MLB Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 5 (04/29 - 05/05)
As July 31st continues to approach, it will be interesting to see if there are more trades sooner or if there is more activity altogether, now that the previous August 31st Waiver Trade Deadline has been eliminated from the calendar. Regardless, the Trade Deadline always brings about plenty of activity and it will be fascinating to watch what this year's big blockbuster trade or two will be!
With that being said, let's turn our attention back to the past week and focus on the Top 5 Key Moments from the past 7 days.
Top 5 Key Moments
- LegaCCy for the New York Yankees - Easily the biggest moment over the past 7 days occurred when New York Yankees starting pitcher, CC Sabathia, reached the 3,000 strikeout plateau. Sabathia has long been a staple for the New York Yankees organization and he has now almost cemented his path into the Hall of Fame. Now, there will be skeptics that say he doesn't necessarily deserve to make it to the Hall of Fame because of his varying ERA over the years, but anyone that accomplishes the 3,000 strikeout plateau, is more than deserving. You can read more about CC Sabathia and a recap of the other stellar starting pitching performances from Tuesday here: https://popflybaseball.blogspot.com/2019/05/starting-pitching-name-of-game-from.html
- Trout Reels In New On-Base Record - As if Mike Trout couldn't get anymore amazing, he ended up setting a new Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise record by reaching base, in his 28th consecutive game, on Wednesday night. The record came following a single that Trout hit at 112.4 MPH and officially surpassed, Darvin Erstad's, record which was previously set during the 2000 regular season. Trout might be hard to catch from a lake sometimes, but this Trout likes to make his presence known and doesn't mind being reeled into the spotlight, one bit!
- Thor Becomes the Next Bob Welch - On Thursday afternoon, Mets starting pitcher, Noah Syndergaard aka Thor, channeled his inner Bob Welch and became the first starting pitcher since, Bob Welch on June 17th, 1983, to hit a home run and throw a shutout. We all know what an amazing pitcher Noah Syndergaard can be when he is healthy and throwing effectively, but this just takes #PitchersWhoRake to a whole new level. The next mission for Noah Syndergaard: to compete in this year's Home Run Derby. Boy, would it be fun to watch those Thor-ified muscles flex during that!
- Stras Hits 1,500 K's - Besides Noah Syndergaard's stellar pitching performance, Washington Nationals starting pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, did something else amazing on Thursday as he became the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach the 1,5000 career strikeout plateau in the fewest innings pitched. "Stras" accomplished the feat in 1,272.1 innings and continues to prove how underrated he is on a national level. The Nationals have quite a starting pitching trio in Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin, if only all three could perform like they are capable of and begin putting together a nice run.
- Not One, Not Two, But Three for the Cincinnati Reds - One home run certainly wasn't enough, two home runs wasn't good enough, and three home runs is exactly what happened during Sunday's matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. Sure, you might be thinking, "What made these three home runs so special?" Well, what made them so special was the fact that there all 3 happened on back-to-back-to-back pitches and it was the first time, something like this happened since June 12th, 2007, when Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp, and Hong-Chih Kuo all did it for the Los Angeles Dodgers against New York Mets pitcher, John Maine.
Key Takeaways From This Past Week
- Kyle Hendricks Still Knows Something About Domination - On Friday afternoon, Kyle Hendricks proved to Chicago Cubs fans and the rest of baseball alike, that he still knows a thing or two about pitching and it definitely was a welcome sight for the Cubs. Hendricks finished the day tossing a complete game, shutout against the division rival, St. Louis Cardinals, and did so on 81 pitches. If you are beginning to have thoughts of baseballs and Greg Maddux dancing in your head, you're onto something!
- Jimmy Rollins Still Holds a Special Place in the Hearts of Phillies Fans - Philadelphia Phillies fans came out in droves to Citizens Bank Ballpark on Saturday night as the franchise held a retirement ceremony to recognize franchise icon, Jimmy Rollins. As illustrated by the amount of fans that made it to the game (43,319 to be exact) and the reactions of the fans in attendance, Jimmy Rollins still holds a very special place in the hearts of Phillies fans and rightfully so. Rollins spent 15 years playing for the organization and certainly deserves to have a forever position with the organization.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks Mean Business - Heading into this season, it seemed as though many thought the Arizona Diamondbacks would take a step back and end up being a team that regressed instead of one that was poised for contention. However, that has not been the case so far this year and if it weren't for the meltdown by Dbacks reliever, Archie Bradley, yesterday afternoon, the Diamondbacks would have continued their 4-game win streak, would have won 10 of their last 12 contests, and would have recorded 15 wins over their last 19 games. While that didn't happen, the Dbacks have proved that they mean business and are no pushover.
