MLB Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 8 (05/20 - 05/26)

Today is Memorial Day. To start off with, let's give thanks to those military members that signed up to serve our country, but made the ultimate sacrifice and were never able to return home. May we always remember them and their contributions to the freedom that we have regardless of how long it might have been when they served. Without any sort of contribution from all of them, our country would not be what it is today and we probably wouldn't get to enjoy this great game that we all call, baseball.

Now, this past week has been an interesting one to say the least with a clarification in the American League playoff picture. Amid that picture was the Tampa Bay Rays losing first place to the New York Yankees who now have a two game lead in the division. Regardless, the American League East might be done in the minds of some, but DO NOT sleep on the Tampa Bay Rays or the Boston Red Sox, both of whom will make it a fascinating three-team race down the stretch.

Outside of the New York Yankees overtaking first place in the American League East, the Minnesota Twins continue to dominate and have severely separated themselves from the Cleveland Indians. Heading into play today, the Twins currently have a ten game lead over the Indians and if Cleveland isn't careful, they might end up falling into third place. Granted, the Chicago White Sox are amid a three-game losing streak going into play today, but regardless the Indians are only three games of falling back to where the White Sox currently sit (thirteen games back of first).

Beyond that, the Houston Astros looked as though they were going to run away with the American League West last week, but the Oakland Athletics have started to rear their head and have bridged the gap back once again. Heading into today, the Athletics currently sit 6 and 1/2 games back of first place and are going to look to extend their seven-game win streak this afternoon against the division rival, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Houston will still likely have a dominating lead when all is said and done, but those Athletics always make things fascinating down the stretch.

As for the National League, things still remain a bit up in the air, as there are more teams that look poised for a possible postseason berth than in the American League, but every division race is currently within two-games outside of the, National League West, where the Los Angeles Dodgers currently have a seven-game lead. Regardless, theres still a lot of baseball left to be played and it should make for three fascinating races down the stretch for each of these divisions in the NL.

Now that we've gone on an extended recap of how the divisions currently look, let's switch back to focusing on the past week and look at the Top 5 Moments/Highlights from the past week.

Top 5 Moments/Highlights

• Homecoming Monday - Monday was a great day for both David Price and Jake Arrieta because both returned home to warm welcomes from the fanbases where they used to pitch. The day started off with Boston Red Sox starting pitcher, David Price, returning back to Toronto where he was a beloved part of the Blue Jays starting rotation for a season. Later on Monday, Jake Arrieta returned back to Wrigley Field where he was welcomed with plenty of cheers and applause from the fans in attendance. 
• J-V and Zack Attack Special on the Dinner Menu - Imagine going out to eat at your favorite restaurant and ordering the J-V and Zack Attack Special on Page 3 of the menu. Well, that's exactly what the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks got from both, future Hall of Fame starting pitchers, on Tuesday. Justin Verlander was near brilliance tossing a near no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox, while striking out 12 batters, over 8 innings. On the other side of the league, Zack Greinke was dominate as he recorded his 2,500th career strikeout, just adding to his qualifications and resume to make it into the Hall of Fame. 
• Josh Bell and The Allegheny River Love Story Continues - So, by now, we all know that Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman, Josh Bell, has been having a phenomenal season and has an enormous amount of power, as discussed on here before. However, one thing we didn't know is that Bell loves to hit bombs (home runs) into the Alleghny River. On Wednesday, for the second time this season, Bell launched a home run into the Allegheny River, making this one serious love story that bares watching over the remainder of this season. 
• Story Time x Two - Colorado Rockies shortstop, Trevor Story, had himself quite a day on Friday when he became the fastest shortstop, in MLB history, to reach 100 home runs. We all know what a true talent Story is, but this one takes that talent up a notch. In case you were wondering, it took Story 448 games to reach that plateau, beating out the previous record set by  Alex Rodriguez. If that wasn't enough, Story ended up hitting the walkoff home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the ninth during that same game, to give the Rockies the victory. 
• Cavan Biggio Makes His Big League Debut - Friday wasn't just a special day for Colorado Rockies shortstop, Trevor Story, it was also a special day for Blue Jays second baseman, Cavan Biggio, and his entire family up north across the border. Friday and Saturday ended up being quiet for Biggio, but he had quite a game yesterday afternoon when he went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. It's a severely small sample size, but through 10 at bats, Biggio has a .300 batting average as well as a .300 on-base percentage. 

