Pro-GM Power Rankings - Episode 5

[Buster Olney]

Pro-GM Power Rankings
Episode: 5
Week: 11

Rising: St. Louis Cardinals (+2), New York Mets (+2), Washington Nationals (+2)
Falling: Colorado Rockies (-3), Atlanta Braves (-3)

Welcome to the fifth episode of my power rankings. Straight rankings this week, but we'll be back with a new feature next week.

Key games to keep an eye on this week...

American League

• New York Yankees (5-5) vs Cleveland Indians (3-6-1)
• Toronto Blue Jays (7-2-1) vs Detroit Tigers (6-4)
• Los Angeles Angels (8-2) vs Chicago White Sox (7-1-2)

National League

• New York Mets (5-5) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (4-6)
• St. Louis Cardinals (7-3) vs Philadelphia Phillies (8-2)

1. Chicago Cubs (10-0)  
Last Week: 1
Yawner of a win this past week. The Cubs keep rolling along and stay undefeated.

2. Cincinnati Reds (9-1)  
Last Week: 2
Real nice win against the previously undefeated Rockies. It was really convincing and right now it looks like a two team race in the NL.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (9-0-1)  
Last Week: 3
Disappointing tie against the White Sox, but the Rays are still technically undefeated. Nice work by Ben to keep this team competitive despite making multiple moves with an eye towards the future.

4. Los Angeles Angels (8-2)  
Last Week: 4
Shutout the Twins 12-0 this week. After a little bump in the road, it looks like the Angels are back on track.

5. Toronto Blue Jays (7-2-1)  
Last Week: 6
Great bounce back win against the Indians. It looks like the Blue Jays are back on track, but the pitching is still a major concern.

6. Seattle Mariners (7-2-1) 
Last Week: 7
Mariners are on a roll right now and are awarded another well-deserved bump in the rankings.

7. Chicago White Sox (7-1-2) 
Last Week: 8
A tie against the powerhouse Rays is still impressive and the White Sox continue to prove me wrong.

8. Colorado Rockies (9-1)  
Last Week: 5
Yikes, not a great week for the Rockies falling to the powerhouse Rays 9-2. On the bright side, they have an opportunity to bounce back against a quality team in the Washington Nationals.

9. Baltimore Orioles (6-4)  
Last Week: 9
Shellacking of the Rangers this week by the Orioles. Schwarber and Thames continue to struggle. The Orioles need them to hit.

10. Detroit Tigers (6-4) 
Last Week: 10
The Tigers rebounded from a tough loss last week and gave it to the Red Sox 10-1. Mike Leake continues to pitch well. 

11. Philadelphia Phillies (8-2)  
Last Week: 11
As I said last week, this week's matchup against the Astros won't tell us any more about this team. The Phillies won, but this week's big game against the Cardinals will give us a better idea of where this team stands in the NL.

12. Cleveland Indians (3-6-1) 
Last Week: 12
The schedule continues to hurt the Indians as they ran into the Blue Jays and could not pull out a win or tie. This week against the struggling Yanks could be a nice get right match up. 

13. St. Louis Cardinals (7-3)
Last Week: 15
The 0-9 (now 0-10) San Francisco Giants stood no chance against a streaking Cardinals team.

14. New York Yankees (5-5) 
Last Week: 14
Honestly, beating the Oakland A's wasn't easy and I'll give credit when credit is due since the Yankees have been a punching bag in the power rankings as of late.

15. Arizona Diamondbacks (4-5-1) 
Last Week: 13
Nice work by the D-backs to beat a Pirates team that had performed better than them so far this season. Their lack of depth still scares me.

16. New York Mets (5-5) 
Last Week: 18
The Brewers couldn't even meet the minimum IP requirement this week and the Mets took full advantage en route to a 12-0 victory. Todd Frazier may have finally found his stroke and is hitting again.

17. Pittsburgh Pirates (4-6) 
Last Week: 16
The momentum from two straight big wins is killed after a close loss to the Diamondbacks. Wainwright having an awful week played a big part in the loss.

18. Atlanta Braves (5-5) 
Last Week: 21
It's like the NL teams continue to switch off on beating each other up. With their entire lineup finally healthy again, the Braves had a very strong week and beat the Padres.

19. San Diego Padres (4-5-1) 
Last Week: 17
The Padres lost to the Braves in week 10. The lack of depth I talked about last week continues to hurt.

20. Washington Nationals (5-5) 
Last Week: 22
Kenta Maeda was moved to the bullpen and Sano missed a couple games, but the Nationals still managed to beat the Dodgers 7-4.

21. Los Angeles Dodgers (5-5)
Last Week: 19
Dodgers lost again this week in a key game against the Nationals. The news of McCullers hitting the DL is awful as this team has little depth as is.

22. Boston Red Sox (4-6) 
Last Week: 20
Simply outclassed this past week. The Red Sox are one of the most inconsistent teams in the league.

23. Oakland Athletics (1-9) 
Last Week: 23
Really thought the A's would beat the Yankees this week, but just fell short. At this point, very hard to see this team making a playoff run.

24. Kansas City Royals (2-8) 
Last Week: 24
The slide continues for the Royals. Starlin Castro has been a monster this year and it looks like a career year for him. Could he be on the trading block for the rebuilding Royals?

25. Texas Rangers (2-8) 
Last Week: 25

26. Milwaukee Brewers (3-7) 
Last Week: 26

27. Houston Astros (1-9) 
Last Week: 27

28. Miami Marlins (0-10) 
Last Week: 28

29. Minnesota Twins (0-10) 
Last Week: 29

30. San Francisco Giants (0-10) 
Last Week: 30