- Pirates Know a Thing or Two About Interleague Play - Dating back to the start of the 2018 regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates hold the best record in MLB (2106) in interleague play, a credit to their grittiness and never quit attitude. While things aren't nearly as rosy for the Pirates now as they were just two weeks ago, Pittsburgh still knows how to beat its opposition when it has to and make a game sting for a while. That's exactly what happened with the Buccos on Sunday afternoon when they took the series win on home turf against the Oakland Athletics.
- Here Come the Boston Red Sox - We all knew deep down inside that the Boston Red Sox would eventually wake up like a sleeping giant and that's exactly what they have shown over the past two-to-three weeks now. Over their last 16 games, Boston has a 11-5 record and is starting to get healthy performances from their starting rotation, while the offense has started to wake up in a major way. Boston ended up taking three of four from the Chicago White Sox during their latest series, and while it was the White Sox, it still should be noted how the Red Sox are beginning to find their groove and are no longer a team that everyone can sleep on.
Top 15 Power Rankings
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (22-14) [Ranking Last Week: 1]
- Division Ranking: 1st Place
- Winning Percentage: .611
- Win Streak: L 1 Game
- Run Differential: +35
- Team ERA: 4.03 Over 319.1 IP (10th)
- Team Batting Line: .256/.344/.457 Over 1,196 At Bats (7th)
2. Chicago Cubs (19-12) [Ranking Last Week: 8]
- Division Ranking: 1st Place
- Winning Percentage: .613
- Win Streak: W 7 Games
- Run Differential: +51 (Best in Baseball)
- Team ERA: 3.83 Over 277.1 IP (9th)
- Team Batting Line: .257/.349/.455 Over 1,031 At Bats (5th)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (21-12) [Ranking Last Week: 2]
- Division Ranking: 1st Place
- Winning Percentage: .636
- Win Streak: L 1 Game
- Run Differential: +46
- Team ERA: 2.99 Over 298.0 IP (1st)
- Team Batting Line: .252/.331/.432 Over 1,121 At Bats (11th)
4. Houston Astros (20-14) [Ranking Last Week: 4]
- Division Ranking: 1st Place
- Winning Percentage: .588
- Win Streak: W 2 Games
- Run Differential: +46
- Team ERA: 3.59 Over 296.0 IP (3rd)
- Team Batting Line: .273/.346/.485 Over 1,153 (1st)
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (20-14) [Ranking Last Week: 10]
- Division Ranking: 2nd Place
- Winning Percentage: .588
- Win Streak: L 1 Game
- Run Differential: +30
- Team ERA: 4.24 Over 310.0 IP (14th)
- Team Batting Line: .267/.328/.475 Over 1,222 At Bats (2nd)
6. Minnesota Twins (20-12) [Ranking Last Week: 6]
- Division Ranking: 1st Place
- Winning Percentage: .625
- Win Streak: L 1 Game
- Run Differential: +25
- Team ERA: 4.13 Over 281.0 IP (13th)
- Team Batting Line: .253/.321/.485 Over 1,067 At Bats (10th)
7. Philadelphia Phillies (19-14) [Ranking Last Week: 7]
- Division Ranking: 1st Place
- Winning Percentage: .576
- Win Streak: W 1 Game
- Run Differential: +22
- Team ERA: 4.07 Over 302.2 IP (12th)
- Team Batting Line: .250/.338/.428 Over 1,137 At Bats (13th)
8. New York Yankees (19-14) [Ranking Last Week: 5]
- Division Ranking: 2nd Place
- Winning Percentage: .576
- Win Streak: W 1 Game
- Run Differential: +36
- Team ERA: 3.80 Over 293.1 IP (8th)
- Team Batting Line: .256/.341/.441 Over 1,101 At Bats (6th)
9. Boston Red Sox (17-18) [Ranking Last Week: N/A]
- Division Ranking: 3rd Place
- Winning Percentage: .486
- Win Streak: W 3 Games
- Run Differential: 0
- Team ERA: 4.66 Over 307.0 IP (20th)
- Team Batting Line: .252/.336/.414 Over 1,176 At Bats (12th)
10. St. Louis Cardinals (20-14) [Ranking Last Week: 3]
- Division Ranking: 2nd Place
- Winning Percentage: .588
- Win Streak: L 4 Games
- Run Differential: +22
- Team ERA: 4.36 Over 299.0 IP (17th)
- Team Batting Line: .264/.343/.443 Over 1,119 At Bats (4th)
11. Atlanta Braves (18-16) [Ranking Last Week: N/A]
12. Cleveland Indians (18-14) [Ranking Last Week: 11]
13. Milwaukee Brewers (20-16) [Ranking Last Week: 13]
14. San Diego Padres (19-16) [Ranking Last Week: 14]
15. Seattle Mariners (19-17) [Ranking Last Week: 9]
Summary of Thoughts
Biggest Jump: The team that experienced the biggest jump this week were the Chicago Cubs. Chicago has been on fire as of late, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals at home, over the weekend and have really started to click on all cylinders. It's amazing considering that they started the year with a 1-6 record and now occupy first place in the National League Central, but it really shouldn't come as a surprise considering some of the talent on their roster and the potential of that talent.
