In just a few days, we’ll be at the halfway point of the MLB season. This deep into the year, there are still a few surprise teams that have seemingly proven themselves as the real deal. There are still others, though, that still have plenty of work to do. We will be keeping track of the status of all 30 teams throughout the year in our XN Sports MLB Power Rankings.
1. Oakland Athletics (47-29) – Were it not for an extra-inning loss to Boston on Sunday, the A’s would own a six-game winning streak. Even still, Oakland owns the best record in all of baseball.
2. Milwaukee Brewers (47-30) – The Brewers have won six of seven and have one of the hottest offenses in baseball, with 53 runs in that span. During that time, they have three players — Aramis Ramirez, Scooter Gennett, and Carlos Gomez — hitting over .400.
3. San Francisco Giants (45-30) – The Giants lost six in a row over the last week-and-a-half to some of the worst teams in baseball — the Rockies, White Sox, and Diamondbacks — but they have gotten it back together, winning their last two in Arizona.
4. Detroit Tigers (40-32) – Joe Nathan was supposed to be the answer to Detroit’s years-long closer issue. But after picking up his fifth blown save of the season this week, he’s just another part of the problem.
5. St. Louis Cardinals (41-35) – It’s been a streaky stretch for the Cards, with five wins, then three losses, and now two more wins. They could be facing hard times ahead now, though, after putting Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia on the DL.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers (42-35) – Clayton Kershaw turned in one of the best no-hitters in MLB history last week, with 15 strikeouts. As long as he’s atop the L.A. rotation, which currently ranks sixth in baseball, the Dodgers will be in good shape.
7. Los Angeles Angels (41-33) – Thanks to some timely hitting and good pitching, the Angels swept division rival Texas at home.
8. Toronto Blue Jays (42-35) – The Blue Jays continue to trend in the wrong direction, losing five of six last week. Their lead in the A.L. East is now down to just 1.5 games.
9. Baltimore Orioles (39-35) – It was a good week for the Orioles, winning their intra-division series against both the Rays and Yankees. They even got to Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka, giving him his first loss to an American League team.
10. New York Yankees (39-35) – Like Baltimore, New York was also 4-2 against A.L. East teams this week, sweeping the Blue Jays before taking one against the O’s. Thanks to those wins against Toronto, the Yankees are within striking distance of first place.
11. Seattle Mariners (40-36) – With a three-game sweep of the Royals, the Mariners are now four games over .500. The biggest difference this year: they’re scoring runs. Seattle has a +37 run differential, which is third-best in the A.L.
12. Kansas City Royals (39-36) – How do the Royals follow a 10-game winning streak? By losing four in a row. And they scored just one run in three of those four games.
13. Washington Nationals (39-35) – The return of Bryce Harper, who has been out since late April, can’t come soon enough. The Nats are hitting just .233 this month with a mere 11 home runs, both ranking among the worst in baseball.
14. Cincinnati Reds (37-37) – The Reds may just have themselves a Cy Young Award winner in their midst. Johnny Cueto is not slowing down, picking up another win on Sunday. He currently leads the league in ERA and WHIP, and is second in strikeouts.
15. Atlanta Braves (38-37) – It was a rough week for the Braves, as they had a chance to do some damage within their own division. But they were swept by the last place Phillies, then split four with the first place Nationals.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (37-38) – The Pirates haven’t been above .500 since the second week of the season, but have a great chance to do so this week with seven games against the lowly Rays and Mets.
17. Minnesota Twins (36-38) – The Twins bounced back from a five-game losing streak to pick up their first four-game sweep at home since 2007. Their winning streak is tied for the longest currently in the game.
18. Boston Red Sox (35-41) – Is the invincibility of closer Koji Uehara fading? He’s given up at least one home run in two of his last three appearances, and in his other outing in that stretch, he gave up a game-winning single to the only batter he faced.
19. Cleveland Indians (37-39) – Michael Brantley is putting together a great season for Cleveland, hitting .325/.390/.520. His 2.9 WAR is tied for sixth in the American League.
20. Texas Rangers (35-40) – If only Yu Darvish could pitch every night. The Rangers’ terrible team ERA of 4.51 ranks dead last among all A.L. teams.
21. Miami Marlins (37-38) – The Marlins appear to have come back down to earth after a nice two months to open the season. Miami is 5-10 in their last 15 games. Much more of this and one would have to wonder if they would consider dealing star Giancarlo Stanton.
22. New York Mets (35-41) – If there is a bright spot for the Mets this season, it would be Daniel Murphy. But, like Stanton, is the team looking to sell?
23. Philadelphia Phillies (34-40) – Even at six games under .500, the Phillies are still within reasonable distance of first place, five games back. However, it’s hard to think this is a team that can make a run, even in an underwhelming division.
24. Colorado Rockies (34-41) – The Rockies just need the pitching to match up with their MLB-best offense. Their 384 runs allowed is the worst in baseball.
25. Tampa Bay Rays (31-46) – If the Rays were playoff contenders like so many had expected, David Price may not be on the move. But having dug themselves such a hole, sitting in the A.L. East basement, the ace may finally be dealt.
26. San Diego Padres (32-44) – The perpetually rebuilding Padres are making more moves, firing General Manager Josh Byrnes. The team has been well on its way to its third straight sub-.500 season with Byrnes steering the ship.
27. Chicago Cubs (31-42) – The Cubs find themselves 14 games back of first place in the N.L. Central, but it’s not because of their pitching. The Cubs have a team ERA of 3.55, which ranks in the top 10 in baseball.
28. Chicago White Sox (35-41) – If nothing else, Jose Abreu is showing he is fun to watch. His 21 homers are third in the American League, and his .598 slugging percentage is tops in the league.
29. Houston Astros (33-44) – Jose Altuve is turning into a star. He leads the American League in hitting and stolen bases.
30. Arizona Diamondbacks (32-47) – The Diamondbacks have the largest deficit in baseball at 15 games, and if their pitching doesn’t improve, that number won’t get any smaller.
