The MLB season is now two months old, and things are starting to take shape. Teams should take note, though, that not being in first is not a death sentence at this point of the year. Last year at this point, the team that went on to win the AL West was in dead last, the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees, who won the AL East, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were in first, they would finish second in the division and miss the wild card by two games. So fans of teams that are sitting in last place, except maybe the Astros and Marlins, should not count their teams out just yet. These are the two month rankings.
30. Miami Marlins (Last Time 30)
Miami fans have the worst team in the league by far. It is hard to find much positive to say about this team, and my mom always told me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” but unfortunately I have to say something, so at least they have a nice new stadium.
29. Houston Astros (Last Time 29)
The Astros, unlike the Marlins, have given fans something to cheer about. The ‘Stros ended the first weekend of June on a five-game winning streak. The streak so far has been highlighted by a shutout started by the team’s best starter Bud Norris and the only offense was provided by slugger Chris Carter.
28. Milwaukee Brewers (Last Time 28)
The Brew Crew are in the middle of the pack on offense and near the bottom of the pack in pitching. The Brew Crew has shown signs of improvement, but after Jean Segura and former MVP Ryan Braun the offense is nearly nonexistent.
27. New York Mets (Last Time 27)
The Mets gave it to the Yankees in the Subway Series, but they still have the fourth worst record in the league and still do not have much after David Wright and surprising ace Matt Harvey.
26. Kansas City Royals (Last Time 19, Down 7)
The Royals were a bright spot early on, just like last season. Just like last season the Royals are dropping quickly. James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie and Ervin Santana are still bright spots in the rotation, but the offense continues to struggle to score runs.
25. Los Angeles Dodgers (Last Time 23, Down 2)
Zack Greinke came back from injury, Adrian Gonzalez was getting hot and yet the Dodgers continue to fall farther and farther. Matt Kemp has hit the DL and Josh Beckett may retire, and it just keeps getting worse for the Dodgers.
24. Toronto Blue Jays (Last Time 22, Down 2)
Another “super team” on the list in the bottom third. The Blue Jays tried to strike while the Red Sox and Yankees were on a downturn, but yet here they sit, looking up at the teams that are supposed to be on a downturn.
23. Chicago Cubs (Last Time 24, Up 1)
The Cubs had a decent week. They swept all three games against cross town rival White Sox (One was postponed) and had a five-game winning streak. Those five wins are their only five in the last two and a half weeks, though. The Cubs are far from a good team, but Theo Epstein has them heading in the right direction.
22. Chicago White Sox (Last Time 18, Down 4)
The White Sox haven’t won a game in a week since they beat the team that is last place in the Universe, the Miami Marlins. If these rankings were based off of the last week alone, the White Sox would be worse than the Marlins, but they’re not. The only real bright spots on this team, as of late, have been the dominance that is Chris Sale and the surprising emergence of Conor Gillaspie.
21. Seattle Mariners (Last Time 21)
The M’s have stayed steady in this spot. The team looks like it is ready to turn the corner and Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma continue to be bright spots, but the pitching staff is in the bottom third in most statistical categories.
20. Los Angeles Angels (Last Time 26, Up 6)
If it wasn’t for the Houston Astros, the Angels would have a decent record. For every bad thing people have been saying about how bad the A’s record would be without all the wins against the Astros, the fact that the Astros won three in a row against the Angels puts into perspective on how bad the Angels have been this year. Six losses to the worst team in the AL is not something that should be happening to a team like this, and even if you take away the win-loss record against the Astros, this team is still 22-26. Four games under .500 is not what you expect of a team with this size of a payroll. Even with all of that, they are one of the biggest movers after a nice winning streak that was halted by cross town rival Dodgers.
19. Minnesota Twins (Last Time 25, Up 6)
The Twins have been tugging at fans heart strings this year. They streaked out to a great start, collapsed and are now one of the biggest movers on the list. It is hard to imagine that the Twins will catch either the Indians or the Tigers this season, but it sure is nice to see improvement after last season. If the Twins can stay right in the middle of the pack this year it will be a nice step in the right direction and could mean good things for the years to come.
18. San Diego Padres (Last Time 20, Up 2)
The collapse of the Dodgers has coincided with the rise of the Padres. Since getting Chase Headley back the Padres have gone from dead last to only 3.5 games out of second place. If the offense continues to develop around Headley and Edinson Volquez continues to get back into form the Padres could really shake up the NL West, if not fighting for a playoff spot, but beating the teams ahead of them and shaking up the top spot.
17. Philadelphia Phillies (Last Time 17)
The Phills stay steady at 17th for the third time in a row. It’s hard not to like a team that has Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee at the top of their rotation, but the offense just doesn’t live up to the hype and they are an average team at best right now.
16. Washington Nationals (Last Time 14, Down 2)
Man, the Nationals are one of the most surprising NL teams this year, in the worst way possible. After having the best season in franchise history (Recent Nationals, not previous or Expos) the team was expected to dominate after some key offseason moves. Instead the Nationals are struggling to stay at .500 and maintain second in the division.
15. Cleveland Indians (Last Time 6, Down 9)
The Indians are finally starting to mesh. This weekend Ubaldo Jimenez looked like the guy the Indians thought they were getting when they traded for him from the Rockies in 2011. If Jimenez can continue to improve the pitching staff will be dangerous with Justin Masterson and Zach McAllister pitching at high levels as well. The offense is there, and if the pitching can match the offense, this team will be dangerous.
