MLB Power Rankings: Week 17

Jul 29, 2009 – 7:00 PM

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Will Brinson %BloggerTitle%

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

The second half of the season is in full swing and lo and behold if capitalism hasn't reared it's ugly head once again. Billy Beane was spun off Matt Holliday (as expected of course) and the eleventy billion dollar payroll machine that is the New York Yankees are in first place in the AL East. (Of course, that can't explain why the Mets are horrible but that's a whole other thing.)

Will the Yankees' surge be enough to propel them into the critically important No. 1 slot of the FanHouse MLB Power Rankings? Find out after the jump.

1. Yankees | Record: 61-38 | Previous Week: 3
Amazingly, the Yankees haven't been alone in first place this late in the season since 2006. And thanks to their new stadium, they are the second team ever to have six players hit 15 homers or more in the team's first 100 games (Cano, Damon, Matsui, Rodriguez, Swisher, Teixeira). - Ed Price
2. Phillies| Record: 57-40 | Previous Week: 1
Jamie Moyer (10-7 at age 46) is the second-oldest pitcher to reach double digits in wins, after Phil Niekro in 1986. His next start is Saturday at San Francisco, and he hasn't beaten the Giants on the road since July 16, 1987. - EP
3. Dodgers| Record: 62-37 | Previous Week: 1
Even if the Dodgers have "slowed down" (read: gotten caught by the Yankees), it didn't take Manny Ramirez long to get back into his rhythm. Since returning from his suspension, Ramirez has hit .306 with a 1.040 OPS. He was hitting .348 when he was suspended. - Jeff Fletcher
4. Angels | Record: 59-40 | Previous Week: 4
Who was leading the majors in hitting in July, through Monday? If you guessed Angels shortstop Erick Aybar (.436), pat yourself on the back. You read the box scores very closely. Clearly, everything's coming up LAA. - JF
5. Cubs| Record: 53-45 | Previous Week: 12
Well, hello there. If it isn't yooooooour Chicago Cubs back in first place. Kind of amazing what Aramis Ramirez's return really means to this team (not just from an offensive standpoint). Of course, this could just be God setting up the Lovable Losers of Wrigleyville for another late-season/early-playoff collapse, but right now, they're in a pretty good spot. (It also simply could have been me blessing Wrigley with my presence; I recall something similar happening last year as well.)
6. Rangers | Record: 55-42 | Previous Week: 9
They showed a lot of resiliency by ripping off seven wins in eight games even as the flu turned their clubhouse into a hot zone. Sadly, it doesn't look like Doc Halladay will be scrubbing in to help them over the last two months, which means they'll need to make do with Get Well balloons. - Josh Alper
7. Red Sox | Record: 58-40 | Previous Week: 5
Boston retired Jim Rice's No. 14 on Tuesday -- the third jersey retired since 2000 (also Fisk, Pesky) after going 11 years without such a ceremony. As for the present, Boston has a key trip coming up: Baltimore, Tampa Bay and New York, beginning Friday. - EP
8. Cardinals | Record: 54-48 | Previous Week: 6
Despite trading for Matt Holliday -- the biggest free agent bat out there -- the Cardinals have managed to cough up the NL Central lead to their archrivals. Still, despite their current second-place status, the Redbirds have (assuming health) a pretty good 1-2 punch in both their batting order (Albert Pujols-Holliday) and their rotation (Chris Carpenter-Adam Wainwright) so this race should go down to the wire.
9. Tigers | Record: 52-46 | Previous Week: 8
Detroit ranks 11th in the American League in team OPS, but with Holliday off to St. Louis, the Tigers' best chance for an impact bat for the stretch run appears gone. If Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson keep rolling and Armando Galarraga and Rick Porcello right the ship, it might not matter in the mediocre AL Central. - Andrew Johnson
10. Rays | Record: 54-46 | Previous Week: 7
Matt Garza, Wednesday's scheduled starter, has allowed one homer in his past six starts, just one stolen base all year (in three attempts) and has a .222 opponents' average. But he's just 7-7, thanks to lousy run support. - EP
11. Rockies | Record: 54-45 | Previous Week: 11
The Rox hit the trading deadline in pretty nice shape. No glaring needs outside of the bullpen and they may have filled that in-house by promoting Jhoulys Chacin from Double-A Tulsa. The 21-year-old whiffed two in his big-league debut and has star written all over his skinny frame. - JA
12. White Sox | Record: 51-49 | Previous Week: 13
If Mark Buehrle isn't the most underrated pitcher in the major leagues (Adam Wainwright?), then he's one of the two or three most underrated. The perfect game reminded all of us of that, as did his streak of 45 consecutive outs that extended into the sixth inning of his first start after the perfecto Tuesday night. Too bad he couldn't hold on for the win and keep Chicago a game ahead of the Twins in the standings. - AJ
13. Giants | Record: 54-46 | Previous Week: 10
After Tim Lincecum struck out 15 on Monday night, a scout said he was throwing the "best changeup I've seen in 20 years." Pretty good, considering Lincecum didn't even throw a changeup when he got to the big leagues. - JF
14. Braves | Record: 51-48 | Previous Week: 16
Tim Hudson, recovering from Tommy John surgery, is scheduled to pitch Friday in Triple-A. Meanwhile, the Atlanta rotation already leads the majors in starters' ERA. Although it might not matter for NL East purposes given the current Phillies' lead.- EP
