Pro-GM Power Rankings - Episode 8

[Buster Olney]

Pro-GM Power Rankings
Episode: 8
Week: 14

Rising	Falling
Seattle Mariners (+3)	St. Louis Cardinals (-5)
Toronto Blue Jays (+2)	Colorado Rockies (-4)
Los Angeles Angels (+2)	Chicago White Sox (-3)
Baltimore Orioles (+2)	San Diego Padres (-3)
Philadelphia Phillies (+2)	Tampa Bay Rays (-2)
Arizona Diamondbacks (+2)
Oakland Athletics (+2)
San Francisco Giants (+2)

Happy early Independence day to everyone! Week 13 is in the books and we got some very interesting results this week (including an undefeated going down).

Let's get right to it...

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

American League

• Seattle Mariners (9-3-1) vs Baltimore Orioles (9-4)

National League

• Arizona Diamondbacks (6-6-1) vs Washington Nationals (6-7)
• Chicago Cubs (13-0) vs Colorado Rockies (11-2)

1. Toronto Blue Jays (10-2-1)  
Last Week: 3
Shocker!!! We have a new #1 in the power rankings as the Blue Jays leapfrog the Reds and Cubs into the pole position of the rankings. With how strong this team looks overall at the moment, I have to put them #1. In regards to hitting, Abreu is mashing, Beltre and Segura are back and playing well, Simmons is having a career year, and Harper made Carlos Martinez look silly. Oh and Jackie Bradley Jr. has clearly gotten over his early season slump. On the pitching side, Arrieta is still struggling, but deGrom, Kluber, Wood, Gray, Nova, and Foltynewicz all looked fantastic. Besides a rough two game stretch a few weeks ago, the team has been money all year and I now see them as the team to beat in the MLB.

2. Chicago Cubs (13-0)  
Last Week: 1
The Cubs got passed the Braves with ease this week, but the team took a blow in another way with Matt Bush losing his hold on the closing job in Texas. Martinez got blown up against the Nationals on national TV (pun unintended), but Pineda bounced back this week with a nice start. Luckily, the Cubs have Keone Kela, who could get a chance at the closer job once his shoulder is back to feeling normal. Oh and Gausman looked real solid, but I doubt he turns it around. The Cubs get another top NL team in the Rockies in week 14.

3. Cincinnati Reds (12-1)  
Last Week: 2
The bats struggled this week, but pitching came through with Sale leading the way as the Reds dispatched the Dodgers. A couple of slumps make the lineup look below average at the moment, but Sale, Lester, and Manaea had really nice weeks. Quintana looked to be turning it around, but had a subpar outing against Texas on Sunday.

4. Los Angeles Angels (10-3)  
Last Week: 6
It was a closer than expected game against the Yankees, and 2 QS with a 2.31 ERA was weird, but the Angels still got a victory against the Yankees. Goldschmidt finally had a bad week, going 2/20. Betts went OFF sunday night with 8 RBIs. Colon getting DFA'd is a hit to the rotation, but I expect the Angels to make a trade to shore up that part of the team.

5. Seattle Mariners (9-3-1) 
Last Week: 8
Giant killers!!! The Mariners handed the Rays their first loss of the season thanks to some very strong pitching. Brandon Belt is really starting the become a factor in the power department, and Chris Taylor has performed admirably. Nice work, Seattle.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (11-1-1)  
Last Week: 4
Last week, I started the power rankings by asking if anyone could beat the Tampa Bay Rays...well apparently someone can and that someone is the Seattle Mariners. Bundy looks like a completely different pitcher and fatigue seems to have hit him before the ASB. The downfall of this team this week was a poor bullpen performance which exposed holes left by Ben's "trade for the future" situation earler this year.

7. Baltimore Orioles (9-4)  
Last Week: 9
Rich Hill finally got through more than 5 innings and the Orioles got a big win against the White Sox in week 13. The bullpen was lights out this week and made the difference this week.

8. Chicago White Sox (9-2-2) 
Last Week: 5
Ouch, a tough loss to the Orioles this week for the White Sox. It was a close game, but the White Sox couldn't come out on top. There's not much to worry about, but they couldn't manage even one save this week. Tough to win games against the top teams if you're automatically down a category going into the matchup. I could see Micah add some bullpen help before the trade deadline.

