1. Chicago Cubs (39-16, previously No. 1) – The Cubs continue to roll and have been dominant both from the mound and at the plate. On the mound they are led by Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel, who have the first and fifth-best ERA’s in the National League. At this pace, they seemingly could clinch a playoff spot by the All-Star break (Sarcasm, but not really). 2. San Francisco Giants (35-24, previously No. 2) – San Francisco has lost two straight games and has seen its lead get shrunk to 3.5 games in the NL West. Johnny Cueto is tied for the league-lead in wins with nine, which is encouraging. They host the Red Sox for two games this week and that will be a good barometer to see exactly how good they are. 3. Texas Rangers (34-22, previously No. 5) – Texas is one of the hottest teams in the game as it has won eight of its last 10 to now lead the AL West by three games. The AL West is one of the worst divisions in baseball, but that doesn’t matter to the Rangers as they cannot help who is on their schedule. 4. Washington Nationals (34-23, previously No. 4) – The Nationals remain at the top of the NL East standings and have a plus-54 run differential, which is second in the NL only trailing the Cubs. Daniel Murphy continues to be the best overall hitter in baseball as his .384 batting average is the best of anyone in the game. 5. Boston Red Sox (33-24, previously No. 3) – The Red Sox have a plus-69 run differential which leads the American League, but their pitching is still a concern. The bullpen hasn’t been dependable at all and they may need to find help from outside the organization. Although Xander Bogaerts saw his hit streak come to an end, he is second in the AL batting .345. 6. Baltimore Orioles (32-23, previously No. 6) – Playing at Camden Yards during the summer, the Orioles are going to score a lot of runs, which is already a reason why they are at the top of the AL East standings — they just need the pitching to come together. Mark Trumbo is tied for the most home runs in baseball with 18. 7. New York Mets (31-24, previously No. 7) – It’s been pretty status quo for the Mets of late as they have been consistently playing .500 ball lately and currently are two games back in the NL East. From the mound, they are led once again by Noah Syndergaard and his 1.91 ERA, which is tied for third in the National League. 8. Cleveland Indians (31-24, previously No. 11) – Winners of five straight games, the Indians have jumped to the top of the AL Central standings. Their plus-46 run differential is the third-best in the AL, which is a good sign moving forward. Danny Salazar now has the best ERA in the American League at 2.24. 9. Seattle Mariners (31-25, previously No. 9) – It was a tough week for the Mariners as they have dropped three straight and seven of their last 10 games to trail the Rangers by three games in the AL West – one of the worst divisions in baseball. The seldom injured Felix Hernandez has landed on the DL and the Mariners need him back to pitching the way he is capable of once he returns. 10. Toronto Blue Jays (31-27, previously No. 17) – Toronto is one of the hottest teams in the league as it has won eight of its last 10 games and took two-of-three from the Red Sox over the weekend. Known for their offense, the Blue Jays got a dominant performance from the mound Sunday when Marco Estrada took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. 11. Los Angeles Dodgers (31-27, previously No. 12) – The Dodgers have won three games in a row and made huge news off the field, as on Sunday they designated Carl Crawford for assignment. They will need to eat upwards of $35 million of his salary, but decided the move was worth it. 12. Pittsburgh Pirates (30-26, previously No. 8) – Led by Starling Marte and his 2.7 WAR, second-best in the National League, the Pirates are in second place in the NL Central, but miles away from the Cubs. They do have a good shot at the Wild Card, which is probably where most of their attention should be right now with the Cubs running away with the division. 13. Kansas City Royals (30-26, previously No. 10) – Kansas City has lost four games in a row and along with the Indians’ five-game win streak, there is a new leader in the AL Central. The Royals have a minus-9 run differential, which is not a good sign moving forward. The biggest thing for the Royals is to get better outings from the mound, which has been the reason for their success in the past. 14. St. Louis Cardinals (30-27, previously No. 16) – The Cardinals seem to be putting things together as they have won two straight games and now have a run differential of plus-54, tied for the second-best in the National League. Aledmys Diaz is continuing his solid season as his average is .328, tied for third in the NL. 15. Miami Marlins (30-27, previously No. 14) – It seems the National League East will be one of the most competitive divisions in the game this year and the Marlins will be right in the thick of it. Currently four games out, they have been led by starter Jose Fernandez who has an 0.66 ERA in his last six starts. 16. Chicago White Sox (29-28, previously No. 13) – After a great start, the White Sox continue to struggle. They have dropped three straight and eight of their last 10 games and now sit three games out in the division, but are in third place. Todd Frazier has been on a tear of late as his 18 home runs are tied for the most in the AL. 17. Detroit Tigers (28-28, previously No. 19) — Detroit has won three straight games and appears to be making things interesting in the AL Central. It was a tough start so they have a ways to go to work things out, but are trending in the right direction. Victor Martinez continues to lead the AL in batting, hitting .352. 18. Philadelphia Phillies (28-29, previously No. 15) – The Phillies continue to tumble as they have dropped eight of their last 10 games and currently sit in fourth place in the NL East. Their young starters aren’t as dominant as they were earlier in the season and it seems Ryan Howard is starting to really be phased out. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year so the struggles aren’t all that surprising. 19. Houston Astros (28-30, previously No. 26) – Although they got off to a terrible start, the Astros are putting things together. Houston has won eight of its last 10 games to rise to third place in the AL West. At .330, Jose Altuve has the fifth-best average in the American League. 20. New York Yankees (26-30, previously No. 18) – Injuries have been a big issue for the Yankees this season as they currently sit in fourth place in the AL East, 6.5 games out of first place. They also have the worst run differential in the division at minus-31. It doesn’t seem like New York has enough fire power to make a serious run right now, but that could change at the deadline. 21. Los Angeles Angels (26-30, previously No. 24)
22. Milwaukee Brewers (26-31, previously No. 21)
23. Tampa Bay Rays (25-30, previously No. 23)
24. Colorado Rockies (24-31, previously No. 20)
25. Oakland Athletics (25-32, previously No. 25)
26. Arizona Diamondbacks (25-34, previously No. 22)
27. San Diego Padres (23-34, previously No. 27)
28. Cincinnati Reds (21-36, previously No. 28)
29. Minnesota Twins (16-40, previously No. 29)
30. Atlanta Braves (16-40, previously No. 30)
MLB Power Rankings: Red Sox stumble, Indians and Blue Jays jump
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