15. Mariners | Record: 51-48 | Previous Week: 14
A recent cold streak may have made the team a longshot to still contend, but first-year GM Jack Zduriencik still may want to hold on to assets like Jarrod Washburn. Even a strong second-place finish could build some goodwill in Seattle. - JF
16. Marlins | Record: 51-48 | Previous Week: 18
This is a key stretch for the Fish. Including the current series against Atlanta, seven of Florida's next eight series area against winning teams (Braves, Cubs, Nationals, Phillies, Astros, Rockies, Astros, Braves). - EP
17. Astros | Record: 50-50 | Previous Week: 15
What amazes me about this team isn't that they're still hanging around (OK, that actually is kind of amazing), it's that they still continue to stock so much veteran talent away. I know Carlos Lee's contract isn't ideal, but the guy is heating up and is already on pace for 25 homers, 100 RBI and a .310 average.
18. Blue Jays | Record: 49-51 | Previous Week: 20
Adam Lind could get 85 extra-base hits. The last seven players to do so at age 25 or younger: Prince Fielder, Grady Sizemore, Mark Teixeira, Albert Pujols, Vernon Wells, Lance Berkman, Alex Rodriguez. - EP
19. Twins | Record: 50-50 | Previous Week: 17
Oddly enough, pitching has been the problem for the Twins this season, with the club having allowed the sixth most runs in the American League in 2009. Losing Kevin Slowey, who led the team in wins and had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of five, for the season isn't going to help Minnesota get its starting rotation on track heading into the final two months. - AJ
20. Brewers | Record: 49-50 | Previous Week: 19
It seems wrong to hinge the entire season on Manny Parra's next few starts (even if my fantasy season might be hinging on it) but the reality is that the Brew Crew's pitching right now is straight up weak. Parra looked fantastic (as Lackey noted last week) in early returns, but got knocked around by the Braves on Friday. Wednesday night's start against the Nats is a must-win, just for the sake of confidence.
21. Reds | Record: 45-53 | Previous Week: 21
Dusty Baker obviously knows how to get the best out of his players: Brandon Phillips' response to Baker benching him? Why hitting .174, slugging .304 and driving in four runs over the last seven days. At least there was a home run during what appears to be a streak quite indicative of the rest of Cincy's season.
22. Orioles | Record: 42-56 | Previous Week: 23
Baltimore has gone 2-16 in road division games this year, which is why the O's are again looking forward. The next piece to arrive is Chris Tillman, who is 8-6 with a 2.70 ERA at Triple-A and is expected to start Wednesday against Kansas City. Lefty Brian Matusz, meanwhile, is 7-0 with a 1.59 ERA since moving up to Double-A. - EP
23. Mets | Record: 47-51 | Previous Week: 22
Somehow, Fernando Tatis -- with 108 career home runs -- has hit more grand slams (eight) than 500-homer guys Mel Ott, Mike Schmidt and Frank Robinson, and as many as Eddie Mathews and Willie Mays. -EP
24. Diamondbacks | Record: 43-57 | Previous Week: 26
Bright spot amid the wreckage: Stephen Drew has a 1.071 OPS in July, which follows a strong June and provides hope that there are better days ahead for the somnolent Diamondbacks offense.
- JA
25. Indians | Record: 42-59 | Previous Week: 29
One-time top prospect Andy Marte found his way back to the major leagues Tuesday night, going 2-for-3 in his 2009 big-league debut. Marte, who was acquired in the Coco Crisp trade in 2006, has a .211 career average in the majors, but he put up a .327/.369/.593 line in 82 games at Triple-A Columbus this season. - AJ
26. Pirates | Record: 43-57 | Previous Week: 25
Talk about their failures all you want (and there are plenty of them!) but the reality is -- at least to me -- that this is a Pirates team on the rise. Well, relatively anyway; there's a ton of young talent hanging around: Andrew McCutchen has slowed a bit, but Garrett Jones and Ryan Doumit combined for 42 total bases over the past seven days, with both slugging above .690 during that span.
27. Athletics | Record: 41-57 | Previous Week: 24
If the A's brass gives Trevor Cahill any grief about the fact that he's allowed a team-leading 21 homers, he can point to the fact that Oakland record for homers allowed is 39, a mark held by Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter. Second is 38 by Curt Young, who is the A's pitching coach. - JF
28. Royals | Record: 39-59 | Previous Week: 27
Even with Cleveland selling off spare sparts before the July 31 deadline, Kansas City is in an awfully familiar place -- the cellar of the AL Central. Since 2000, the Royals have finished in last place five times and finished higher than fourth just one time -- in 2003, when they wound up in third place at 83-79. - AJ
29. Padres | Record: 38-62 | Previous Week: 28
Adrian Gonzalez is just the fourth player to have at least three 25-homer seasons for the Padres. Will he get a chance to go for a fourth, equaling Ken Caminiti? Although the Padres might be able to help themselves by trading him, the guess here is they won't take the PR hit to do it. - JF
30. Nationals | Record: 31-68| Previous Week: 30
Washington right-hander Collin Balester, from Orange County, Calif., credits surfing for helping build his arm strength. Balester's father,Tom, runs a surfboard manufacturing company. (Ed. Note: Yes, this is considered "upside" when talking about the Nats.) - EP