Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 21 (08/20 - 08/26)

Welcome to the final Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings report for August! Amazing to think that we are gearing up for the final month of the regular season and there are plenty of pennant/postseason races to monitor especially in the NL. Plus, we get to see some pretty exciting young talent get called up come this coming Saturday, September 1st. It's always fun to watch some of those young prospects get their shot at the big league level and start to prove themselves to the big league club. Who knows which one, might have enough impact on their team, that their team is able to clinch a postseason berth either!

Week In Review

• Signed Jersey Magic - Monday was an excellent day for Oakland A's slugger, Khris Davis, who had his jersey signed before the game and then ended up hitting a home run during that game. Talk about some pure luck and some magic! 
• Kenley Jansen Returns - Monday also brought about the return of Dodgers closer, Kenley Jansen, from the disabled list. Jansen missed about two weeks, but since his return, things have certainly not gone in his favor. 
• Edwin "Sugar" Diaz - The week started off with another amazing Edwin Diaz feat as he notched down his 47th save of the night and then capped off big time on Saturday night as Diaz aka Sugar (courtesy of Player's Weekend) locked down his league leading 50th save. 
• Bryse Day in Atlanta - On Monday night, starting pitcher/20-year old, Bryse Wilson, made his official MLB debut with the Atlanta Braves. Amazing to think that Wilson is only 20-years old and that the Braves have yet more young talent to tap into down in their farm system. 
• Baltimore Hits Elimination - When Tuesday rolled around, the Baltimore Orioles found out that they had officially been eliminated from postseason contention. Shouldn't be much of a surprise as this was expected to be a year in which the Orioles sold at the deadline and set their eyes to the future. 
• Daniel Murphy Heads to the North Side - The Chicago Cubs got much better on Tuesday afternoon when it was officially announced that Daniel Murphy had been traded from the Washington Nationals to the Northside aka the Cubs. Murphy has already shown how much he helps to lengthen the Cubs lineup so it should only continue to get better down the stretch. 
• Big City Heads Back to the Arch City - The Cardinals former friend, Matt Adams, went back to the St. Louis Cardinals on the same afternoon that Daniel Murphy got a new home. Big City, as Cardinals fans call him, reunited himself with buddy, Matt Carpenter, and finally got an invite to try some of that magic salsa! 
• Kopech Day on the South Side - As the White Sox set their eyes to the future, Michael Kopech made his official MLB debut on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, Kopech didn't get to pitch the entire game because of a rain delay, but regardless he still impressed and his first strikeout in the big leagues was Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins. 
• Indians-Red Sox Series - The week also began with an exciting matchup between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. Cleveland ended up splitting the series with Boston, but regardless, it was a preview of a potential October matchup. 
• Wacky Wednesday for the Astros - During Wednesday's game against the Seattle Mariners, not only did the Astros record 17 hits, they also started the latest trend in the dugout, as captured by multiple social media sources. It seems like a trend that could eventually catch some steam and pass onto the other 30 teams, but no one will ever forget who came up with it - the reigning World Series Champion, Houston Astros. 
• Goldy, Goldy, Gone - Wednesday night at Chase Field, Dbacks slugger Paul Goldschmidt, launched his 96th home run at home which set a new franchise record. Yes, even with how great of a player Luis Gonzalez was during his tenure in Arizona, he hit 95. Amazing to think that Goldy has 96 already and still has a handful of good years left. 
• Ace of Spade Thursday - Man if you love good pitching matchups, then Thursday was right up your alley. That's because Madison Bumgarner, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Aaron Nola, and David Price all took the mound as starting pitchers. Quite the plethora of aces and Nola finally got a chance to get some much deserved national attention! 
• Red Sox Reach 90 Wins - In their amazing season, the Boston Red Sox became the first team in all of baseball to eclipse the 90 win threshold. Yet another amazing accomplishment for rookie manager, Alex Cora, and the entire Red Sox team! 
• Hollywood Goes the Distance - Not to be confused with Archie "Hollywood" Bradley, but Cole Hamels was brilliant once again on Thursday afternoon, going the distance with a complete game against the Cincinnati Reds. As if Hamels had anymore to prove to the Cubs! 
• Player's Weekend - With the dog days of summer in full bloom for some players and teams, this past weekend brought about something different as it was Player's Weekend. Many of you are probably aware of the event, but for those who aren't, players got to chose their own nickname to sport on the back of their jersey all weekend and could wear customized cleats and other gear. 
• Holliday Returns to the Mile High City - The Colorado Rockies welcomed back an old friend on Friday as slugger, Matt Holliday, was officially recalled from Triple-A after signing a deal with the organization just a few short weeks ago. Friday was his welcome back and yesterday was the day Holliday went yard. 
• Team Hawaii Wins the Little League World Series - Congratulations to Team Hawaii who won the 2018 Little League World Series Championship yesterday afternoon. Quite the accomplishment and something joyful for the citizens of Hawaii to celebrate just days after Hurricane Lane came roaring into the area. 
• Dirt Bag Hits 100 - You might be thinking, "Whose Dirt Bag?" Well, that was the nickname of Indians second baseman, Jason Kipnis, who launched his 100th home run yesterday afternoon. Kipnis loves sliding into each base to get dirty, but he can also hit some serious bombs as well! 
• Astros Hit 80 Win Benchmark - The Astros orbited off to Planet 80 Wins yesterday following their victory against the Los Angeles Angels. Houston's stay on Planet 80 Wins shouldn't last long as the next project on the docket - Planet 90 Wins - will likely happen sooner than later! 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Boston Red Sox (90-42) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

