Many would argue that the American League East is by far the strongest division in baseball this season, and this week’s MLB Power Rankings solidifies that argument, with the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays all cracking the top five.

New York, Boston and Philly maintain a stranglehold on the top three spots, but the red-hot Rays are here to crash the party – jumping three spots to fourth.

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Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bays are heating up and charging fast

KP’s MLB Power Rankings: June 27, 2011

Note: Points for MLB Power Rankings tallied as of Monday AM, and do NOT reflect night games

1. New York Yankees – 45-31 (149 points) – Last Week: #1

New York’s power is clearly its strength, and the team’s 111 home runs are twenty higher than any other team in baseball (Milwaukee is 2nd with 91).

2. Boston Red Sox – 45-32 (135 points) – Last Week: #2

Four straight losses last week showed that the Red Sox won’t stay hot all summer long, but the real test begins this week with a three-game road series at Philadelphia.

3. Philadelphia Phillies – 49-30 (119 points) – Last Week: #3

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Cole Hamels takes on the Boston Red Sox this week

The Phils and Red Sox will be one of the most hyped three-game sets of the year.  Beckett vs. Lee (Tuesday) and Lester vs. Hamels (Thursday) are must-see TV.

4. Tampa Bay Rays – 44-34 (87 points) – Last Week: #7

The Rays have won 8 of 9 and during the team’s three-game sweep of the Astros in Houston, Tampa Bay scored a whopping 26 runs.

5. Atlanta Braves – 44-35 (83 points) – Last Week: #4

With players like Uggla, Heyward, Jones and Prado, it’s surprising that Brian McCann leads the team in all major categories (.300 avg, 13 HR, 43 RBI, .379 OBP and 75 hits).

6. Milwaukee Brewers – 44-35 (61 points) – Last Week: #11

With free agency quickly approaching, Prince Fielder is on pace to hit 43 HR and knock in 139 RBI’s during the 2011 season.

7. Cincinnati Reds – 40-39 (56 points) – Last Week: #6

Over the last 30 days, the Reds are the only team in baseball to be caught stealing as many times as the team has stolen bases (13 stolen vs. 13 caught).

8. Texas Rangers – 41-38 (56 points) – Last Week: #8

Remember when the Rangers were shopping Michael Young?  Still with the club, Young is batting .323 with 7 HR, 22 2B and 53 RBI’s on the year.

9. Detroit Tigers – 42-36 (55 points) – Last Week: #10

Five Detroit starters with over 200 AB’s are batting over .300 this season: Martinez (.336), Cabrera (.332), Peralta (.311), Avila (.304) and Boesch (.301).

10. St. Louis Cardinals – 41-38 (54 points) – Last Week: #5

The struggles in St. Louis are not just due to losing Albert Pujols to injury.  Over the last 30 days, the Cardinals’ pitching staff has the worst ERA in baseball (5.01).

11. Arizona Diamondbacks – 43-36 (45 points) – Last Week: #13

The often-injured J.J. Putz has remained healthy this season, and flourished in the closer’s role.  To date, Putz has 21 saves, a 2.45 ERA and 31 K’s in 33 innings.

12. Los Angeles Angels – 39-40 (43 points) – Last Week: #16

Jered Weaver (9-4, 1.97 ERA and 106 K’s in 2011) deserves to be mentioned in the AL Cy Young chase with Justin Verlander, among others.

13. San Francisco Giants – 44-34 (41 points) – Last Week: #14

Often overlooked in San Francisco’s rotation this season, Ryan Vogelsong is 5-1 in 11 starts (13 total games), while posting a 1.86 ERA on the year.

14. Washington Nationals – 40-38 (38 points) – Last Week: #17

Surprisingly, over the last 30 days, no other team in baseball has a better team ERA than the Nats, posting an 18-10 record and 2.68 ERA.

