TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings
Updated: Monday, June 17, 2013 5:00 PM
The Padres, Royals and Blue Jays rise while the Rays, Dodgers and Phillies fall in this week's edition of the MLB Power Rankings.
Follow Scott Cullen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen and e-mail him at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca.
This Week1Last Week1St. Louis Cardinals44-25
Already the best team in baseball, just imagine if the Cardinals had a legit shortstop. Pete Kozma's clinging to the job with a .236 OBP in June.
Key Injuries: RHP Jason Motte (elbow), LHP Jaime Garcia (shoulder), RHP John Gast (shoulder).
This Week2Last Week2Detroit Tigers38-29
Are teams finally pitching around 3B Miguel Cabrera? He has 14 walks in June, more than twice as many as any other Tigers hitter and it helps explain 1B Prince Fielder driving in a dozen runs in 14 games this month.
Key Injuries: None.
This Week3Last Week4Cincinnati Reds42-28
Nice to get RHP Johnny Cueto back from the DL, what with his NL-best (minimum 40 IP) 0.88 WHIP and all.
Key Injuries: LF Ryan Ludwick (shoulder).
This Week4Last Week3Boston Red Sox42-29
CF Jacoby Ellsbury has swiped 18 bases in 19 attempts over his last 17 games. He also got on base at least twice in 12 of those 17 games.
Key Injuries: RHP Joel Hanrahan (hamstring).
This Week5Last Week8Oakland Athletics42-29
1B/OF Brandon Moss hit .153 with a .533 OPS and three home runs in May, but has rebounded in June, hitting .250 with a .937 OPS, already belting five homers in half a month.
Key Injuries: LHP Brett Anderson (ankle).
This Week6Last Week5Pittsburgh Pirates41-28
Injuries have decimated the Pirates' starting rotation, so it sure helped to have RHP Gerrit Cole ready to make the jump from AAA. Cole has been effective in two starts, but it's concerning that a guy with 100 MPH fastball has three strikeouts in 12 innings.
Key Injuries: RHP Jeff Karstens (shoulder), RHP Jeanmar Gomez (forearm), RHP A.J. Burnett (calf), LHP Wandy Rodriguez (forearm).
This Week7Last Week6Texas Rangers38-31
Lost six straight, all at home, by a total of 26 runs. At least they have 2B Ian Kinsler back from the DL.
Key Injuries: RHP Neftali Feliz (elbow), RHP Colby Lewis (elbow), LHP Matt Harrison (back), RHP Alexi Ogando (biceps), 1B Mitch Moreland (hamstring).
This Week8Last Week7Atlanta Braves41-28
Are the Uptons all about Even-Steven? For the first couple of months, B.J. couldn't hit a lick while Justin was mashing. In June, B.J. leads the Braves with four homers and a .946 OPS as Justin has a pedestrian .630 OPS.
Key Injuries: RHP Brandon Beachy (elbow).
This Week9Last Week12Baltimore Orioles40-30
The Orioles remain in contention despite trotting out 2B Ryan Flaherty on a regular basis. His .477 OPS is worst in the American League among players with at least 100 at-bats.
Key Injuries: 2B Brian Roberts (knee), DH Wilson Betemit (knee), LHP Wei-Yin Chen (oblique).
This Week10Last Week10New York Yankees38-31
Five losses in the last six games, 3B Kevin Youkilis is back on the DL and 1B Mark Teixeira could be joining him. Tough times in the Bronx, but they have three series at home now to work things out.
Key Injuries: RHP Michael Pineda (shoulder), 3B Alex Rodriguez (hip), SS Derek Jeter (ankle), C Francisco Cervelli (hand), SS Eduardo Nunez (ribs), CF Curtis Granderson (finger), 3B Kevin Youkilis (back).
This Week11Last Week11Colorado Rockies37-33
Losing SS Troy Tulowitzki could be a crushing blow, but the Rockies have enough guys raking, including call-up OF Tyler Colvin, who has 3 HR, 9 RBI, .304 AVG and 1.029 OPS in seven games since getting promoted.
Key Injuries: RHP Rafael Betancourt (groin), SS Troy Tulowitzki (ribs).
This Week12Last Week13San Francisco Giants35-33
12-18 in their last 30 games, the Giants have lost 3B Pablo Sandoval to the DL and 2B Marco Scutaro is hoping to avoid a stint on the DL after suffering a finger injury.
Key Injuries: RHP Ryan Vogelsong (hand), CF Angel Pagan (hamstring), 3B Pablo Sandoval (foot).
This Week13Last Week16Washington Nationals34-34
The silver lining to an injury like that to 2B Danny Espinosa is that Espinosa has been replaced by 3B Anthony Rendon, who has hit .444 with a 1.168 OPS in nine games since returning to the lineup.
Key Injuries: C Wilson Ramos (hamstring), LHP Ross Detwiler (oblique), LF Bryce Harper (knee), 2B Danny Espinosa (wrist).
This Week14Last Week22San Diego Padres35-34
On a six-game winning streak, the Padres are outhitting the opposition despite, oddly enough, 3B Chase Headley (their best hitter) posting a team-low .454 OPS this month.
Key Injuries: CF Cameron Maybin (wrist), LHP Cory Luebke (elbow), 1B Yonder Alonso (hand), 2B Jedd Gyorko (groin).
This Week15Last Week9Tampa Bay Rays36-33
It looks like top prospect Wil Myers (14 HR, 57 RBI, .286 AVG, .876 OPS at AAA) is going to get called up, to boost a sagging Rays offence that is watching LF Kelly Johnson and 1B James Loney regress to the mean this month.
