MLB Team Power Rankings Update: The Los Angeles Dodgers Are Somehow Getting Better
Teams Ranked 20th to 11th
Since they shipped Justin Wilson, Alex Avila, and J.D. Martinez out of town prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, it's pretty clear that the Detroit Tigers aren't hoping for much the rest of the way in 2017. However, they still took a rather significant climb among this group.
Their climb was a little overshadowed by a fellow AL Central opponent who is very clearly going for it this year, though.
| Rank | Team | nERD | Record | Playoff Odds | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Texas Rangers | -0.44 | 50-55 | 3.5% | +3 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh Pirates | -0.44 | 51-54 | 2.9% | +5 |
| 19 | Toronto Blue Jays | -0.36 | 49-57 | 2.8% | -4 |
| 18 | Los Angeles Angels | -0.30 | 51-55 | 4.5% | -2 |
| 17 | New York Mets | -0.29 | 48-55 | 1.2% | 0 |
| 16 | Kansas City Royals | -0.22 | 55-49 | 42.0% | +11 |
| 15 | Detroit Tigers | -0.14 | 47-57 | 2.4% | +7 |
| 14 | Milwaukee Brewers | 0.11 | 55-52 | 18.4% | -1 |
| 12 | Oakland Athletics | 0.15 | 47-59 | 1.5% | -2 |
| 12 | Miami Marlins | 0.15 | 49-55 | 4.9% | 0 |
Biggest Rise: Kansas City Royals
If we told you on back on May 9th that the Kansas City Royals -- who were 11-20 at the time with a 1.5% chance at reaching the postseason -- would be rather aggressive buyers at the trade deadline, you'd probably laugh. And nobody would've blamed you. Their first half of play very much resembled a roller coaster ride, but at the moment, they're just continuing to climb higher.
They've gone 15-9 over the last 30 days, and the pitching staff has posted a 3.4 fWAR during that time, which is one of the 10 best marks in baseball. Jason Vargas, surprisingly, has been their worst pitcher, posting just a -0.3 fWAR to go with a 7.23 ERA and 7.33 FIP over his last 18.2 innings of work. After carrying the staff for most of the year, it's nice to at least see Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, and Jason Hammel pick up the slack in the meantime -- they've accounted for 2.4 fWAR between the three of them.
Biggest Drop: Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays immediately put themselves in a hole with a rough month of April, and it's proving to just be too much for them to overcome.
Toronto's starting staff has posted a 48.3% ground-ball rate since we last checked in around the league, which is the third-highest mark in baseball. That's good, but their 66.4% strand rate is one of the worst, as is their 5.39 ERA (which is supported by a 5.23 FIP).
The offense also hasn't been clicking -- they've posted a team wRC+ of just 91. Only two regulars have posted a wRC+ over 100 during this time, and that's Josh Donaldson (105) and Justin Smoak (168).
