MLB Top 15 Power Rankings: Week 9 (05/27 - 06/02)

Welcome to another MLB Top 15 Power Ranking report! Hard to believe that it's already Week 9 of the season, but things just keep plugging away as teams prepare for what they are going to do prior to the July 31st Trade Deadline. It always seems like once the regular season starts, things just roll along and fly like no tomorrow.

The main storyline from this past week wasn't necessarily about the Colorado Rockies and their resurgence or the sizzling Minnesota Twins and their continued dominance in the American League Central, but rather was based around what the future landscape of the game could look like. Tomorrow night is the MLB Amateur Draft and teams have been spending a lot of time over the past few weeks traveling around the country visiting with prospects they might be interested in, studying and examining scouting reports up and down, and really trying to nail down exactly who they plan to take tomorrow evening. It's a long and extensive process, but there are always impact players that come out of each draft class, so that is going to be fun to see here in 4 or 5 years.

However, while the Amateur Draft is something to look forward to later tomorrow, let's turn the clock back to the present and focus on the Top 5 Moments/Highlights from the past week.

Top 5 Moments/Highlights

• Justin Verlander Passes Cy Young - So prior to last night's game, we all already know how great of a starting pitcher, Justin Verlander, is and how much of an impact he can have on a team. Well, last night that greatness became even greater as J-V surpassed, Cy Young, in strikeouts with his 2,807th career strikeout. Verlander now ranks 22nd overall in strikeouts and is guaranteed to pitch for the next year-and-a-half meaning that number will only increase, assuming that Verlander, is able to stay healthy over that span. 
• Dietz Becomes a Cincinnati Phenom - Cincinnati Reds second baseman, Derek Dietrich aka Dietz, has become an absolute phenom for the team this season. On Tuesday night, Dietrich hit three home runs in consecutive at bats and got his own curtain call which was well deserved. So far since joining the Reds, Dietrich has a .707 slugging percentage through 55 games, which is the highest slugging percentage by any second baseman, since Roger Hornsby slugging .740, with the Boston Braves in 1928. 
• Bucco Keller Makes His Official Debut - Okay, okay so we're not on a Pirate ship, but we are talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates so it's only appropriate to use Pirate terminology. So therefore, on Monday night, Bucco Keller (Mitch Keller) made his official MLB debut. Keller, the Pirates number one ranked prospect, didn't necessarily have the greatest MLB debut of all time, but it wasn't necessarily a clunker either. Keller ended up going 4 innings, surrendering 7 hits along with 2 walks and 6 earned runs, and recorded 7 strikeouts. He was quickly sent down on Tuesday, but you can bet he will be up sometime again, most likely in the second half of this season when a need arises on the big league squad. 
• 50 Cents First Pitch Put to Shame - So, maybe 50 Cents first pitch a couple of years ago, wasn't that bad after all?! If you ask the White Sox Photographer, it definitely wasn't because he was the one that took the brunt of the first pitch thrown out by Employee of the Month, Mary Ruich, at Guaranteed Rate Field prior to Tuesday night's matchup. Ruich certainly received plenty of criticism for her first pitch all over social media and on numerous media outlets, but it was all in good fun and is definitely a memory that no one will forget anytime soon! 
• Max Scherzer Just Keeps Raking Up Those K's - It definitely seems as though Max Scherzer's best friend happens to be the letter K as he can't seem to rake up enough of those during the course of every 162-game season. Just this afternoon, against the Cincinnati Reds, Max Scherzer recorded 15 strikeouts to give him 117 on the season. In case you were wondering, Scherzer now leads all of baseball in strikeouts surpassing Gerrit Cole, who currently has 112. 