2. New York Yankees (83-47) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

3. Houston Astros (80-50) [Ranking Last Week: 11] 

4. Oakland Athletics (79-52) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

5. Chicago Cubs (76-53) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

6. St. Louis Cardinals (73-58) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

7. Cleveland Indians (74-56) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

8. Arizona Diamondbacks (72-58) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

9. Colorado Rockies (71-59) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

10. Atlanta Braves (73-57) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

11. Milwaukee Brewers (73-59) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

12. Los Angeles Dodgers (70-61) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

13. Philadelphia Phillies (70-60) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

14. Seattle Mariners (74-57) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

15. Tampa Bay Rays (70-61) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

Summary of Thoughts

This is one of those weeks where it was super difficult to try and rank the teams, especially the Top 10, simply because of how each one is performing at the moment and the fact that there is talent to like on each big league club. Since ties aren't allowed in these rankings, I went ahead and did my best at trying to put fair rankings to each team. The Top 3 are back to what they were for every other report so far this year, with the exception of last week, when the Houston Astros were performing badly. Still, the Astros have the best run differential in all of baseball and are a serious threat still regardless of how they might have performed at other points throughout the month of August. Of course, the Boston Red Sox are still the top dog because they have the best record in all of baseball and while the Yankees have cooled off a bit from where they were earlier this season, they also still remain a serious threat. 

Furthermore, it's difficult to put a team, such as the Oakland A's, in front of the St. Louis Cardinals because of the run the Cardinals have been on as of late, but it all comes down to the talent on the big league roster and how teams have performed so far this year. Technically, it's not right that the Cardinals moved down in the rankings because of recent performance, but it also wouldn't be right to move the A's down because they also continue to show that they are here to stay and have been on quite a run as of late. Beyond that, it was difficult to put the Chicago Cubs fifth because of how they have played as of late, but with the strength of the teams in front of them, that is where they ended up falling in the rankings. Rounding out the Top 10, were the Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and Atlanta Braves - all teams who deserve to be ranked in the Top 10. Again, you could make a case that the Rockies should be higher than 7th on the ranking list, but it's difficult to do that with how many strong teams there are, at the moment.

Moving to the 11-15 spots now, the Brewers and Dodgers just fell outside of the Top 10 category. Again, it came down to recent performance and trying to fit them within the Top 10, would have been extremely difficult so that is why they fell into the 11th and 12th spots. The team that has likely had the biggest fall from last week to this week is the Philadelphia Phillies. Philly hasn't played well as of late and have continued to show hot and cold streaks, like every team does throughout the long 162-game season. Due to that and the factors mentioned above, the 13th spot was probably the most fitting ranking for them. Rounding out the list are the Seattle Mariners and yes, the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay never seems to get recognition for anything, but since they're amidst a 8-game win streak, they had to be included in the Top 15. Things might not end with the Rays in the postseason this year, but the future is extremely bright and chalk full of young talent.

MVPs of the Week

American League: 

1. Kendrys Morales (Toronto Blue Jays): 11-for-23 with 7 home runs, 12 RBI, 1 walk, a .478 batting average, and a .500 on-base percentage 

2. Matt Chapman (Oakland Athletics): 11-for-31 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 3 walks, a .355 batting average, and a .412 on-base percentage 

3. Mike Fiers (Oakland Athletics): 0.71 ERA over 12.2 IP with 15 Strikeouts and a 0.71 WHIP 

4. Lucas Giolito (Chicago White Sox): 2.77 ERA over 13.0 IP with a .170 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 0.85 WHIP 

National League: 

1. Javier Baez (Chicago Cubs): 11-for-26 with 1 double, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 2 walks, a .423 batting average, and a .464 on-base percentage 

2. Anthony Rizzo (Chicago Cubs): 9-for-21 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 6 RBI, 4 walks, a .429 batting average, and a .500 on-base percentage 

3. Kevin Gausman (Atlanta Braves): 0.00 ERA over 13.0 IP with a .116 Opponent Batting Average Against and 10 Strikeouts 

4. Zach Wheeler (New York Mets): 0.64 ERA over 14.0 IP with 14 Strikeouts and a 1.07 WHIP