MLB Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 10 (06/03 - 06/09)

It's that time already - time for another MLB Top 15 Power Rankings report along with a look back at the five key moments and takeaways from this past week. It's been yet another week of some exciting matchups around the league and we FINALLY got a resolution on both Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel. Those sweepstakes definitely took long enough, but now both guys can get settled in and hopefully pitch up to their capabilities sooner than later.

Both the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves should benefit tremendously from the additions of Kimbrel and Keuchel. For the Cubs, they were missing that lock down guy at the back end of their bullpen, that opposing team's hitters would fear, but they have that now in Kimbrel who should help lead the Cubs efforts to playing deep into October tremendously. Additionally, Dallas Keuchel is a huge addition for the Atlanta Braves, who needed that additional starting rotation depth, and were in need of a veteran to put up top of the rotation. Furthermore, Keuchel is familiar with throwing to catcher, Brian McCann, and has been to the postseason before so he knows what it takes.

With that being said and while both Kimbrel and Keuchel dominated headlines this week, let's review what the other Top 5 Key Moments from this week were.

Top 5 Key Moments

• MLB Draft - The week started off in grand fashion for many high school and college baseball athletes around the country with the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. The draft brought plenty of excitement for all 30 teams and was a chance for many organizations to attempt to build up the depth in their farm system. As expected, the Baltimore Orioles drafted Oregon State catcher, Adley Rutschman, with Bobby Witt Jr. going second overall, with the Kansas City Royals. The Royals have already committed to Witt Jr, who should be another exciting prospect to watch develop, and shoutout to the Chicago White Sox who drafted California State first baseman, Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn is expected to make it to the big leagues very quickly and should be a nice core piece to the next great White Sox team. 
• Home Run Palooza This Weekend - Both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Washington Nationals know a thing or two about home runs and how to hit them in a palooza, as they illustrated, on Saturday and today. The Angels started the party on Saturday by having Tommy La Stella, Mike Trout, and Shohei Ohtani all go deep in consecutive plate appearances. The Washington Nationals heard about that and couldn't let the Angels shine in the spotlight, as they ended up hitting four consecutive home runs, courtesy of Howie Kendrick, Trea Turner, Adam Eaton, and Anthony Rendon. In case you were wondering, it hasn't been that long since the Nationals accomplished that feat, as they did so on July 27th, 2017 against the Milwaukee Brewers. 
• I'll Take An N and a P Along with an Adrian for an Adrian - Yes, we might be playing Jeopardy here, but things certainly were in game mode for Nick Pivetta of the Philadelphia Phillies and Adrian Sampson of the Team Rangers, on Saturday. Both Pivetta and Sampson went the distance and pitched a complete game. Pivetta's came against the San Diego Padres, while Sampson's came against the Oakland Athletics and happened on a rather special night. The Texas Rangers were holding a retirement ceremony for Adrian Beltre which must have provided plenty of magic for Adrian Sampson to do his thing. Just remember, never touch Adrian Beltre's head as he demonstrated during the pre-game ceremony! 
• Boch Reaches 1,000 - On Tuesday night, San Francisco Giants skipper, Bruce Bochy, surpassed an important milestone as he earned his 1,000th managerial big league victory. What made the occasion even more special was that it happened against the New York Mets in New York City, only a few feet from where Bruce Bochy, made his MLB debut. Baseball tends to have a weird way of making things unique and this is certainly one of those instances. If Bochy hasn't already made a strong case to make it into the Hall of Fame, this is one incident that has solidified his chances of being a future Hall of Fame manager. 
• IL No More for Blackmon and Gregorious - The Colorado Rockies and New York Yankees both received massive huge shots in the arm on Friday when they reinstated outfielder, Charlie Blackmon, and shortstop, Didi Gregorious, from the Injured List. For the Rockies, the return of Blackmon is significant because it not only gives them their full outfield trio, it allows them to lengthen their lineup and add another important bat to the mix. As for the Yankees, the return of Gregorious is a welcome one, as Gregorious was quite impactful on the big league club, prior to going down with Tommy John surgery. 