9. Philadelphia Phillies (10-3)  
Last Week: 11
I've beat up on the Phillies ever since they lost their first game, but I'll give credit where credits due. Philly pulled off a really impressive win over Colorado this week on the strength of their pitching.

10. Cleveland Indians (5-7-1) 
Last Week: 10
It was good times for the Indians this week as they rolled past the Red Sox. Odor had his first day off this week so maybe that will get him going. It's good to see Ellsbury back after a scary injury earlier in the year.

11. Colorado Rockies (11-2)  
Last Week: 7
Yikes, not a pretty loss against the Phillies this week. Both the hitting and pitching struggled and that led to a rather lopsided 8-3 loss. Things won't be this bad every week, but it's something to consider going into a tough, tough matchup vs Chicago this week. Bright side, Sam Dyson nabbed two saves this week without much trouble.

12. Detroit Tigers (7-6) 
Last Week: 13
It wasn't the most convincing win over Texas, but a win is a win. Losing Anderson and Kendrick to injury really hurts. Ervin Santana has been very inconsistent as of late.

13. New York Yankees (6-7) 
Last Week: 14
The Bronx Bombers put up a good fight against the Angels, but the better team won in that matchup. Starling Marte is coming off suspension relatively soon so there could be better times ahead for New York. Still, a 6-7 record is disappointing given how they started the season.

14. New York Mets (7-5-1) 
Last Week: 15
Gio Gonzalez led the Mets to an easy win over the Astros. Gonzalez has been a stud all year. Todd Frazier hit 3 bombs this week, a sign he's turning it around.

15. Pittsburgh Pirates (6-7) 
Last Week: 16
Elvis continues to absolutely rake at the plate. A good start by Adam Wainwright usually means a win for this team.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks (6-6-1) 
Last Week: 18
Bounced back from a bad loss last week to whoop the Cardinals 9-3. At some point you expect Oren to add more depth, but it hasn't happened thus far.

17. St. Louis Cardinals (8-5)
Last Week: 12
The Cardinals suffered a shocking loss to the D-backs this week. To add insult to injury...or injury to injury, young star Trea Turner broke his wrist, putting an enormous dent into the Cards hopes this season. It wasn't a good week out in St. Louis.

18. Atlanta Braves (6-7) 
Last Week: 17
If you're going to have a bad week in the pitching department, you might as well do it when you're playing the cubs. Honestly I have no idea what happened to Tulo since he's left Colorado. He went from being one of the best everyday shortstops to arguably one of the worst.

19. Los Angeles Dodgers (5-7-1)
Last Week: 20
Travis Shaw hit well, Yunel Escobar hit well, Pederson corcked two bombs, Smoak did as well, but the Dodgers couldn't do anything against the powerhouse Reds losing 10-2. Estrada is a mess right now and walked 7, yes 7, batters in his start this week.

20. Oakland Athletics (3-10) 
Last Week: 22
Would you look at that, the Athletics won again and have a tidy little two game win streak in their hands. If they can pull off the upset against the White Sox this week, expect a big jump in the rankings.

21. Washington Nationals (6-7) 
Last Week: 21
At this point, a change of scenery for Lucroy might be for the best. Judge has slowed down a bit, but is still very much a MVP candidate.

22. San Diego Padres (5-7-1) 
Last Week: 19
Scherzer pitched another gem, but guess what? It led to another loss by San Diego. Buxton is having an awful season.

23. Texas Rangers (3-10) 
Last Week: 23
The Rangers came close to upsetting Detroit, but could not pull it off. Yonder Alonso isn't hitting as well as he was earlier in the year. It looks like Forsythe is coming around, but it my be too little too late for this team.

24. Boston Red Sox (4-9) 
Last Week: 24
The Red Sox lost the Indians and also lost one of their top arms via trade. Aaron Nola was dealt to Baltimore for Raimel Tapia and Jesse Winker.

25. Houston Astros (3-10) 
Last Week: 25

26. Kansas City Royals (2-10) 
Last Week: 26

27. Milwaukee Brewers (3-10) 
Last Week: 27

28. San Francisco Giants (1-12) 
Last Week: 30
Celebrations in store for San Francisco as they pick up their first win of the season!!

29. Miami Marlins (0-13) 
Last Week: 28
Solidied themselves as the worst team in the NL after losing to the Giants.

30. Minnesota Twins (0-13) 
Last Week: 29
First team eliminated from playoff contention = last team in the power rankings