14. San Francisco Giants (Last Time 11, Down 3)
The Giants had a bad week. They lost three out of four to their neighbors across the bridge, and then lost a doubleheader to the Cardinals. Now, both teams are very good so there is no shame in losing to those two teams, but the defense has been horrible and the once thought of best rotation in baseball has been average at best. It is hard to see this team repeating the way they are playing right now.
13. Colorado Rockies (Last Time 12, Down 1)
The Rockies haven’t been great since shooting out to their hot start in the first two weeks of the season, but luckily the rest of their division isn’t either. As long as this team can continue to pitch the way it has so far (They’re right in the middle of the pack) then the offense should be good enough to keep them in the picture.
12. Detroit Tigers (Last Time 15, Up 3)
The Tigers are eventually going to need to be more than Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. They have fallen behind the Indians and now climbed back ahead by a half game in the last few weeks. Although I wrote that I don’t believe the Indians are for real, yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if they knock off the Tigers if the rest of the team doesn’t step up soon.
11. New York Yankees (Last Time 3, Down 8)
The largest fall of the board has been these Yankees. The return of some stars (and a return and departure of Curtis Granderson) have coincided with a 3-7 stretch for the Yankees. A lot of people thought that the Yankees would get even better with the return of stars like Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira, but they have struggled instead. The biggest factor in the drop off has to be the four games the Yankees lost to the Mets. You just don’t expect a team as good as the Yankees to lose to a team as mediocre as the Mets.
10. Tampa Bay Rays (Last Time 13, Up 3)
After stumbling out of the gates the Rays are tied with the Yankees for third in the AL East. This division has quickly become a four team race, and behind Matt Moore the Rays are quickly working their way up. The offense has been an all-around team effort and thats the way teams that are built like the Rays have to do it.
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (Last Time 8, Down 1)
The D-Backs have pulled out to a 2.5 game lead in the NL West. That may not seem like a lot, but this division has been back and forth for the last month so it is big for them to have any breathing room. The D-Backs will have a tough time this week as they take on the Cards for four games, but then have a chance to give themselves even more breathing room when they take on the Giants. Paul Goldschmidt is playing like an MVP and Patrick Corbin is pitching like a Cy Young contender. Even with the loss of veteran pitcher Brandon McCarthy in the rotation you can expect the D-Backs to continue to stay on top because of how deep of a team they have put together.
8. Baltimore Orioles (Last Time 16, Up 8)
The biggest mover on the list is these Orioles. They are seven and three over their last 10 games have are only 2.5 games out of first place. Slugger Chris Davis continues to hit home runs and knock in runs at a career high pace and has been the key to the offense so far. Best news for O’s fans is they have the Astros coming up this week. The bad news is, the Astros are on a five game winning streak. If the O’s can do what good teams should so and sweep the ‘Stros, the very well could be right there on top of the AL East very soon.
7. Atlanta Braves (Last Time 7)
The Braves hold strong on the seventh spot. If it wasn't for how good the top of the NL Central is, they would probably be higher. The pitching is not as dominant as it was at the beginning of the year, but they are fourth overall. The offense continues to hit the long ball, second in the league, and they are 11th in runs scored.
6. Oakland Athletics (Last Time 10, Up 4)
The A’s have had the best 16-game stretch of anyone in baseball so far this year. They are 14-2 over that stretch and Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie are making strong cases to play in the All-Star Game batting .319 and .314 respectively. They’ve gained ground on the Rangers, but still sit two games back.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (Last Time 9, Up 4)
Everyone keeps waiting for the Pirates to have their annual collapse, but what if it never comes? They have a good young core one offense, but they aren’t hitting great right now. If the offense comes around, and the pitching continues to be lights out like it is, this team could be the one that finally breaks the slump.
4. Cincinnati Reds (Last Time 4)
The Reds are good, we all know that because of what they did last year. They added Shin-Soo Choo in the offseason and he has responded to the change of scenery well. The addition of him to an already lethal offense added to a great pitching staff lead by Mat Latos has them in first in any NL division except the NL Central. Problem is, they’re in the NL Central. So instead of being in first, they’re in a tie for second with the previous team, the Pirates.
3. Texas Rangers (Last Time 1, Down 2)
The Rangers stay steady in the top three. They have lost a few series now, but they just continue to put together wins. The pitching staff has been solid even without Matt Harrison and the offense is in the top 10 in most categories. It can’t be said enough how good this team is even after losing three of their top offensive performers. This team may actually be better than the two that went to the World Series, and that is scary.
2. Boston Red Sox (Last Time 5, Up 3)
The Rangers would be the best team in baseball if it wasn’t for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox have scored the most runs in baseball, have David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia hitting .333 at the heart of the order and have the second best pitching staff in the AL behind the Rangers. Oh yeah, and the guy they signed away from the Rangers, Mike Napoli, is starting to get hot.
1. St. Louis Cardinals (Last Time 2, Up 1)
When you are in first place in the best division in baseball so far, you deserve to be on top. Shelby Miller is having an amazing rookie campaign and Adam Wainwright is showing why he should be a Cy Young favorite every year when he’s healthy. The offense is not hitting for power like most of the other teams in the top 10, but they have the second best average in the NL as a team and have scored the third most runs in the NL. They aren’t doing it flashy with the long ball, but they pitch and play efficient on offense, and that’s all you need to win games.