Lake County Sentinel
Justin Lada's Major League Baseball Power Rankings
Week Four
1. Chicago Cubs (17-6) (LW 1, 0) - They endured another scare with Kris Bryant’s ankle but even their role players, like Matt Szczur are hitting grand slams. Dexter Fowler was a nice player before, whatever they’ve done with him has made him an All-Star. Wire to wire at the top in month one, even though they did lose to the Braves to start May.
2. New York Mets (15-8) (LW 8, +6) - The Giants somehow figured out Thor on Sunday and stopped Michael Conforto. If you can do that, you can beat the Mets. Easy, right?
3. Washington Nationals (17-7) (LW 2, 0) - They got swept by the Phillies, who aren’t as bad as maybe even they expected, then swept the Cardinals over the weekend, who might not be as good as anyone expected.
4. Chicago White Sox (18-8) (LW 4, +1) - John Danks owns four of the clubs eight losses. If they find a way to upgrade his spot, they might already have a seven game lead in the AL Central. Their bullpen also has a MLB best 1.60 ERA.
5. Baltimore Orioles (14-10) (LW 7, +2) - It took Pedro Alvarez until the end of April to finally hit a HR and somehow they survived without him. They have the third most innings pitched by a bullpen in the AL and the second best bullpen ERA in baseball however. If they could just find a reliable starting pitcher.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (15-10) (LW 11, +5) - Andrew McCutchen has the lowest OBP among any regular/non pitcher on the team at a paltry .342...They are second in baseball in OPS but have the sixth worst WHIP in the NL among teams who were expected to contend in 2016 at 1.42.
7. Detroit Tigers (14-10) (LW 15, +8) - On April 26, Miguel Cabrera’s average was .206. Since? He has 13 hits in eight games and three homers. Their pitching staff is last in baseball in strikeouts, but as long as Miggy is back to being Miggy, they’re dangerous.
8. St Louis Cardinals (12-13) (LW 6, -2) - They lead baseball in runs scored yet somehow have lost six of eight. Jaime Garcia has allowed nine runs in his last three starts and eight for Michael Wacha in his last three.
9. Seattle Mariners (13-11) (LW 16, +7) - Felix Hernandez is pretty good, but Taijuan Walker might be even better at this stage of the king’s career. Scary for the Mariners. If they could just get Kyle Seager going.
10. Texas Rangers (14-11) (LW 12, +2) - 9th in baseball in runs scored despite just 20 HR. They’re somehow surviving three starting pitchers with double digit walks in just 30 innings.
11. Boston Red Sox (15-10) (LW 18, +7) - David Price has been the team’s third best starter. They stole a third grader’s lunch money this week by taking three of four from Atlanta and sweeping the Yankees.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (13-13) (LW 3, -9) - Clayton Kershaw needed to throw a 1-0 shutout to snap a six game slide. It’s been Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and pay for rain.
13. San Francisco Giants (13-13) (LW 17, +4) - WIth how Jake Peavy and Matt Cain have pitched, they’re pitching with ⅗ of a rotation. Being fifth in baseball in runs scored has salvaged that.
14. Philadelphia Phillies (15-10) (LW 19, +5) - Someone remind them this is supposed to be a rebuilding year. They swept the Nationals and took three one-run games from the Indians. Their bullpen has been filthy and they lead baseball as a pitching staff in strikeouts with 254. If they’re not careful, they are going to cost themselves a top 15 draft pick.
15. Toronto Blue Jays (12-14) (LW 10, -5) - They ran into the red-hot White Sox and the bullpen had some hiccups. They took two of three from Tampa Bay and still look like team streak.
16. Kansas City Royals (13-10) (LW 3 -13) - Somehow 27th in baseball in runs but are riding that bullpen and getting some contributions from Ian Kennedy to stay afloat.
17. Cleveland Indians (10-12) (LW 9-8) - Three walkoff losses in the same week and one win in last six games, all one run games. Nothing ruins winning seasons like a bad bullpen.
18. Colorado Rockies (12-12) (LW 23, + 5) - No longer the most runs scored in baseball and no longer the worst pitching staff in baseball, by less than half a run. So much for that copy paste comment.
19. Miami Marlins (12-12) (LW 25, +6) - They had a better run differential coming into Sunday than Colorado. Then they went and loss to the Brewers 14-5. That should have knocked them back further.
20. Oakland Athletics (13-13) (LW 13, -7) - Billy Beane is going to be able to get a nice ransom for Rich Hill at the deadline.
21. Tampa Bay Rays (11-13) (LW 20, -1) - They’ve scored less runs than the Braves and have his 17 more homers. So much for that homer distribution theory working out. Chris Archer finally had a really good start though.
22. Los Angeles Angels (12-13) (LW 24, +2) - Started the week off by sweeping the defending champs then lost three of four to the Rangers. They have the least amount of strikeouts in baseball but only a .307 team OBP.
23. Arizona Diamondbacks (12-15) (LW 14, -9) - Not sure what’s uglier, their uniforms or them being swept by the Rockies over the weekend.
24. Cincinnati Reds (10-15) (LW -3) - Managed to salvage the week with a win Sunday but now Rasiel Iglesias hits the DL.
25. New York Yankees (8-15) (LW 22, -3) - Aroldis Chapman isn’t going to help much if he doesn’t have any leads to protect.
26. Houston Astros (8-17) (LW 26, 0) - The whole all or nothing team approach worked for them in 2015. They lead baseball in strikeouts again but are 21st in runs scored.
27. Minnesota Twins (7-18) (LW 27, 0) - A few walkoff wins then a collapse against Detroit after makes it hard for them to climb out of the cellar.
28. San Diego Padres (9-16) (LW 28, 0) - Fernando Rodney is turning himself into a tradable asset for a team that needs to trade a few this year.
29.Milwaukee Brewers (9-15) (LW 29, 0) - 14 runs on Sunday propelled them up the mediocre range in terms of offenses in baseball.
30. Atlanta Braves (6-18) (LW 30, 0) - Five homers and somehow not last in baseball in runs scored. They managed to not lose the series to the Cubs over the weekend by winning Sunday and lucking out with a rainout Saturday. Praying for rain actually works occasionally.
jlada@lakecountysentinel.com or follow Justin on Twitter @JL_Baseball you can also check out our IndiansNation fan page
POSTED 05/02/2016 15:47
