Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 22 (08/27 - 09/02)

Happy Labor Day Everyone and welcome to September baseball! It's that time of year where teams call-up players from the minor leagues, start to evaluate who could potentially help them the most down the stretch, and which rookie might get a lucky shot at helping their team come the postseason. In addition, for those teams who are already out of contention, it gives their fans a chance to see the future faces of the franchise and for those fans to decide which players they want to follow. Definitely an exciting time and better yet there are still a few races happening including in the NL West and the NL Wild Card!

Regardless, let's get September started on a high note and start by recapping the highlights from around baseball over the past week.

Week In Review

• Cien for Corbin in the Desert - Patrick Corbin made history on Monday night as he became the 6th starting pitcher in Diamondbacks franchise history to record 100 strikeouts in a single season. Just adds even more weight to the tremendous year that Corbin is having with the Snakes! 
• Astros Comeback Victory - The Houston Astros had themselves quite a night on Monday as they ended up coming back to win the game 11-4. The best part was the fact that the Astros Core 4 (George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Carlos Correa) were all back together in the lineup for the first time since June 25th. 
• Rizzoday in Chi Town - Anthony Rizzo's week started off really good as he helped to guide the Cubs to their 6th straight win and recorded a 3-hit night himself. Looks like the Anthony Rizzo, we all know and find easy to cheer for, is finally starting to show up! 
• New Flow for Scott Servais - No Scott Servais didn't add a new dance move to his pre-game dance routine or anything like that, but he sure did live up to the bet that he made closer, Edwin Diaz, during Spring Training. If Diaz recorded 50 saves this season, Servais promised he would get his hair cut like his and he sure came through. 
• deGrominator Throws a Geminator - Tuesday treated Mets starting pitcher, Jacob deGrom, well as he once again threw a gem (no surprise there!). Unfortunately, as has been the case all season long, deGrom didn't get any run support and the Mets lost, but he did pitch 8 innings, while giving up 8 hits along with 1 earned run and recording 10 strikeouts. 
• El Torito Goes Yard Off Mad Max - Odubel Herrera hit his second home run off of Max Scherzer for the second time, over the span of a week, on Tuesday night. I guess Odubel now has Mad Max's number just like Tommy Tutone had Jenny's number in the hit song, "867-5309"! 
• Junis, Junis is the Word - Tuesday night is one that Royals starting pitcher, Jakob Junis, will remember his entire lifetime as it was the night that he threw his first complete game at the big league level. Quite an accomplishment for the 25-year old and a reason Junis was the word of the day in KC on Tuesday. 
• Jean, Jean The Hitting Machine - It's a chant that almost every baseball fan knows by know and one that was in full effect out in San Diego on Wednesday afternoon as Mariners shortstop, Jean Segura, recorded his 1,000th career hit. The song might be called, "Mambo Number 5", but in this case, Jean Segura is inserting an "El" into the song title and making it "El Mambo Number 1000." 
• Yeli Hits for the Cycle - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder, Christian Yelich, put on quite a show on Wednesday night as he not only hit for the cycle, but also recorded 6 hits in the Brewers 13-12 affair against the Cincinnati Reds. The trade for Yelich continues to look better and better for Milwaukee by the minute. 
• Big Foot Hits 300 Career Home Runs - No, I'm not actually talking about Big Foot jacking his 300th home run (if you buy into that legend or not), but am referring to Big Foot, aka Giancarlo Stanton, who launched his 300th career home run on Thursday. Best part is that Stanton is the 5th fastest player in MLB history to accomplish that feat. 
• Marque Dazzles for the Rocks - German Marquez sure was on top of his game on Thursday, as he became the first starting pitcher in Rockies franchise history, to record 13 strikeouts and give up 2 or fewer hits. The 23-year old Marquez has already shown flashes of brilliance during his 3 years in the big leagues, but this takes it to a whole new level! 
• Waiver Trade Deadline - Friday was a big day across the game as there were a few notable deals that occurred as Andrew McCutchen went from the Bay Area to the bright lights of NYC with the New York Yankees, the Bringer of Rain (Josh Donaldson) went from north of the border to the city of rock and roll (the Cleveland Indians), Ryan Madson was traded from the nation's capital out to LA, and Gio Gonzalez landed with the Brew Crew. There were a handful of other smaller deals that also occurred, but those were the main names traded. 
• Garcia Bonanza on Friday - During what was his MLB Debut, San Francisco Giants catcher, Aramis Garcia, had himself quite a debut which was capped off by a home run, in the bottom of the 8th inning. Talk about making a positive first impression! 
• Red Birds Cap Off August with 22 W's - The St. Louis Cardinals capped off the month of August, with their 22nd win, which was the most since July 1968. Ever since the All-Star Break, the Red Birds have gone from being hot and cold to being purely hot and a true threat to the rest of the National League! 
• Khrusturday Out by The Bay - Junis might have been the word of the day in Kansas City on Tuesday night, but Khrushed was the word of the day on Saturday out in Oakland. That's because Khris Davis (not to be confused with Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles), became the first player this season to notch the 40 home run benchmark and it's his 3rd straight season of hitting at least 40. Can we give this guy the recognition he deserves already?! 
• White Sox Officially Eliminated - It's not a surprise, but the Chicago White Sox became the 3rd team officially eliminated from contention on Saturday, just one day before Hawk Day took place at Guaranteed Rate Field. It's certainly not a knock to the White Sox as there is plenty of young talent that has started to emerge on the Southside and the future looks extremely bright for them. So bright in fact, that I'd recommend ordering every White Sox fan a pair of sunglasses now before stores in the Southside sell out! 
• El Mago Show on Sunday - Javier Baez had himself quite the day on Sunday when he became the 2nd Cubs infielder in franchise history to have 30 home runs, 100 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in the span of a single season. The other player to do that, you might ask? Ryne Sandberg. 
• Double Dose for Matt Kemp - After hitting a home run off of Dbacks reliever, Archie Bradley, on Saturday night, Matt Kemp decided he wanted to try it again on Sunday afternoon and he accomplished just that. Kemp ended up hitting a home run and walking it off for the Dodgers who won 3 out of 4 games against the Dbacks this weekend. 
• Sho Time Returns for a Second Sequel - Shohei Ohtani was back in action yesterday evening for the Angels against the Houston Astros. Unfortunately, the second part of his sequel didn't last long as he went 2 and 1/3 innings, gave up 2 hits, recorded 2 strikeouts, and saw a dip in his velocity as his outing went on. Hopefully all is good on the Ohtani front and his health is able to stay in check for the remainder of the season. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Chicago Cubs (81-55) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