Top 5 Key Takeaways

• Minnesota Twins Continue to Set New Records - The Minnesota Twins have by far been the most impressive team in all of baseball this season and continue to find some sort of way to constantly set some sort of new record. Earlier today, the Twins recorded their 40th win of the season, over the first 58 games which was the fastest they've reached the 40-win plateau in their 119-year franchise history. Furthermore, Minnesota has score 3-or-more runs in 26 consecutive games, pressing up against the previous record of 30 consecutive games from September 14th, 2003 until April 23rd, 2004. It's amazing the influence that Rocco Baldelli and his entire coaching staff have had on this team and they are going to be extremely fun to watch down the stretch. 
• Red Hot Magic in the Mile High City - Another team that has been extremely impressive as of late are the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies are currently in the midst of an 8-game win streak and are coming off a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays from this weekend. The team has really started to click on all cylinders up and down throughout the lineup and Jon Gray has really turned it up to, posting a 2.37 ERA over his last three starts with 16 strikeouts. If the Colorado Rockies want to make it to the postseason, they will need Gray to continue to perform at this level and continue to keep their foot on the gas pedal from an offensive prospective. It was just last week at this time that the future of the Colorado Rockies looked doomed for this year, but at this rate, the Rockies are back in it and focused on doing some damage in the National League West. 
• Lucas Giolito Transforming into the White Sox New Ace - The Chicago White Sox have certainly experienced a tumultuous couple of seasons the past few years, but it seems as though they are starting to emerge into the next phase of their rebuild. As it stands right now, at the conclusion of play today, the White Sox have a 29-30 record and currently sit in second place in the American League Central. A big reason for their recent resurgence outside of the emergence of guys like, Tim Anderson and the continued greatness of Jose Abreu, has been starting pitcher, Lucas Giolito. Giolito, who the team acquired from the Washington Nationals three years ago, now has a 2.85 ERA on the year. During the last 30 days alone, Giolito has posted a 1.24 ERA over 5 games with 39 strikeouts and a (.139) Opponent Batting Average Against. Say hello to your new ace, White Sox fans! 
• Soroheran is Becoming Quite the Duo in Atlanta - When you read that, you're probably asking yourself, "What the heck is Soroheran, the latest dance trend overtaking Atlanta?" The answer to that question would be, "No." Rather, it refers to the emergence of Mike Soroka and Julio Teheran, both of whom have quickly become the Atlanta Braves 1-2 punch, within their starting rotation. Both Soroka and Teheran have a combined 1.11 ERA over each of their starts dating back to the first part of May with 55 strikeouts. It's quite a vast improvement for Julio Teheran, who had a miserable season last year, and is a huge confidence booster and a compliment to the true talent that Mike Soroka brings to the Atlanta Braves starting rotation. If the Braves want to give the Phillies a run for their money in the NL East, they will need both Soroka and Teheran to continue to pitch at this level down the stretch. 
• Boston Red Sox Have Reverted to Their Oldselves - Remember at the beginning of the season when there was constant chatter about the struggles of the Boston Red Sox and then those conversations faded as the team started to perform at a higher level? Well, it seems as though there is cause for concern in Boston again, as the Red Sox have a 4-6 record over their last 10 games and were in the midst of a four-game losing streak before pulling off a victory tonight against the New York Yankees. It just seems like all of this year the Red Sox are stuck in neutral and are having an extremely difficult time trying to gain any momentum or any ground in the National League East. All season long one of the main Achilles heels for the Red Sox has been at the backend of their bullpen and it's easy to argue that they should be the main team in on Craig Kimbrel. However, with luxury tax concerns an issue, that might end up not being possible which makes it even more fascinating to see what Boston's strategy will be come the Trade Deadline. 

Top 15 Power Rankings

1. Minnesota Twins (40-18) [Ranking Last Week: 2] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .690 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +109 
• Team ERA: 3.88 Over 513.0 IP (6th) 
• Team Batting Line: .275/.342/.511 Over 2,001 At Bats (1st) 

2. Houston Astros (40-20) [Ranking Last Week: 1] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .667 
• Win Streak: W 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +99 
• Team ERA: 3.38 Over 520.0 IP (2nd) 
• Team Batting Line: .273/.347/.485 Over 1,976 At Bats (2nd) 

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (41-19) [Ranking Last Week: 3] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .683 
• Win Streak: W 5 Games 
• Run Differential: +94 
• Team ERA: 3.49 Over 533.1 IP (3rd) 
• Team Batting Line: .266/.351/.471 Over 2,005 At Bats (3rd) 

