MLB Power Rankings August 30th

August 30, 2010 – Dan Deez

The baseball season is winding down but the playoff races are heating up. The Rays have caught the Yankees atop the AL East after taking two from the Red Sox. The NL Wild Card Race is up for grabs as the Phillies, Giants, Cardinals and Rockies are separated by only 4.5 games.

As September creeps upon us this week, there is plenty of baseball to be played with five of the six divisions still with interesting races. (the Rangers are a lock to win the AL West, sitting 7.5 games in front of the lowly A’s) The way I see it, there are 14 teams with a shot at the playoffs, slim as some of them may be. I’m looking at you, Red Sox and Dodgers.

So, here is how I see things as we close out August. (Teams 15-30 are just for fun.)

1. New York Yankees (80-50) – The Yankees are 15-2 in CC Sabathia’s last 17 starts. Andy Pettitte and his 11-2 record and 2.88 ERA should return from the DL in mid-September.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (80-50) – Series wins over the Angels and Red Sox have catapulted the Rays into a tie with the Yankees for best record in all of baseball. Closer Rafael Soriano has converted a league-leading 39 of 41 save opportunities and will be a huge asset down the stretch.

3. Texas Rangers (73-57) – Took three of four games from the Twins last week and have a 7.5 game lead in the AL West. Josh Hamilton is batting .383 since the All-Star break.

4. Cincinnati Reds (75-55) – Gave up 38 runs in a three game series to the Giants last week but they currently lead the NL averaging 5 runs a game. Their 5 game lead over the Cardinals looks pretty solid.

5. San Diego Padres (76-53) – Their 38-27 road record is best in the NL. Second year pitcher Mat Latos has been a nice surprise (13-5, 2.29 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 150 K).

6. Minnesota Twins (75-56) – If Justin Morneau comes back, the Twins should have be able to hold off the White Sox in the AL Central. Delmon Young is having a career year with 16 HR, 91 RBI and .308 AVG.

7. Philadelphia Phillies (73-57) – Swept three from the Padres after losing four to the Astros. Starter Roy Oswalt, who is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA since coming to the Phillies, will be key for holding onto their Wild Card lead.

8. Atlanta Braves (75-55) – The Braves were swept by the Rockies last week but still hold a two game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East. Tim Hudson is making a strong push as a contender for the Cy Young (6-1, 2.13 ERA since the All-Star break).

9. San Francisco Giants (72-59) – The Giants are 1.5 games back in the wild card and play their division rivals, the Rockies and Dodgers this week. They have a chance to gain some ground if Tim Lincecum can get out of the August funk he has been in (0-5, 7.82 ERA, 1.82 WHIP).

10. Boston Red Sox (74-57) – The Sox sit 6.5 games behind the Yankees and Rays but have 9 games left against them. Victor Martinez was 8-13 with 4 R and 3 RBI in the series against the Rays this weekend. The Sox will need everyone to step up if they want to make the playoffs.

11. St. Louis Cardinals (69-59) – When Albert Pujols (35 HR, 95 RBI, .320 AVG) is on your team, anything is possible. Adam Wainwright has a shot at the pitching triple crown (T1 in wins, 4th in ERA, 5th in K’s).

12. Chicago White Sox (70-60) – They just got Manny Ramirez who has 29 career post-season HRs but their bullpen may prevent them from even making the playoffs. Can Manager Ozzie Guillen whip this team into shape like he did in ’05?

13. Colorado Rockies (68-61) – Ubaldo Jimenez is pitching out of his mind this year but has come back down to earth a little lately. If he can keep up his pace, you know they will have plenty of offense up in the thin air of Denver.

14. Los Angeles Dodgers (67-64) – No more Manny and his September heroics. They are 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL Wild Card. If SS Rafael Furcal can return from injury soon, it could give them a shot.

15. Toronto Blue Jays (68-62) – Jose Batista is really good (42 HR, 99 RBI). It’s too bad that the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox are also in the NL East. Better luck next year.

16. Detroit Tigers (65-66) – Miguel Cabrera is glad he got out of Florida and he’s having an insane year. I hope he didn’t sell his house down there because Detroit winters are long and cold when your team doesn’t win.

17. Oakland Athletics (65-64) – The A’s are one game above .500 and one of their pitcher’s threw a perfect game. That’s about all you can say because the Rangers have the division pretty much wrapped up.

18. Florida Marlins (65-64) – The Marlins can look forward watching LeBron James playing for the Heat. I just hope they aren’t scared by crowds of more than 5,000 people. I know they aren’t used to that.

19. New York Mets (65-65) – Start spreading the news, 2010 has been a big disappointment.

20. Los Angeles Angels (63-68) – They were just swept by the Orioles and scored 1 run in the three game series. C Mike Napoli leads the team in HRs with 21. Mike who?

21. Milwaukee Brewers (62-68) – Wisconsin is a great place to fish so maybe their entire pitching staff needs to put down the fishing poles and learn how to throw a curveball. They have a combined 4.91 ERA.

22. Kansas City Royals (55-75) – If they keep up the pace they are at, they won’t finish in last place in the NL Central for the third consecutive year (they finished in last place from 04-07). Yay, Royals!

23. Houston Astros (59-71) – They’ve won 6 of their last 8 games, which is good. They no longer have Roy Oswalt (see Phillies above), which is bad. Rookie 3B Chris Johnson is batting .329 with 6 HR, 36 RBI in 64 games. (I thought I would end on a good note since their season won’t.)

24. Chicago Cubs (55-76) – They swept the Washington Nationals last week but are still only 9-18 in August. Now’s a good time to take a look at the young guys and see if any of them want a job next year. There will be plenty of spots to fill.

25. Washington Nationals (56-75) – Adam Dunn is still on the team but would be a lot more valuable somewhere else. Look for this young team to unload anyone with value if they can get something in return.

26. Seattle Mariners (51-79) – They beat the Red Sox once and the Twins once last week. Good job guys, keep it up and you’ll be in the big leagues soon. Franklin Gutierrez and Russell Branyan lead the team with 10 HR.

27. Cleveland Indians (53-77) – See New York Mets and add the loss of LeBron James. It’s going to be a long winter in Cleveland for everyone.

28. Arizona Diamondbacks (52-79) – The Diamondbacks have a lot of young talent led by 3B Mark Reynolds (29 HR, 76 RBI) and Chris Young (22 HR, 78 RBI) but they have a lot of learning to do. At least they have nice weather.

29. Baltimore Orioles (48-83) – Their starting pitchers have a combined 28-64 record. They just swept the Angels, so…well…there’s that.

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (43-87) – The Pirates have not finished better than 4th place in the NL Central since 1999. They are on pace to lose 109 games this year. I’ll just stop the bleeding right there.