15. New York Mets – 39-39 (33 points) – Last Week: #18

Random factoid: The Mets are the only team in baseball over the last 30 days to have more triples than home runs during that span (14 triples, 10 HR).

16. Cleveland Indians – 40-36 (31 points) – Last Week: #12

The main reason the Indians continue to fade is the team’s offense, which is batting just .225 over the last month, the second worst in baseball.

17. Colorado Rockies – 38-39 (31 points) – Last Week: #9

23-year-old Jhoulys Chacin leads the Rockies’ pitching staff in wins (8), ERA (3.10) and strikeouts (92).  11 of his 16 starts are quality starts.

18. Toronto Blue Jays – 39-39 (30 points) – Last Week: #15

Like Colorado’s Chacin, 26-year-old Ricky Romero leads the Jays in the same major pitching categories – wins (7), ERA (2.74) and strikeouts (96).

19. Pittsburgh Pirates – 39-38 (23 points) – Last Week: #21

Joel Hanrahan has been one of the best closers in baseball, posting a 1.24 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 22 saves and 31 K’s in 36 1/3 innings.

20. Chicago White Sox – 38-41 (22 points) – Last Week: #20

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Adam Dunn never struggled like this when he was with the Nationals

Adam Dunn (.173 average, 7 HR, 29 RBI’s and 100 K’s in 231 AB’s) has been the most disappointing major free agent acquisition, hands down.

21. Seattle Mariners – 39-39 (16 points) – Last Week: #19

In limited time with the big club, rookie 2B Dustin Ackley has impressed, posting a .300 average and .364 OBP in 30 AB’s.

22. Oakland Athletics – 35-44 (1 point) – Last Week: #22

The pitching staff was never the question with the A’s.  With just 41 HR on the year (worst in MLB), the bats have done little to help this team compete.

23. San Diego Padres – 34-45 (-12 points) – Last Week: #23

No team in the National League has fewer total bases than the Padres, who have just 873 on the season.  Only the Mariners have fewer in baseball.

24. Baltimore Orioles – 35-40 (-25 points) – Last Week: #24

With hot bats like Markakis, Lee and Reynolds, the Orioles have had a top 5 offense over the last month, pushing the team to 8th in average on the season.

25. Los Angeles Dodgers – 35-44 (-25 points) – Last Week: #26

Matt Kemp is putting up MVP numbers for a bad team (21 HR, 21 steals, .327 average, 60 RBI’s, .416 OBP and 92 hits – all team highs).

26. Florida Marlins – 34-44 (-32 points) – Last Week: #28

With Josh Johnson out due to injury, Anibal Sanchez now leads the team in three major pitching categories – wins (6), ERA (2.82) and strikeouts (107).

27. Kansas City Royals – 33-45 (-38 points) – Last Week: #25

How bad has the KC pitching staff been this year? Look at the major pitching category leaders: Wins (Luke Hochevar – 5), ERA (Jeff Francis – 4.76) and K’s (Luke Hochevar – 53).

28. Chicago Cubs – 31-46 (-60 points) – Last Week: #29

Carlos Pena’s average is still nearly 20 points below his career average, but he does lead the Cubs in both HR (16) and RBI’s (42).

29. Minnesota Twins – 32-44 (-68 points) – Last Week: #27

Two reasons the Twins are as bad as they are this year: 1) Joe Mauer – Only 65 AB’s and just a .200 average and 2) Justin Morneau – only 4 HR and 21 RBI’s and a .225 average.

30. Houston Astros – 28-51 (-85 points) – Last Week: #30

Hunter Pence (.315 average, 9 HR, 52 RBI) and Brett Wallace (.293 average) have been two bright spots in an otherwise dismal season.

Note: RED = Falling 3+ spots from last week, GREEN = Rising 3+ spots from last week

The Wife Hates Sports MLB Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record.  It mixes a secret formula of six completely different categories, meshed into a points system.  The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed recently, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and pitching staff, too.