4. New York Yankees (38-20) [Ranking Last Week: 4] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .655 
• Win Streak: L 1 Game 
• Run Differential: +76 
• Team ERA: 3.66 Over 511.0 IP (4th) 
• Team Batting Line: .259/.335/.450 Over 1,918 At Bats (9th) 

5. Tampa Bay Rays (35-22) [Ranking Last Week: 6] 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .614 
• Win Streak: L 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +78 
• Team ERA: 3.10 Over 519.2 IP (1st) 
• Team Batting Line: .259/.336/.438 Over 1,974 At Bats (8th) 

6. Milwaukee Brewers (34-26) [Ranking Last Week: 10] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .567 
• Win Streak: W 2 Games 
• Run Differential: +18 
• Team ERA: 4.43 Over 546.1 IP (15th) 
• Team Batting Line: .251/.331/.452 Over 2,081 At Bats (15th) 

7. Atlanta Braves (32-27) [Ranking Last Week: 8] 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .542 
• Win Streak: W 2 Games 
• Run Differential:+8 
• Team ERA: 4.26 Over 529.2 IP (13th) 
• Team Batting Line: .257/.330/.435 Over 2,020 At Bats (10th) 

8. Philadelphia Phillies (33-26) [Ranking Last Week: 7] 

• Division Ranking: 1st Place 
• Winning Percentage: .559 
• Win Streak: L 4 Games 
• Run Differential: +21 
• Team ERA: 4.16 Over 530.1 IP (10th) 
• Team Batting Line: .243/.325/.412 Over 2,006 At Bats (21st) 

9. Chicago Cubs (31-26) [Ranking Last Week: 5] 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .544 
• Win Streak: L 3 Games 
• Run Differential: +46 
• Team ERA: 3.90 Over 515.0 IP (7th) 
• Team Batting Line: .253/.343/.454 Over 1,947 At Bats (13th) 

10. Colorado Rockies (31-27) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

• Division Ranking: 2nd Place 
• Winning Percentage: .534 
• Win Streak: W 8 Games 
• Run Differential: +14 
• Team ERA: 4.97 Over 527.1 IP (27th) 
• Team Batting Line: .265/.327/.462 Over 2,040 At Bats (4th) 

11. St. Louis Cardinals (30-28) [Ranking Last Week: 14] 

12. San Diego Padres (30-28) [Ranking Last Week: 12] 

13. Boston Red Sox (30-29) [Ranking Last Week: 9] 

14. Texas Rangers (30-27) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

15. Chicago White Sox (29-30) [Ranking Last Week: N/A] 

Summary of Thoughts

Biggest Jump: The biggest jump for this week's report belonged to the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee has done well as of late and currently occupies first place in the National League Central which is a compliment to the talent on their roster. While their pitching staff has been able to make things work so far, it would still be nice if they had that extra piece in the starting rotation or an additional arm or two in the bullpen. However, with that being said, Josh Hader has been very effective over the last 7 days (1.80 ERA over 10.0 IP with 16 strikeouts) and outside of his lasting outing, Brandon Woodruff, has been valuable. Woodruff finished the month of May with a 1.36 ERA over five starts along with a (.155) Opponent Batting Average Against and 37 strikeouts. If Woodruff can continue to perform at that level and with the news that Jimmy Nelson will return to the big league squad this coming Wednesday, the Brew Crew might be able to continue to rely on internal guys. Although, it sure would be nice if they made that additional move or two to bolster their pitching staff because you can never have enough depth down the stretch. 

Biggest Fall: Both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox experience four-spot drops this week compared to last. For Chicago, things haven't been pretty as of late, as the team has a 2-8 record over their last 10 games, and they got uprooted by the aforementioned, Milwaukee Brewers, for first place in the National League Central. The biggest problem outside of the struggles of the starting rotation has been the bullpen which Chicago will likely do something to address in the coming weeks. The Cubs will need to shore up that bullpen with an additional arm or two in an effort to give skipper, Joe Maddon, some more guys that he can trust in those late innings down the stretch. 

