It’s time for another edition of the Arch City Power Rankings. The American League East appears to be the messiest division in all of baseball, each team has a chance to come away with that division. Other teams are playing much better baseball as of late and will change the bottom part of the rankings.
10. Chicago Cubs – Last Week: Honorable Mention – The Cubs continue to win baseball games but they are still sitting 3.5 games out of the NL Central top-spot and the Pittsburgh Pirates are closing the gap. When they are hitting they are a tough team to beat, but their defense has been a big letdown. Some are calling for the promotion of Javier Baez.
9. Pittsburgh Pirates – Last Week: Not Ranked – The Pirates have been victims to losing several close baseball games and as their offense begins to heat up they will find ways to win those games. They are 21-22 but have a run differential of +26, winning three straight games. The NL Central should be fun.
8. Minnesota Twins – Last Week: Ranked 10th – The Twins continue to be a surprise in the AL Central and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. They lack star power, front-line pitching and depth but continue to play good baseball.
7. San Francisco Giants – Last Week: Honorable Mention – The club is just 2 games out of the NL West after a terrible start. The team is starting to get healthy and Tim Lincecum has reinvented himself for the time being. They haven’t won pretty but they are back in the race.
6. Detroit Tigers – Last Week: Ranked 6 – The Tigers offense continues to impress but the pitching cannot show up consistently enough. With the Twins sticking around, the Indians heating up the White Sox playing much better baseball the AL Central could be a fight to the very end.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers – Last Week: Ranked 2 – The Dodgers are slipping in the NL West, but still lead the division. They need to play better on the road in order to keep the division lead. Yasiel Puig’s return should be somewhere along the horizon.
4. Washington Nationals – Last Week: Ranked 5 – The Nationals have taken over the NL East with the Mets falling from grace. It looks like they could run away with the division as their run differential is now +25. The Nationals have done this all with a terrible start from Stephen Strasburg and no Anthony Rendon.
3. St. Louis Cardinals – Last Week: Ranked 1– The Birds are 28-16 overall but they are just 4-6 in their last 10 ball games. The team still owns an outstanding +55 run differential and their torrid pace was bound to slow down some. They will be back to their winning ways and their hot start has other clubs in the division playing catch-up.
2. Houston Astros – Last Week: Ranked 4 – They are 29-16 with a +27 run differential and have a 6.5 game lead on the AL West. The strikeout often but hit home runs and steal bases just as often. They could look to promote Carlos Correa this season or potentially go for Cole Hamels to bolster their staff.
1. Kansas City Royals – Last Week: Ranked 3 – They own a +65 run differential and a 28-15 overall record in a very tough AL Central division. They just took a series from the St. Louis Cardinals and they are accomplishing this feat without a true ace.
Honorable Mention
Cleveland Indians – They are 20-23 overall but have won 6 straight games and have dropped their run differential down to -7. The Indians need to get things going offensively as their rotation is appearing to find their groove. They put themselves back into the thick of things in the AL Central.
Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays have lost a couple games in a row and lead the AL East. They are 24-21 and it seems as if nobody wants to win this division. The Rays are fighting for it and if Drew Smyly can pitch this year they could take the division.
Fall From Grace:
New York Mets – The Mets had been on top of the baseball world, even owning the top spot in the Power Rankings for a week. However, it has all gone downhill. Their defense is abysmal and they now own a negative run differential. They are 24-21 overall but most of that good word was from a hot start.
New York Yankees – The Yankees were playing well in the East for most of the season but everything has gone wrong recently. They have lost 6 straight games and also have a negative run differential. The team is now .500 and while the division is so bad they could stick around in it, they lost Ellsbury and still do not have an ace.
