Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings: 09/03 - 09/09

Welcome to another Week In Review/Top 15 Power Rankings report! Hard to believe that there are only four of these left before the postseason begins. It seems like just yesterday we were gearing up for Spring Training, look towards the regular season making predictions about which teams were going to be in contention at this point of the season and which weren't, and trying to decipher who the favorites for each award are. While some of those predictions have held true, many of them have turned out to be a bust, which just goes to prove why the game is played on the field and not on paper!

Week In Review 

•  Labor Day - Monday brought about Labor Day, a time where many Americans, officially celebrate the final moments of the Summer season. That brought about good news for those of us who not only want the cooler weather to return, but those of us who are ready for some postseason baseball. 
• Brew Crew Walkoff - Labor Day ended in grand fashion for the Milwaukee Brewers who delivered their fans with a walkout win against the Cubs in the opening game of the three-game homestand. It wasn't a fun day for Kris Bryant, who received plenty of criticism for not throwing to home plate after the game, but was quite the moment for the Crew. 
• Vottomatic Exchanges Jersey with Fan - Joey Votto celebrated Labor Day by exchanging a jersey off his back with a fan in the crowd who was wearing a "Votto for President" shirt. I'm sure many of us wouldn't mind seeing Joey Votto run for President, but the chances of that happening are about as good as the Orioles winning the World Series. 
• J-Ram and Lindorable Continue Raking - Both Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor have had phenomenal seasons with the Cleveland Indians, but both reached new heights on Monday night, as they became the first pair of teammates in MLB history to record 30+ home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in a single season. I think any team would take that duo in their lineup! 
• deGrominator Makes Headlines Again - Jacob deGrom made headlines once again on Monday as he completed his 25th straight start of allowing three or fewer runs. When was the last time that's happened, you might ask? Never would be the answer or at least never since MLB records started being tracked in 1913! 
• Soto My Eggo - Ooh that title made me start to think about Eggo waffles, but we don't have time for that right now. Rather, Juan Soto said "Leggo My Eggo" on Tuesday night as he recorded his 67th walk of the season. That helped him to pass, Mel Ott, for the most walks by a teenager since 1900. Soto My Eggo! 
• Roberto Clemente Day - Wednesday wasn't just another ordinary day in baseball, as it was Roberto Clemente Day, a day that the entire sport embraces and remembers the legacy left behind by Pirates great, Roberto Clemente. If you missed Bryce Harpers cleats that day, you missed a good show. As Harper's cleats reminded us, Clemente won 12 Gold Glove Award and recorded 3,000 hits over his big league career. 
• Acuna Matata - "Acuna Matata, what a wonderful day, Acuna Matata".....oh sorry about that, I was just starting to get caught up in the lyrics of the famous Disney film, The Lion King. In all seriousness, Wednesday was Acuna Matata for the Braves, as Ronald Acuna, recorded his 8th leadoff home run this season, setting a new franchise record. Talk about being The King of the Braves leadoff spot! 
• Sho Time Makes Us All Wonder - On Wednesday afternoon, we all learned that Angels rookie, Shohei Ohtani, would unfortunately have to undergo Tommy John surgery. However, that didn't bring down Ohtani whatsoever, as he jacked two home runs later on that night and went 4-for-4 at the plate, against the Texas Rangers. Put's even more mythological thought behind his name. 
• Story Time in the Mile High City - Trevor Story wanted us to all gather at Coors Field for Story Time on Wednesday night and Story Time it was. Not only did Story hit 1 home run, followed by a second home run, he also launched a third home run. One of them happened while he fell down at the plate, while the other was launched 505 feet, the most since Statcast started tracking home run distance. Dang, was that a good Story Time! 
• San Diego Padres Are Officially Eliminated - It certainly didn't come as a surprise, but the San Diego Padres were officially eliminated on Wednesday night. While the current season hasn't provided much to celebrate for Padres fans, the future looks extremely bright and should bring about much more joy and Friars! 
• Lindorable Thursday - It certainly seems like Francisco Lindor finds a way to get mentioned in these reviews every week, at least once, and this week is no exception. Lindor had himself a phenomenal Thursday as he went 4-for-5 with two home runs and 4 RBI. 
• Bote Continues His Greatness - David Bote, of the Chicago Cubs, made sure all of baseball remembered who he was on Thursday, as he delivered the game winning hit in extra innings, against the Washington Nationals. If you forgot, Bote provided a walk-off home run for the Cubs on August 24th and burst onto the scene on August 12th, when he jacked a walk-off Grand Slam, against the aforementioned, Washington Nationals. Bote sure does have the Nationals number! 
• Goldschmidt Happens - Things were going smoothly on Thursday night in the Dbacks-Braves game before Paul Goldschmidt delivered his 32nd home run of the season in the bottom of the 9th. Unfortunately, the Dbacks would later go onto loss the game, courtesy of a passed ball that Braves shortstop, Dansby Swanson, scored off of. 
• 300 Counsell - No that's not the new name of a committee that is starting up or anything. However, it was the theme of Friday night, as Brewers skipper, Craig Counsell, locked down his 300th career win. Quite an impressive number for Counsell, who has only been managing in the big leagues, for four seasons. 
• Red Sox-Astros Series - If Craig Counsell's 300th win didn't bring you excitement on Friday night, the start of the Red Sox-Astros series was sure to have. Both teams have been surging all year long and it was a series that truly captivated the talent on both teams. 
• Oxuna Times Two - Marcell Ozuna had a great Friday night as, he went yard twice, in the Motor City against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals have been doing well over the past month and a half, but very little attention has been given to Marcell Ozuna, who has had a nice streak quietly over the past week. 
• Davis Launches His 41st Home Run of the Season - Once again, Athletics slugger, Khris Davis, is having himself a great season very quietly. On Saturday, he launched his 41st home run of the season and continues to prove just how underrated he is on the national side of things. 
• Marlins Officially Eliminated - There wasn't a fish fry on Saturday for the Miami Marlins, who were officially eliminated from contention, which also should come as no surprise. Miami wasn't expected to contend this season with all eyes set towards a full-scale rebuild, that should find the Marlins competitive, once again in another four-five years. 
• Jorge Lopez Dazzles in Debut - Jorge Lopez had a phenomenal MLB debut on Saturday, Lopez also made history as he became the first starting pitcher, in Royals franchise history, to take a perfect game into the 9th inning, Amazing considering some of the talented starters that the Royals had back during the 1970's! 
• Blue Jays Officially Eliminated - After what has turned out to be a really bad season for the Toronto Blue Jays, the team found out on Saturday, that it had officially been eliminated from contention. Many of us could have probably come to that conclusion earlier this season, but many does the future look good with guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Billy McKinney, and Cavan Bigio! 
• Rally Squirrel Sequel - The Rally Squirrel returned, which was a good luck charm, for the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday afternoon. After the squirrel ran on the field, the Cardinals scored 5 runs and were able to avoid the sweep by the Tigers. 
• Dodgers-Rockies Series - The Dodgers pull off the series win and gain ground in the NL West. The series was definitely one where the energy could be felt through the TV as there were playoff implications and it was a matchup that could definitely return in October, depending on how things shake out in the National League. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Houston Astros (89-54) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

