yesterday rolled around, the Dodgers found themselves back in first place once again. Regardless, this is going to be one fun race to watch down the stretch! 
• Charlie Morton/Blake Snell Named to AL All-Star Team: After what was probably the biggest snub ever, MLB officially named Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher, Blake Snell, to the AL All-Star Team along with Houston Astros starter, Charlie Morton. Both were well-deserved nods. 
• Chase Utley Announces Retirement: On Friday afternoon prior to the Dodgers game against the Angels, Chase Utley announced that he will retire from the game at the conclusion of this season to dedicate more time towards being a father. Chase Utley has had quite a career, but there's still some debate about whether he is truly a future Hall of Famer or not. 
• El Mago Dazzles with the Glove: El Mago, aka Javier Baez, has become quite the ball player on both sides of the baseball. Just click this link (https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1017966743879208960) if you want to be wowed by the amazing play that El Mago made on Friday night. 
• JD Martinez/Jose Ramirez League Leading Home Runs: On Saturday afternoon, JD Martinez, aka Just Dingers, started off the action by hitting his league leading 29th home run of the season. Later on, Jose Ramirez decided to join in on the action as he hit his 29th of the year as well, putting both in a virtual tie for the most of any other active player this season. What a year both Just Dingers and J-Ram are having! 
• Tampa Bay Rays Come Out Swinging: The Tampa Bay Rays came out swinging right from the get-go as they beat the Minnesota Twins on Saturday with a final score of 19-6. Tampa Bay remains the only active franchise to never have scored 20 or more runs in a single game. 
• Mike Matheny Dismissed by the Cardinals: Saturday night brought wind that the St. Louis Cardinals had dismissed their skipper, Mike Matheny, from his duties. In addition, the team let go of both of their hitting coaches. 
• Five Straight Wins for the Rockies " The Rockies cruised into the All-Star Break with five consecutive wins which is exactly what this team needed after a sluggish first half. Who knows if the momentum will continue for Colorado post All-Star Break, but if it does, the NL West could very well turn into a fun race again! 
• Bull Dozier Grand Salami: Brian Dozier is heading into the All-Star Break feeling mighty fine following his walk-off Grand Slam yesterday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's one way to head into the break! 
• Futures Games : What an exciting Futures Game it was yesterday afternoon. Not only were there plenty of youngsters to watch showcase their talents, there were also plenty of home runs, 8 to be exact. Congrats to Team USA on the victory! 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Boston Red Sox (68-30) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

2. Houston Astros (64-35) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

3. New York Yankees (62-33) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

4. Chicago Cubs (55-38) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

5. Philadelphia Phillies (53-42) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

6. Los Angeles Dodgers (53-43) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

7. Cleveland Indians (52-43) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

8. Arizona Diamondbacks (53-44) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

9. Atlanta Braves (52-42) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

10. Colorado Rockies (51-45) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

11. Oakland Athletics (55-42) [Ranking Last Week: 11] 

12. Seattle Mariners (58-39) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

13. Milwaukee Brewers (55-43) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

14. St. Louis Cardinals (48-46) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

15. Washington Nationals (48-48) [Ranking Last Week: 15] 

Summary of Thoughts 

The Boston Red Sox are cruising into the All-Star Break with plenty of accomplishments under their belt through the first part of the season. In fact, the Red Sox have the most wins through the first 98 games of the season which matches the same number from their 1946 team. In addition, Boston also possesses the best record in all of baseball at the All-Star Break, for the first time since 2007. To say they were talented or had plenty of lethal forces on their roster would be a severe understatement and wouldn't even come close to giving the team enough credit for the way they have played since the start of the season in March. As for the Astros and Yankees, both teams stay in their respective positions from last week as neither one surpassed the Red Sox this past week or did what Boston managed to do during the first half of the season. Regardless, all three teams still possess plenty of elite talent, that is not an argument whatsoever. 

As for the 4th spot, the Chicago Cubs moved into that spot based on the fact that they have taken over first place in the NL Central. It shouldn't come as a surprise as the Cubs have a very goof 25-man roster when everyone is performing and possess the deepest team in that division. If the Cubs are able to carry this success over with them to the second half and their starting rotation can start to pick it up, then they should be able to run away and give the Milwaukee Brewers a true run for their money and make the Brewers have to make a splashy move at the deadline to remain in the running for the division. Rounding out the Top 5 teams are the Philadelphia Phillies, which shouldn't come as a surprise, either. The Phillies have played very good baseball as of late and are gearing up to make a big splash or two at the deadline. It will be fun to see what their front office can pull off before the bell rings on July 31st. 

Furthermore, the team with the biggest jump this week assumed the 6th spot, in the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers have quietly been on a nice run as of late and head into the All-Star Break in sole possession of first place in the NL West. As is the case with the Phillies, the Dodgers are involved in the Manny Machado sweepstakes and could be gearing up to make a big move or two as well. As is the case every week, not everything is good, and that is certainly the case for both the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers in this week's rankings. Seattle heads into the break losing 4 in a row and playing a stretch of baseball that has been one of their worst this season. In addition, Milwaukee heads into the break losing 6 games in a row and with a much bleaker outlook than they had just two weeks ago. Hopefully the break pays off huge dividends for both of these clubs because they both have enough talent to make the playoffs and it would be nice to see them make it into October just for a sake of change. 

MVPs of the Week

American League: 

1. Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians): 11-for-26 with 1 double, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 11 RBI, 3 walks, a .423 batting average, and a .483 on-base percentage 

2. Kole Calhoun (Los Angeles Angels): 8-for-22 with 1 double, 4 home runs, 6 RBI, 2 walks, a .364 batting average, and a .400 on-base percentage 

3. Danny Duffy (Kansas City Royals): 0.00 ERA over 13.0 IP with 17 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP 

4. Gerrit Cole (Houston Astros): 0.77 ERA over 11.2 IP with 19 strikeouts and a .150 Opponent Batting Average Against 

National League: 

1. Trevor Story (Colorado Rockies): 10-for-25 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 6 RBI, 1 walk, a .400 batting average, and a .423 on-base percentage 

2. Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals): 9-for-27 with 3 home runs, 6 RBI, 3 walks, a .333 batting average, and a .400 on-base percentage 

3. Julio Teheran (Atlanta Braves): 0.69 ERA over 13.0 IP with a .156 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 1.00 WHIP 

4. Jeremy Hellickson (Washington Nationals): 0.82 ERA over 11.0 IP with a .111 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 0.64 WHIP