It’s mid-May, with the baseball season being nearly a quarter of the way through. As teams approach the 40-game mark, it’s the St. Louis Cardinals that own the best record in baseball and top spot in the MLB Power Rankings.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Marlins and Astros continue to be the league doormats, while the Angels, Dodgers and Blue Jays maintain a stranglehold on the award as the baseball’s biggest disappointments.
In KP’s latest edition of MLB Power Rankings at The Wife Hates Sports, the aforementioned Cardinals sit in first place, followed by the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers. A pair of American League East teams – the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles – round out the top five.
The entire list of power rankings is as follows, featuring some specific team and player related statistics, or in some cases, other random notes and tidbits:
Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis pitching staff has been dominating the National League
KP’s MLB Power Rankings: May 14, 2013
Note: Statistics and point totals as of Tuesday morning (5/14/13) and do not include night games
1. St. Louis Cardinals (119 points)
The Cardinals have the best record in baseball, which is one reason for the top ranking. The team’s 3.03 team ERA (three-tenths better than any other team) is another key to this position.
2. Detroit Tigers (109 points)
Prince Fielder continues to mash the ball for the Tigers
Detroit’s combined batting and pitching rating value is the best in baseball. Combine that with an MLB-best +58 run differential, and the Tigers jumped up to the second spot this week.
3. Texas Rangers (108 points)
Adrian Beltre’s bat is heating up, as the third basemen is hitting .327 over the last 15 days, with 4 home runs, 3 doubles and 14 RBI during that span.
4. New York Yankees (93 points)
Hiroki Kuroda has been the most consistent starter in New York’s rotation, posting a 5-2 record, with six quality starts, a 2.31 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.
5. Baltimore Orioles (85 points)
20-year-old Manny Machado is thriving in the two-hole, batting .331, with five HR, 14 doubles and 24 RBI over 38 games played.
6. San Francisco Giants (82 points)
Matt Cain has quality starts in 5 of his 8 appearances, yet has posted an ERA of 5.04, with 43 strikeouts spanning over 50 innings pitched.
7. Atlanta Braves (69 points)
Justin Upton leads the Braves in five major categories: Batting average (.289), home runs (13), RBI (23), on base percentage (.395) and hits (39).
8. Cleveland Indians (68 points)
Sparked by a recent hot streak, it’s a safe bet to put manager Terry Francona as the current front runner for Manager of the Year in the American League.
9. Cincinnati Reds (66 points)
Shin-Soo Choo has been a major addition to the Cincinnati offense this season, posting a .309 average, with 7 HR, 10 doubles, 17 RBI and four steals in 37 games.
10. Kansas City Royals (64 points)
Seen as low level trade bait last season, Jeremy Guthrie has returned to form, posting a 5-0 record, with a 2.28 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in seven starts this season.
11. Boston Red Sox (62 points)
In sixteen starts, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have combined to go 11-0, while striking out 105 batters over 111 1/3 innings.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks (56 points)
Arizona is currently the worst in the National League in both stolen base percentage (56%) and blown saves (11). The eleven blown saves are also the most in baseball.
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (47 points)
Starling Marte (.320 average, 5 HR, 17 RBI) has been one of the major surprises in the National League so far this season.
14. Washington Nationals (45 points)
Jordan Zimmerman is the only pitcher in baseball with seven wins and his 1.69 ERA is currently the fifth best in the National League.
15. Colorado Rockies (44 points)
The Colorado pitching staff has allowed just thirty home runs, the second fewest in the NL.
16. Tampa Bay Rays (34 points)
In eleven games in May, Evan Longoria is batting .422, with 3 HR, 6 doubles and 12 RBI.
17. Minnesota Twins (33 points)
Minnesota’s struggles continue to center around its rotation, as the Twins have just 13 quality starts, which is the fewest in the American League.
18. Chicago Cubs (18 points)
Over the last 15 days, Scott Feldman is 2-0, with a 1.23 ERA, three earned runs allowed and 21 strikeouts over 22 innings pitched.
19. Oakland Athletics (8 points)
Yoenis Cespedes has struggled with injuries and his batting average has been a disappointment (.212 in 99 AB’s), but the power stroke is still there (7 HR, 19 RBI).
20. Seattle Mariners (3 points)
In his first season with the Mariners, Michael Morse has 9 HR in 32 games, but his average (.230) and RBI total (15) have been lacking.
21. Philadelphia Phillies (2 points)
It may appear that Philadelphia’s pitching staff is really struggling, but the team is actually second in baseball in quality starts, with 26.
22. Chicago White Sox (-1 point)
Adam Dunn continues to struggle for the White Sox. Over the last 15 days, Dunn is batting .111, with just four hits and sixteen strikeouts over 36 at bats.
23. Milwaukee Brewers (-4 points)
Surprisingly, Jean Segura (.368) and Carlos Gomez (.367) currently are ranked first and second in the National League in batting average.
24. Los Angeles Dodgers (-9 points)
The Dodgers are 15-22 and have a record worse than both the Padres and Cubs. It’s time to check just how hot Don Mattingly’s managing seat is. Yep, it’s sizzling.
25. San Diego Padres (-10 points)
No member of the offense has more than five home runs. Will Venable leads the way with five, while Chase Headley and Yonder Alonso each have four.
26. New York Mets (-21 points)
John Buck has been a power surprise for the Mets, hitting ten home runs, which is good for a tie for second in the NL. His 29 RBI are fourth in the league.
27. Los Angeles Angels (-27 points)
Mike Trout is heating up, batting .317, with 4 HR and 13 RBI over the last 15 days.
28. Toronto Blue Jays (-34 points)
Toronto’s 51 HR are the most in the American League, but the Jays are batting just .237 as a team, with a sub-par .301 on base percentage.
29. Miami Marlins (-58 points)
The Marlins continue to struggle at the plate, posting a league low 22 home runs, along with MLB’s worst batting average (.223).
30. Houston Astros (-79 points)
Philip Humber has given up 32 runs over his last six outings, including five or more runs in four of those appearances. His ERA is 12.75 over the last fifteen days.
* All stats per MLB.com
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.
Ditto. Mine is in. I’m 0 for 2… hopefully I get them this time around… would like to be able to go and perhaps get some extras so my brother and Dad can come along…
Yea, I sent mine in.
Wish me luck.
Hey Rev,
yeah, I don’t know if I’m too happy about my picks… should have made them preseason, so I wasn’t swayed by what has happened in the first month. But that’s the trick…
Yes, I got that forward, and got the email on my own, too. I applied yet again… hopefully, will get them. Does that mean you applied again?
Thanks for thinking of me.
I may have to use these power rankings to select winners in my Pick ‘Em pool.
FYI, bro, your picks are in.
Oh, and did I send you the Masters Ticket application?
My apologies to REV, as coming back from time away with family, I needed to put something up quick and voila! Power Rankings… Rev’s favorite. But hey, I did vote for your MLB pick ’em thing… so yeah, there’s that…