The Rays FINALLY lost, and it happened twice. While the Rays will not be going 162-0 this year or 161-1 either, they have reaffirmed their status as contenders moving forward. Their loss, however, shook the power rankings this week.
Whether they go .500 the remainder of the season, they’ll win 87 games. And they definitely look like a team that will be better than .500 for the rest of the season.
However, the Rays may not be the best team in baseball, at least not in this Power Rankings. They dropped one spot this week, to No.2. But it is a bit hard to argue with the No.1 team: they appear menacing so far.
Here are the power rankings for the week.
Biggest Jump: The Rangers took two out of three from the Royals at the beginning of the week, and meted out the same punishment against their rivals from Houston over the weekend. The most interesting thing about this club has been the pitching, which holds a top-10 spot in the Majors.
And the best starter has been Martín Pérez again, not Jacob deGrom.
Biggest Drop: Two teams dropped five spots: The San Diego Padres, lost two out of three to the Mets and three of four to the Brewers, they look like a team that needs Fernando Tatis Jr. back.
The Cardinals won two out of three in Colorado but could barely muster a split at home against the Pirates are in fourth place in the NL Central.
Power Rankings Top 5:
1. Braves, 12-4 (last week: 2)
The Rays’ unbeaten reign is history. The Atlanta Braves are the new team with a cool streak now, who went 6-0 on the week, defeating the Reds and the Royals.
They have three players with an OPS over 1.000: Mat Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and, the team’s leader in that category, Sean Murphy, who is getting on base at a .446 clip.
Atlanta also has a top-10 pitching staff right now. They have another fun series set up to start the week against the Padres in San Diego, but it’s the Padres who should be afraid: The Braves are on a roll already.
2. Rays, 14-2 (last week: 1)
A 5-2 week dropped the Rays a spot in the rankings, even if both losses were on the road against the Blue Jays, also one of the best baseball teams. Shane McClanahan ended the Rays’ two-game skid – only when a player has won their first 13 games can two losses be counted as a ”skid”.
After another gem on Sunday McClanahan is now 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA. The Rays get a few middle-of-the-country teams this week. The Reds are on the road and the White Sox at the Trop.
3. Blue Jays, 10-6 (last week:7)
Beating the team that won 13 in a row twice is a fantastic way to rise in the rankings. Matt Chapman’s impressive contract-year resurgence has been the discussion of the first couple of weeks, but the Blue Jays look more put together than they did last season, particularly on defense.
They tied for the second-best record in the American League, which secured them a four-game deficit in the AL East. That is the same distance from first place as Colorado is currently.
4. Yankees, 10-6 (last week:4 )
Keeping up in the AL East is difficult, and the New York Yankees dropped a game during a 4-3 week. But the biggest challenge is probably Giancarlo Stanton’s hamstring injury which put him on the injured list.
Aaron Judge has had more help in the lineup this season so far, courtesy of Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and DJ LeMahieu being off to excellent starts. But Stanton’s absence is not encouraging.
5. Astros, 7-9 (last week: 6)
The Houston Astros were No.1 in the first power rankings of the season, and even with a slow start, they will not fall too far behind. They had a great series with the incredible Rangers over the weekend, and their schedule will get tougher in the coming weeks.
Houston’s next four opponents are all teams that made the playoffs last season: the Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies at home, and the Atlanta Braves and Rays on the road.
6. Brewers (8)
7. Dodgers (3)
8. Twins (10)
9. Mets (9)
10. Padres (5)
11. Guardians (11)
12. Rangers (18)
13. Angels (15)
14. Orioles (16)
15. Mariners (14)
16. D-backs (20)
17. Cardinals (12)
18. Cubs (21)
19. Pirates (24)
20. Phillies (13)
21. White Sox (17)
22. Red Sox (22)
23. Marlins (23)
24. Giants (19)
25. Reds (25)
26. Rockies (27)
27. Royals (26)
28. Tigers (28)
29. Nationals (29)
30. A’s (30)
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