MLB Team Power Rankings Update: The Twins Keep Hanging Around
Teams Ranked 30th to 21st
Hey, the San Diego Padres don't have a 0.0% chance of making the playoffs anymore! Unfortunately, the increase in their playoff probability isn't very substantial.
The Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants are holding down the basement once again, but there is one new entrant into this subset of teams that we haven't seen here in quite some time.
| Rank | Team | nERD | Record | Playoff Odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Philadelphia Phillies | -1.36 | 24-51 | 0.0% | 0 |
| 29 | San Francisco Giants | -1.19 | 28-51 | 0.0% | 0 |
| 28 | Baltimore Orioles | -1.12 | 37-38 | 5.0% | 0 |
| 27 | Kansas City Royals | -0.70 | 37-37 | 9.5% | -1 |
| 26 | San Diego Padres | -0.67 | 31-45 | 0.1% | +1 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh Pirates | -0.57 | 35-41 | 3.4% | -1 |
| 24 | Colorado Rockies | -0.51 | 47-32 | 64.9% | -7 |
| 23 | Texas Rangers | -0.45 | 38-38 | 13.3% | +2 |
| 22 | Detroit Tigers | -0.36 | 33-42 | 4.8% | +1 |
| 21 | Minnesota Twins | -0.33 | 39-35 | 16.4% | 0 |
Biggest Rise: Texas Rangers
Well, the Texas Rangers have found their way back to .500, which is great news after a slow start. The only problem, though, is that the work is just beginning.
The Houston Astros have a commanding lead in the American League West and the Rangers trail them by 13.5 games, so taking the division doesn't seem realistic. However, the AL Wild Card race is a more plausible route, as they're just 2.0 games out of the final spot.
Texas' offense has been clicking over the past week -- their team 119 wRC+ is a top-10 mark in baseball during this span of time -- and it would be helpful if the pitching staff followed suit.
The rotation has gotten a theoretical boost with the return of Cole Hamels and Tyson Ross, but they also have to pitch well for it to do anything positive. Hamels got roughed up by the Cleveland Indians on Monday night, while Ross enters his third start of the year on Tuesday with a 5.06 SIERA through his first 8.2 innings of work.
Biggest Drop: Colorado Rockies
The last time the Colorado Rockies boasted a power ranking worse than 20th came all the way back on May 2nd, so it's been a while. However, it shouldn't be shocking after a rough 1-6 record over their past seven contests.
They're in the middle of an important part of their schedule -- Colorado exclusively plays NL West opponents from June 16th all the way to July 2nd. It started well with four straight wins (three against the Giants and one against the Arizona Diamondbacks), but then things started going downhill.
The Rockies are suffering through a six-game losing streak, losing two to the D-Backs and getting swept in a three-game set by the Los Angeles Dodgers before losing their series opener to Jeff Samardzija and the Giants on Monday. It hasn't particularly been close, either -- manager Bud Black has watched his squad get outscored 57-26.
With a number like that, the pitching staff obviously isn't performing very well (9.00 ERA, 5.59 FIP and -0.2 fWAR), but the offense continues to struggle. Their team wRC+ of 29 over the past week was better than only the Miami Marlins, and outside of Mark Reynolds (130 wRC+), no Rockies hitter with at least 20 plate appearances produced a wRC+ over 100.
In fact, there were three hitters with a negative wRC+, including Ian Desmond (-9), Raimel Tapia (-13), and Trevor Story (-23). It sounds weird, but the Rockies may need offensive help as the trade deadline approaches.