Key Injuries: LHP David Price (triceps), RHP Alex Cobb (concussion).
This Week16Last Week21Kansas City Royals33-34
10-2 in their last dozen games, the Royals have pitched their way out of a slump, with a staff ERA of 1.80 (27 ER in 135 IP) in June.
Key Injuries: None.
This Week17Last Week14Arizona Diamondbacks37-32
Seeing that SS Willie Bloomquist ripping the ball to the tune of a .409 AVG and .937 OPS in 14 games since coming off the DL is a nice reminder of how much variance is involved in small sample sizes. Bloomquist is a career .271 hitter with a .667 OPS.
Key Injuries: CF Adam Eaton (elbow), 2B Aaron Hill (hand), RHP J.J. Putz (elbow), RHP Brandon McCarthy (shoulder), 3B Eric Chavez (oblique).
This Week18Last Week17Cleveland Indians34-34
3B Mark Reynolds and 1B Nick Swisher are mired in slumps, combining to go 12-for-95 (.125) with 38 strikeouts this month.
Key Injuries: RHP Brett Myers (elbow), RHP Chris Perez (shoulder), RHP Zach McAllister (finger), SS Asdrubal Cabrera (hamstring).
This Week19Last Week15Philadelphia Phillies33-37
LHP Cole Hamels has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. His record in that stretch is 1-4, running to 2-10 for the season.
Key Injuries: LHP John Lannan (quad), RHP Roy Halladay (shoulder), 2B Chase Utley (oblique), C Carlos Ruiz (hamstring), C Erik Kratz (knee).
This Week20Last Week19Chicago Cubs28-39
37-year-old journeyman infielder Cody Ransom has played for eight teams, but remains a threat against lefties. He has an .834 OPS agains southpaws in his career (.651 OPS vs. RHP), while it's more pronounced this year, with a 1.111 OPS vs. lefties and .351 OPS vs. righties.
Key Injuries: CF David DeJesus (shoulder).
This Week21Last Week24Toronto Blue Jays32-36
A five-game winning streak suddenly has the Blue Jays within striking distance. They are 8.5-games out of the AL East lead and a manageable 5.5-games behind Baltimore, Texas and the Yankees for the wildcard lead. Still lots of time to make up ground if they continue to play well.
Key Injuries: SS Jose Reyes (ankle), RHP Brandon Morrow (forearm), RHP Ramon Ortiz (elbow), 3B Brett Lawrie (ankle).
This Week22Last Week20Chicago White Sox28-38
DH Adam Dunn flipped the switch this month, hitting six home runs with a .275 AVG and 1.054 OPS after hitting a dozen homers with a .156 AVG and a .633 OPS in the first two months of the season.
Key Injuries: RHP Gavin Floyd (elbow), RHP Jake Peavy (rib).
This Week23Last Week18Los Angeles Dodgers29-39
Rookie phenom RF Yasiel Puig is the only Dodger with an OPS over .770 this month, while catchers Tim Federowicz and Ramon Hernandez are the only others over .700. Tough to win with no one hitting.
Key Injuries: RHP Josh Beckett (groin), RHP Chad Billingsley (elbow), SS Hanley Ramirez (hamstring), CF Matt Kemp (hamstring), C A.J. Ellis (oblique), LF Carl Crawford (hamstring), LHP Chris Capuano (shoulder).
This Week24Last Week23Seattle Mariners31-39
A risky play to bring up top catching prospect Mike Zunino, but he is 3-for-10 with a home run in his first three games, and now has the starting job after Kelly Shoppach was designated for assignment.
Key Injuries: CF Franklin Gutierrez (hamstring), 1B Justin Smoak (oblique).
This Week25Last Week28Minnesota Twins30-36
Don't know how long they will be effective, with such low strikeout rates, but P.J. Walters and Samuel Deduno have upgraded the Minnesota rotation, combining for a 3.24 ERA (and 5-3 record) in five starts apiece.
Key Injuries: 3B Trevor Plouffe (calf), CF Aaron Hicks (hamstring).
This Week26Last Week25Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim30-39
In his last 11 games, 2B Howard Kendrick is 22 for 41 (.537 AVG). That's pretty good.
Key Injuries: None.
This Week27Last Week26New York Mets25-39
3-10 in their last 13 games, the Mets have three hitters with an OPS over .700 in June -- CF Marlon Byrd, 3B David Wright (natch) and call-up SS Omar Quintanilla. Their .623 team OPS this month ranks 27th in baseball, but is still tops in the city, if that's any consolation.
Key Injuries: RHP Frank Francisco (elbow), SS Ruben Tejada (quad).
This Week28Last Week29Houston Astros26-44
A four-game winning streak pushes the Astros to 11-7 in their last 18 games, despite their team OPS of .605 in June being the worst in baseball.
Key Injuries: CF Justin Maxwell (hand).
This Week29Last Week27Milwaukee Brewers28-40
Losing Ryan Braun hurts, but a siler lining could be the last couple starts for RHP Yovani Gallardo, who has pitched 14 shutout innings after racking up a 5.25 ERA through his first 13 starts of the season.
Key Injuries: 1B Corey Hart (knee), LF Ryan Braun (thumb).
This Week30Last Week30Miami Marlins21-47
The Marlins have the makings of a competent rotation with rookie Jose Fernandez and veteran Ricky Nolasco leading the way; add in Kevin Slowey and Jacob Turner and that quartet has combined for a 3.58 ERA this season.
Key Injuries: 1B Logan Morrison (knee), RHP Nate Eovaldi (shoulder).