Biggest Fall: Of the teams in the Top 15, the St. Louis Cardinals had the biggest fall going from the third ranked team to the tenth ranked team. St. Louis still has the potential to give the Cubs a serious run for their money in the National League Central, but they certainly haven't been playing Cardinal like baseball over the past week. Regardless, there is still enough on their team to like and you would have to think that they won't stay down for a while. The next team with the biggest fall were the Seattle Mariners, who put up a 3-7 record over their last 10 games, and have really struggled both offensively and from a pitching standpoint. If the offense doesn't outscore the opposition, Seattle has a very hard time securing wins.
New Entries: As mentioned earlier, the Boston Red Sox are finally starting to become the team that we all expected and have acted almost like, a sleeping giant waking up from it's grave, over the past two and 1/2 weeks. Boston has been able to put together solid at bats, the pitching staff has had some really good performances, and it seems like everything might finally be starting to gel at just the right time. It would be very difficult to exclude them from the list entirely even though their record still isn't where it should be. Who knows come next week where they will be because if they keep up this pace, they might find themselves climbing the list very quickly.
Outside of the Top 10, another new entry into the Top 15 Power Rankings were the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta has been able to do a good job over their last 10 games and just completed a sweep of the Miami Marlins in Miami over the weekend. Given the struggles of the New York Mets and the continued challenges/injuries to the Washington Nationals, Atlanta has been able to stay relevant in the National League East pennant race and should continue to stay in the thick of the race until the very end. It's hard to not like some of the talent that Atlanta possesses as well especially in their lineup and in the pitching staff with guys like Mike Soroka and Max Fried.
Player Stats
Top 5 Starting Pitchers:
- Luis Castillo (Cincinnati Reds): 1.97 ERA Over 50.1 IP w/ 59 Strikeouts
- Mike Minor (Texas Rangers): 2.40 ERA Over 48.2 IP w/ a .190 OBAA
- Trevor Bauer (Cleveland Indians): 2.45 ERA Over 47.2 IP w/ 55 Strikeouts
- Justin Verlander (Houston Astros): 2.86 ERA Over 50.1 IP w/ a 0.87 WHIP
- German Marquez (Colorado Rockies): 3.46 ERA Over 52.0 IP w/ 52 Strikeouts
Top 5 Relief Pitchers:
- Roberto Osuna (Houston Astros): 0.63 ERA Over 14.1 IP w/ a 0.21 WHIP
- Sam Gaviglio (Toronto Blue Jays): 1.21 ERA Over 22.1 IP w/ a .143 OBAA
- John Gant (St. Louis Cardinals): 1.23 ERA Over 22.0 IP w/ 23 Strikeouts
- Bryan Shaw (Colorado Rockies): 1.29 ERA Over 21.0 IP w/ a 0.95 WHIP
- Jaleen Beeks (Tampa Bay Rays): 2.45 ERA Over 25.2 IP w/ 26 Strikeouts
Top 5 Batters:
- Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers): .412/.486/.840 Over 119 At Bats
- Jeff McNeil (New York Mets): .347/.423/.463 Over 121 At Bats
- Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers): .346/.450/.804 Over 107 At Bats
- Hunter Dozier (Kansas City Royals): .343/.446/.667 Over 108 At Bats
- Melky Cabrera (Pittsburgh Pirates): .337/.376/.484 Over 95 At Bats
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