2. Boston Red Sox (94-44) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

3. Houston Astros (84-53) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

4. New York Yankees (86-51) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

5. Oakland Athletics (82-56) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

6. Los Angeles Dodgers (75-62) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

7. Milwaukee Brewers (77-61) [Ranking Last Week: 11] 

8. Atlanta Braves (76-60) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

9. St. Louis Cardinals (76-61) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

10. Cleveland Indians (77-59) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

11. Colorado Rockies (74-62) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

12. Arizona Diamondbacks (74-63) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

13. Philadelphia Phillies (72-64) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

14. Tampa Bay Rays (73-63) [Ranking Last Week: 15] 

15. Chicago White Sox (55-82) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

Summary of Thoughts 

Some of you out there are likely going to disagree with who the first team is, but there's really no valid argument to make right now about who has been the hottest team in all of baseball besides the Chicago Cubs. Since the addition of Cole Hamels and Daniel Murphy, the Cubs have played a much higher level of baseball and both of those acquisitions make them even stronger. It's hard to argue a starting rotation of Cole Hamels, Jon Lester, and Kyle Hendricks heading into October as that would likely be one of the favorites, at least on paper. Beyond that, it looks like Anthony Rizzo is finally starting to heat up and become the hitter that we all know, Javier Baez is having an MVP-caliber like season, and Kris Bryant is back in action. Lots to look forward to over the final month here for the Cubs and definitely hard to argue with the fact that they aren't the best team in baseball at the moment. 

As for spots 2-5, it consists of the same four teams as last week, only in different order. Not much has changed this week compared to last week in term's of having a new Top 5 in the rankings, but who knows what will happen this coming week in regard to all of that. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees had a good, not great, week, while the Houston Astros are finally healthy and back on the field together, which is a illustrated by their recent success. Beyond that, the A's continue to have an impressive season and it is hard not to buy into the success that they've had thus far. 

Outside of the Top 5, the Dodgers are the team that made the biggest climb this week (going from spot 12 to spot number 6) and it's easy to see why based on their recent play. Los Angeles now possesses first place in the NL West, but it is sure to continue to be a race down the wire between the Dodgers, Dbacks, and Rockies. On top of the Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers also climbed up from spot 11 to the number 7 spot this week and once again that is based on recent performance. The Brewers were finally able to add a starting pitcher (Gio Gonzalez) at the Waiver Trade Deadline this past Friday, which should help them down the stretch and give them someone who can give them 5 or 6 innings every fifth day, before shifting things over to their deep bullpen. 

Everything else is similar to what last week's rankings looked like, but the Tampa Bay Rays climbed up a spot and the Chicago White Sox entered the picture as the 15th best team in baseball. Both the Rays and White Sox are irrelevant right now and out of contention, but that doesn't discount from the fact of giving them the proper amount of recognition and credit for the way they've been playing lately. Both clubs have extremely bright futures and should be relevant once again in the next few years. 

MVP's of the Week

American League: 

1. Alex Bregman (Houston Astros): 12-for-27 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 9 RBI, 3 walks, a .444 batting average, and a .500 on-base percentage 

2. Gleyber Torres (New York Yankees): 11-for-23 with 3 home runs, 10 RBI, 5 walks, 1 stolen base, a .478 batting average, and a .571 on-base percentage 

3. James Shields (Chicago White Sox): 1.54 ERA over 11.2 IP with a .195 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 1.20 WHIP 

4. Edwin Jackson (Oakland Athletics): 2.53 ERA over 10.2 IP with a .179 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 1.03 WHIP 

National League: 

1. Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers): 12-for-27 with 1 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 14 RBI, 4 walks, a .444 batting average, and a .516 on-base percentage 

2. Ronald Acuna (Atlanta Braves): 9-for-24 with 1 double, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, 2 walks, a .375 batting average, and a .407 on-base percentage 

3. Chris Stratton (San Francisco Giants): 1.29 ERA over 14.0 IP with a .160 Opponent Batting Average Against and a 0.57 WHIP 

4. Patrick Corbin (Arizona Diamondbacks): 1.50 ERA over 12.0 IP with 16 strikeouts and a 0.75 WHIP