As for the Boston Red Sox, yes they did win tonight against the New York Yankees, but things have not been good lately. The team is struggling from a pitching standpoint, especially in the bullpen, and now it's almost questionable about why they decided to invest so much money into, Nathan Eovaldi this past winter, instead of someone like Craig Kimbrel or a comparable reliever. However, the team is still good enough to make it to the postseason and is a World Series caliber level team still, but they really need to get going and play like they were 2 weeks ago. At that time, they looked as though they could challenge the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays for the American League East and make this a fascinating three-team race, but that doesn't look to be the case at the moment. 

New Entries: This week, there are three new entries into the Top 15 Power Rankings list. The first is the Colorado Rockies who are absolutely on fire right now and seem like they cannot be stopped whatsoever. The Rockies are currently in the midst of an 8-game win streak and have tightened things up to the point where, they now sit a 1/2 game back of the Atlanta Braves, for the second NL Wild Card spot. The biggest thing that has been impressive over this stretch has been the immense amount of offense that Colorado puts out there everyday and as previously mentioned, Jon Gray, has turned into the guy that he used to be. 

As for the next new entry, that honor would go to the Texas Rangers who have been surprisingly good this season. Mike Minor has done a very good job of anchoring down the pitching staff for Texas and while he could be an obvious trade candidate as the July 31st Trade Deadline approaches, the Rangers might be wise to hang onto him and look at a possible extension. While Minor has been impressive, the bigger selling point for the Rangers has been their offense and amount of power. At the conclusion of play today, the Rangers have a team batting line of: .255/.333/.457 over 1,951 at bats and the team has received a considerable amount of contributions from various hitters up and down the lineup. Although, the offense did take a hit earlier this morning when it was announced that slugger, Joey Gallo, was headed to the 10-Day Injured List with an oblique injury. Hopefully that doesn't sideline Gallo for an extended period of time because he is a big key cog to the overall success of the Rangers offense. 

Rounding out the Top 15 is another new entry, the Chicago White Sox. As mentioned above, the White Sox have found a way to make things interesting in the American League Central and currently have a better record than the Cleveland Indians, which is saying something. Outside of Lucas Giolito finally turning into the ace that the White Sox always thought he could be, the offense has started to find a way to things up as well. Both Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson have been the two big reasons why and both continue to show why the White Sox Front Office has been so big on them over the years. At the moment, Abreu leads the team in home runs (15) and RBI (50), while Tim Anderson leads the squad in batting average (.330), on-base percentage (.362), and hits (65). In addition to Abreu and Anderson, second baseman Yoan Moncada, is having an impactful season as well. Currently, Moncada has 10 home runs and 35 RBI over 226 at bats with a (.337) on-base percentage, but the strikeout rate is high (70 strikeouts) over that span. 

Cool Stats of the Week

Top 5 Players Ranked by Sprint Speed (Minimum 75 Occurrences): 

1. Adalberto Mondesi (Kansas City Royals) - 30.0 Feet/Per Second 

2. Kevin Kiermaier (Tampa Bay Rays) - 29.4 Feet/Per Second 

3. Amed Rosario (New York Mets) - 29.3 Feet/Per Second 

T-4. Trevor Story (Colorado Rockies) - 29.2 Feet/Per Second 

T-4. Cody Bellinger (Colorado Rockies) - 29.2 Feet/Per Second 

T-5. Starling Marte (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 29.0 Feet/Per Second 

T-5. Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves) - 29.0 Feet/Per Second 

Top 5 Pitchers Based on Cutter Velocity (Minimum 250 Pitches): 

1. German Marquez (Colorado Rockies) - 96.6 MPH 

2. Jacob deGrom (New York Mets) - 95.3 MPH 

3. Scott Barlow (Kansas City Royals) - 94.0 MPH 

4. Max Fried (Atlanta Braves) - 93.9 MPH 

5. Dylan Covey (Chicago White Sox) - 93.8 MPH