Top 5 Key Takeaways

• Sale in Bean Town on Aisle 617 - Yes, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher, Chris Sale, is back to being his normal self and pitching like a true baseball ace. Just this past week, Sale notched his 37th career game with at least 12 strikeouts, putting him fourth on the list overall of qualified starting pitchers in MLB history. Furthermore, he added to his future Hall of Fame resume on Wednesday by throwing an immaculate inning, to make him the first starting pitcher in over 90 years to throw two immaculate innings in the same season. Sure, things started off doom and gloom this year for Sale, but it looks like he is back in the saddle and ready to rock and roll. 
• Fish are Typically Friends, but Not to the Milwaukee Brewers - The Milwaukee Brewers learned a quick lesson about when someone tells you, "Fish are friends not food" this past week when they played the Miami Marlins. In many cases, fish are friendly little critters that swim carelessly throughout the ocean depths only having to worry about predators sometimes. Well for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Marlins quickly became a predator and showed the Brew Crew that they're bats were ready to fire away. The peak of that offense happened on Tuesday night when the Marlins ended up scoring, 11 runs in the fifth inning, which was the most in a single inning in franchise history. Miami might be in the midst of a rebuild, but they have certainly had their hot streaks at various points this season. 
• The Polar Bear is Must Watch TV in Queens - No, the Polar Bear didn't just become the animal symbol for Queens and the surrounding area this week or anything. Rather, New York Mets first baseman, Peter Alonso aka The Polar Bear, has become must watch TV in Queens and anywhere else in the country where there might be a group of New York Mets fans congregated together. Not only is Pete Alonso easily the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year at the moment, he is doing things that have never been done before in Mets franchise history. On Tuesday night, Alonso became the second Mets rookie with, at least 20 or more home runs, over the span of the teams first 60 games. The Mets haven't performed at their best level this year, but Pete Alonso has definitely made up for those struggles and has been a juggernaut in their lineup. 
• Houston We Don't Have a Problem - The Houston Astros need to get a ton of credit for the way that they continue to operate their entire organization from top to bottom and the way they just seem to dip down into their farm, call up a prospect, and watch them have an immediate impact on the big league squad. The Astros have definitely experienced their fair share of injuries this season, but there have been multiple occasions where the team has needed to rely on their depth and that depth has come through. That's a reason why the Astros still have a 9 and 1/2 game lead in the American League West, making that one race that can be, nearly declared as over with. The latest prospect to impact the big league squad is Yordan Alvarez, who received the call up Saturday afternoon, and immediately made headlines by going yard in his second big league at bat. Impressive! 
• The Texas Rangers Continue to Surprise - With the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in a virtual tie for first place in the American League East, the next team on the American League Wild Card picture list are the Texas Rangers. The Rangers continue to play a very good brand of baseball and have proven that they very well could be this year's surprise squad. If the playoffs started today, the Rangers would face one of the Yankees or Rays with the second AL Wild Card spot and they've proven that they're no longer necessarily a pushover like previous seasons. Not only have the Rangers swung the bats well, they've received very good starting pitching and that has really helped to fuel their success and keep them relevant into the month of June. The Silver Boot Series was a big rivalry a few years ago, but it looks like things might have revived again and it could be must watch TV when the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers square off again coming up. 

MLB Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Houston Astros (45-22) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .672 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +97 
• Last 10 Games: 8-2 

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (45-21) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .682 
• Win Streak: W 2 Games 
• Run Differential: +109 
• Last 10 Games: 8-2 

3. Minnesota Twins (43-21) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .672 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +112 
• Last 10 Games: 6-4 

4. Tampa Bay Rays (40-24) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

• Division Ranking: T-1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .625 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +96 
• Last 10 Games: 5-5 

5. New York Yankees (40-24) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

• Division Ranking: T-1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .625 
• Win Streak: W 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +69 
• Last 10 Games: 5-5 

6. Milwaukee Brewers (38-28) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

• Division Ranking: T-1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .576 
• Win Streak: W 4 Games 
• Run Differential: +12 
• Last 10 Games: 7-3 

7. Atlanta Braves (36-29) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .554 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +15 
• Last 10 Games: 6-4 

8. Chicago Cubs (37-27) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

• Division Ranking: T-1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .578 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +66 
• Last 10 Games: 6-4 

9. Philadelphia Phillies (37-28) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .569 
• Win Streak: L 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +24 
• Last 10 Games: 4-6 