Top 5 Takeaways

• New York Yankees Continue to Dominate Despite Injuries - The New York Yankees have been on a tear as of late, going 8-2 over their last ten games, and as mentioned before, the Yankees now occupy first place in the American League East. What's been impressive about it all is that the Yankees are relying solely on their secondary crop of players because so many of their primary players (Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorious - just to name a few) are out on the Injured List. Granted, the Yankees have had a slightly soft schedule to date, as they have played the Baltimore Orioles eight times already and other rebuilding teams like the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers, but what they have accomplished still deserves plenty of praise. Just wait until they're fully healthy and clicking on all cylinders. 
• Mike Soroka Has Turned Into the Braves Ace of 2019 - Heading into this season, when you looked at the Atlanta Braves, you probably wouldn't have expected someone like, Mike Soroka, to necessarily pop off the paper and look like someone that could potentially be an ace as soon as this season. However, that's been the case and a lot of the Braves success can be credited to the contributions of Soroka thus far. To date, Soroka leads the entire National League, among qualified starting pitchers, with a 1.07 ERA over 50.2 innings of work along with a .168 Opponent Batting Average Against and 46 strikeouts. It's easy to overlook Mike Soroka because of the other talented names on the Braves 25-man roster, but don't sleep on him because he's yet another under-the-radar guy, quietly making a case to win the NL Cy Young Award. 
• Baltimore Orioles Pitching Struggles Continue - On Wednesday, when they were playing the New York Yankees in a doubleheader, the Baltimore Orioles officially surpassed the 100 home runs surrendered plateau. Unfortunately, that made the Orioles the fastest team to allow 100 home runs during the course of a 162-game regular season and something that no Orioles fan is probably proud of. However, all rebuilding teams face struggles like this during their rebuild, so it was to be expected and the good news is it should allow the Orioles to land a top (1 or 2) draft pick in next year's draft. On another positive note, high five to Orioles starting pitcher, John Means, who has established a name for himself by posting a 3.34 ERA over seven games so far this year. Means might ultimately end up being the guy that anchors down Baltimore's starting rotation heading into the future. 
• Los Angeles Dodgers New Word: Joc - By now, we all know how good the Los Angeles Dodgers are and how dominant of a team they have built. However, one thing that often gets lost in the shuffle of all of that talent is how talented left fielder, Joe Pederson, is. Maybe it's because autocorrect recorrects his name to Peterson when you type it, as the reason why no one talks about him, but over the past seven games alone, Pederson is batting: .409/.536/.727 over 22 at bats with 9 hits, 1 home run, 6 RBI, and 6 walks. Very impressive and a big reason why the Dodgers are a team to be taken seriously in the National League this year. The attention might be focused around Cody Bellinger and Alex Verdugo, but don't sleep on Joc - the new word for the Dodgers. 
• Cleveland Indians Have Something Special in Bieber - No, we're not talking about Justin Bieber, but rather Shane Bieber, starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Bieber has emerged as yet another impactful starting pitching piece that the Indians have moving forward and will likely continue moving up in the rotation, as the Indians try and figure out what approach they will take with the July 31st Trade Deadline approaching in a little over eight weeks. Last Sunday, Bieber recorded fifteen strikeouts against the Baltimore Orioles before recording another ten, this past Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Indians have always been an organization that has possessed a tremendous amount of starting pitching depth and Shane Bieber has emerged as one of those staples for the team moving forward. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Houston Astros (35-19) [Ranking Last Week: 1] - The Houston Astros still rule the roost among baseball and are the top dog at the moment. Don't be surprised if they make it to the World Series once again because of that talent and this is even without the team getting great performances from all of their starting pitchers. In addition, the Astros can rake with the best of them and have a tremendously deep lineup. Just this past week, the team lost George Springer to the Injured List, but immediately called up outfielder, Derek Fisher, to take his spot. That doesn't even include outfielder, Yordan Alvarez, who remains as another intriguing prospect on the cusp of being called up to The Show.

2. Minnesota Twins (36-16) [Ranking Last Week: 4] - Over the past week, the Minnesota Twins have continued to show that they are serious and are focused on winning the American League Central this season. It's amazing to watch this team on a daily basis because you know they are going to hit plenty of home runs and they have received great starting pitching to go along with those home runs. The starting pitching was always a concern heading into this season, but so far has exceeded expectations thanks to the influence of new pitching coach, Wes Johnson. Don't be shocked if they end up adding to their starting rotation and/or bullpen over the coming weeks and make a lethal team even more lethal.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (35-18) [Ranking Last Week: 2] - Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a 8-2 record over their last ten games and are in the midst of a three-game win streak heading into play today, but it's hard to put them ahead of the Minnesota Twins, at the moment. Regardless, the Dodgers still have a very strong squad and the aforementioned, Joc Pederson, is one of many reasons why. Outside of Pederson, Bellinger, and Verdugo, the Dodgers currently have the best pitching staff in the National League (3.48 ERA over 470.1 IP). While the pitching has been dominate, the Dodgers might look to make an impactful addition here soon with Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel getting ready to hit the market in about a week.

4. New York Yankees (34-18) [Ranking Last Week: 7] - Of the teams on this list, the New York Yankees have surged over the past few weeks and continue to play a great brand of baseball, albeit while experiencing a ton of injuries, as previously mentioned. The Bronx Bombers have found a way to stay in the American League East race and will start to get some of their squad members back in the coming weeks. One guy that hasn't gotten enough credit to date is second baseman, DJ LeMahieu, who is currently batting: .317/.366/.437 over 183 at bats. Many expected LeMahieu to be strong for the Yankees, but some wondered how he would do without having the altitude to his advantage. Thus far, it seems like he is doing just fine.

