MLB power rankings: Cardinals, Royals, Pirates the best in baseball

1. St. Louis Cardinals (58-34) – The Cardinals may not be playing their best ball of the season, but they still have the best record in MLB and sit four games up on the Pirates in the NL Central. Closer Trevor Rosenthal’s 27 saves are the third-most in the NL.

2. Kansas City Royals (55-36) – Winners of seven of their last 10, the Royals are beginning to pull away in the AL Central, as they now lead the Twins by 5.5 games. Lorenzo Cain is batting .319, which is fifth in the AL, while Kendrys Morales’ 65 RBIs are the most in the AL.

3. Pittsburgh Pirates (54-38) – Pittsburgh is beginning to challenge the Cardinals in the NL Central as it is just four games back and has won six of its last 10 games. All-Star Gerrit Cole’s 13 wins are the most in baseball. If they were looking for one thing that might help them down the stretch, it’s improving upon their 22-22 road record.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (53-41) – The Dodgers continue to hold down the top spot in the NL West. Their plus-65 run differential is the second-best in the National League. Zack Greinke’s 1.30 ERA is by far the best in the majors as he continues to dominate on the mound.

5. Los Angeles Angels (51-40) – The Angels are one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning five straight and eight of 10 to now lead the AL West by two games. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols continue to rake at the plateas Pujols leads the AL with 29 homers with Trout right behind at 28.

6. Houston Astros (51-43) – The Astros ended the first half on a downward trend and that has carried over into the second half as they have lost their first place standing in the AL West, now two games behind the Angels. AL All-Starstarter Dallas Keuchel still leads the junior circuitwith a 2.12 ERA.

7. Washington Nationals (50-41) – Even with their dominating pitching staff, the Nationals can’t pull away from the rest of the NL East because of their lack of offense. Bryce Harper is the only one on the team hitting, as he’s batting .334 with 27 homers and 64 RBIs, all in the top five in the National League.

8. New York Yankees (50-41) – The Yankees continue to go about their business in the AL East, as they have opened up a four-game lead over the Orioles. With a good trade deadline, the Yankees could separate themselves even further from the pack.

9. Minnesota Twins (50-42) – The Twins were red-hot before the All-Star break, but have cooled off, losing two straight. They are still one of the biggest surprises in baseball, as not many expected them to perform as well as they have. Glen Perkins’ 28 saves are the most in the American League.

10. Chicago Cubs (49-42) – Currently sitting 8.5 games back in the NL Central, the Cubs need to start making up ground quickly and it may start with making some bold moves at the trade deadline. While the division may be out of reach, they are still in the hunt for the Wild Card.

11. San Francisco Giants (49-44) – The Giants have won seven of 10 games and now trail the Dodgers by 3.5 games in the NL West. They are getting productive seasons out of Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford, as they are third and fourth in National League WAR.

12. New York Mets (48-45) – It will be an interesting next week or so for the Mets as we await to see how active they’ll be at the trade deadline. Just three games out in the division, they are piece or two away from challenging the Nationals for the top spot.

13. Toronto Blue Jays (47-47) – Toronto continues to be the best hitting team in baseball and has an AL-best, plus-89 run differential.But the Jays still owna .500 record and are4.5 games back in the AL East. They will certainly be seeking pitching at next week’s trade deadline.

14. Baltimore Orioles (46-45) – Even after winning two straight games, the Orioles are still four games behind the Yankees for first place in the division. Manny Machado continues to have a tremendous season, as his 5.1 WAR is tied for second-best in the AL.

15. Tampa Bay Rays (47-48) – Things aren’t going so well for the Rays of late as they have lost six of their last 10 games and now are five games out of first in the AL East. Their pitching continues to lead the way, but will need the offense to pick it up if they expect to make any run at the division.

16. Detroit Tigers (46-46) – It is not the season many had hoped for the Tigers, as they currently sit at .500 and 9.5 games behind the Royals in the AL Central. David Price has turned it on of late, as he has a 2.32 ERA, good for fourth in the American League.

17. Cleveland Indians (44-47) – Being 11 games out in the AL Central, it will be interesting to see how much they sell off at the trade deadline. They have a number of quality starters, which make them an intriguing team to watch with how active they might be.

18. San Diego Padres (44-49) – It’s been a strange season for the Padres as they have been up-and-down all year long. Right now they are on one of their upward trends, winning five games in a row, so it will be interesting to see if this makes them buyers at next week’s deadline.

19. Atlanta Braves (44-49) – Atlanta is in the midst of losing seven of its last 10 games and now stand seven games behind the Nationals in the division. The Braves could be in a position to be sellers at the deadline.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks (43-48) – It seemed the Diamondbacks were primed to make a run, but they have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games and are now 8.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Despite the struggles, All-Star Paul Goldschmidt is batting .341, the best in the NL.

21. Texas Rangers (43-49) – Texas has picked a bad time to go 2-8 in their last 10 games, as they now trail the Angels in the division by nine games. Prince Fielder is still performing at the plate though, as he’s batting .339, the second-best mark in the AL.

22. Oakland Athletics (43-51) – Oakland is playing better of late and no longer have the worst record in the AL, but still are 10 games out in the AL West. With a young stud in Sonny Gray, the A’s will get plenty of calls on him, but they seem committed to holding on to him.

23. Chicago White Sox (42-48) – The season is pretty much lost for the White Sox as they are 12.5 games back in the AL Central. They have a minus-77 run differential, which is the worst in the American League.

24. Boston Red Sox (42-51) – After it seemed the Red Sox were ready to make a run at the AL East, they have dropped five straight and six of seven to fall nine games out. In their four-game series with the Angels, they were outscored 22-4 and it seems they may now be sellers at next week’s trade deadline.

25. Seattle Mariners (42-51) – Seattle has been one of the biggest disappointments in the league this year, as much more was expected with Felix Hernandez on the mound and Nelson Cruz at the plate. The Mariners currently are nine games below .500 and have the worst record in the AL.

26. Cincinnati Reds (41-49) – The Reds stole the spotlight in the baseball world last week with the All-Star Game, but now the attention will be back on them to see who they will trade away at the trade deadline.

27. Milwaukee Brewers (41-52) – Milwaukee continues to improve – actually have turned into one of the better teams in the division – but their horrid start has prevented them from making any time of playoff push.

28. Colorado Rockies (40-51) – A miserable 18-27 road record is a major reason why the Rockies are in last place in the NL West. Troy Tulowitzski is batting .320, which is good for fifth in the NL.

29. Miami Marlins (38-55) – If it weren’t for the Phillies, the Marlins would definitely be the worst team in baseball. With Giancarlo Stanton out with an injury, Dee Gordon is now leading the team with a .338 average, second in the NL.

30. Philadelphia Phillies (33-62) – Even with winning four straight games, the Phillies remain the worst team in baseball and with the deadline approaching the Phillies are a team to watch.