10. Colorado Rockies (33-31) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .516 
• Win Streak: L 2 Games 
• Run Differential: +9 
• Last 10 Games: 6-4 

11. Boston Red Sox (34-32) [Ranking Last Week: 13] 

12. Cleveland Indians (33-32) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (34-32) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

14. Texas Rangers (34-30) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

15. New York Mets (32-33) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

Final Thoughts

Overall, this week's Top 15 Power Rankings list is pretty chalk and similar to last week's list. There are a couple of differences in position, but overall the teams are in the same ranking. Starting out with the Top 3 teams, it was very difficult to try and decipher which teams should be ranked in which spot within those positions. However, both the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers are the two best teams in baseball right now and it's hard to argue that point. For the Astros, they continue to just call up prospects who make an immediate impact and have such a good 25-man roster. It's scary to think that they're continuing to play this well without impact guys such as: Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and George Springer. For the Dodgers, everything revolves around the starting rotation and that potent offense. It's hard to argue that the starting rotation isn't the best in the game and that the lineup doesn't rival that of the Astros. The only separator between the two lies in the bullpen and the quality of options available. Most fans would probably favor the Astros bullpen over the Dodgers, but that's not to say that can't change come the July 31st Trade Deadline. 

As for the Minnesota Twins, they continue to be a very impressive squad and once again broke a record this week by becoming the first team to hit 125 home runs, in the fewest games in MLB history. That offense is really something to write home about and still has yet to fully come back down to Earth. Over the next few weeks, it might end up becoming closer to league average, but many would likely still take some of those star names in the Twins lineup any day of the week. This past week, some of the Twins pitchers started to show a few blemishes, which has always been and remains a concern for the club. It was reported that the Twins were in on Craig Kimbrel, but weren't willing to go to three years like Kimbrel and his camp wanted. Rather, they only offered a two-year deal and that might be something that the Twins end up regretting down the stretch. It's hard to believe that they weren't in on starting pitcher, Dallas Keuchel, more either. Many expected them to land one of those two guys, but there's still plenty of time to make a significant upgrade or two to the pitching staff before the final bell on July 31st. 

Moving along, the remainder of the Top 10 is virtually the same, but some of the positioning changed overall. For example, the Tampa Bay Rays moved ahead of the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs gained a spot over the Philadelphia Phillies. The reason for the switch for the Tampa Bay Rays is simply that they have a more impactful 25-man roster at the moment and have taken advantage of the Yankees injury situation which continues to lag on. Yes, the Yankees got Didi Gregorious back this week, but they just added Domingo German to the Injured List and that starting rotation has definitely taken a beating as far as depth goes. As far as the Chicago Cubs moving up over the Philadelphia Phillies, it all relates to recent play. The Cubs have a 6-4 record over their last 10 games, while the Philadelphia Phillies have a 4-6 record over that same span. Right now, many would probably prefer the Cubs 25-man roster from top to bottom over the Phillies roster, but that could change anytime. Still, the Cubs seem like they would be in second place if you were making a list of the teams in the National League by pecking order. 

Outside of the Top 10, the rankings continue to change with some teams being eliminated from the list and new teams entering the picture once again. For instance, the Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks weren't on the rankings list last week, but because of how they have played recently, they warrant consideration in the Top 15 overall. Both teams still fall outside of the Top 10 for obvious reasons and unless they go on an extreme hot stretch sometime soon, that likely won't change. Rounding out the Top 15 is the New York Mets who still have yet to find their grove and go on a serious run in the National League East. Still, the Mets have a talented roster if everything is clicking at the same time, but they've been hit by the injury bug and that bullpen has been a serious disaster overall. 

Cool Stats of the Week

Top 5 Isolated Power Leaders: 

1. Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers) = .399
2. Joey Gallo (Texas Rangers) = .376
3. Joc Pederson (Los Angeles Dodgers) = .362
4. Josh Bell (Pittsburgh Pirates) = .347
5. Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers) = .344

Top 5 Fielding Independent Percentage Leaders: 

1. Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals) = 2.04
2. Lucas Giolito (Chicago White Sox) = 2.47
3. Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers) = 2.53
4. Charlie Morton (Tampa Bay Rays) = 2.69
5. Mike Soroka (Atlanta Braves) = 2.70