2. Boston Red Sox (98-46) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

3. New York Yankees (89-54) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

4. Chicago Cubs (83-59) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

5. Oakland Athletics (87-57) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

6. Milwaukee Brewers (82-62) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

7. Los Angeles Dodgers (78-65) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

8. Colorado Rockies (78-64) [Ranking Last Week: 11] 

9. Cleveland Indians (81-62) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

10. Atlanta Braves (79-64) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

11. St. Louis Cardinals (79-64) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

12. Arizona Diamondbacks (76-67) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

13. Philadelphia Phillies (74-68) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

14. Seattle Mariners (79-64) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

15. Tampa Bay Rays (78-64) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

Summary of Thoughts 

The Astros are back in the number one spot after falling out of the Top 5 two weeks ago and ending up in the third spot last week. It's hard to argue with that given the recent run the team has been on (Houston won 7 in a row) before losing out to the Red Sox last night. You could make the argument that the Red Sox still reign the land, but their bullpen is certainly worrisome and something that will need to be monitored over the final weeks and come October. Houston's bullpen gave up the winning run to the Red Sox yesterday evening, but their pen has still been very stable over the course of this season. Rounding out the Top 3 are the New York Yankees who are still among the elite teams in baseball, but still not at the same level as the Houston Astros or the Boston Red Sox. New York should definitely be getting a boost here soon with the return of Aaron Judge. 

Outside of those three teams, everything is pretty much in the same order. The Cubs moved down to the number 4 spot and it's based on recent performance. The Cubs have lost a bit of steam this past week, but don't take that as a sign of them being weak. They still are by far the favorites within the National League and it would certainly not be a surprise to see them end up playing deep into October once again, if everything goes according to plan. Finishing the Top 10, the Milwaukee Brewers moved up a spot and the Cleveland Indians also moved up a spot. However, the biggest move up belongs to the Colorado Rockies, who went from the number 11 spot, to the number 8 spot this week. The Rockies have been drawing phenomenal numbers for their games at Coors Field and it's easy to see why they should be included in the Top 10. 

Finally, moving to the bottom five teams, the Cardinals moved down two spots because of recent performance, while both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies stay stagnant in the rankings. Arizona has had a really bad stretch as of late and the Phillies haven't really changed the way they've been playing either, since last week's report. In addition, the Seattle Mariners were added to the list, as they still view themselves as a fringe playoff contender, even though in reality, they will likely miss the postseason once again. Lastly, the Tampa Bay Rays round out the Top 15 and it's easy to see why. The Rays have been playing really good baseball, as of late, and it would not be a surprise to see them move up in the rankings next season and potentially, towards contention, once again. 

MVPs of the Week

American League: 

1. Francisco Lindor (Cleveland Indians): 10-for-33 with 5 home runs, 7 RBI, 1 walk, a .303 batting average, and a .343 on-base percentage 

2. Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels): 9-for-19 with 1 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 10 RBI, 4 walks, a .474 batting average, and a .565 on-base percentage 

3. Reynaldo Lopez (Chicago White Sox): 0.69 ERA over 13.0 IP with 16 strikeouts and a .69 WHIP 

4. Andrew Heaney (Los Angeles Angels): 2.77 ERA over 13.0 IP with 17 strikeouts and a .85 WHIP

National League: 

1. Marcell Ozuna (St. Louis Cardinals): 10-for-26 with 5 home runs, 6 RBI, a .385 batting average, and a .385 on-base percentage 

2. Charlie Blackmon (Colorado Rockies): 9-for-25 with 1 double, 3 home runs, 4 RBI, 1 walk, a .360 batting average, and a .407 on-base percentage 

3. Robbie Ray (Arizona Diamondbacks): 1.46 ERA over 12.1 IP with 16 strikeouts and a .105 Opponent Batting Average Against 

4. John Gant (St. Louis Cardinals): 1.64 ERA over 11.0 IP with a .189 Batting Average Against and a 1.18 WHIP