At the halfway point of the MLB season, the XN Sports Power Rankings provide a good look at the teams to beat in the second half. This week’s rankings are similar near the top to what they were last week, but there is some movement in the top 10. The Reds and Braves took huge jumps into the top 10 after a great week, while the Cardinals and Giants are heading in the wrong direction quickly.
1. Oakland Athletics (51-30) (Last Week 1) – The A’s are getting great production from their catchers. Derek Norris, John Jaso and Stephen Vogt have combined to hit .298/.380/.476, which is tops among American League teams at that position.
2. Milwaukee Brewers (51-33) (LW 2) – It is the Brewers who became the first team to reach the 50-win milestone, and they also own the league’s largest division lead at 6.5 games.
3. Detroit Tigers (44-34) (LW 4) – The Tigers’ .299 average and 44 runs are tops in baseball over the last week, which helped them on their way to their recent seven-game winning streak.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (47-37) (LW 6) – Clayton Kershaw continues to dominate, increasing his scoreless innings streak to 28, and helping L.A. get into a tie for first.
5. Los Angeles Angels (45-35) (LW 7) – It’s a tale of two cities for the Angels. They are 12 games above .500 at home, but two games under on the road, and have won just four of their last 15 outside of L.A.
6. Cincinnati Reds (43-38) (LW 14) – The Reds are now the hottest team in baseball, having won five in a row and eight of nine.
7. St. Louis Cardinals (44-39) (LW 5) – The Cardinals are coming off a tough four-game series with the Dodgers. St. Louis lost three of four and scored just two runs in the entire series.
8. San Francisco Giants (46-36) (LW 3) – The Giants have lost 15 of 19 and are in danger of sliding out of first place in the N.L. West after holding a 9.5-game lead on June 8.
9. Atlanta Braves (44-38) (LW 15) – The Braves are getting back on the right track with a great week, winning two of three in Houston before sweeping a four-game set in Philadelphia.
10. Seattle Mariners (44-38) (LW 11) – Felix Hernandez had a dominant June, going 2-1 in five starts. In his 36.1 innings, he had a 1.49 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with a 11.15 K/9 rate.
11. Toronto Blue Jays (45-39) (LW 8) – Despite Toronto’s recent struggles, Edwin Encarnacion keeps hitting. Over the last two weeks, he’s hit .385 with a 1.206 OPS with five home runs.
12. Washington Nationals (43-38) (LW 13) – Gio Gonzalez had two outstanding starts this week, giving up just five hits over 13 innings without allowing a run.
13. Baltimore Orioles (42-39) (LW 9) – Chris Tillman is working on a hot streak. In his last two starts, both wins, he threw 15 innings, allowing eight hits and one run.
14. Pittsburgh Pirates (42-40) (LW 16) – The Pirates have won seven of nine thanks in large part to their pitching. In that stretch, they’ve given up more than three runs just three times.
15. New York Yankees (41-39) (LW 10) – For the first time in his career, Masahiro Tanaka has lost consecutive starts. Still, he went seven and nine innings, giving up a total of five runs.
16. Kansas City Royals (42-39) (LW 12) – Salvador Perez continues to be one of the premier offensive catchers in the American League, at or near the top in most categories.
17. Cleveland Indians (39-42) (LW 19) – The Indians head into a tough week, with games against the Dodgers and Royals, coming off a rough week, having lost six of eight games.
18. Boston Red Sox (38-44) (LW 18) – The Red Sox are hoping prospect Mookie Betts can provide the team with a spark after being called up over the weekend. In 77 games between Double-A and Triple-A, Betts hit .345/.437/.520 and had 29 stolen bases.
19. Minnesota Twins (37-43) (LW 17) – Minnesota lost five straight games to the Angels and Tigers while giving up an average of six runs each game.
20. Texas Rangers (37-44) (LW 20) – Texas is in an unfamiliar position. The Rangers have a -57 run differential, which is worst in the American League.
21. New York Mets (37-45) (LW 22) – The Mets are hoping they won’t be without star third-baseman David Wright for long after an MRI on his left shoulder didn’t reveal any damage on Saturday.
22. Miami Marlins (39-43) (LW 21) – The Marlins keep coming back down to earth, having lost four in a row, and 15 of 26 this month.
23. Tampa Bay Rays (35-49) (LW 25) – Despite having the worst record in the A.L. East, the Rays are actually playing better than the other teams right now. Tampa Bay is the only team in the division with a record above .500 over the last 10 days.
24. Chicago White Sox (39-44) (LW 28) – After losing seven of eight games, the White Sox bounced back to take three in a row in Toronto.
25. Philadelphia Phillies (36-46) (LW 23) – A four-game sweep at the hands of the Braves has landed Philadelphia eight games back of Atlanta, and sitting in the doghouse of the N.L. East.
26. Colorado Rockies (36-46) (LW 24) – The Rockies’ offense is still going strong, with baseball’s third-highest run total in June, but they also have the majors’ worst team ERA this month, by far, at 6.53.
27. San Diego Padres (35-47) (LW 26) – The Padres dropped two of three to the league-worst Diamondbacks, scoring only four runs in the series.
28. Chicago Cubs (34-46) (LW 27) – Jake Arrieta is enjoying the best season of his career, with a 4-1 record and a 2.05 ERA.
29. Houston Astros (36-47) (LW 29) – With two stolen bases on Sunday, Jose Altuve became just the second player ever to have multiple steals in four straight games.
30. Arizona Diamondbacks (35-49) (LW 30) – By taking two of three in their weekend series with San Diego, the Diamondacks won their first series since going 2-1 in its series with Atlanta in the first weekend of June.