5. Chicago Cubs (30-21) [Ranking Last Week: 3] - Over the last week, the Chicago Cubs haven't played their best baseball all season and the bullpen struggles have really come into light. That's mainly why they have dropped two ranking spots, but they are still among the Top 5 teams in all of baseball. For Chicago, outside of the bullpen, the starting rotation has been very good and the typical hitters (Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez) have all started to hit like we expected them to at the beginning of the regular season. Next up for the Cubs are the Houston Astros, who will surely give the Cubs a challenge, followed by a three-game series against the division rival, St. Louis Cardinals.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (31-19) [Ranking Last Week: 6] - If you're looking for the team with the best pitching staff in all of baseball, look no further. The Rays main selling point continues to be their pitching along with their offense which has really been anchored around left fielder, Tommy Pham. Over the last seven days alone, Pham is batting: .345/.424/.759 over 29 at bats with 10 hits, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, and 3 walks. The trade for him that happened last July continues to look better and better with each passing week and it will be fascinating to see what additions the Rays make to their big league squad over the coming eight weeks.

7. Philadelphia Phillies (31-22) [Ranking Last Week: 9] - Last week at this time, the Phillies were ranked ninth on this list, but since they have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games and are at the head of the National League East. For the Phillies, the biggest selling point has been the offense and the tremendous amount of depth that it features. A lot of attention has been given to the offensive efforts of teams such as the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins, but you could make a case that the Philadelphia Phillies possess a Top 5 lineup especially when you look at their number 1-5 hitters. On the pitching side, Zach Eflin has really become a dominate force for the team over the last fifteen days. In that span, Eflin has a 3.02 ERA over 65.2 IP with 51 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP.

8. Atlanta Braves (30-24) [Ranking Last Week: 10] - Since the middle part of May, the Atlanta Braves have started to play the way we all expected them to at the beginning of the season and have kept things close with the aforementioned, Philadelphia Phillies, in the National League East. Heading into play today, Atlanta currently sits 1 and 1/2 games back of the Phillies for first place, but that could change with one single series given the Braves talent and immense amount of youth at the big league level as well as down in the minors. On the year against teams above 500, the Braves are 18-18, which would be one area where you would like to see them improve, but regardless, they have a recipe working right now and it's a good one.

9. Boston Red Sox (28-25) [Ranking Last Week: 5] - The Boston Red Sox have sort of cooled off over the span of the last week and there was a lot of concern on Saturday night when starting pitcher, David Price, ended up exiting the game after facing three of the Astros batters. Eventually, we all learned that Price was dealing with flu symptoms and it wasn't a root of an elbow problem, but it was still something that caused everyone to hold their breath for a while around baseball. Over the last ten games, the Red Sox have been playing 500 baseball and are getting ready to face the Cleveland Indians, for a three-game series, starting today. It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox are able to shake off the funk of the last week and get back to the brand of baseball that they were playing before.

10. Milwaukee Brewers (30-24) [Ranking Last Week: 8] - Looking back at the last seven days for the Milwaukee Brewers, the biggest highlight happened yesterday afternoon when starting pitcher, Brandon Woodruff, went eight innings, while allowing now earned run and recording ten strikeouts. Along the way, Woodruff did well at the plate too racking up two hits which made him the first Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher to ever pitch 7 or more innings, while collecting more hits than he gave up. As they always say, you never know what you will see at the ballpark! Outside of that dominate performance yesterday, Christian Yelich continues to just rack and the pitching staff hasn't been that bad overall (4.33 ERA over 490.1 IP).

11. Oakland Athletics (28-25) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

12. San Diego Padres (28-25) [Ranking Last Week: 15] 

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (28-25) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

14. St. Louis Cardinals (26-26) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

15. Cleveland Indians (26-26) [Ranking Last Week: 11] 

Cool Stats of the Week

Top 5 Batters With The Highest Percentage of Hit Balls (95 MPH+): 

1. Josh Bell (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 58.5% 

2. Joey Galo (Texas Rangers) - 58.0% 

3. Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals) - 57.1% 

4. Gordon Beckham (Detroit Tigers) - 54.9% 

5. Tommy Pham (Tampa Bay Rays) - 54.4% 

Top 5 Pitchers With The Lowest Average Exit Velocity (At Least 50 Batted Ball Events): 

T-1. Steve Cishek (Chicago Cubs) - 81.6 MPH 

T-1. Ryan Yarbrough (Tampa Bay Rays) - 81.6 MPH 

2. Lou Trivino (Oakland Athletics) - 82.5 MPH 

3. Blaine Hardy (Detroit Tigers) - 82.6 MPH 

4. Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 83.0 MPH 

5. Trevor May (Minnesota Twins) - 83.3 MPH